Jump to content

Can You Recommend A Blue Ink?


lukeformosa

Recommended Posts

A colleague showed me his Twsbi Eco and I was so impressed by the piston-filler concept, it re-kindled my love of fountain pens after a 4-year hiatus. Now I need a nice blue ink to go with it :).

 

I've been using Parker Quink permanent blue for most of my life and I love it. My other favourite ink is Waterman Florida blue (last bottle I purchased was in 2009 so I still use the old name in my head ;) ).

 

Looking for an ink that's slightly less "purple" and more "blue" than these, with the following qualities:

  1. Quick-drying (I'm left-handed)
  2. Wet/smooth feel of nib on paper (I currently use a Lamy EF nib)
  3. Saturated/strong colour. I don't like dilute inks that show shading (I dislike Quink washable blue and Pelikan 4001 Blue for this reason)
  4. Won't stain the polycarbonate barrel of the Twisbi (hence my hesitation to try anything by Noodler's)
  5. Won't fade over time (Quink washable blue was notorious for this, school notes would be grey by the time I needed to study from them a year later)

Regarding the shade of blue, - something that's more light/blue than the Quink/Waterman, but far from torquise (I use it for work so it has to look "serious"). No darker colours - I'm not a fan of "murky" hues like Quink blue-black, much prefer pure blue or pure black.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 36
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • lukeformosa

    8

  • tonybelding

    3

  • 1nkulus

    2

  • Eclipse157

    2

Top Posters In This Topic

Posted Images

Wet + saturated + quick drying is a kind of a contradiction.

In general I would recommend Diamine Oxford Blue if it was really quick drying (which it is not).

Actually I like the same sort of inks that you described but I am afraid it is a tough job to find any. Maybe some Noodler's but I am not a fan of the brand so can't recommend any particular.

Edited by aurore

Seeking a Parker Duofold Centennial cap top medallion/cover/decal.
My Mosaic Black Centennial MK2 lost it (used to have silver color decal).

Preferably MK2. MK3 or MK1 is also OK as long as it fits.  
Preferably EU.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There are no shortcuts to finding your favorite shade of blue, lol. I say this rather playfully, as it's my favorite color and there's SO many blues out there...

 

I'd start ordering samples based off ink swabs (Goulet and Anderson Pens both do samples and I'm sure there are others; Goulet has an ink swab comparison tool to help you choose).

 

My favorites are Sailor Bung Box Hatsukoi (aka Sapphire), Noodler's Liberty's Elysium, and a mix I made from a 1:1 ratio of Iroshizuku Kon Peki and Iroshizuku Asa gao. An honorable mention goes to Asa gao, but it's more of a blurple and you indicated you weren't really looking for that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You might look at Diamine Blue Velvet, Monteverde Sapphire, and Monteverde Horizon Blue. All three of these inks are strong, saturated blues, and well behaved. Blue Velvet and Horizon Blue are often suggested as potential substitutes for the oft lamented Holy Grail of Blue inks for some, Parker Penman Sapphire. Blue Velvet seems to fall in between Mont Sapphire and Horizon Blue to my eye on most papers I write on. As far as some of the specifics of drying time, that will depend on paper and nib as well as ink. I’ve used all three inks many times, a d have seen no staining to date. Regarding durability, you’ll need to spend some time researching that. The suggested Oxford Blue is a beauty, but is a very dark ink.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You can look at ink reviews on FPN before ordering a sample.

 

There are no shortcuts to finding your favorite shade of blue, lol. I say this rather playfully, as it's my favorite color and there's SO many blues out there...

I'd start ordering samples based off ink swabs (Goulet and Anderson Pens both do samples and I'm sure there are others; Goulet has an ink swab comparison tool to help you choose).

+1

Engineer :

Someone who does precision guesswork based on unreliable data provided by those of questionable knowledge.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Texas Bluebonnet and Blue Steel. Both from Dromgooles. The Bluebonnet is a lighter color and will shade with a wide enough nib.

Peace and Understanding

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Texas Bluebonnet and Blue Steel. Both from Dromgooles. The Bluebonnet is a lighter color and will shade with a wide enough nib.

 

Texas Blue Bonnet is my personal all-time favorite blue ink. However, it's relatively high-maintenance, and it doesn't really match some of the other points that Luke asked for. It's not particularly fast-drying, and it's a fairly dark blue. I mean, not blue-black, but. . . dark.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll toss out some suggestions. . .

