Best Brown?

[njoyingaz]

I find that Havana Brown is too reddish for my liking. Pelikan Brown was a good brown color but too light. So I choose to add some Pelikan Black to the Pelikan Brown and get just the darkness I like.

[KCat]

CdA's Grand Canyon, of course.

 

Mike

 

I keep looking at this. I don't like browns. I love the color but every brown ink I've ever tried has been finicky and if they weren't finicky (tending to gum up and flow dry) they were too pale.

 

I have CdA's Storm (or rather, a small amount of it) and love it. It seems to be a lovely color but not overly saturated. So I'm wondering about Grand Canyon's behavior. I've read the reviews but none of them really tell me what I need to know. I'm not sure they could. I want an ink that will work well in a rather fine nib, not be too light, not be so saturated as to be balky, and behave well on Rhodia Dot pads (which I'm finding don't like my dry writers much).

 

This *looks* like a dark brown that isn't saturated. Is that a fair assessment?

[Sandy1]

CdA's Grand Canyon, of course.

 

Mike

 

I keep looking at this. ...

 

... So I'm wondering about Grand Canyon's behavior. ... I want an ink that will work well in a rather fine nib, not be too light, not be so saturated as to be balky, and behave well on Rhodia Dot pads (which I'm finding don't like my dry writers much).

 

This *looks* like a dark brown that isn't saturated. Is that a fair assessment?

Hi,

 

Please take a look at the Written Samples in my Ink Review of Cd'AGC. My link

Figure 5 includes the dry Pilot 78G + F and the Pelikan P99 Technixx + F on Rhodia.

 

I think I'd need to know how your pen/s with the rather fine nib are set: dry - wet.

 

I found that Cd'AGC is not a highly saturated ink, and is more prone to shading than generating a uniformly dense line. But if your narrow nibs are wet, then its unlikely that one will notice the shading. (?)

 

If you see the need, please do not hesitate to ask for HiRes scans from the material in my IR. New material may be generated as time permits. (I have a Pelikan M-series EF nib that is a tad wet, and is used in my 4 most recent IRs.)

 

The only other Brown I have is the Pilot yama-guri, which does exactly what you wish.

 

Bye,

S1

[xena]

Wow, so many responses! I use varying pens for my notes, but right now my most frequent one is my Pelikan M400 with a fine nib. Very comfortable for course notes (trust me, it never leaves my briefcase or my hand). Havana brown seems to be a winner, but has anyone tried stipula?

CdA's Grand Canyon, of course.

 

Mike

 

I keep looking at this. ...

 

... So I'm wondering about Grand Canyon's behavior. ... I want an ink that will work well in a rather fine nib, not be too light, not be so saturated as to be balky, and behave well on Rhodia Dot pads (which I'm finding don't like my dry writers much).

 

This *looks* like a dark brown that isn't saturated. Is that a fair assessment?

Hi,

 

Please take a look at the Written Samples in my Ink Review of Cd'AGC. My link

Figure 5 includes the dry Pilot 78G + F and the Pelikan P99 Technixx + F on Rhodia.

 

I think I'd need to know how your pen/s with the rather fine nib are set: dry - wet.

 

I found that Cd'AGC is not a highly saturated ink, and is more prone to shading than generating a uniformly dense line. But if your narrow nibs are wet, then its unlikely that one will notice the shading. (?)

 

If you see the need, please do not hesitate to ask for HiRes scans from the material in my IR. New material may be generated as time permits. (I have a Pelikan M-series EF nib that is a tad wet, and is used in my 4 most recent IRs.)

 

The only other Brown I have is the Pilot yama-guri, which does exactly what you wish.

 

Bye,

S1

[KCat]

Hi,

 

Please take a look at the Written Samples in my Ink Review of Cd'AGC. My link

 

It was your review that made me think this was a good choice. My only issue being it's a lot of $ for a small amount of ink.

 

Sounds promising, though.

 

I like shading - just not so dry that it feels rough or like the pen is struggling to get ink on the page. This pen is a dry writer but I've not had it behave just terribly so I think this is ink/paper/pen combination that just isn't working. It's fine on the Webnotebook, fine on Black n' Red, but doesn't like the Dot Pad at all.

[rperson17]

I've been really pleased with my Noodler's Walnut. It's a nice, dark brown - dark enough to be suitable for business purposes (I'm an academic, so "business" is admittedly loosely defined). Walnut doesn't have the same reddish tones that many browns do, which is what attracted me to it. It's also quite waterproof - the brown washes away, but plenty of black remains behind.

 

Accurately or not, it feels to me like a "vintage" color (I don't know, maybe because it reminds me of sepia photographs?), especially when I use it on ivory paper. So, I like to keep it loaded in one of my vintage pens!

[Sandy1]

Hi,

 

Please take a look at the Written Samples in my Ink Review of Cd'AGC. My link

 

It was your review that made me think this was a good choice. My only issue being it's a lot of $ for a small amount of ink.

 

Sounds promising, though.

 

I like shading - just not so dry that it feels rough or like the pen is struggling to get ink on the page. This pen is a dry writer but I've not had it behave just terribly so I think this is ink/paper/pen combination that just isn't working. It's fine on the Webnotebook, fine on Black n' Red, but doesn't like the Dot Pad at all.

 

Hi,

 

Ah, the cost of ink. My approach is very simple: I write to others with my nice inks, so I look upon ink as a gift. The cost of paper, envelope & postage are likely greater than the cost of ink. And you are using a narrow dry writer, so the volume of ink used is about as low as one can rightly expect. But if you're using the Dot pads, then I reckon the ink is more likely being used in a design / graphics application rather than correspondence, so the 'gift' aspect may not hold water.

