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tonybelding

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Another Pilot pick for the Iros, since those make up the majority of my regularly used inks.

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Hmm, if the question here is reliability, probably Pelikan (4001 series) and Waterman. I'd probably be mixing custom ink colours a lot, though.

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Events may be horrible or inescapable. Men always have a choice - if not whether, then how they endure.


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Sailor. The only drawback is the price of some of its inks now, notwithstanding that they aren't actually expensive if you're able to buy them in Japan (or order from Japan with free/reasonable shipping costs to wherever you live).

 

Platinum would be next.

 

Diamine, and Rohrer & Klingner too, are both very good for their asking prices. However, if I have to pick one brand and money is not a factor, the Japanese brands can take my money. On the other hand, if I'm limited to a measly $300 budget for my entire fountain pen ink collection, I'd probably go with Diamine.

I endeavour to be frank and truthful in what I write, show or otherwise present, when I relate my first-hand experiences that are not independently verifiable; and link to third-party content where I can, when I make a claim or refute a statement of fact in a thread. If there is something you can verify for yourself, I entreat you to do so, and judge for yourself what is right, correct, and valid. I may be wrong, and my position or say-so is no more authoritative and carries no more weight than anyone else's here.

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For vintage pens, can-do-no-wrong & affordable inks: Waterman, Pelikan 4001.

 

For first-rate performance: Sailor.

 

For lefties and/or use on any kind of paper: Platinum Blue-Black.

 

For a good mix of fun, wetness, volume and performance: KWZ inks (smell nice, too).

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Pilot Iro! Ama-Iro, Kon-Peki, my favorite blues.

 

Next is Montblanc Swan Illusion and Toffee Brown

 

Close third is Robert Oster. They are middle point between wet and dry, work really well with my wet Pelicans.

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If all my pens were modern, I would say Sailor. The colors are interesting, and the writing experience is delightful. However, I have been wary of using them in my vintage pens.

 

For vintage pens, although Waterman is my most trusted brand, I would lean toward Rohrer & Klingner or Birmingham.

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Diamine. One registrar's ink for addressing envelopes, and the rest of their line has basically any color I would want. They behave nicely in every pen I've ever owned, and are a solid value.

 

Honestly, I'd be sticking with Diamine exclusively right now if it weren't for an academic inclination (inklination?) to try other brands.

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I don't think I could answer this accurately. I have more Noodler's ink than anything else, followed closely behind by Diamine (those two are usually running neck and neck for sheer variety of colors). But I have so many different brands I don't think I could trust just one brand over another. My Red Shadow Wave Vac gets nothing but Waterman Mysterious Blue -- but for writing checks? I need something more permanent -- so for that there are several Noodler's inks that are are standby (Kung Te Cheng, 54th Massachusetts and El Lawrence). But I'm about to get myself a full bottle of Sailor Souboku (or maybe even two, because it's often hard to get). For journaling? I use a variety of inks and a variety of different colors. For drawing? Generally a variety of browns, particularly ones that lean sepia (rather than ones that lean red -- but I do like Diamine Terra Cotta...).

I have more blue and blue-black inks than any other color, but have a lot of purple inks as well. I'm fussy about reds and greens; and while I have a bunch of black ink samples I've never tried, my go-to blacks these days are Noodler's Heart of Darkness, Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black, and Iroshizuku Take-sumi (but that last one, while working GREAT in my Pilot Decimo, is NOT sturdy enough for something that needs to be water resistant.

What can I say? I was an art major. So COLOR is good. And the more subtle variations of that the better. But I'm *also* a Libra. So don't ask me to make up my mind -- you'll have a LOOONG wait.... :rolleyes:

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

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"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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Diamine for me.....

 

KWZ if Diamine somehow disappeared....

 

J. Herbin if KWZ disappeared....

 

Then Waterman...because darn it I don't have anymore time to search for ink, I need to write........

FP Ink Orphanage-Is an ink not working with your pens, not the color you're looking for, is never to see the light of day again?!! If this is you, and the ink is in fine condition otherwise, don't dump it down the sink, or throw it into the trash, send it to me (payment can be negotiated), and I will provide it a nice safe home with love, and a decent meal of paper! Please PM me!<span style='color: #000080'>For Sale:</span> TBA

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Inklination ! That's a good one !! I love it!!!

Life is too short to drink bad wine (Goethe)

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Aurora, black. Shaken, not stirred.

 

Brian

One test is worth a thousand expert opinions.

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1.Diamine

2.Diamine

3.Montblanc

"Are we at last brought to such humiliating and debasing degradation that we cannot be trusted with arms for our defense? Where is the difference between having our arms in possession and under our direction, and having them under the management of Congress? If our defense be the real object of having those arms, in whose hands can they be trusted with more propriety, or equal safety to us, as in our own hands?" Patrick Henry

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1. Sailor

2. Pelikan Edelstein

3. Colorverse

 

I would specifically have Tokiwa Matsu, Oku Yama, Smoky Quartz, Topaz, Tanzanite, Dark Energy, Able, and Gravity Wave. Those would be wet, juicy, pretty colors, which I thankfully do already have. :)

Gobblecup ~

 

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My favorite inks are spread across several brands in ones and twos. Sailor has 6 so I’d have to go with them, but I would be sad.

Yet another Sarah.

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1 Diamine

2 Pilot Iro

3 Robert Oster

 

Though I think I have more diamine ink than all the others put together.

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Over the last year: Monteverdi. Started with Horizon Blue, which is the closest I've found to Parker Penman Sapphire. Bought Monteverdi Sapphire, which is a nice purplish-blue. Just bought Ocean Noir. All well-behaved.

Washington Nationals 2019: the fight for .500; "stay in the fight"; WON the fight

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I'm an ink noobie :bunny01:

 

We're chock full in Pilot, my wife loves the vibrant colors and sounding cool slinging around the Japanese names :lol:

 

Then there's die hards of Aurora, Pelikan and Parker :P

 

Or the newcomers of Sailor, Akkkerman/Diamine and Montblanc ;)

 

But if I had to start over, there can be only Waterman, which comports well in vintage or modern :thumbup:

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It would probably be Diamine. While I don't use any currently, I've tried many and they're pretty decent inks for the most part. That they make infinite variations of every color under the sun makes them the obvious choice. Of course, the same could be said of Sailor.

It's hard work to tell which is Old Harry when everybody's got boots on.

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