 

I'm not sure where you got the impression that Noodler's stains more than other brands, but that is not the case. It won't be a problem in your TWSBI. If fast drying is your priority, you might try Noodler's Luxury Blue. If you want something that's an attractive, saturated-but-not-too-dark blue and feels smooth when writing, then Noodler's American Eel Blue might do the trick.

 

If you want maximum blue color saturation, there is Monteverde Horizon Blue. You might find you get too much of a good thing, though. I ended up having to dilute mine!

 

Diamine Asa Blue is another all-around good and well behaved pure blue ink. It really has no eccentricities, and sometimes that's for the best.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's nice to see that I've started a lively discussion 😁.

 

To put "quick drying" in context, I've been writing with Parker Permanent Blue for over 15 years with no smudging. I've also written many years with Waterman Florida blue with no noticeable difference in smudging tendency. I wrote "quick drying" as my first point because I noticed in some sample swabs the ink still smudges after 30 seconds. My left hand will very likely smudge such an ink during normal writing if I tried to use it.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions. I actually planned to get a number of samples and a dip pen to test them all before I buy a bottle.

 

Since I'm in Europe, unfortunately Goulet is too expensive because of shipping and customs. After testing all the vendors who ship to Malta I've identified "The Writing Desk" as the site with the cheapest samples and biggest selection. My usual online store (Pen Heaven) came a very close second. Many samples are 1.50 so I can afford to sample up to around 10 colours. The motivation of

this thread is to narrow down which ones 😁.

 

Haven't bought the Twsbi yet, was planning to order it with the dip pen and the samples to save shipping costs.

 

Actually I know this is the ink sub-forum but does anyone have an opinion on the twisbi eco vs. the eco-t? I'm leaning towards the T because it's newer (and I'm coming from a Lamy Vista) but my colleague recommends against it.

Edited by lukeformosa
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another southpaw weighing in.

 

Diamine Midnight, a dark blue that you don't really notice...yet I keep reloading it in pen after pen.

 

Buy some samples. Include Midnight.

My latest ebook.   And not just for Halloween!
 

My other pen is a Montblanc.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

...After testing all the vendors who ship to Malta I've identified "The Writing Desk" as the site with the cheapest samples and biggest selection...

 

Diamine Denim and Oxford are my favorite blues, but because they lean toward blue-black, especially in an EF line. Since you've specified no darker shade, I'm guessing these are not what you seek.

 

I buy my Diamine from Anna at The Writing Desk. You should contact her with the same criteria you mention above and ask her what samples she'd suggest you try.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Diamine Denim and Oxford are my favorite blues, but because they lean toward blue-black, especially in an EF line. Since you've specified no darker shade, I'm guessing these are not what you seek.

 

I buy my Diamine from Anna at The Writing Desk. You should contact her with the same criteria you mention above and ask her what samples she'd suggest you try.

 

What a brilliant suggestion, thanks for the tip! Who better to get suggestions than someone standing next to a warehouse with 600 colours :lol: hehe.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Who better to get suggestions than someone standing next to a warehouse with 600 colours laugh.png hehe.

+1

 

You can jump start the conversation by suggesting some of the colours mentioned here.

 

W2FPN.gif

Engineer :

Someone who does precision guesswork based on unreliable data provided by those of questionable knowledge.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There are too many blues to count.

Waterman Florida/Serenity blue is an all time favorite and my most commonly used ink (it's always the first ink in a new pen). Inks that I'm also a big fan of and might meet your criteria include Monteverde Horizon blue, Bungubox Sapphire or Omotesando, Visconti Blue, or Iroshizuku Kon Peki.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My absolute favorite blue right now is Montblanc Permanent Blue. It's a nice shade of blue, fairly quick drying, permanent, and so far seems to be colorfast with no fading over time. IMHO it meets most of your desires listed above.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pilot Blue is pretty wet and quick drying IME, but I'm not sure if it's "too blue" for you. Maybe try the Blue-Black?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll second Iroshizuku Kon Peki. Beautiful bright blue, and a popular favorite with connoisseurs, for good reason. :)

Penaholic

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Agree with Iroshizuku Kon Peki

PAKMAN

minibanner.gif                                    Vanness-world-final.png.c1b120b90855ce70a8fd70dd342ebc00.png

                         My Favorite Pen Restorer                                             My Favorite Pen Store

                                                                                                                                Vanness Pens - Selling Online!

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Montblanc Royal Blue dries quickly on HP 32.

Edited by Jesus1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33501
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26627
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...