List Your Current Favorite Inks By Color Category

[Intensity]

I thought it'd be fun to see how everyone's preferences vary over time. For this thread, if you'd like to participate, please list your current MOST favorite ink per color category--only a single ink. If you only use blue inks, then you still have to pick your best "can't live without it right now" ink. This list might change next week when you discover another ink or decide that you no longer want to write with a particular set of inks for a while. Please share your reasoning as well, if you care to.

 

Categories:

 

The basics:

Black Ink:

Red Ink:

Blue Ink

Blue-Black Ink

 

The fancy colors:

Gray Ink

Teal Ink:

Turquoise Ink:

Green Ink:

Olive Ink

Brown Ink:

Caramel/Light Brown ink:

Taupe Ink:

Orange Ink:

Yellow Ink:

Purple/Magenta Ink:

Pink Ink:

Maroon/Burgundy Ink:

Other/Difficult to categorize:

 

There are inks like Sailor Ink Studio 123 that are difficult to pin down for the accurate color name range, so that can go into "Other".

 

Cheers!

Edited August 13, 2019 by Intensity

[Intensity]

My current favorites:

 

The basics:

Black Ink: Iroshizuku Take-Sumi - great to write with, great to look at

Red Ink: none. Just not into red inks for actual usage.

Blue Ink: KWZ Walk Over Vistula. Smooth, saturated, some color shift and sheen, lovely color

Blue-Black Ink: Sailor Jentle Blue-Black - excellent performance on all accounts

 

The fancy colors:

Gray Ink: Iroshizuku Fuyu-Syogun - from a wet writer

Teal Ink: KWZ IG Turquoise - neck-to-neck with Sailor Ink Studio 941.

Turquoise Ink: Sailor Ink Studio 241

Green Ink: Sailor Tokiwa-Matsu. It's technically the only green ink I own or care to own, and even then I have periodic falling outs with it

Olive Ink: none, still looking. Technically a mix of Iroshizuku inks. I love olive inks, but just haven't found The Right One.

Brown Ink: as always, J. Herbin Lie de The. My standby favorite and hard to beat in color complexity and performance.

Caramel/Light Brown ink: KWZ Honey

Taupe Ink: none

Orange Ink: none

Yellow Ink: none. Used to be Platinum Citrus Black, but I haven't found the right pen for it yet to get the look I like.

Purple/Magenta Ink: Iroshizuku Yama-Budo

Pink Ink: Sailor Ink Studio 237. Love at first sight, just perfect

Maroon/Burgundy Ink: Diamine Syrah - another long-term favorite

Other/Difficult to categorize: Troublemakers Kelp Tea, KWZ Brown Pink, Sailor Ink Studio 573 (kind of light brown, kind of reddish-orange...)

 

edit: added a couple more categories and comments.

Edited August 14, 2019 by Intensity

[Tas]

Black Ink: Kyonooto Nurebairo - so black, so complex
Red Ink: Diamine Monaco Red - no idea why.
Blue Ink: Diamine Misty Blue - so friendly
Blue-Black Ink: Sailor Sou Boku - oh man, what an ink!

The fancy colors:
Gray Ink: Noodler’s Lexington Grey - perfectly neutral perfectly permanent
Teal Ink: Don’t like them, don’t own one.
Turquoise Ink: Don’t like them either but own Noodler’s Navajo
Green Ink: Don’t like “normal” greens
Olive Ink: Diamine Salamander - so murky
Brown Ink: Sailor Cigar - A complex & paper dependant jewel
Orange Ink: Diamine Ancient Copper - so pretty yet so readable
Yellow Ink: Eeew.
Purple Ink: Also Eeew
Pink Ink: Just no.
Other/Difficult to categorize: KWZ Hunter Green - not black not brown not green just stunning. Also, Troublemaker Abalone - bonkers two colours at the same time and so soft to look at.

