Seeking A Waterproof Sepia Ink

[Mongoosey]

Cleaning every two weeks for modern IG inks is a bit overkill, and honestly with most quality made pens refilling the pen with the same IG ink after writing a pen empty can be done for a good many months if the ink has not dried out, or left to do so in the pen for any great period of time. Maintenance really isn't as different as conventional inks if you are using the pens regularly. If left to dry out, than a little bit more effort will need to go into cleaning if the ink has had iron precipitate out of it. But, as is recommended with any ink, try not to have this happen. I agree with Dominique that Diamine and ESSRI are considered the most iron gall concentrated of fountain pen friendly IG inks, and are drier than the KWZ inks, Diamine being the most. A wet writing pen will have these inks at their best. KWZ inks flow beautifully from every pen I tried, they also can feather or spread a bit more on lesser quality paper than Diamine, ESSRI, or other standard variety IG's, but are also not as bad as more conventional inks.

 

Worth a few samples if anything I think....

 

I agree with this.

 

You don't want to leave a pen filled with Iron Gall sitting unused for two weeks.

 

I can attest that. I left a TWSBI Eco inked with R&K Scabiosa unused for several weeks and noticed a diminished flow upon returning to it. I cleaned it out pretty easily and it worked great again.

 

IME and IMO, a good rule with Iron Gall inks is to put them in a pen you'll be using regularly. The consistent use greatly reduces necessary maintenance. JakobS said it well.

[jbphotographs]

I've been trying out the Rohrer Klingner Sketch Inks (all waterproof I think) designed for sketching with fountain pens. The one titled Lily is a really nice brown.

[Antsy]

I see Rohrer & Klingner Sepia has been recommended - I also came here to recommend it. It's close to natural sepia colour, and in my experience it also has a lot of water resistance. It does tend to be hard to clean out of a pen and seems a little like a pigmented ink even though it isn't sold as such, so I wouldn't leave it sitting unused in a pen for long periods of time. One of my favourite inks though.

 

If you're looking for an ink like Ina-Ho that is water resistant, though, that's another matter. Sailor Rikyu-Cha is somewhat similar although darker, and seems to have some water resistance. KWZ Honey is also somewhat similar but I don't know about its water resistance. KWZ IG (iron gall) Gold is somewhat in that range, and they may have some other similar IG colours - that might be your best bet.

Edited March 24, 2019 by Antsy

[thesmellofdustafterrain]

Thanks everyone for your wonderful suggestions.

 

After trying some samples, I decided to go with a big bottle of Noodler's-Manjiro Nakahama Whaleman's Sepia. The colour is darker than I was looking for, but it has a gravitas to it that helps set the mood for the project.

[Intensity]

I’d also highly recommend a set of Herbin Lie de The cartridges or small bottle — my favorite complex brown that’s vintage but interesting, and really benign for all pen types. Very legible after water spill or rub.