Essential Inks To Start With

[Greeknite]

I understand that the choice of inks is a matter of personal taste (and experience). I am completely new in the world of fountain pens and I was wondering if someone can suggest me some essential inks to start with? I will use them for my own personal notes.

I know that I am not helping a lot.

[Sandy1]

Hi,

 

 

I suggest two types: one should be robust to handle exposure to potable fluids, the other not so robust, but widely available.

 

Pilot Blue or Blue-Black. Both are great all-rounders, and very robust.

 

And according to the flag you're flying, you appear to be in Europe, so I'll suggest the Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black, also Montblanc Royal Blue.

 

If you may only use the pen from time to time, I'd suggest a Washable ink, such as Lamy Blue, Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue, Waterman Serenity, Parker Quink Blue, Sheaffer Skrip Blue, amongst others.

 

Also consider it you need cartridges as well as bottled ink - not all cartridges fit all pens. That may narrow your selection, unless you undertake loading your own [ink] cartridges.

 

Bye,

S1

Edited October 28, 2012 by Sandy1

[Greeknite]

Great help. Thank you

[brunico]

Be aware that all of us regulars on Inky Thoughts are trying to advise you from personal experience of a couple of dozen inks right the way to several hundred.

 

I'd suggest two or three inks.

 

A darker ink for general writing - doesn't have to be completely waterproof, but it can be reassuring if it will leave your notes legible after knocking a glass of water over. I've never done this over writing, but I have managed to break three glasses in the last month... I suggest a darker colour simply because it tends to be easier on the eye over a whole page than a bright pink, so it doesn't have to be very dark, just not too light, and I suggest a water-resistant ink because it's also handy to have one around for addressing envelopes, writing out recipes to place by the kitchen sink, and so on.

 

A complementary colour for any number of purposes: decoration, embellishment, headings, notes in the margins. This is where your bright pinks, oranges and turquoises come in. Rohrer und Klingner, Diamine and Herbin should be easy to get, and they all have a good range of colours.

 

A black, if you like black.

 

For pairings, I tend to use Noodler's Zhivago (a green bordering on black) and either a lighter green or green's complementary colour, which would be some kind of raspberry. I find blue-blacks usually pair well with turquoises or blue's complementary, orange.

 

 

[JefferyS]

What sort of paper? Most writing papers today are not made with FP ink in mind. Certain inks behave better on papers that are not FP friendly. Feathering is a big problem on some papers. Noodler's X-feather (black) is formulated to minimize that.

[Octo]

Great comments above.

 

Black ink should probably be the first ink purchase. Black is always appropriate and for some things, such as condolence notes, it is the only appropriate color. Even if another ink becomes your favorite, you should always have black on hand.

 

The second bottle would be blue (or blue-black).

 

Once you have those, the third bottle might be a "wild" color, something less ordinary that appeals to your artistic side, or lights up your stationery, or just appeals to you.

 

You can have lots of fun with inks.

[Sandy1]

Great help. Thank you

Hi,

 

You're welcome!

 

I suggest taking a moment to peruse the Ink Review Forum entries for inks that you find of interest. It won't be the same as trying an ink yourself, but will give an idea of what to look for in an ink, so you can then set your own selection criteria.

 

If you are up to a more extensive selection process, there are a few stateside Vendors of ink samples, which are very useful to try a range of inks with one's own pen/s & paper/s, before committing to full bottles.

 

Be aware that you have engaged well-meaning enthusiastic enablers. Welcome to the Vortex!

 

Bye,

S1

 

P.S. I haven't used any Black FP ink in all my years; a nice Blue-Black will do quite nicely.

Edited October 28, 2012 by Sandy1

[Greeknite]

Well I started looking at the ink reviews and this was my first question "Where do you start from?" Anyway, I got a first glimpse from the comments. They were all very helpful. It's just when you are a newbie you need to be guided in your first choices.

