Pen Brands And Their Inks

[BradGad]

Pilot recommends using Pilot brand inks with their pens. I assume many or most pen manufactuters do the same. Frankly, I've never paid any attention to that. But, lately, I *have* been using Pilot inks pretty much exclusively in my Pilot pens (blue black, black, asa gao, kon peki, take sumi). And, I have to say my pens have been very happy, delivering outstanding even performance.

 

This is totally anecdotal at this point... mere intuition even...

 

But I'm curious about others' experiences and gut instincts.

 

Does using the recommended same-brand ink make a difference?

[Astronymus]

Hm, one would guess the companies tune the inks to their pens. So, this isn't a surprise.

[ParkerDuofold]

Hi Brad,

 

It's an inconvenient truth that the propriety inks often perform best... I've been noticing this myself... it's not all just "captured marketing" hyperbole.

 

- Anthony

Edited February 17, 2017 by ParkerDuofold

[Oranges and Apples]

I think Pilot ink is superior to many ink brands. The only down draw to Pilot inks is that outside of their standard line (black, blue, blue-black), many of their inks lack water resistance. Other than that, I find myself almost exclusively using Pilot inks, uless I am looking for specific colors, such as Noodler's Apache Sunset.

Edited February 17, 2017 by Oranges and Apples

[inkstainedruth]

In some cases it makes a difference: for instance, Pelikan pens tend to be wet writers, so Pelikan inks tend to be drier. That being said, if you find an ink that works well in your pen, it doesn't matter what brand it is, other than possibly if you switch colors around a lot. Then you have to be a bit more careful with your pen flushing regimen, especially if you're using inks are a little more finicky -- iron gall inks, pigmented inks, and so on.

And that caveat includes different lines of the same *brand* of ink -- several years ago someone posted photos of what she thought was going to be the *perfect* blue black -- she mixed Noodler's Black ("regular" line, bulletproof) with Noodler's Bay State Blue (Bay State series). The results weren't pretty....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[macaddicted]

I too prefer iroshizuku inks in my pilot/namiki pens. My pelikans and viscontis as well. I have no problem putting iro's in any modern pen I have. Diamine and J. Herbin work well too. I just like the saturation of the iro inks more. Private Reserve and Noodlers inks are better for saturation, but problematic for me in other ways. Not bad inks, just haven't worked well for me.

[jmccarty3]

In the case of Pilot, my experience has been that their inks, especially the Iroshizukus, but also the regular Blue-Black, perform superbly in Pilot and Namiki pens. Don't know why this is so, but there it is. I've found myself reluctant to use any other brand of ink in these pens.

[Sasha Royale]

On the other hand, whose ink would YOU recommend ?

 

Only one case comes to mind of a imperative matching. Parker once produced an excellent version of their fountain pen ink, with excellent flow characteristics. Unfortunately, this was due to the very strong solvent in the ink. Corrosively strong ! Some premium fountain pens were of materials that resisted the destructive properties of the ink, but Parker urged that it be limited to their model 51.

 

Bottles of this ink are scarce, today, and collectible. Watch for the term " Solve-X ".

[ParkerDuofold]

Hi all,

 

Just to follow-up, as others have said, you can use other brands of ink in your pens, but I have noticed that my late model Sheaffer's sing with Sheaffer inks... and I've also noticed this with Pilot and Lamy pens and their respective inks.

 

I actually now believe there is some genuine design engineering involved and it's not just a rouse to dupe you into buying only proprietary inks.

 

Of course that does not stop me from cross polinating.

 

- Anthony

[ParkerDuofold]

...Watch for the term " Solve-X ".

Hi Sasha,

 

Wouldn't it be better to look for "Superchrome" or "51 ink"? (Solv-X was used across the board).

 

- Anthony

[pajaro]

I have tried Pilot inks, and found them about as good as any other, but not any better. The pen makers all recommend their own ink. I have used many of these inks over the years, and I just do not see the differences between them that everyone else waxes enthusiastic over. Beyond the makers' inks there are some inks that flow more easily than others, but the pen makers' inks don't seem that different to me. Beyond that, I don't care to march to some pen manufacturer's tune. I prefer to use whatever I like, and, among pen manufacturers' inks, I think there isn't that much to choose from beyond color subtleties.

[sciumbasci]

If I am not mistaken, FPN user peningineer said that pen manufacturers tune their inks for their pens. Case in point was Lamy, if I'm not mistaken.

[brunico]

It's not surprising that a manufacturer will test their inks in their own pens, but I wouldn't read too much into this. After all, the nib, feed and filling system of a Pilot Plumix are very different from those of a Custom Heritage 92. Although Pilot's inks are second only to Sailor's - - I'm not persuaded they can fine-tune a single ink to the precise characteristics of both pens at the same time. Given, too, that no discussion of an ink brand can go without someone perceiving minor differences among them, I'm sure this leaves enough room for a competitor to jump into the gap.