Search the Community

Hello Fellow FPNers - I'm in love with J. Herbin Emerald of Chivor, not only for its gorgeous teal color but for its shimmering qualities, its saturated color and its wetness. Can anyone recommend another ink that has all these qualities but is a blue ink, rather than teal? Must be saturated, not milky or muted.

Hello my fellow fountain pen lovers. I love rich, vivid, deeply saturated fountain pen inks, particularly those that shade. My favorite inks are Colorverse Supernova, that shades gorgeously from a rich blue to a lighter blue, and Diamine November Rain, which in my green-and-black Pelikan M600, shades (you guessed it) from green to black beautifully. For my Lamy 2000, which I just bought to be my daily-use pocket pen, I’m searching for a waterproof ink for a specific reason: so when I sign restaurant checks with it, there is no danger of the waiter losing his tip because his check slip got wet and the ink disappeared. But my dillemma is that I love saturated, vivid inks. With one exception, all the waterproof inks I’ve tried are cloudy and unsaturated and unsatisfying. I just bought a bottle of Sailor Seiboku. To me, this is a pale, cloudy ink, the opposite of the rich, saturated colors I love. And iron gall inks are generally dry writers, so that’s a nonstarter. Got to have a wet ink. The exception is Noodler’s Baltimore Canyon Blue, which is saturated and beautiful, and in my own tests is fully waterproof, but… when I write on restaurant checks with this ink, the pen simply stops writing and has to be primed. The ink seems to react to the thermal paper restaurants use and it clogs right up. Thanks in advance for your advice! GNL

Today I'm reviewing Diamine Majestic Blue A medium to dark blue ink from the standard range, Diamine Majestic Blue seems to be discussed more frequently than most other Diamine inks. Many love it's strong blue colour and red sheen, while some report problems like it stains hands and pens. I must admit I haven't written with it for ages and am guilty of letting my half full, old style 80ml bottle, sit around, unused, in a box. I took it out and examined it carefully. First I tipped it upside down and can report there was no sign of any sludge in the bottom of the bottle. Then I turned it up and removed the cap. No signs of any sludge there either. I filled my Lamy Al-star converter with it. Then left it on my table for a few days. When I went back to the pen, it started writing straight away. No hard start. It didn't skip once, nor did it blob anywhere. It was neither particularly wet nor dry, and it felt smooth and lubricated on my Xerox smooth Colour/Mono laser 100gsm paper. It's very attractive red sheen was really obvious, as was it's saturated blue colour. Don’t have any concerns about not being able to get Parker Penman Sapphire ink. Diamine Majestic Blue is just as good! I will take a photo to show the red sheen, and will report back on whether or not the converter is stained when the pen is emptied. Flow Rate: Good. Neither particularly wet nor dry in the pen & paper combinations I used.Lubrication: Good with all 3 Lamy nibs I used.Nib Dry-out: Not noticed.Start-up: Immediate.Saturation: Very saturated.Shading Potential: Some seen.Sheen: Red sheen noticeable.Show-Through:Clairefontaine Crokbook Paper.Hobonichi Techo paper.Oxford paper.Midori paper.Field Notes.Cheaper generic 80 & 90gsm printer papers & lined pads.Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Not seen even on Field Notes.Nib Creep / “Crud”: Not seen, even after over 1 week in the penStaining (pen): Not seen after several days - easy clean-upStaining (hands): Two washes with bar soap. More required with liquid soap.Clogging: Not seen. Seems unlikely.Water resistance: Not sold as waterproof, but shows a little water resistance.Availability: Available from Diamine Inks web-site and many other outlets.

Hi all, I recently bought this ink and immediately it went pretty much to the top of the list of my favourite blues. I have seen some mixed reviews about this ink not being anything special or not living up to its name. For me though, on Rhodia 90gsm paper, it's spectacular. I would like to start doing ink reviews on a regualr basis, so if there is anything you would like to see reviewed let me know! I used a Noodler's Ahab, Lamy Al-Star (m) and a TWSBI 580 (F) for the review. For me at least, this ink is well behaved and dries in an acceptable time (even for a leftie like me.) There was no bleedthrough during regular writing, although if you really pour the ink on with some enthusiastic flex, it will show through a little. I should also add that I am not a huge fan of blue ink, but this has really caught my attention due to the vibrance and shading I could see. For those who are looking for a replacement for the superhero status ink Parker Penman Sapphire, could this be the ink you are looking for? It has been talked about that Diamine Majestic Blue and DC Supershow Blue are closer matches. I don't have Supershow Blue or Sapphire to test. If any of you happen to have both, it would be great to see a side-by-side comparision of all the inks together. I hope you enjoy my review!