[lapis]

Welcome aboard! I'll second all inks mentioned by Sandy. Three more notes:

 

1. Think about what colours you like and/or absolutely need, like blue or blue-black for "regular" writing, red for corrections and/or underlining , green for good mood lines. Narrowing things down this way may reduce the time needed to find out what's "best". E.g. a "favourite" bright red narrows down your choices considerably.

2.. Also, don't start off with the most permanent, most saturated, waterproof types unless of course you have to sign an obituary or sell your house. Many of these need more maintenance and that usually means you need more time washing between fills. Or some can even be "bad" for a pen especially if it is a demo model. Or if you spill some onto the floor or your new shirt.

3. Note which ink companies come into play. This regards not only prices, but availability and shipping costs too. E.g. Waterman and Parker and Montblanc inks are usually available everywhere. Some inks for some locations -- however much they may cost -- can often be bought only online with long waiting periods.

 

Mike

[mhosea]

Lots of good comments. Let me just add that I wouldn't worry too much about this at first. I'd just suggest identifying whatever well-respected brands of fountain pen ink are readily available to you, pick one (read some reviews of specific inks if you like), and buy a bottle of black and maybe a bottle of blue or blue-black. Montblanc, Pilot (or Namiki), Waterman, and others will work for you until you start thinking "I wish this blue were a little less purple" or "I wish this green were a little less bluish", or "This ink has a nice color but my pen is a hard starter with this one", etc. Then the great ink adventure begins.

[Greeknite]

Thanks for the help everyone.

 

I decided to start with Parker Quink black as my primary notes ink and a Diamine classic red for note headers. I will also test the red ink when correcting my student's test papers. Hope corrections will be there after some time.

[josiah]

I recently gave a friend a Noodler's gift package as a birthday present: a Konrad pen, Bulletproof Black, and North African Violet.

 

The pen may or may not have been the best choice for a first pen, but that's a discussion for elsewhere. Noodler's Bulletproof black is, in my experience, a generally well-behaved black ink, and my biggest complaint is that it takes a long time for the ink to dry enough that it can't be smeared or smudged (or leave ghost lines on a facing page). Noodler's V-mail series appeals to me because of the reasonable water resistance, nice colors (this friend likes vivid violet purples, so NAV was an obvious choice), and good behavior on the paper. I have since given him some Skrip Blue that I never use (I bought it mistaking it for black some years ago).

 

He doesn't use the black much (I gave it to him because it is sometimes important to have a black ink on hand), but the NAV has held its own, and I'll probably buy a bottle next time I buy ink.

[ajitk]

I understand that the choice of inks is a matter of personal taste (and experience). I am completely new in the world of fountain pens and I was wondering if someone can suggest me some essential inks to start with? I will use them for my own personal notes.

I know that I am not helping a lot.

 

I think it is most important that the writing experience be pleasant. If the ink is overly dry and your nib is not free flowing, you may experience scratchiness. Depending on the pen and ink, there may be hesitation (first stroke or two doesn't draw ink). Some inks require maintenance or they may stain the pen. All of these may detract you from using your fountain pen.

 

What pen are you considering?

 

Pelikan brilliant black is a good starting point. It is relatively inexpensive, is a nice dark black, but a tad dry. Aurora black is more expensive, but is a wonderful black and super smooth.

 

Among blues, Montblanc royal blue and Aurora blue are excellent and smooth. Unfortunately, they are a little expensive.

 

All three are made in Europe.

 

I wasn't that enamored with Pilot black. Quink blue and black are good too (I've only used the Indian version made by Luxor).

 

All the above are safe; I haven't experienced any clogging or staining.

 

I haven't used other brands, so I cannot comment.

 

Good luck!

[Dioxazine]

If you find yourself with a lot of really cheap, thin paper, do get Noodler's Heart of Darkness and a good, fine, cheap pen like Hero 616. I recommend thinning HoD down to...whatever works for you.

 

(I've had trouble with X-Feather and Hero pens, where the ink comes out too pale and ugly. HoD is good with Hero pens, though)

[Greeknite]

I understand that the choice of inks is a matter of personal taste (and experience). I am completely new in the world of fountain pens and I was wondering if someone can suggest me some essential inks to start with? I will use them for my own personal notes.

