Inks You Feel Meh About But Have To Keep Using For Some Reason.

[ethernautrix]

I have a kindv weird reaction to blue inks. I like them. I really like them! But after using them for a couple of days, I rotate them out. I don't know what it is. Pilot Blue, Pilot Blue-Black, KWZ Azure #2 (gorgeous!), KWZ Niebieski galusowy #1 (IG Blue) (works great in my MB 146, but that pen is currently warming the bench, not playing in the field), Iroshizuku Tsuki-yo, to name some of my pretty blues.

 

I have Platinum Preppies filled with not-black inks (browns, reds, blues, one purple), but my five core pens are filled with black (3), gray (1), and Zielonozłoty galusowy (IG Green-gold) (1) (this last a May challenge ink, and so far, no desire to stop using it). I've tried using a blue in a Daily Carry pen... and I just... I don't know why. Maybe blues just aren't dark enough (except Azure #2 is, plus very pretty). So. Mystery.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black. I still have half the bottle I bought the day after I returned to fountain pens. A part of that was wasted trying to make a BB out if it and Royal Blue.

The only problem I've read about it, is by folks using a EF on PP paper.

It is quite a nice black.

One day, for the sheer hell of it, I will own a bottle of Aurora black. For decades the black that was a tad better then Pelikan black.

I have no need for black ink....much less black hole black ink.

 

I have been less enthused with Pelikan Royal Blue which I still have some from getting a fancy bottle of it for my Pelikan double fountain pen stand.

It does shade on good to better paper. It like the Lamy Blue are school inks, that wash out of cloths. That is important when judging them. Their main advantage is they wash out.....and fading will hold out until school or that grading period is over.

I have a bottle of W.Germany Lamy blue....that will never be in a hurry to use, until my Royal Blue is used up.

I now like DA's Royal blue, much more saturated, and lubricated for my dry pens.

 

Lamy turquoise was once the basis ink that all turquoise inks were compared to. I like it, but liked Waterman's South Sea Blue better....what ever they call it today.

 

Inks that feather will sit there. And those are not all just the paper. It could be I could or have a paper good for Edelsteine Aventurine. I'd have to look, but to have an ink that is limited to Only One paper is not worth having.

 

It's good I have two bottles of MB Diamond, I can sell the un-opened bottle for good money. It was less than expected by review, and I'd not expected it to feather/woolly line.

 

The LoreKeeper....what paper are you using for Apache Sunset?

What width of nib? An EF can not be expected to do much. I have some in my Lamy Joy 1.5 and a B CI. Just havn't needed to get around to checking it out in a regular flex M as to yet.

 

Good to better papers work wonders with any and all inks. Do go to Ink Reviews and see if you can order the papers Sandy1 uses.

Edited May 16, 2018 by Bo Bo Olson

[Flaxmoore]

Good to better papers work wonders with any and all inks. Do go to Ink Reviews and see if you can order the papers Sandy1 uses.

 

That's where I get stuck. The vast majority of my writing these days is charting at work, and they use the absolute worst paper I've been subjected to that didn't have a brand name of Scott's or Charmin. It'll make nearly any ink feather except for Diamine Registrar. It also makes my Lamy EF write broader than a Pilot M. HOD feathers pretty badly, I keep it only for prescriptions.

 

I've tried matching paper, pen and ink, and the ink is always the weak link. Only the very driest inks and pens really work well, and that poses its own problems, as pairing IG with a dry Pilot is not a pleasant writing experience. My Lamy EF chokes on Pelikan Royal Blue, which is odd since it's normally pretty wet as pens go.

[Intensity]

I don’t use inks I don’t like. If I don’t love an ink from first or second fill, I pass it on. Fountain pen writing is a hobby, an artistic endeavor, and if I don’t feel satisfaction from the writing process, I feel like I’m doing it wrong. That’s why I also don’t go for the chespest most basic bland inks, but put performance, longevity, and appearance first.

[WarrenB]

Most of my 'why do you keep using it' answers boil down to 'because I'm a cheapskate'.

 

Noodler's Walnut Brown. I've seen this praised as a warm brown, and (after buying some based on that description) praised as not skewing towards red or yellow.* But as someone who's dived into coloured FP inks for all the shading and undertone pleasure, that leaves it fairly flat and dull to my eye. Grey-brown, almost.

I keep using it because I paid a whole pound for that sample! (Maybe I'll drop some red in it.)

 

Parker Quink washable blue. Or: wishy-washable blue. Really pale and anaemic. I have it in some short cartridges that came with a pen, and some long cartridges that I hope to refill. Yep, I went out and bought more of it. Sainsburys had a price cut.

The saving grace in my view is that squirting a couple of drops of Noodler's HoD into the cart, while it probably makes a mockery of the 'washable' status, also turns it into a pretty nice slate blue that you don't have to squint at. (Blue-black? I don't have enough experience with proper blue-black ink to pinpoint it.)

 

Similarly, Platinum black, coming with all those preppies and plaisirs. Seen it praised as a 'shading black', which would normally get me interested; but it's not much cop with a fine nib. Also, in my book that makes it grey, and despite my yen for shading inks, when I buy (something with) black ink I'd rather it was black.

