Best Ink for a Lamy Al-Star

[zippered]

Last week I bought my first ever FP, a Lamy Al-Star, and I absolutely adore it. I started out by using the included blue cartridge, but it's now running out. I'd like to make the leap over to inks with the converter.

 

So my question is: What is the best ink for a new Lamy Al-Star (fine point) owner to use? I'm a grad student and taking tons of notes, so something that doesn't take too long to dry would be ideal. Until now, I've always used black pens, but I've come to love the way my notes look when written with a FP using blue ink. Now I find myself looking for a blue ink, unless there is a black one that it far superior to any blue.

[Thornton]

I've found that Lamy Al-Stars aren't too picky with what kind of ink you put in them. If you're looking for something that will dry fast you'll probably want to use a drier ink like Lamy, Montblanc, J. Herbin, Pelikan, or Diamine. Waterman inks also tend to dry quickly. More saturated inks like Private Reserve and Noodler's generally take long to dry. However, some of the Noodler's bulletproof inks dry quickly like Black and Legal Lapis. As far as blue ink goes there are endless possibilities. Many people like Waterman Blue-Black and Waterman Florida Blue. You could also get some J. Herbin Blue Nuit. These aren't washed out blues like Lamy and Montblanc which I don't consider to be the best blues. Look around in the ink review and scan sections and see if you come across something you like. Best of luck with all your FP endeavors.

[gigipurple]

I agree with Thornton, Lamy's are great with any ink. Some of the smoothest and all around best blue inks I've found are Sailor Blue and Omas Blue. These two are outstanding in every aspect. Sailor blue is a more subdued blue that has a bit of gray in it, but just a hint, it is definitely blue. Omas blue is more vivid, probably the bluest blue I have. Both are favorites of mine, together with SAilor Blue-Black, a great ink also.

 

Diamine blues are great too, such as Presidential Blue, Saphire Blue (has hints of purple), Prussian Blue, and Indigo blue. Diamine inks are fantastic in every aspect, but they don't feel as silky as Sailor or Omas.

 

J. Herbin has some great blues. I personally love Bleu Myosotis, a medium blue. There are many wonderful inks to choose from. You can do some research in the ink review forum, and even see scanned samples. However, keep in mind that reviews are very subjective and you may hate what somebody else loves, and also that the scanned image that shows up in your computer distorts the color, so the actual ink may be totally different. You can also visit Peartreepens.com and look at their sampler program, where you can buy samples of four inks. Gigi

[Goodwhiskers]

All of the following are well-behaved on almost any quality of paper:

 

"Washable" and sulfur-eradicable by the Pelikan Super-Pirat or Super-Sherriff:

new Sheaffer Skrip Blue

Aurora Blue (the most saturated of this group and therefore the slowest to fade)

Parker Quink Blue (fades a lot in very sulfurous paper)

Pelikan Blue (also sold as A T Cross Blue)

Montblanc Blue

 

Water-resistant and sulfur-resistant but not "bulletproof:"

Namiki/Pilot Blue

Sailor Blue (water-resistant after drying for 24 hours)

Platinum Blue-Black (which is much more blue than gray)

 

Iron gall: good on bad paper, but never let the ink dry up in the feed and do flush the pen every few weeks:

Lamy Blue-Black, bottled not in cartridges

Montblanc Blue-Black, bottled

Diamine Registrar's

Rohrer & Klingner Salix (blue-black)

R&K Scabiosa (purple-black)

[ChicagoSkier]

I'm currently using my Silver-Blue Lamy AL-Star fine nib with J. Herbin Poussiere de Lune and Lamy Vista fine nib with Private Reserve Black Cherry. Both Lamy work really well with the inks.

[GeeTee]

Waterman Florida Blue is always a good choice and i'm in love with the new Diamine Majestic Blue.

[Mrsal]

hi all,

 

i happen to like the parker quink, but have never used it in a lamy. ive only used it in my philias, and i have to say, it makes it write buttery smooth on all of the papers that i have tested it on.