I know that I am not helping a lot.

 

I think it is most important that the writing experience be pleasant. If the ink is overly dry and your nib is not free flowing, you may experience scratchiness. Depending on the pen and ink, there may be hesitation (first stroke or two doesn't draw ink). Some inks require maintenance or they may stain the pen. All of these may detract you from using your fountain pen.

 

What pen are you considering?

 

Pelikan brilliant black is a good starting point. It is relatively inexpensive, is a nice dark black, but a tad dry. Aurora black is more expensive, but is a wonderful black and super smooth.

 

Among blues, Montblanc royal blue and Aurora blue are excellent and smooth. Unfortunately, they are a little expensive.

 

All three are made in Europe.

 

I wasn't that enamored with Pilot black. Quink blue and black are good too (I've only used the Indian version made by Luxor).

 

All the above are safe; I haven't experienced any clogging or staining.

 

I haven't used other brands, so I cannot comment.

 

Good luck!

 

 

Thanks for your comments. Currently I am using my Parker frontier but I have started looking for a Waterman phileas on eBay. I also got a lamy safari which will probably get here next week

[Greeknite]

If you find yourself with a lot of really cheap, thin paper, do get Noodler's Heart of Darkness and a good, fine, cheap pen like Hero 616. I recommend thinning HoD down to...whatever works for you.

 

(I've had trouble with X-Feather and Hero pens, where the ink comes out too pale and ugly. HoD is good with Hero pens, though)

 

What paper are you usually using with HoD?

[Bo Bo Olson]

Serenity Blue I believe is the new name for Waterman South Sea blue, a very nice turquoise shading ink.

(Many of us thought it was plum dumb stupid for them to change the name of the ink.)

 

It was the 4th ink I bought, and still use from often, in I have some five turquoise inks.

When I'm out I will buy that ink again.

 

I think that is an ink most have, and like. A basic shading ink.

 

IMO you should have copier paper and scribbling paper. I think 90g/22 pounds is the lowest level you should have for scribbling paper.

 

I would suggest laser only paper.

Ink Jet paper is designed to soak up and dry Ink Jet ink quickly....that is not a paper you want for scribbling with a shading ink.

 

I have second thoughts on paper that is made for both Laser and Ink Jet. If it is made 'also' for ink jet, it must have compromises that could affect shading.

 

If all you want is vivid mono-tone ink, perhaps??????? ink jet paper will do.

 

Having a laser printer I have no need for an ink jet paper, and if I did have an ink jet printer....I would not use that to scribble on, but leave it in the printer.

Edited October 30, 2012 by Bo Bo Olson

[Messmer]

Personally, I would have more suggested a really permanent ink for the black. A few month ago, I would have suggested Noodler's Black... But I kind of started to like the fluidity of ESSRI. ESSRI is an Iron Gall ink. It can write on mostly anithing. It can even write on some glossy paper like thermal paper. It take more time to dry on that paper trough.

 

You will need sometime an ink that can take humidity, water spill and could resist to the usual forgery. That where I not so sure for Parker Quink black...

[dgator]

Serenity Blue I believe is the new name for Waterman South Sea blue, a very nice turquoise shading ink.

(Many of us thought it was plum dumb stupid for them to change the name of the ink.)

 

 

Here is a link to a chart of the old names and new names of the Waterman inks (Source: Goulet Pens):

 

http://www.inknouveau.com/2012/02/waterman-ink-name-changes.html?m=1

 

South Sea Blue is now called Inspired Blue, while Florida Blue is now called Serenity Blue.

[daTomoT]

Three colours:

 

A dark ink that is used for writing. Perhaps for your journal, or work. I am going to order a bottle of Diamine Merlot for this.

A lighter ink that can be used for annotation, margin work and other small notes. I use Diamine Apple Glory.

A black, for anything official and/or legal. I use Quink Black.