 

If you are having such trouble with the Dot pads, you may wish to post a Topic (or check 1st) on the Paper etc. Forum. Somehow I was under the impression that Rhodia uses only one type of paper stock for their entire product range. (?)

 

As for the Written Samples, the 78G+F is about as dry a writer as I can tolerate.

 

Once again, I extend my offer to generate Hi-Res scans from the material in the IR, or to generate new samples as time permits - but I'd need to know what it is you're working on to emulate the type of line you have in mind. e.g. Printed, cursive, cross-hatch, long-line, etc.

 

Bye,

S1

[zenshrink]

MB Toffee Brown.

[mdoering]

+1 for Noodler's Walnut! It is my preferred ink when writing in a Moleskin... As rperson17 said, it's got a very vintage look to it and it was the lack of red (compared with every brown ink that was in stock at Paradise Pens in Las Vegas) that made me chose it over any other.

[MeiLin]

I am very fond of Diamine Rustic Brown, which I just filled my brown Penco with it. I also like Private Reserve Chocolat.

[holzmeister]

+1 on Yama Guri. My copout ink when I just need to get a pen inked up fast and reliably.

Though how brown does it need to be? PR Copperburst is nice, and I've just found MB Sepia as pretty decent.

Edited September 14, 2010 by holzmeister

[KCat]

Ah, the cost of ink. My approach is very simple: I write to others with my nice inks, so I look upon ink as a gift. The cost of paper, envelope & postage are likely greater than the cost of ink. And you are using a narrow dry writer, so the volume of ink used is about as low as one can rightly expect. But if you're using the Dot pads, then I reckon the ink is more likely being used in a design / graphics application rather than correspondence, so the 'gift' aspect may not hold water.

 

 

Not the way I write letters. Long, blathering, multiple A4 pages both sides, small handwriting. Often when tired therefore hard to read.

 

If you are having such trouble with the Dot pads, you may wish to post a Topic (or check 1st) on the Paper etc. Forum. Somehow I was under the impression that Rhodia uses only one type of paper stock for their entire product range. (?)

 

i'ts possible it's the ink only. And it's possible it's my fault. It was an old sample in a vial that I had mixed at some point (1:1 Diamine Raw/Burnt Sienna). So maybe something about that mix just isn't working well. Rhodia's paper in the Webnotebook is definitely not the same as the Dot Pad. But I haven't tried the pen/ink on a regular Rhodia lined or graph pad. I'll do that. Webbies have 90gsm, Pads, 80gsm. I don't know how they differ in processing though - other than the pad papers are printed on with dots and lines (I typed dogs - I'm a sick woman) and such while the Webbie I have is unlined.

 

don't worry about the hi-res scans. I think the only way for me to really decide on this is to get a sample of the ink. Which I'll do in the not-too-distant future.

[JLT]

I rather like Levenger's Cocoa.

[KCat]

I rather like Levenger's Cocoa.

 

I really liked Cocoa for a long time in terms of color. But I had trouble with it bleeding on a number of papers - especially on Levenger 3x5 cards which was amusing. But, I should add that I have not used this ink in at least 5 years. Probably the bottle I last had was purchased in 2000. So given that Levenger has played with their inks, it may be better behaved now. It did flow well - just a little too well. But it's a beautiful rich color.

[Bo Bo Olson]

MB Toffee Brown.

 

 

+1,

MB Toffee is a very good shading ink. It shades on all my paper.

 

With regular nibs.

Fine was light with dark trails.

Medium was 50-50

Broad was dark with light trails.

 

 

Semi-flex is a shade darker per width.

 

Pelikan Brown is a nice reddish brown ink, but shades for me only on 90 g/sm or better paper.

[Lazarus Long]

I currently have 2 browns: Noodler's #41 and Noodler's regular Brown. I also have a few brown samples from peartree pens: PR Chocolate, PR Copper Burst, Diamine Burnt Sienna, and Noodler's Walnut.

 

Noodlers #41: Very well behaved, flows really well, I haven't noticed any slow starting/clogging issues even after the pen has sat around idle a few days. Quickly flushes out of my pen (Safari F nib) The color is good but not great, not really a deep rich brown, but more of a dirty gray.

 

Noodlers regular Brown: A richer brown than #41, no or very little red. Flow is not quite as good as #41, but I like the color better. Very water resistant, or near bullet proof.

 

Noodlers Walnut: Very close color to regular brown, maybe a little more red. Flow is similar to regular brown also (maybe not quite as good), not as good as #41. Also near bullet proof.

 

PR Chocolate: The most intense color of them all by far. Almost goes down like paint instead of ink, excellent flow. Surprisingly quick drying compared to other PR inks I've tried. Not water resistant - the green all washes out, and some of the red, leaving a little red behind.

 

PR Copper Burst: Didn't like it much - a light orange-brown. Very water resistant, much to my surprise.

 

Diamine Burnt Sienna: Didn't like it all. Looks orange instead of brown. I didn't use it enough to determine much else about it.

 

I wanted a well behaved bullet proof ink, so #41 is the brown I'm using now. The regular brown is a very close second, only because the #41 is a little better behaved even though I like the regular brown color a little better.

 

I need an ink that can sit around idle in the pen for a few days at a time, since brown is not my primary color. I mostly use a Safari F nib with PR Sherwood Green.

[LuckyDog10]

Diamine Chocolate. Beautiful.

[bigstick]

J. Herbin café des Îles, but of course.

[ToasterPastry]

Just to add another one:

 

Without question, Rohrer & Klingner Sepia

[piembi]

Just to add another one:

 

Without question, Rohrer & Klingner Sepia

 

You have been faster than me

 

I have tried man brown inks (Pelikan, Waterman, MB, various Diamines and J.Herbins, R&K). I like the MB Toffee but R&K Sepia is by far my favourite: plain dark brown, no orange or red and no green hues.