Samples Or Full Bottles?

[zwack]

Interesting, but easy to solve. Being that you are a Canadian, here's the deal:

 

Quebec, BC, Manitoba, or PEI - buy samples

 

Any other provinces, buy full bottles.

 

(Alberta - don't buy anything)

Why?

 

I would suggest Samples if you can get them. That way you know what YOU like. If you don't like it no big deal, if you do then order the bottle.

 

You could also try the ink exchange here.

[Charles Rice]

Why?

 

I would suggest Samples if you can get them. That way you know what YOU like. If you don't like it no big deal, if you do then order the bottle.

 

You could also try the ink exchange here.

 

Because there are a lot of Moose in Canada. That's why.

[Penlust]

I do like the sample route. However, after using my sample of J Herbin - Poussiere de Lune, I couldn't live without it. It's in one of my daily use pens all the time.

[geoduc]

I'm an advocate of samples, however I will say that I own bottles of Alt Goldgrun, Verdigris, and Poissiere de Lune, plus I have tested Zhivago. All are excellent inks. Verdigris is a favorite that I use regularly and wouldn't hesitate to recommend. Alt Goldgrun likewise, but a sample might be good just to make sure you like the color. PdL is a great color - also consider Diamine Damson. It would be worth getting samples of both. Zhivago is well behaved, but was too dark for me. You might like it, though.

 

Good luck, you've chosen a nice list of inks.

[emstardeluxe]

Well, I decided to get samples... I guess it makes more sense to pay shipping twice than to pay for full bottles of inks I may not like as much. Knowing my luck though, I will want bottles of them all

[Mannyonpil]

The two J. Herbin inks on your list are wonderful. I bathe in them.

[Noihvo]

I suggest you try the Alt-Goldgrün under different conditions, pens, and papers. It is a chameleon of an ink that can appear green, gold, or light brown (or all of these…) depending on various factors.

Edited March 8, 2016 by Noihvo

[helene20]

Schedule

 

Well, I decided to get samples... I guess it makes more sense to pay shipping twice than to pay for full bottles of inks I may not like as much. Knowing my luck though, I will want bottles of them all

 

Where are you going to buy your samples? I'm in Canada and bought some at Wonderpens. I would not buy bottle of inks before knowing if I like them or not.

[helene20]

I suggest you try the Alt-Goldgrün under different conditions, pens, and papers. It is a chameleon of an ink that can appear green, gold, or light brown (or all of these…) depending on various factors.

 

Great suggestion! It is a very nice ink but does look different in pens. I like it the best in my Conklin All Ame. 1.1.

 

Another similar ink is the Noodler's Army Green.

Schedule

[richila]

 

A few points first: I'm one of those neurotic types that fills online shopping carts only to obsess and agonize about it for days before finally pulling the trigger. Or deleting the whole order, lol. Also, I tend to read a ton of reviews. Finally, I appreciate asking any questions of this nature will elicit a wide range of responses and YMMV type warnings.

 

But not asking is just no fun at all

 

So, I have a bunch of inks I've been stalking online and trying to decide which to prudently order as samples and which to just go whole hog and get the bottle. I've not tried any of these yet.

 

Which would you get as full bottles and which as samples?

 

Rohrer & Klingner Alt Gold-grun

Rohrer & Klingner Leipziger Schwartz

Rohrer & Klingner Verdigris

J Herbin - Perle Noire

J Herbin - Poussiere de Lune

Noodler's - Zhivago

 

Alt Gold-grun as a sample, I thought I wanted it until I received a letter written in it from a pen pal. It was very difficult for me to read.

I always buy J Herbin by the bottle-everything has worked beautifully for me in every pen. But, I have also created a Pen Posse that to hand off ink. (My family and friends have received pens and ink-sometimes paper in the last 6 months.)

I would buy the other three as samples - mainly because Alt-Gold-grun was so different in pictures and scans than the reality and I have no clue about Noodlers.

[emstardeluxe]

Schedule

 

 

Where are you going to buy your samples? I'm in Canada and bought some at Wonderpens. I would not buy bottle of inks before knowing if I like them or not.

 

I get my samples from Wonderpens. Full bottles either from Wonderpens or stylo.ca depending on what else I'm ordering.

[miwishi63]

As someone up-topic confessed, I used to be a sample snob, but I've repented. Samples are a great way to try out inks before you commit to an entire bottle (much easier than courtship and marriage, just saying...)

[helene20]

Schedule

 

 

I get my samples from Wonderpens. Full bottles either from Wonderpens or stylo.ca depending on what else I'm ordering.

 

I like both places also.

[TaylorT]

I haven't tried any of those either, but I prefer samples to full bottles because I get bored with a full bottle and want to use something else long before the bottle is finished. Do you have a local pen club? Mine hosts ink swaps where we sample and trade.

I also only buy samples as I get bored to quickly. Only bottles I have are Parker Quink Black and I just ordered Diamine Red Dragon. Black, Blue, and Red are my most used colors, to me black is black, for red I needed something that got the point across without being to aggressive, blue is where I play with colors.

[Sasha Royale]

From The Curmudgeon Caucus :

 

" . . . . I like the idea of all these colours. "

But, do you like all these colours ? Search online for "swab" samples of each ink. Then, order samples. Even if you like everything about an ink, your fountain pen might not. Keep in mind that a sample vial is very expensive for very little ink.

 

Consider joining with fountain pen buddies to share and trade ink samples. Spread the risk.

[zwack]

From The Curmudgeon Caucus :

 

" . . . . I like the idea of all these colours. "

But, do you like all these colours ? Search online for "swab" samples of each ink. Then, order samples. Even if you like everything about an ink, your fountain pen might not. Keep in mind that a sample vial is very expensive for very little ink.

 

Consider joining with fountain pen buddies to share and trade ink samples. Spread the risk.

 

And indeed there is an Ink Sample Exchange thread in The PIF section.

 

We have added some to our wishlist based purely on trying exchanged samples.

[etaylor33]

 

A few points first: I'm one of those neurotic types that fills online shopping carts only to obsess and agonize about it for days before finally pulling the trigger. Or deleting the whole order, lol. Also, I tend to read a ton of reviews. Finally, I appreciate asking any questions of this nature will elicit a wide range of responses and YMMV type warnings.

 

But not asking is just no fun at all

 

So, I have a bunch of inks I've been stalking online and trying to decide which to prudently order as samples and which to just go whole hog and get the bottle. I've not tried any of these yet.

 

Which would you get as full bottles and which as samples?

 

Rohrer & Klingner Alt Gold-grun

Rohrer & Klingner Leipziger Schwartz

Rohrer & Klingner Verdigris

J Herbin - Perle Noire

J Herbin - Poussiere de Lune

Noodler's - Zhivago

 

I've gone the pull the trigger route and have bought bottles of ink, albet the small 30 ml ones, and have had mixed results. One of the inks was nothing like what I saw depicted online. The others, although I was very pleased, were actually better than I saw online. So, these days, although it's more of a hassle, I will buy samples, try them on a couple of pens, see what I have and if I like what I see, then I'll buy a bottle. I still stick with the smaller bottles because I don't know how long I'll like that ink and I don't want years worth of inks piling up, my wife would kill me.