[Bearcat]

All of the following are well-behaved on almost any quality of paper:

 

"Washable" and sulfur-eradicable by the Pelikan Super-Pirat or Super-Sherriff:

new Sheaffer Skrip Blue

Aurora Blue (the most saturated of this group and therefore the slowest to fade)

Parker Quink Blue (fades a lot in very sulfurous paper)

Pelikan Blue (also sold as A T Cross Blue)

Montblanc Blue

 

Water-resistant and sulfur-resistant but not "bulletproof:"

Namiki/Pilot Blue

Sailor Blue (water-resistant after drying for 24 hours)

Platinum Blue-Black (which is much more blue than gray)

 

Iron gall: good on bad paper, but never let the ink dry up in the feed and do flush the pen every few weeks:

Lamy Blue-Black, bottled not in cartridges

Montblanc Blue-Black, bottled

Diamine Registrar's

Rohrer & Klingner Salix (blue-black)

R&K Scabiosa (purple-black)

 

Great list here. Start with Pelikan or Cross Blue.

 

Then get some of the Lamy bottled inks.

 

Then try anything on the above list.

 

Contact Pear Tree Pen and get some of their ink samples rather than buying a lot of full bottles, until you know what you really like.

 

 

--Doc

 

[ProfMike]

All of the following are well-behaved on almost any quality of paper:

 

"Washable" and sulfur-eradicable by the Pelikan Super-Pirat or Super-Sherriff:

new Sheaffer Skrip Blue

Aurora Blue (the most saturated of this group and therefore the slowest to fade)

Parker Quink Blue (fades a lot in very sulfurous paper)

Pelikan Blue (also sold as A T Cross Blue)

Montblanc Blue

 

Water-resistant and sulfur-resistant but not "bulletproof:"

Namiki/Pilot Blue

Sailor Blue (water-resistant after drying for 24 hours)

Platinum Blue-Black (which is much more blue than gray)

 

Iron gall: good on bad paper, but never let the ink dry up in the feed and do flush the pen every few weeks:

Lamy Blue-Black, bottled not in cartridges

Montblanc Blue-Black, bottled

Diamine Registrar's

Rohrer & Klingner Salix (blue-black)

R&K Scabiosa (purple-black)

 

Great list here. Start with Pelikan or Cross Blue.

 

Then get some of the Lamy bottled inks.

 

Then try anything on the above list.

 

Contact Pear Tree Pen and get some of their ink samples rather than buying a lot of full bottles, until you know what you really like.

 

 

--Doc

 

Great list, Steve, and very good advice, Doc. My Safaris and Al-Stars have behaved beautifully with almost everything I've thrown at them. The only exception was my Raspberry Al-Star with Noodlers' Highlands Heather. To be honest, though, I think I accidentally got a bad/old-formulation bottle because the exact same pen performs perfectly with new-formulation Mata-Hari's Cordial. Gorgeous color, by the way.

 

Anyway, my "perfect" Al-Star/ink combination right now is my Green Al-Star filled with vintage Waterman Tropic Green I'm thinking Omas Green or PR DC Supershow Green might be pretty good color replacements when I run out of the bottle I got from John at vintageinks.com (no affiliation, etc.) If you like blues, though, it's hard to go wrong when following the advice already posted here. The most "Wow!" blue I've got is PR DC Supershow Blue; another close second is Noodlers' American Eel blue, although it can render your nib just a smidge more generous.

 

Either way, enjoy your pen and have fun trying to find the ink that you like best!

 

Cheers,

Mike

[Tricia]

My Safaris tend to be fairly dry writers, so perhaps PR's Tanzanite would work well.

[pcolbeck]

Lamy blue bottled ink is good. Works well on most papers. Nice bottle and cheap as chips. Not as bright as some other inks though but good for taking notes, I think it was developed as a student ink. All the Diamine blues I have tried work well in Lamy Safaris / Al -Stars (same feed and nib). Sheaffer skrip blue works well too and is cheap and easy to get hold of.

[Elaine]

Lamy Al-Stars are the pens I use when I have inks that I worry about putting in other pens.

[TwilightFury]

First off, congrats on your first FP baby! You chose a great pen to start with.

