Waterproof Blue Ink Recommendation Please...

[metwin1]

A newbie here... and general newbie fountain pen user. Right now, I'm using PR Tropical Blue ink in Lamy Safari EF and Lamy 2000 EF. I love the colour of this blue ink... though I'm thinking about getting PR Lake Placid the next time as I hear it's closest in shade to the Parker Sapphire Blue ink, an ink I used a long time ago that I really liked. The thing is, that ink is not really waterproof. When my backpack gets wet in the rain, my papers sometimes gets damp, and my notes smear.

 

I'm looking for an ink that is waterproof, that does not smear. For my purposes, bulletproof would be nice but unnecessary. And since I'm a student, I don't typically write on super nice paper, so one that feathers and bleeds minimally would be nice. I'd also rather not use black... it's nice to read notes and annotation on other colours. I prefer cool colours, brown even, but I'm open to suggestions.

 

Any recommendations please?

[lambertiana]

Do you want a medium blue or dark blue? Noodler's Gulf Stream and Polar blue are a medium blue, and for darker you have a few to choose from - Noodler's Legal Lapis, Bad Belted Kingfisher (my favorite among the bulletproof series), Bad Blue Heron.

 

Other options would be some moderately water-resistant inks - Noodlers Navy, Noodlers Blue Black, Noodlers Bay State blue (this one really pops off the page with bright blue) and any of the inks based on iron gall (Montblanc blue black or midnight blue, Pelikan blue black, etc).

 

There should be reviews of each of those inks in the ink review sticky, see which color works best for you.

Edited March 26, 2011 by lambertiana

[RedSox04]

Dare I say....Bay State Blue?

[farseer911]

+1 Bay State Blue

[antidote3]

+2 BSB

[Lloyd]

Noodlers BSB or Pilot Blue.

[SnowLeopard]

Go Sailor's nano...sei-boku...nice blue...excellent characteristics...easy clean up..but more expensive.

Edited March 26, 2011 by SnowLeopard

[mstone]

pilot/namiki blue. cheap, water-resistant, low-maintenance.

[metwin1]

Thanks! Based on the suggestions here, and other reviews I found on the forums, I bought some ink samples from Goulet Pens as well as Swisher's Aquamarine Blue. I can't wait for them to arrive!

[welch]

Get a plastic, waterproof, cover for your notebooks. Use the color you like, rather than whatever seems waterproof enough. You will have a wider selection to choose from. (Though Noodlers seems to have a corner on the water-resistant market.)

 

I went to school in the olden days, when we used fountain pens because ballpoints were both forbidden and downright unreliable. TV was black and white, cars had giant tail-fins. And it was a Big Mess when we spilled ink on our shirt or pants while refilling. I used Sheaffer Washable Black for six or seven years, filling my P45 every morning, and was happy that I (meaning my mother) could wash spilled ink off my clothes.

 

On the other topic, I think PR Supershow Blue is closer than PR Lake Placid to Parker Penman Sapphire. Lake Placid is a nice ink on its own, but does not look like Penman Sapphire. In fact, sadly, nothing looks entirely like Penman Sapphire...several inks, including PR American Blue, match some elements of Penman, but Penman Sapphire changes color depending on the nib, the paper, and the light. Nothing else seems to have as many different colors in it as Penman.

[InterInk]

Namiki/Pilot blue or Bad Belted Kingfisher would be my choice.

[doggonecarl]

Private Reserves new Invicible Blue. Bulletproof. Behaves great. But it isn't the most eye-popping blue.

[tonybelding]

Private Reserves new Invicible Blue. Bulletproof. Behaves great. But it isn't the most eye-popping blue.

 

Thanks for pointing that out! I hadn't heard of it.

 

Private Reserve Invincible Black was my favorite black ink until they reformulated it. I haven't used the new formula enough to venture an opinion on that yet. On the other hand, Invincible Aqua was simply awful. I must check out this new blue. Where did you get yours? I don't see it at Goulet's... I don't see Invincible Black there either, anymore. What's up with that, I wonder?

 

Noodler's Bad Blue Heron and its slightly-more-blue twin Texas Bluebonnet are worth checking out. They are somewhat higher-maintenance inks, but they have great color and shading and excellent water resistance.

 

Noodler's Violet Vote is also another long-time favorite of mine. It's not the most vibrant color, but it's distinctive and is perhaps the most trouble-free "bulletproof" ink that I've ever used.

[Sblakers]

Namiki/pilot blue. Or blue black

Organics studios Aristotle (tealish black )

Pelikan 4001 bl/blk

Sailer Sei boku bl/blk <--- awesome

 

Pilot/ iro. Asa GAO -- not as water resistant as above

Montblanc midnight bl/blk --- iron gall

These inks are all well behaved and pretty darn water resistant. There are other water resistant inks but I've found most others behaviors to be lacking. B

[mongrelnomad]

Sailor Sei-Boku...

 

Next question!

[RobbW]

Noodler's Legal Blue is excellent. Since it's bulletproof, water won't move it. In color it's like Legal Lapis without the green undertones. Wonderful color, won't stain fingers or pens, and low maintenance. It was an Art Brown exclusive, I believe you can get it at Fountain Pen Hospital now.

[belfire]

Noodler's Prime of the Commons. An elegant bulletproof blue. But maybe only available in Britain.

[LWJ2]

Noodler's Liberty's Elysium, it's exclusive with Goulet Pens. [Not affiliated, but definitely a satisfied customer.]

[Mags]

Definitely some Baystate blue.

[tonybelding]

Noodler's Liberty's Elysium, it's exclusive with Goulet Pens. [Not affiliated, but definitely a satisfied customer.]

 

Liberty's Elysium is a beautiful, bright, pure blue... but, sadly, not waterproof.