Some Ink Tests

[Lithium466]

On 2/13/2026 at 9:24 AM, USG said:

 

 Hi LTM

Regarding our discussions about Athol Violet,  I was looking through an older notebook and I came across my first writing sample. Was this the color of your Athol Violet?  Also, @Penguincollector  I think you have a sample from LTM.  What color is your Athol Violet?

 

This was  Nov 1, '25

ENLARGE TO SEE DETAILS

 

And this is today, Feb 13..  I'm about 2/3s through a 50% fill.  It went from a shade of violet to a dark blue that outlines in gold.  Also note that the line width has changed.

 

 

 

Fresh from the bottle, I dipped the pen so the lines are darker...trying to give that ink a favorable review
In real use it's close to what you have in your "fresh" writing test. The matured version is much more interesting! Now will Athol go to Bilberry level? It's the right tone, and Bilberry is really saturated with (at least my bottle) some annoying tendencies to hard start.

 

Having restested it today and compared to R&K Königsblau (which is my nib grinding ink, that SFM went on a small diet), it's less blue but really not far, and with the same behaviour of being nice and vivid when wet, to fade to a duller version. Paper is Maruman Mnemosyne 70gsm.

 

On 2/13/2026 at 9:55 AM, USG said:

 

Hi Chris

Your post got me thinking that Imperial Blue might be a candidate for my Pilot 823, so I got out some dip pens to check it out. 

 

IIRC, somewhere in my posts there is a comparison to a very similar looking  Sapphire Blue but I don't know where it is, so I did it again.  

 

Both bottles are half full and 4 years old.

 

The first dip pen had a 'wet' Kaigelu <M> nib.

The second dip pen had a 'dry' Kaigelu Long Blade nib

The third dip pen was a 'Pilot Dip Pen' with an Un-removable <M> nib.

 

The 1st image is very large so click it a few times to get it opened all the way.  You can use the left-right arrow keys to toggle back and forth between the close ups.

 

 

Close Ups

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am shocked to see how close they are here! I tried Imperial blue last week and found it dull and unsaturated, while I remember Sapphire being a bit stronger. Unlike Athol violet, Imperial blue didn't strike me as being unlubricated...I suppose a full retest and comparison with Saphire is in order.

 

Seeing all these blues, perhaps the issue is that after a few days or weeks in a pen, most of them just look alike. @USG do you still think Imperial blue could be a candidate for your 823? 

 

 

While I was playing with my 743, I took a picture of the gasket thing for you (usually it stays in the section):

 

[USG]

11 hours ago, Lithium466 said:

 

 

Fresh from the bottle, I dipped the pen so the lines are darker...trying to give that ink a favorable review
In real use it's close to what you have in your "fresh" writing test. The matured version is much more interesting! Now will Athol go to Bilberry level? It's the right tone, and Bilberry is really saturated with (at least my bottle) some annoying tendencies to hard start.

 

Having restested it today and compared to R&K Königsblau (which is my nib grinding ink, that SFM went on a small diet), it's less blue but really not far, and with the same behaviour of being nice and vivid when wet, to fade to a duller version. Paper is Maruman Mnemosyne 70gsm.

 

 

I am shocked to see how close they are here! I tried Imperial blue last week and found it dull and unsaturated, while I remember Sapphire being a bit stronger. Unlike Athol violet, Imperial blue didn't strike me as being unlubricated...I suppose a full retest and comparison with Saphire is in order.

 

Seeing all these blues, perhaps the issue is that after a few days or weeks in a pen, most of them just look alike. @USG do you still think Imperial blue could be a candidate for your 823? 

 

 

While I was playing with my 743, I took a picture of the gasket thing for you (usually it stays in the section):

 

 

Hey LTM- 😀

I signed on to talk about the Tomoe River machine # 9 paper I purchased from Yamamoto a couple of years ago.  @Penguincollector told me about it and I ordered some.  It was sold as the original Tomoe River paper but a very tiny disclaimer revealed that it was from the dreaded machine #9 ,  Never the less, I've been using it for a while and for all intents and purposes, it's the original paper and a joy to write on. 

 

Athol Violet:  Sounds like a sore throat lozenge....😆  Anyway, the color in your first pic looked closer to my matured color, but there in your nib photo you captured the color perfectly.  I'd say it's close enough to be the same as my fresh sample.  I have it loaded in an Asvine V800<F> and the more I use it the more I like it. It seems to have settled in as a nice dark blue and I don't think it's going to get any darker, but we'll see.  