[MHBru]

The basics:

Black Ink: Iroshizuku take sumi

Red Ink: Iroshizuku Fuyu gaki

Blue Ink; Iroshizuku kon peki

Blue-Black Ink; Herbin Bleu nuit

The fancy colors:

Gray Ink; Papier Plume oyster grey

Teal Ink: Iroshizuku ku jaku

Turquoise Ink:

Green Ink: GvFC Viper Green

Olive Ink

Brown Ink: GvFC Hazlenut

Caramel/Light Brown ink:

Taupe Ink:

Orange Ink:

Yellow Ink:

Purple/Magenta Ink:

Pink Ink:

Maroon/Burgundy Ink:

Other/Difficult to categorize:

[inkstainedruth]

I can't fill this out. I have too many "favorites" in too many categories....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[silverlifter]

The basics:

Black Ink: Aurora Black

Red Ink: Robert Oster Fire Engine Red

Blue Ink; Iroshizuku Asa-Gao

Blue-Black Ink; KWZ IG Blue #3

The fancy colors:

Gray Ink; Diamine Graphite

Teal Ink: N/A

Turquoise Ink: N/A

Green Ink: N/A

Olive Ink: N/A

Brown Ink: Akkerman Bekakt Haag

Caramel/Light Brown ink: N/A

Taupe Ink: N/A

Orange Ink: N/A

Yellow Ink: N/A

Purple/Magenta Ink: Diamine Imperial Purple

Pink Ink: N/A

Maroon/Burgundy Ink: N/A

Other/Difficult to categorize:

[Intensity]

I can't fill this out. I have too many "favorites" in too many categories....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

Hence this is a challenge I know I was mentally apologizing to some inks for not including them into my list, like my new-to-me vintage Waterman Permanent Blue-Black ink or Iroshizuku Kiri-Same...

[Lloyd]

As of right now...

 

 

The basics:

Black Ink: Noodlers Bulletproof Black...except in my Platinum UEF. In that, I love Sailor Kiwa-Guro

Red Ink: Diamine Red Dragon

Blue Ink: Noodlers North Star Liberator Blue

Blue-Black Ink: Noodlers BlueBlack

 

The fancy colors:

Gray Ink: Private Reserve Gray Flannel

Teal Ink: Noodlers Legal Lapis

Turquoise Ink: Irosh Kon Peki (to my eye...)

Green Ink: Mont Blanc Racing Green

Olive Ink: -

Brown Ink: Private Reserve Chocolate

Caramel/Light Brown ink:

Taupe Ink: -

Orange Ink: Noodlers Habanero

Yellow Ink: -

Purple/Magenta Ink: Mont Blanc Psychedelic Purple or Diamine Violet or MB Violet

Pink Ink: Herbin Rose Cyclamen

Maroon/Burgundy Ink: - Noodlers RedBlack

Other/Difficult to categorize:

[chromantic]

I'll bite -

 

The basics:

Black Ink: Take-sumi

Red Ink: don't really use red

Blue Ink: Monteverde Sapphire

Blue-Black Ink: aargh! Kana-cho

The fancy colors:

Gray Ink: Stipula Fading Grey

Teal Ink: Lamy Petrol

Turquoise Ink: Stipula Light Blue

Green Ink: Diamine Dark Forest

Olive Ink:

Brown Ink: Yama-guri

Caramel/Light Brown ink:

Taupe Ink: Cacao du Bresil

Orange Ink: Lamy Coral

Yellow Ink: Diamine Yellow

Purple/Magenta Ink: L'amant

Pink Ink: PINKLY!!!

Maroon/Burgundy Ink: KWZ Maroon

Other/Difficult to categorize: Stipula Musk Green

[DrDebG]

I think we have done this before . . . a couple of years ago. I think it was one of the desert island questions.

 

As of this day in history:

 

The basics:

Black Ink: haven't found one I like yet

Red Ink: Stipula Calamo Dark Red

Blue Ink: Pilot Ironshizuku Tsuyu-kusa

Blue-Black Ink: GVFC Cobalt Blue (not really blue-black but close)

The fancy colors:

Gray Ink: Stipula Calamo Fading Gray

Teal Ink: Pilot Ironshizuku Ku-jaku

Turquoise Ink: Montblanc Unicef Blue

Green Ink: DeAtramentis Emerald Green

Olive Ink: Pilot Iroshizuku Chiku-rin (not really olive)

Brown Ink: GvFC Hazelnut Brown

Caramel/Light Brown ink: Montblanc Swan Illusion Plume

Taupe Ink: Montblanc Swan Illusion Plume

Orange Ink: Pilot Iroshizuku Yu-yake

Yellow Ink: Montblanc Golden Yellow

Purple/Magenta Ink: DeAtramentis Pearl Violet

Pink Ink: Rohrer & Klingner Solferino

Maroon/Burgundy Ink: Pilot Iroshizuku Yama-budo

Other/Difficult to categorize: Blurple: Sailor Nioi-sumire

[ENewton]

I have no black, red, blue, or blue-black fountain-pen inks.

