Best Dry Inks?

[Mercian]

4 minutes ago, PhiloPlume said:

I always thought Pelikan inks were very wet, just like their pens (Which are!).

 

I have a custom ground formal italic nib that I would like to get the finest hairlines and lines with.

 

I second the recommendation for either 4001 Kõnigsblau, or 'Brilliant Black'.
Or Edelstein 'Aquamarine' - an ink that even feels a bit 'dry' in my M805 

For a famously 'dry'-writing ink you could try Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black. It is a (very mild) iron-gall ink.
It tames my fine, and italic, 1954 Pelikan 400 - a pen in which most other inks, including Edelstein 'Onyx', feather and spread (because of how 'wet' it writes).

 

If 4001 Blue-Black doesn't tame your pen, you could try Rohrer & Klingner 'Salix' (another light i-g Blue-Black), or their 'Scabiosa' (a sui generis dusky purple i-g ink).

If those inks don't tame your nib, may need to move on to 'heavy' iron-gall inks, such as ESS Registrars' Ink, or Diamine Registrars' Ink, or Akkerman #10 Ijzer-Galnoten Blauw/Zwart.

 

I do though recommend that you read several reviews of any ink that piques your interest - because you may find from reading many reviews that one particular review highlights one or more properties of any given ink that you regard as 'deal-breakers'.

 

Slàinte,
M.

[PhiloPlume]

Thanks for finding me Mercian! 🙂

 

I have most those inks and have used them for this purpose, especially in my two Pelikan pens. The Iron Gall's have not done any damage to the nibs that I have used them in as far as I can tell.

 

They both are TWSBI Vac 700 and TWSBI Fine and Medium nibs that Mark at NibGrinder ground for me to make them formal/sharp italic.  I just want to see if I can get them to write a little sharper (I am not going to send them back have him tune them for me because they are close to what I want). Just want to try different inks and see what can do for finer hairlines and lines (probably just me! :-))

 

I just want to use black ink in these italic pens and nibs.

 

Thanks!

[dhanks]

15 hours ago, PhiloPlume said:

I know -OLD post.  Maybe someone will see it 🙂

 

I always thought Pelikan inks were very wet, just like their pens (Which are!).

 

I have a custom ground formal italic nib that I would like to get the finest hairlines and lines with.

 

Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black is a quite dry ink but a lovely one that I like a lot.  Perfect for wetter nibs, such Pelikan nibs.

 

Rumpole

 

[justsomerandombloke]

FWIW I don't find Salix to be a dry ink.

[Penguincollector]

On 9/15/2025 at 4:42 PM, PhiloPlume said:

I know -OLD post.  Maybe someone will see it 🙂

 

I always thought Pelikan inks were very wet, just like their pens (Which are!).

 

I have a custom ground formal italic nib that I would like to get the finest hairlines and lines with.

 

 

  Pelikan inks are dry because their pens are so very wet, just like Pilot inks are very wet, because their pens are so dry (try something like 4001 in them and you’ll hear a squeak when trying to write). 
 

   Have you tried R&K’s Ebony? It’s a nice black iron gall. It’s a limited edition, so if it interests you, I would recommend buying ASAP. 
 

R&K Ebony

[PhiloPlume]

7 hours ago, Penguincollector said:

 

  Pelikan inks are dry because their pens are so very wet, just like Pilot inks are very wet, because their pens are so dry (try something like 4001 in them and you’ll hear a squeak when trying to write). 
 

   Have you tried R&K’s Ebony? It’s a nice black iron gall. It’s a limited edition, so if it interests you, I would recommend buying ASAP. 
 

R&K Ebony

 

You know Penguin, that dawned on me after my post about Pelikan pens and their ink.  It didn't occur to me about Pilots, which are probably my favorite fountain pens, and all other kinds of pens.  Doh!  I ordered Rohrer & Klingner 50 ml Bottle Fountain Pen Ink, Leipziger Schwarz (Black) from Amazon but not due for another week! I have other colors of theirs and am using their olive in my Pelikan m800 right now, which is making it write a little smaller!  I will order that ink now!  Thanks!!!

[PhiloPlume]

On 9/16/2025 at 9:09 AM, dhanks said:

Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black is a quite dry ink but a lovely one that I like a lot.  Perfect for wetter nibs, such Pelikan nibs.

 

Rumpole

 

Thanks!  I think I might have it. I remember it was very hard to find a while back.

[Penguincollector]

I hope R&K Ebony works for you, @PhiloPlume! 🤞🏽

[dhanks]

13 hours ago, PhiloPlume said:

Thanks!  I think I might have it. I remember it was very hard to find a while back.

Yes, it is widely available again.  You should have no problem finding it.  And it's pretty inexpensive, as inks go.  They all are wildly overpriced, in my opinion!

Rumpole

[Bo Bo Olson]

On 5/7/2017 at 11:41 AM, birchtine said:

It is possible that the Ecclesiastical Stationery changed their supplier quite recently, about two years ago, and the ink made before was made by someone else.