 

Bilberry:  I had the same dry out-hard start problems you had when I used it in regular pens but it found a home in my 743<FA>.  

 

Lubrication:  I still don't have a handle on Lubrication.  Athol Violet, Imperial Blue, Sapphire blue, China Blue and Blue Velvet all feel the same to me after a few days in a pen, but I'm not an authority.  My feeling is not to judge any of these inks out of the bottle unless I'm going to use them with a dip pen or a pen that seals like a Wing Sung 601, which doesn't mature ink to any extent.

 

Maruman Mnemosyne paper:  Not a fan.  Check these inks out on Cosmo Snow, Iroful or Tomoe River-S.

 

Sub-Optimal Paper:  There are others but this pic was handy.

 

 

Pilot 823<M>:  I'm in a quandary about which ink.  Between Imperial Blue and Sapphire Blue, I was surprise to find the Sapphire Blue shaded more, which, under normal circumstance would put it in the lead... except for the moldy smell.  So I don't think I'm going to use either of them and contaminate my 823.   So what's left?  Taccia AO has potential.   Ruri and Verrerie don't go anywhere and are too dark, so is Koiai.  What's the point of all these dark blue inks?  I could just as well use Waterman Blue and never see the difference. 

 

I really like Tswario Blue but you're not supposed to use it in a Vac filler.   First Love Pigment is very nice but I already have it in an M1000<EF>.  There's  First Love Dye, but it's not as dynamic as the Pigment version but it's a contender. The Blue Blacks are already in other pens - I wonder if I could get away with Platinum Blue Black, probably not.   I just tried out Sailor Souten but it looks like Iroshizuku Tsuyu-Kusa... both too light. I even though of Sailor #743 because it outlines.

 

The gasket thing:  Great pic.  Now I know what it looks like... but you warned me that it's not the greatest idea to take the pen apart to clean it that way because the feed could get loose.  So 2 strikes for Pilot.  First they glued the section to the barrel, then they used a friction fit nib and feed instead of a screw in nib section.  

 

Here are some of the inks I was considering for the 823.

CLICK TO ENLARGE

 

[USG]

Close Ups: from What Pen Are You Using

[M1000]

 

 

[Lithium466]

7 hours ago, USG said:

 

Athol Violet:  Sounds like a sore throat lozenge....😆  Anyway, the color in your first pic looked closer to my matured color, but there in your nib photo you captured the color perfectly.  I'd say it's close enough to be the same as my fresh sample.  I have it loaded in an Asvine V800<F> and the more I use it the more I like it. It seems to have settled in as a nice dark blue and I don't think it's going to get any darker, but we'll see.  

 

 

I join you on the naming 😂

I should have been clearer, the first two lines in my writing samples are R&K Königsblau (which is very close to Waterman Serenity blue, fading included), the rest is Athol violet. I was surprised to see such little difference, but as I was dipping the pen it was probably writing much wetter than through a regular fill.

 

 

7 hours ago, USG said:

Bilberry:  I had the same dry out-hard start problems you had when I used it in regular pens but it found a home in my 743<FA>.  

 

Is it "usable" in the 743 FA? I really like Bilberry's colour, sheen and lubrication but the hard starts are a pet peeve. I tried it in a Moonman Ti200 and it still hard started there! Maybe it'd need a Parker 51 or a pen with a hooded nib and a generous flow. Perhaps a Lamy 2000.

 

7 hours ago, USG said:

Lubrication:  I still don't have a handle on Lubrication.  Athol Violet, Imperial Blue, Sapphire blue, China Blue and Blue Velvet all feel the same to me after a few days in a pen, but I'm not an authority.  My feeling is not to judge any of these inks out of the bottle unless I'm going to use them with a dip pen or a pen that seals like a Wing Sung 601, which doesn't mature ink to any extent.

 

These are wise words, but what if you like lighter blues? That said, many of your writing samples below are showing some nice "lighter" blue, MV Capri, Diamine Royal blue, Sailor Michigan (Souten dries very dull, no?).

What's your take on MV Horizon blue?

 

7 hours ago, USG said:

Maruman Mnemosyne paper:  Not a fan.  Check these inks out on Cosmo Snow, Iroful or Tomoe River-S.

 

Agreed, that's some scrap paper from an old agenda, and my "nib grinding paper": it makes the lines just a touch wider than TR or Rhodia, but not as much as Iroful, so I use it as a "middle" paper to evaluate what I'm doing. 
Colours are dullesville, for sure.