 

Gray ink: Robert Oster Purple Rock

Taupe ink: Rohrer & Klingner Sepia

Purple ink: Sailor Kobe Suma Purple

Maroon/Burgundy ink: J Herbin Poussiere de Lune

Other/difficult to categorize: Kyo-Iro Soft Snow of Ohara

[LobsterRoll]

The basics:

Black Ink: Nemosine Moon Crater Black - I'm not very into black ink, but I've been using this lately.

Red Ink:

Blue Ink: Diamine Asa Blue

Blue-Black Ink:

 

The fancy colors:

Gray Ink:

Teal Ink: Diamine Eau de Nil - Somehow just right in the middle of not too blue, not too green for me. And a little murky.

Turquoise Ink: Robert Oster Fire and Ice

Green Ink:

Olive Ink:

Brown Ink:

Caramel/Light Brown ink:

Taupe Ink: J. Herbin Cacao du Bresil

Orange Ink:

Yellow Ink:

Purple/Magenta Ink: J. Herbin Poussiere de Lune

Pink Ink: I'm looking for a pink ink

Maroon/Burgundy Ink: Diamine Syrah

Other/Difficult to categorize:

[Intensity]

I think we have done this before . . . a couple of years ago. I think it was one of the desert island questions.

 

Oh this is definitely not like that. This is more like "what's your favorite flavor of the moment" sort of survey. Not "If you could only use one red color for the foreseeable future, what would it be?"

[AndyYNWA]

The basics:

Black Ink: Iroshizuku Take-sumi

Red Ink: Sailor Oku-yama

Blue Ink: Sailor Sky-high

Blue-Black Ink: Bungbox 4B

The fancy colors:

Gray Ink: ---

Teal Ink: Sailor Yama-dori or KWZ Turqoise IG

Turquoise Ink: Montblanc Egyptian Blue

Green Ink: Sailor Tokiwa-matsu

Olive Ink: ---

Brown Ink: Sailor Rikyu-cha or

Caramel/Light Brown ink: ---

Taupe Ink: What is taupe???

Orange Ink: ---

Yellow Ink: ---

Purple/Magenta Ink: Lamy Dark Lilac

Pink Ink: ---

Maroon/Burgundy Ink: Pelikan Amethyst

Other/Difficult to categorize: I'm adding a dark blue here... Sailor Nagasawa Kobe #51 Kano-cho

[Arkanabar]

One of the reasons for the Six Essential Inks is so I don't have to bother myself with this sort of question. Another is to prevent a proliferation of inks.