No, is made in the same wooden tub, one of the managers of Stephan's? Ink company that was shut down by the conglomerate that owned it, to sell the ground under the factory. Got the recipe and the giant wooden tub as part of his settlement.  There were many that thought ESSR, was better than Diamine Registry.

There was some 30 or more page thread on ESSR a number of years ago.

 

I noticed many called inks that shade, dry. I like lively two colored shading inks, and don't care for sopping wet boring saturated to supersaturated monotone inks. 

.........................

Pelikan makes a dry ink, and to counterbalance that made a wet nib. Meeting in the middle.

15 years ago, before Japanese pens started being mainstream and not just nitch, Waterman made a wet ink...(though many Noodler users call it a dry ink.) It was wet to me.

So making a wet ink, Waterman made a narrow nib. To meet in the middle.

 

There had been flame wars here from the Waterman fans, my nib is narrower than your twist and change Pelikan nibs. It didn't bother me, in I went wide when I came back to fountain pens, not narrow. 

 

Some were so into narrow they had nibs ground to needle point, just to brag baby spiders found their lines thin. Japanese EEF wasn't thin enough for them. So of course they needed the wettest, most saturated ink they could find.

You had to bring your own microscope to read what they wrote. And they were proud of that.  

 

That war died rapidly as soon as real narrow Japanese nibs came along and Waterman no longer had a skinny nib.

 

My @ 1990 Waterman Mann 200 F is as narrow as my Pelikan 200's EF nibs.

[lamarax]

Most of the standard J. Herbin inks are on the dry side. My favorite: Cacao du Brésil, which -to my eye- represents a true sepia hue. Also, the Platinum Classic line has impressively shading inks, due to them being 'light' iron gall and thus quite dry. I'm a fan of Cassis Black in particular :3

[Bo Bo Olson]

On 9/22/2025 at 12:01 AM, lamarax said:

My favorite: Cacao du Brésil, which -to my eye- represents a true sepia hue.

I didn't think of it as a sepia... If I have some left or the next time I order some, I'll keep that in mind. 

[lamarax]

11 hours ago, Bo Bo Olson said:

xI didn't think of it as a sepia... If I have some left or the nest time I order some, I'll keep taht in mind. 

 

Well, it isn't marketed as such certainly (it's named after cocoa after all), but to me looks much closer to actual cuttlefish ink tint, than others being passed as sepia 🙂

[Bo Bo Olson]

I realized that when you saw, it wasn't very cocoa in color.

I got to hunt high and low, to see if I still have some of that bottle or not......

...................

I am out.

Did find the remains of Bleu Pervenche (One of, if not my favorite blue), and my favorite Lie de The`.

[PhiloPlume]

On 9/19/2025 at 7:51 PM, Penguincollector said:

I hope R&K Ebony works for you, @PhiloPlume! 🤞🏽

Delayed another few days from Amazon so a total of two weeks so far since I placed the order. I keep forgetting to check if somethings are shipped and sold by Amazon or 3rd party.  3rd party inks sometimes arrive leaking, put in a regular plastic bag, and make a mess. I just don't want to pay the shipping from Goulet, etc....  for just one bottle of ink or whatever!  So I should stop doing that 🙂

[PhiloPlume]

1 minute ago, PhiloPlume said:

Delayed another few days from Amazon so a total of two weeks so far since I placed the order. I keep forgetting to check if somethings are shipped and sold by Amazon or 3rd party.  3rd party inks sometimes arrive leaking, put in a regular plastic bag, and make a mess. I just don't want to pay the shipping from Goulet, etc....  for just one bottle of ink or whatever!  So I should stop doing that 🙂

I found the brand at JetPens and ordered some of this and a couple other colors and inks so I don't mind spending the money on shipping.  It was shipped the next business day regular mail (I think). I like JetPens a lot for regular office pens and paper and things like that but they seem to offer a lot of gurly stuff hehe

[jthole]

On 9/16/2025 at 1:42 AM, PhiloPlume said:

I know -OLD post.  Maybe someone will see it 🙂

 

I always thought Pelikan inks were very wet, just like their pens (Which are!).

 

I have a custom ground formal italic nib that I would like to get the finest hairlines and lines with.

 

in my experience, the Pelikan 4001 inks are rather dry, just like modern Sheaffer inks (at least the blue and purple). 

[PhiloPlume]

8 hours ago, jthole said:

in my experience, the Pelikan 4001 inks are rather dry, just like modern Sheaffer inks (at least the blue and purple). 

I am using Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black in it now. Need to do some comparisons.  It stinks! 🙂

 

Thanks.

[Bo Bo Olson]

As far as I know the 4001 inks are the driest. Blue Black the driest of the 4001 inks.

[dhanks]

23 hours ago, PhiloPlume said:

I am using Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black in it now. Need to do some comparisons.  It stinks! 🙂

 

Thanks.

By "It stinks" are you referring to its actual smell or to its performance as an ink?

Rumpole