If you only had four different inks...

[Flourish]

Noodler's Bulletproof Black

 

Noodler's Polar Black

 

Platinum Carbon Black

 

Sailor Kiwa-Guro Black

 

But if you'd allow me just a few more choices then:

 

Noodler's Eel Black

 

Noodler's Heart of Darkness

 

Noodler's Borealis Black

 

Noodler's X-Feather

 

Noodler's Dark Matter

 

Noodler's Black Mamba (for my Sharpies)

 

And any other black that Mr. Tardiff chooses to create in the future. Looking forward to the black version of Bad Blue Heron. I wonder what he'll call it? The Black Death, most likely.

[Blade Runner]

I prefer unsaturated inks with lots of shading. My 4 are

 

MB blue black

MB Bordeaux

MB Royale blue

MB black

 

Also like a 1:1 mixture of Waterman Florida and Southseas blues.

[cowboyjack]

Private Reserve Burgundy Mist

Private Reserve DC Supershow Blue

Waterman Florida Blue

Noodlers Black

[Pippin60]

Replying strictly to your question these would be my 4 inks"

 

1. Aurora blue is my favorite vibrant blue
2. Noodlers Heart of darkness my blackest black and its bullet proof for signing and addressing envelopes.
3. Sailor red brown
4. Montblanc Racing Green.

[Viseguy]

This question pops up regularly here. "If you could only have x number of inks...." For me, the only interesting variant is the desert-island scenario: one ink, one pen. Nevertheless, once and for all, here are my top dozen (I don't think anyone has ever posited x>12), more or less in order:

 

Noodler's Black

Noodler's Aquamarine

Noodler's Blue-Black

Noodler's Manhattan Blue

Aurora Blue

Noodler's FPN Galileo Manuscript Brown

Noodler's Violet Vote

Noodler's Blue

Skrip Blue-Black

Skrip Blue

Diamine Imperial Blue

Noodler's Nikita

 

My one pen would a Pelikan M400 in tortoise with a "Mottishawed" M nib.

[UncleNick]

In no particular order:

 

Aurora Black

Lamy Blue-black (bottle)

Noodlers Brown

Private Reserve DC Supershow Blue

[Viseguy]

This question pops up regularly here. "If you could only have x number of inks...." For me, the only interesting variant is the desert-island scenario: one ink, one pen. Nevertheless, once and for all, here are my top dozen (I don't think anyone has ever posited x>12), more or less in order:

 

Noodler's Black

Noodler's Aquamarine

Noodler's Blue-Black

Noodler's Manhattan Blue

Aurora Blue

Noodler's FPN Galileo Manuscript Brown

Noodler's Violet Vote

Noodler's Blue

Skrip Blue-Black

Skrip Blue

Diamine Imperial Blue

Noodler's Nikita

 

My one pen would a Pelikan M400 in tortoise with a "Mottishawed" M nib.

I should have included Visconti Blue in there, somewhere.

[tonybelding]

I only have one true must-have, can't live without it. . .

 

Noodler's Black (bulletproof)

 

This is the staple ink, the everyday ink, the get-the-job-done ink, the ink to make rollerballs obsolete. It's dark black, highly resistant to feathering and bleeding even on marginal paper, and waterproof and tamper resistant. It also comes off fingers easily. Not sure what else you'd want in a black ink. . . Oh, how about lubrication? I've got some Noodler's Black American Eel Bulletproof ordered, but I'm not going to recommend it until after I've tried it.

 

I do have some others I've used and liked. . .

 

Parker Penman Sapphire

 

Vivid, pure blue! It's no longer available, and it has caused (other people) a lot of problems with staining and clogging pens, so it's probably just as well. However, there are some near-clones available. Noodler's Blue and Blue American Eel are very close, and I've read that Private Reserve DC Supershow Blue and its twin American Blue are also very close matches. (They're next on my list to try out.)

 

I'm a fan of waterproof inks. . . Noodler's Legal Lapis. Noodler's Eternal Brown. Noodler's Iraqi Indigo. These aren't as feathering-resistant as Black. They require higher quality paper to look good.

 

And that covers the basics. Once you've got the basics covered, I say just go for whatever tickles your fancy.

[robeck]

This one's easy:

 

Parker Black Quink

Waterman Violet

Waterman Red

Waterman Florida Blue.

 

With the above 4 inks I mix and make some exceptional colours:

 

Lavendar,

Blurple,

Burgundy,

Blackberry,

Very, very, dark red,

Damson.

 

All the mixes show excellent shading and are very well behaved. If I thought any of the base inks were going to be discontinued, I'd buy a job lot to see me out - though I've probably got enough already to last 3 lifetimes...

[Tolomeo]

Visconti Blue (in my Opera pen); Visconti Green; Diamine passion red (a nice bright true red) Noodlers Ottoman Azure. I like the colour od Noodlers Purple Wampum buy I finf it feathers badly on some papers.

 

Diamine are very reliable and have a huge chioce. Theit Mediterranean blue is also very nice.

Edited November 19, 2009 by Tolomeo

[jde]

J. Herbin Perle Noire (very black and great ink flow in all my pens)

Diamine Prussian Blue

J. Herbin Poussiere du Lune

Diamine Raw Sienna

 

The latter two inks I use for things most people don't see. The other two are used in correspondence as well as day to day. Holidays are another matter and cannot be put into the "only four inks" category!

 

'Tis such a personal choice.

[MJ Vesuvius]

Aurora Black

Private Reserve DC Supershow Blue

Waterman Violet

and ... ??? Red ???

 

My #4 slot is open as I search for the reddest red.

I used to love Penman Ruby, but, you know.

 

I am studying other folks' faves for leads...

 

MJ

 

Edited for sloppy typos

Edited November 19, 2009 by MJ Vesuvius

[offbase]

Only four,huh? Well, then:

 

- Aurora Black

- Visconti Blue

- Visconti Brown

- Noodler's Lexington Gray (for permanency)

 

If I could beg only 4 more:

 

- Private Reserve American Blue

- Noodler's Apache Sunset Orange and/or Operation Overlord Orange

- Noodler's Nikita

- Private Reserve Sherwood Green

[dmmcf]

Skrip black

Diamine Prussian blue

Waterman Havana brown

Waterman Florida Blue

 

So why do I have a drawer full of bottles?

[Bill Smith]

My Must have Inks:

 

Noodlers Midnight Blue

Noodlers Blue Black

Diamine Sapphire Blue

Diamine WES Imperial Blue

 

Subject to change of course.

[wiseshark]

My "To Die For" inks:

 

Noodler's Ottoman Azure

Noodler's Legal Lapis

Herbin eclat sapphire

Noodlers Rose - don't recall the name, but like persian rose.

 

Most favorite - but no longer availabe: Parker Penman Sapphire!

[Bill_D]

If I have to stick with four, it would be:

 

Diamine Royal Blue

Levenger Cobalt

J Herbin Eclat de Saphir

Private Reserve Black Magic Blue

[Bookman]

• 
   
  
• Aurora Black
  
• Aurora Blue
  
• Visconti Blue
  
• Waterman Florida Blue
  

[blopplop]

I could not pick just four. If the poll was for 10--maybe.

 

 

Dave