 

7 hours ago, USG said:

Pilot 823<M>:  I'm in a quandary about which ink.  Between Imperial Blue and Sapphire Blue, I was surprise to find the Sapphire Blue shaded more, which, under normal circumstance would put it in the lead... except for the moldy smell.  So I don't think I'm going to use either of them and contaminate my 823.   So what's left?  Taccia AO has potential.   Ruri and Verrerie don't go anywhere and are too dark, so is Koiai.  What's the point of all these dark blue inks?  I could just as well use Waterman Blue and never see the difference. 

 

I really like Tswario Blue but you're not supposed to use it in a Vac filler.   First Love Pigment is very nice but I already have it in an M1000<EF>.  There's  First Love Dye, but it's not as dynamic as the Pigment version but it's a contender. The Blue Blacks are already in other pens - I wonder if I could get away with Platinum Blue Black, probably not.   I just tried out Sailor Souten but it looks like Iroshizuku Tsuyu-Kusa... both too light. I even though of Sailor #743 because it outlines.

 

I don't remember if you tried Iris sagesse yet. I have an unopened bottle, looking for a pen match.

What about Krishna Peacock blue? I discovered it thanks to @Penguincollector but now it's time for a bottle!

Or Sailor 443? It's a lighter 743 that's a bit boring out of the bottle, but should be nice enough once matured.

Or 741...but that's not blurple. Still a very nice discovery once again thanks to @Penguincollector 😊

 

 

7 hours ago, USG said:

The gasket thing:  Great pic.  Now I know what it looks like... but you warned me that it's not the greatest idea to take the pen apart to clean it that way because the feed could get loose.  So 2 strikes for Pilot.  First they glued the section to the barrel, then they used a friction fit nib and feed instead of a screw in nib section.  

 

Well in all fairness that's just the same thing as the Platinum and Sailor with friction fit feeds  

 

7 hours ago, USG said:

Here are some of the inks I was considering for the 823.

CLICK TO ENLARGE

 

Adding Waterman mysterious blue, MV Horizon blue (is MV Sapphire blue too dark?), or perhaps just use Diamine China blue and put something else in the 743, like Tsuwairo blue?

[USG]

● Moonman P136<F>

   Robert Oster Ink Mix, Blue Water Ice + Illinois residue

 

● Sailor 1911L<MF>

   Monteverde Capri Blue, darkened in the pen

 

● Asvine V800<F>

   Sailor Shikiori Souten

 

● Asvine V200<F>

   Kon-Peki

 

Cosmo Snow Paper

 

 

 

 

[Penguincollector]

On 2/15/2026 at 6:45 PM, USG said:

Here are some of the inks I was considering for the 823.

  I like the sheen on Nioi-Sumire and Hiroshige Ruri. I did find the athol violet, wrote with it and then forgot to take a picture. I will post that today. 
 

The BWI/Illinois mix is 😍 

[USG]

Konagi:  Pink Glow

 

Fuji: Good shading

 

Elysium: Good shading, good color, chemical smell

 

Souten:  Looks like it has the potential to mature into an outline ink

 

Bilberry:  Gold sheen, likes the FA nib

 

Pilot Blue Black:  Matured with an FPR Italic nib

 

First Love Dye: I dipped the 823 - Meh

 

A blast from the past

[USG]

12 hours ago, Penguincollector said:

  I like the sheen on Nioi-Sumire and Hiroshige Ruri. I did find the athol violet, wrote with it and then forgot to take a picture. I will post that today. 
 

The BWI/Illinois mix is 😍 

 

Nioi-Sumire is a killer sheener as well as being a great dark blue.  It was surprising that Ruri sheened as much as it did.

 

I forgot to take pics of 2 pages of Tomoe River #9 paper.  I'll post the pages tomorrow.

 

Fountain Pen Therapy had a review of #9 Vs. Original.  He was going by sheen amount.  I went by feathering.

 

Here are some examples:

 

Good:  OK, off to a good start

 

Also good:

 

Nice: Colorful sheen

 

Not so Good:

 

Bad:

 

Very bad:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Chris1]

That is a very subtle difference and one I missed completely.

 

Regarding Penman, I bought a box of twelve bottles of Sapphire from a local, well-known, stationer when I worked in London. I also bought a box of a dozen MB Blue-Black Permanent. In both cases, they were the last of their stock and they hand-delivered them to me as their shop was only round the corner. It caused much amusement to the other staff at work, but they were happy with their ballpoints from the stationery cupboard!

 

That Sapphire is certainly the genuine article and I love it, though you must have white paper to appreciate it fully, which is where we came in...