• Black: If I ever run out of black ink, I'll look into samples of Perle Noire, Heart of Darkness, and 4001 Brilliant Black. My current mindset is to go for the basic Pelikan black. Right now, I'm using 1:1 dilute Bad Black Mocassin almost exlusively in an attempt to get rid of the infamous stuff. I suppose I fill once a week or so.
• Red: I have a bottle of Noodler's Rattler Red Eel, and another of their Widow Maker. For markup, I prefer the Rattler Red. If I ever feel the need for an ink to use up, I can turn the Widow Maker into a red-black.
• Blue: Noodler's Blue. If it's more convenient if/when I run out of blue ink, I may get Blue Eel next time. See, I also have a bottle nicknamed "I Can't Believe It's Waterman Florida Blue!" and a packet of SuSeMai Blue Diamond powdered ink to use up and/or PIF first. And I have to admit that Noodler's VMail Midway Blue makes me happy.
• Blue-Black: On those very rare occasions when I want a blue-black ink, I use my dump bottle, which contains the first rinse of every finished pen, unless filled with BBM.
• Grey: A betrayal of black. I have and desire none.
• Teal: Iroshizuku Ku-Jaku, a Christmas gift from my beloved, used solely in a Pelikan M205 Aqua demo which was a subsequent Christmas gift, and the sole pen and ink used in my billets-doux to her.
• Turquoise: I have a bottle of Sheaffer Turquoise that I very rarely use for markup. It is well-suited to the purpose.
• Green: Diamine Sherwood.
• Olive: No thank you.
• Brown: Diamine Chocolate. Noodler's Brown is an acceptable brown as well.
• Taupe: I wasn't sure I understood this color, and thought it a pale tan. No, it is the average color of the French mole, something of a very dark brown-grey. Cacao du Bresil and Iro Yama-Guri count as taupes, IMO. This color makes me think of dead sticks and frozen mud, two associations that are unpleasant enough to fully sour me on its use in writing.
• Purple: Noodler's Purple (or Purple People Eater, if you prefer). This ink may require some dilution; further testing is needed. But I like the color and fade resistance.
• Maroon/Burgundy: Noodler's Red-Black. My bottle used to smear, as apparently also happens with Noodler's Black, so I diluted it, and now it's a maroon/burgundy color. It's well-behaved, legible, has a bulletproof component, and I will never buy a bottle, as it's a color I don't actually enjoy using.
• Light Brown, Orange, Yellow, Pink: Low-contrtast colors are to be avoided.
• Difficult to categorize: one of the requirements for the Six Essential Inks is that they clearly be members of the designated color family. Any such ink is right out.

Edited August 14, 2019 by Arkanabar

[senzen]

This made me think, by this categorization I use 26 fancy inks and three basic... While the proportion is the reverse if I had to rank basic pens and fancier ones... I do have a few favorites, but the others are not far behind. I would be choosing a favorite when I only use one black ink, but also among 9 blues. I really like both my gray inks.

 

 

On another day one of the other 2 oranges could easily win. I would consider a brown ink to be basic.

[Intensity]

I like the inclusion of a photograph of the inks! Is that Taccia Tsuchi for the caramel brown color? Looks beautiful. I like the look of Mandarin and Kyo-No-Oto Hisoku.

 

In regards to Basic vs. Fancy, that's more of a "typical" use for majority of people. Most use inks or ballpoint / gel pens in blue, black, blue-black, and then red (or green) for accents, if at all.

[VivaTerlingua]

Most of this is just off the top of my head and I reserve the right to change them at a moments notice, haha.

 

The basics:

Black Ink: pffft.... I don’t even know. I’ll just say Nagasawa Kobe #51 Kano-cho Midnight since it is plenty dark

Red Ink: Akkerman van Vermeer Steenrood

Blue Ink: Colorverse Supernova

Blue-Black Ink: Sailor Nano Souboku

 

The fancy colors:

Gray Ink: Pilot Iroshizuku Fuyu-syogun

Teal Ink: Colorverse Monsoon Storm

Turquoise Ink: KWZI IG Turquoise

Green Ink: Nagasawa Kobe #19 Minatogawa Lime

Olive Ink: Sailor Rikyu-cha

Brown Ink: KWZI Brown #4

Caramel/Light Brown ink: KWZI Honey

Taupe Ink: Rohrer and Klingner Sepia

Orange Ink: Noodler’s Golden Aspen

Yellow Ink: Kyo-no-too Yamabukiiro

Purple/Magenta Ink: J. Herbin Poussiere de Lune

Pink Ink: Nagasawa Kobe #30 Ooji Cherry

Maroon/Burgundy Ink: Colorverse Dark Energy

Other/Difficult to categorize: Nagasawa Kobe Ginza Gold Sepia

[City74]

I don’t use most of those colors. I really only use black, blue, purple, green and red. Honestly I could just pick MB for all of them

[LeakyInk]

This is a fun post. It really has introduced me to some ink brands I have not heard of. Graphophile posted about Troublemaker Abalone, never heard of Troublemaker did a quick search and bam I am really liking the look of the colours on their site. Too bad there is no ordering at the moment, I hope they sell samples. Back to searching for more of the companies posted here and their inks.