I keep using it for now because it's not as offensive to me as that little rant might make out. Again, might try boosting the colour or the blackness.

 

* In fact, most of the brown ink reviews I've seen here praise the ink for not skewing towards red or yellow. If it's that much of a problem, where are all the brown inks that do? But I digress.

Edited May 19, 2018 by WarrenB

[Noihvo]

 

[dcwaites]

If you have the red as well, try blending a teensy, tiny bit of the red with some of the blue. I haven't tried it with this ink pair (I only have the Document Blue, which is quite a nice blue), but I have done it with other inks, and the result can be quite pleasing.

[Noihvo]

If you have the red as well, try blending a teensy, tiny bit of the red with some of the blue. I haven't tried it with this ink pair (I only have the Document Blue, which is quite a nice blue), but I have done it with other inks, and the result can be quite pleasing.

 

[ethernautrix]

Naturally, after posting here, I defied my own Monthly Challenge and changed inks in one of the pens, from black to KWZ Azure #2. Such a pretty blue!

[KLscribbler]

Oh, I just realized that I've forgotten one. In my stash of inks, there is one that I literally never use: (modern Slovenian) Sheaffer Skrip Red. Boring ol' elementary school teacher's grading pen red. Instantly transports me back to my childhood days, and not in a good way.

 

Why do I keep it around? I use it as part of the mix for a much more interesting and beautiful ink: Binder Burgundy.

[Flaxmoore]

Oh, I just realized that I've forgotten one. In my stash of inks, there is one that I literally never use: (modern Slovenian) Sheaffer Skrip Red. Boring ol' elementary school teacher's grading pen red. Instantly transports me back to my childhood days, and not in a good way.

 

Why do I keep it around? I use it as part of the mix for a much more interesting and beautiful ink: Binder Burgundy.

What is in that blend?

[aurore]

Pelikan Edelstein Smoky Quartz, got it for free. The ink is good but 1) I do not like brown inks, 2) it isn't exceptional in any way.

However since it's quite dry and my Pelikan 800 medium is a firehose... I am happily unimpressed with this ink

[sciumbasci]

Parker Quink.

Everyone despises it, but that black... Which is actually grey... And the shading...

 

Lovely!!

[goodpens]

Dusty purples. I keep coming back to them and trying them. I like the colors in real life, but as inks on the page, I do not really like them. I want to, but blah. J. Herbin poussiere de lune, Diamine grape, etc.

[Intensity]

Dusty purples. I keep coming back to them and trying them. I like the colors in real life, but as inks on the page, I do not really like them. I want to, but blah. J. Herbin poussiere de lune, Diamine grape, etc.

 

I know exactly how you feel! I decided after trying a few inks that dusty warm reddish purple of those inks was just not my color. I do really like dusty blue-purples, however.

[goodpens]

I know exactly how you feel! I decided after trying a few inks that dusty warm reddish purple of those inks was just not my color. I do really like dusty blue-purples, however.

Which dusty blue-purples do you like? I’ll track them down and try them.

[inkstainedruth]

Noodler's Walnut Brown. I've seen this praised as a warm brown, and (after buying some based on that description) praised as not skewing towards red or yellow.* But as someone who's dived into coloured FP inks for all the shading and undertone pleasure, that leaves it fairly flat and dull to my eye. Grey-brown, almost.

I keep using it because I paid a whole pound for that sample! (Maybe I'll drop some red in it.)

I didn't like Walnut at first because it was very dark and very dry (it was the first brown FP ink I tried). But when I put it in a very wet writer (older Pelikan M400 with a very juicy F nib) the ink was saved for me. Absolutely saved.

Me, I LIKE grey-leaning browns and sepia-toned browns. Don't like red-browns at ALL for some reason. Glad I only tried a sample of MB Toffee Brown (which is the go-to brown ink for a lot of people here). I would have felt really stupid if I'd paid for a full bottle of it. But I don't like the overly yellow-leaning ones (such as J Herbin Lie de Thé) either.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Intensity]

Another fan of Noodler's Walnut Brown here! It's got a really great shape to me, and I like its fresh herbal scent.

[ErrantSmudge]

What is in that blend?

 

From the horse's mouth:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/151648-a-true-burgundy-binder-burgundy-uh-huh/?p=1510970

[WarrenB]

I feel I came over a little unfair towards Walnut. It's not bad, just - as the topic suggests - 'meh' rather than 'ugh', in my tastes.

 

I didn't like Walnut at first because it was very dark and very dry

Darkness I don't mind. That's part of my unreasonably specific goal - something fairly workaday but with a little hint of something else in the light areas.

It makes the search a little difficult, without having more potential material to add to this topic. Diamine Rustic Brown and Ancient Copper look great, but perhaps a little bright for daily use. I'm looking at Waterman Absolute Brown, but I'll stick MB Toffee on the list too. Thanks.

 

But I don't like the overly yellow-leaning ones (such as J Herbin Lie de Thé) either.

It was a yellow-brown that 'spoiled' walnut on me - I got a sample of Noodler's #41 Brown with it, for comparison. The golden-brown tones at the tips of letters look pretty pleasant to me.