Using Waterman And Diamine Exclusively

[Blue_Moon]

This topic is probably going to irritate some fans of certain inks, but after reading information on Richard Binder's site about Inks: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, I am seriously considering using Waterman and Diamine inks exclusively. He mentioned Noodlers and Private Reserve as being difficult inks for pens (not necessarily in those words). Also, he mentions that Japanese inks have high alkaline levels. Richard said that Waterman and Diamine are the safest inks, in his opinion.

 

I know that that's only his opinion, however, I think that his years of experience carry a lot of weight. Yes, I too, like Noodler's, Private Reserve, Irosizuku, etc., but I'm wondering that if it would pay off in the long term to go conservative. I do have a lot of Diamine and I do love Diamine. I was just looking at Waterman inks, in which I have none, and thinking that I could mix my own colors, which I've never done before. That just might be fun.

 

If you're interested in the article, go to his websiter, http://www.richardspens.com/ and, on the left, select "Reference Pages," scroll down to the section, "Taking Care of Your Pens," and in that section click "Inks: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly."

 

I know there are probably going to be many responses saying you've never had any problem with those inks. I haven't either, YET. Your thoughts about using Waterman and Diamine exclusively for the safety of your pen?

 

[Pterodactylus]

I'm not very concerned about a possible damage of my pens caused by inks.

 

I agree that highly almost over saturated inks, typical some Noodler's and some Private Reserve inks, or Noodler's inks with special properties are those to be warried about.

 

I'm very skeptical about the Noodler's special property inks or in general permanent inks which are not based on IG.

Personally I don't buy such inks.

 

I don't like highly saturated inks mainly because they are prone to smearing, do not dry for ages, and are maintenance unfriendly (hard to clean, cloaking, staining), despite they often look very attractive.

 

You might want to add Pelikan, Montblanc and Rohrer & Klingner inks to your preferred ink brand list.

[tknechtel]

I use Waterman Blue Black (which now has some silly name like Mystic Blue) and Diamine Sepia as my two main inks. They have good color and they wash out of the pens easily. I've found though that many of the beautiful blues made by Diamine, like Presidential Blue, are very difficult to rinse out of my pens – it takes twenty minutes of flushing.

[doggonecarl]

Your thoughts about using Waterman and Diamine exclusively for the safety of your pen?

 

Are you talking about vintage pens?

 

I don't have any. As long as they are formulated for fountain pen use, I feel safe using most inks. There are some I might not use because of staining in a demonstrator. If you have modern pens, I think you are over reacting...my opinion only.

[Pterodactylus]

Are you talking about vintage pens?

 

I don't have any. As long as they are formulated for fountain pen use, I feel safe using most inks. There are some I might not use because of staining in a demonstrator. If you have modern pens, I think you are over reacting...my opinion only.

I have mainly vintage pens and I don't think that they are more sensitive or prone to ink threats than modern pens.

Far from it, they withstand much more aggressive inks than we use today.

So there is no ink which I would use in a modern pen but not in a vintage one.

 

And at the end our pens are only tools created to be used and to have fun with it, not to be pampered and only to look at it.

[lapis]

I agree 100% with Richard on this but I'd still say that you shouldn't generalize and hone it all down e.g. to 1-2-3 brands. I prefer D's and W's to N's and PR's because the last 2 are IMO unnecessaily saturated and I also don't like N's bottles or boxes. So do use a lot of D's and W's but since the other 2 brands offer a lot of goodies which the first 2 don't, then why not get at least a few of them? E.g. HOD, Ebonies etc.

[watch_art]

I prefer to use Waterman's blues, Parker b/b, Pelikan Black, and pretty much most of the Diamine's and now the PW Akkerman inks. Some Noodler's are great, but I don't use any of the Wardens or bulletproof or "special" series, although Burma Road Brown looked really good, but only because they take a bit longer to clean up. I like easy maintenance.

[mhosea]

I don't consider myself any longer to be in a position to need anyone's advice on which inks to avoid. I also don't claim to know the truth of all these matters, but this much I know from first-hand experience: Richard's advice on avoiding inks like Noodler's would have been bad advice to me had I received it when I was starting out. My pleasure with my FPs would have been reduced as a result, and it would have saved me from exactly nothing that I cared about being saved from. It might be good advice to you, though. That depends on many things.

[watch_art]

Yeah - when I started out exploring all the different inks was half the fun - especially since inks are so much cheaper than pens.

But now I've sort of narrowed down what I like and prefer, and easy maintenance is at the top of the list.

[Blue_Moon]

I like easy maintenance.

 

 

easy maintenance is at the top of the list.

 

Yeah - that is me!! I know myself well enough to know I'll lose interest if it's a pain to maintain. After all, it's a hobby that just so happens to be able to be put to use in real life. But then again, my Pilot G-2 Gel can do the work with no muss, no fuss. I just want the enjoyment of fountain pens with no concern of clogging, staining, or damaging, and I don't want to spend a lot of time cleaning after I use a pen. When I change inks or take a pen out of rotation, I want to be able to clean it with water in no more than two - three minutes. I don't want to deal with gunk or stain.