 

You didn't indicate if you would rather have cartridges for now or if you were ok with bottle inks (do you have a converter yet?)

 

If not , please do get one. Trust me, its worth it.

 

And then you'll really be able to stretch your color wings.

[hexadecimal]

Slightly left field, but the ink that I've happily used for Uni notes in my Lamy is Noodler's Navajo Turquoise.

 

To my eyes it is a lovely blue with just a hint of green. Quite striking!

 

And yes, congratulations on the first pen. You've chosen a good one.

[derkleineHerrFriedemann]

Lamy blue bottled ink is good. Works well on most papers. Nice bottle and cheap as chips. Not as bright as some other inks though but good for taking notes, I think it was developed as a student ink. All the Diamine blues I have tried work well in Lamy Safaris / Al -Stars (same feed and nib). Sheaffer skrip blue works well too and is cheap and easy to get hold of.

 

Is the Lamy bottled blue ink the same as the Royal Blue cartridges?

[xena]

I have had fun with Ottoman Rose by Noodlers, Perle Noir by J. Herbin and American Blue by Private reserve in mine.

[pcolbeck]

Lamy blue bottled ink is good. Works well on most papers. Nice bottle and cheap as chips. Not as bright as some other inks though but good for taking notes, I think it was developed as a student ink. All the Diamine blues I have tried work well in Lamy Safaris / Al -Stars (same feed and nib). Sheaffer skrip blue works well too and is cheap and easy to get hold of.

 

Is the Lamy bottled blue ink the same as the Royal Blue cartridges?

 

I think so. Looks the same to me and I have both. I carry Lamy cartridges as emergency backups in case the ink in my converter runs out.

 

[piembi]

Lamy Al-Stars are the pens I use when I have inks that I worry about putting in other pens.

 

That's exactly what I have my Lamy Vistas for.

[afagjoi]

Hi!

 

I will suggest to you blue, blue-black & black inks. I have a good experience in blue ink with J. Herbin Eclat de Saphir (check Apica's review link), I'm testing Pilot Ajisai at this moment nice flow, drawing without skip lines and looks great, other blue ink that looks great is Omas and Visconti's.

In black ink, trust me, Aurora's is enough, Blue-black is difficult because depending of kind of paper but I can recommend to you Waterman's blue-black, Pilot Asagao, PR Electric DC Blue, J. Herbin Bleu nuit & Diamine WES Imperial.

 

-THIS IS A FULL LIST, ALL INKS WAS TASTED BY ME IN A LAMY SAFARI XF NIB-

 

BLACK

-Aurora (very dark black)

-Visconti

-Cartier (TAKE LONG TIME TO DRY)

-PR Velvet black

 

BLUE-BLACK (some inks are blue but with F or XF nibs looks as blue-black)

-Pilot Iroshizuku Asa-gao

-Sailor blue-black

-PR Midnight Blues

-Waterman Blue-black

-PR DC Supershow Blue

-Diamine WES Imperial

-Diamine Sapphire blue

-J. Herbin Bleu nuit

 

Blue

-Iroshizuku Ajisai

-J. Herbin Eclat de Saphir

-Waterman florida blue

-PR Lake Placid Blue

-Omas (very nice flow and blue).

-Visconti

-Diamine Majestic Blue

-Diamine Presidential blue

 

The best is TRY-YOURSELF. Let us know which is or are your finally choices.

 

P.D. Be careful, get away of Noodler's Baystate blue.

Edited March 25, 2009 by afagjoi

[afagjoi]

Well, rose ink for college, I prefer Diamine Monaco Red, J. Herbin Perle Noir is a good dark black ink, no troubles with this ink but I have not tested in a Lamy with "F" nib, Aurora's black ink bottle is enough. I have an PR American Blue I don't know why is more darkness as appear in reviews and PR color set, but still be a very nice color, but if you want a pure blue check J. Herbin Eclat de Saphir or Pilot Ajisai.

 

 

I have had fun with Ottoman Rose by Noodlers, Perle Noir by J. Herbin and American Blue by Private reserve in mine.