[Penguincollector]

5 hours ago, Chris1 said:

That Sapphire is certainly the genuine article and I love it, though you must have white paper to appreciate it fully, which is where we came in...

  I recommend both Cosmo Air Snow (get it now while supplies last) and Yamamoto Art Paper for truly white paper. I haven’t tried PPS on the Art Paper yet, but it’s on my list. 

[Penguincollector]

 

   Here’s the Athol Violet sample. Shades nicely, very blurple. I like it. 

[Chris1]

That Athol Violet reminds me of the ink that was, I believe, commonly used in French schools. I'm sure there was a long thread about it some time ago but I forget whether the exact ink was identified.

[USG]

On 2/18/2026 at 6:29 AM, Chris1 said:

That is a very subtle difference and one I missed completely.

 

Regarding Penman, I bought a box of twelve bottles of Sapphire from a local, well-known, stationer when I worked in London. I also bought a box of a dozen MB Blue-Black Permanent. In both cases, they were the last of their stock and they hand-delivered them to me as their shop was only round the corner. It caused much amusement to the other staff at work, but they were happy with their ballpoints from the stationery cupboard!

 

That Sapphire is certainly the genuine article and I love it, though you must have white paper to appreciate it fully, which is where we came in...

Wow, 12 bottles of Penman Sapphire, that’s a lot.  😀👍
 

Could you post some writing samples?

 

Have you noticed any differences in color between bottles?

[USG]

22 hours ago, Penguincollector said:

 

   Here’s the Athol Violet sample. Shades nicely, very blurple. I like it. 

Same color as mine.  I like it too.  😀

[Lithium466]

10 hours ago, Chris1 said:

That Athol Violet reminds me of the ink that was, I believe, commonly used in French schools. I'm sure there was a long thread about it some time ago but I forget whether the exact ink was identified.

I think Herbin likes to say it's their Violette pensée. Maybe it was just whatever purple ink powders or caplets that were the cheapest at the moment, or simply available locally... Chanta is one example.

[USG]

9 hours ago, Lithium466 said:

I think Herbin likes to say it's their Violette pensée. Maybe it was just whatever purple ink powders or caplets that were the cheapest at the moment, or simply available locally... Chanta is one example.

 

I have a bottle from the mid '90s.  It's bluer than the current formulation.

 

 

 

What's "Chanta" ?

[USG]

I was considering these inks for the 823.  I dipped it in First Love Dye and am not impressed.

 

CLICK A COUPLE OF TIMES TO ENLARGE

[Lithium466]

2 hours ago, USG said:

 

I have a bottle from the mid '90s.  It's bluer than the current formulation.

 

 

What's "Chanta" ?

A long gone brand of ink in tablets or powder. One tablet, add water, and you have a liter of ink. Desks had holes to put the inkwells and the best students had the privilege to refill the whole classroom. Lick your Baignol&Farjon nib and go on to make ink blots with that absolutely terrible ink 😂

 

Your VP ink looks past due? Like it lost all vibrancy.

 

 

(a competitor, before 1960)

 

2 hours ago, USG said:

I was considering these inks for the 823.  I dipped it in First Love Dye and am not impressed.

 

CLICK A COUPLE OF TIMES TO ENLARGE

What part isn't impressing you much? It looks good to me. Perhaps MV Horizon blue looks fancier.

Do you have long term experience with the Noodler's in a demonstrator/semi demonstrator pen?

 

 

Re: Diamine Bilberry in a Lamy 2000, it was fantastic and wet and luscious with a ton of sheen, until I paused for a bit too long, and that wouldn't have been for more than 20s, then it hard started. Fail. 

[Ceramicist]

3 hours ago, USG said:

 

I have a bottle from the mid '90s.  It's bluer than the current formulation.

 

 

 

What's "Chanta" ?

That's a beautiful label! 

[Chris1]

Herbin Violette Pensee - that was the name. A few of my French colleagues seemed to like that colour ink too. Maybe it was the French equivalent of Parker Royal Blue at schools.

 

Back in junior school, when we were first exposed to pen and ink rather than pencil, ink was made up from a powder in class and indeed poured into white china inkwells in the desks as needed. We made quite a mess at times! From memory, the ink was a sort of greenish-tinged black with a weird smell but not the same as old Parker inks with Solv-X. Gradually, some of us acquired fountain pens even at the age of 10, which were used rather than the school dip-and-scratch pens, as we called them. Of course, fountain pens were compulsory at senior school, age 11 for most of us.

 

Down to my last eight bottles of Penman Sapphire, with a few Ebony and a Ruby as well; never tried the green variant.