 

Having said that, I'm not ready to make a declaration that I'll never use anything other than Waterman or Diamine. I will say, however, that I now plan to avoid the more dangerous inks (notice - I said "inks," not "brands.") I haven't yet decided on the brands.

[daintydimsum]

Ymmv. I personally don't use Noodler's inks (also 'cause they are hard to come by, in the precise shades I want in the UK) or PR. I do love my Japanese inks and Richard Binder cannot convince me otherwise. I've not had any issues thus far. I tend to have more issues with colours. Red is a pain, for example.

 

As for easy maintenance, cleaning out and gunk seem to be unrelated issues. My Sailor tends to gunk up, but it seems easy to clean in between ink changes. Argh! In any case, I derive a great deal of pleasure from inks and would be sad if I were limited to two brands.

[tknechtel]

I'm with you, Blue Moon: I don't like spending hours flushing my pens, trying to get stubborn inks out. Waterman's seems the easiest; I also have had good luck with Rohrer and Klinger's inks. The late, lamented Sailor Red-Brown was also pretty easy to clean out.

 

I have a shelf filled with different inks, and I completely understand the allure of switching colors all the time. This is easier when cleaning your pen is not a pain. That said, I now find I'm just using a few inks.

 

Just a note about Private Reserve: their quick-drying black was a nightmare when I tried it (though that is several years ago now, and maybe they've changed the recipe). It just shot out of my pen, there would be ink everywhere – inside the cap, all over the nib. I tried giving it away, and the person I gave it to ended up throwing it out.

[Joane]

I've never used Diamine ink but I used to use Waterman. I loved the smell of Waterman ink and it performed well in my pens. But times change. Although I loved the deep chestnut colour of Havane, I stopped using it because the colour would separate into green and red. I stopped using Waterman Blue-Black because it was really blue-green. Waterman Violette was my favourite purple and worked great in all my pens. I would have used it till the end of time but they changed the name and when I bought a new bottle of Tender Purple it seemed to be lacking its prior nuance and luminosity.

 

Over the years I've used a number of brands, most of them standard, as some of the more exotic inks were not available here for a long time. For instance, I was very happy with the old Sheaffer Skrip (but found the Sheaffer Slovenian a bit more syrupy than I like). J. Herbin is another brand I used a lot, and while some Herbins worked very well, a couple posed some problems like turning to vinegar or being too dry. I keep a couple of old bottles of Herbin ink mostly for my vegetal resin pens. I used Omas for a while but found the flow inconsistent from colour to colour. Also, Omas discontinued my favourite: Blue-Black.

 

Now that a lot of exotic brands are here, I don't feel a need for them. A while back while traveling I bought a bottle of Montblanc ink, just because it happened to be available. Turned out I like the way it works in all my pens to date. Now I'm very happy with a few colours in MB (I didn't see much about MB in Richard Binder's article). I have one P.W. Akkerman ink, brand also not found in the article, the fun-loving China Town Red, and it works great in a variety of pens, too.

 

Sorry to go on a bit longer than I intended. It's easy to get carried away discussing ink.

[mhosea]

But now I've sort of narrowed down what I like and prefer, and easy maintenance is at the top of the list.

 

I have a list of favorites, and as far as easy maintenance goes, I take it pen by pen, not ink by ink. With a bulb syringe and ultrasonic handy, I don't have any real incentive to use easy-to-clean inks in c/c and ED pens. But most of the time if it's a pen with a sac or a piston filler, it's an easy-to-clean ink that goes in.

[Oranges and Apples]

I know there are probably going to be many responses saying you've never had any problem with those inks. I haven't either, YET. Your thoughts about using Waterman and Diamine exclusively for the safety of your pen?

 

 

I have to say do your research.

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/239076-which-inks-are-ph-neutral/

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/185342-ink-acidity-and-alkalinity/

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/202103-ph-level-of-inks-results/

http://www.marcuslink.com/pens/ink/ink-and-ph-levels.htm

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/154941-checking-the-ph-of-inks

 

This is just reference to your pH levels but there are many factors to consider.

Edited November 12, 2013 by Oranges and Apples

[MisterBoll]

Writing ought to be an enjoyable experience.

 

If it's the sword of damocles perhaps you should switch to another type of pen.

Edited November 12, 2013 by MisterBoll

[The Good Captain]

I have a few Noodler's inks but the only one that's always in a pen is Prime of the Commons and I just keep a 205 for that purpose. Just love the blue nib!

Generally speaking though, over-saturated inks aren't my favourites and the majority of black & silver boxes on my shelf just speaks for itself. And they're British!

[lapis]

I have a few Noodler's inks but the only one that's always in a pen is Prime of the Commons and I just keep a 205 for that purpose. Just love the blue nib!

Generally speaking though, over-saturated inks aren't my favourites and the majority of black & silver boxes on my shelf just speaks for itself. And they're British!

What? Your beers come in black & silver boxes?

[The Good Captain]

What? Your beers come in black & silver boxes?

Droll; very droll!

[oldstoat]

What? Your beers come in black & silver boxes?

http://duetogsaij514.cloudfront.net/images/products/11/LN_638846_BP_11.jpg

 

No, not beer....