Looking for Blue ink suggestions

[Sailor Kenshin]

Just when I thought it was safe to venture into the ink store...

 

Thanks dmmcf and Steve for your comments regarding Parker and Sheaffer ink. I'll have to mull that over.

 

And thanks for your suggestions, Bill.

 

I guess I am looking for a straightforward blue; one that doesn't shade to purple as Aurora it seems does, nor one that shades to cobalt as some of the suggestions do.

 

Just a plain middle of the road true blue. From all of the suggestions made, it seems PR American Blue might be the one.

 

Thanks much one and all! And I thought buying fountain pens was difficult!!

 

Chris

 

I've tried PR American Blue and it's very nice. It might be just what you want!

 

[piembi]

I’d appreciate recommendations for a true color blue of medium intensity which will work in fine or extra-fine nibs.

 

Visconti blue! Visconti is the one and only and works in every pen I have filled with this ink.

 

Aurora blue, Diamine Imperial blue and Sapphire blue or even Waterman Florida blue have purple hues.

Pelikan blue or Lamy blue are rather light.

Waterman and Quink will fade.

Cannot comment on Herbin since I don't have it ....

[DeaconKC]

I use both Quink Blue and American Blue, they are both very nice and I like them a lot. Both flow well in all size nibs from everyone's pens I've tried but if you have a really fast flowing pen the PR might be a little too much of a good thing.

[calluna]

Not that you don't have plenty of suggestions, but of my two favorites only one has been listed here: eclat de saphir. My go-to blue is nearly always yard o led blue. You might want to consider their blue-black also.

 

Also...if you're worried about appropriateness but still want non-black, try a dark brown ink. It has sufficient dignity and is also not black.

 

cheers,

calluna

[BillTheEditor]

Not that you don't have plenty of suggestions, but of my two favorites only one has been listed here: eclat de saphir. My go-to blue is nearly always yard o led blue. You might want to consider their blue-black also.

Yard-o-Led ink is Diamine, re-labeled, IIRC.

[cmenice]

J. Herbin Eclat de Saphir. I also like Pilot blue.

[jbn10161]

I’d appreciate recommendations for a true color blue of medium intensity which will work in fine or extra-fine nibs.

Chris, like you I write almost exclusively in black. There might be a pen lying around with green or brown, but rarely blue. I used to write in blue, though, and occasionally will come across notes written in the ink I used to use (which is still in my closet). I find J. Herbin's Bleu Nuit to be a very pleasing blue. I'm not sure what you mean by "a true color blue." Herbin's Bleu Nuit has a gray note, so it doesn't scream blue; it is an unusual shade. You can see a good sample of it, depending on your monitor, here. As for the fine nibs, Herbin inks are very nicely flowing and smooth.

 

[Chris H]

I can clearly say this has turned out far more difficult than I imagined. But I just discovered the Review section here!!! So I took all the suggestions and read the reviews. Whew!

 

Thanks jbn for your comment. I took a look and of the two Eclat would be the one I was more looking for, but there seems to be some indication it shades to purple -- which I don't want. So the Bleu Nuit may be a possibility.

 

And calluna maybe your suggestion is best -- go for a dark brown!!

 

I thank everyone for the suggestions. I have decided to pick 4 inks and get samples from Pear Tree. Not sure which 4 as Pear Tree doesn't carry everything suggested here.

 

Thanks!

 

Chris

[southpaw]

Another vote for Visconti Blue. The color is a true blue. The ink is very well behaved. The bottle is uber-cool, and you can also buy inexpensive plastic refill bottles. The Herbin is good ink, but the bottles stink - way too shallow. Omas Blue is also good.

[calluna]

I thought YOL came first, but today they are the same folks. I didn't see Diamine there either on this list, but perhaps I missed it. I have both.

 

Not that you don't have plenty of suggestions, but of my two favorites only one has been listed here: eclat de saphir. My go-to blue is nearly always yard o led blue. You might want to consider their blue-black also.

Yard-o-Led ink is Diamine, re-labeled, IIRC.

Edited October 29, 2008 by calluna

[tmenyc]

PR Lake Placid Blue -- I am an almost always user of black, for notes, for lots and lots of signatures (I sign a lot of business checks...), so really enjoy the warmth and brightness of the blue. You can feel the deep, cold water...

[Sailor Kenshin]

I thank everyone for the suggestions. I have decided to pick 4 inks and get samples from Pear Tree. Not sure which 4 as Pear Tree doesn't carry everything suggested here.

 

Thanks!

 

Chris

 

I've bought two of their ink sampler kits---it's a great way to test an ink at a low price!

 

Or you could always sign on to the ink sampler exchange.

[Chris H]

Thanks again for all who commented and gave their advice. Much, much appreciated.

 

Taking all of your opinions and doing research in the ink review section, I have put together two Pear Tree Samplers to get and try:

 

#1

 

Private Reserve American Blue

Noodler's Blue

Noodler's Luxury Blue

Noodler's Ottoman Azure

 

 

#2

 

Private Reserve Lake Placid Blue

Diamine Royal Blue

J. Herbin Bleu Nuit

Sailor Blue

 

 

Thanks again for all your help. This is a great place!

 

Chris

 

 

 

[TMac]

My favorite blue is Waterman Florida Blue.

[DeaconKC]

You're gonna have a fun/hard time deciding with all those great choices! Enjoy

[Pen Nut]

Tried to convince myself that Noodlers Baystate Blue was the one for me but not long before I was back on Waterman Florida Blue. It just does everything well with no skipping, clogging or nib creep.

[Chris H]

Thanks DeaconKC for the encouragement.

 

Pen Nut and TMac, the reason I decided not to include Waterman Florida Blue in my initial selections is that it seems to shade to purple and I don't really want that. If I can't find anything I like amongst these 8, I may indeed get a sample and give it a go. Thanks for giving me your votes! WFB does have a lot of likers.

 

Chris

 

 

 

[redshifteffect]

Thanks DeaconKC for the encouragement.

 

Pen Nut and TMac, the reason I decided not to include Waterman Florida Blue in my initial selections is that it seems to shade to purple and I don't really want that. If I can't find anything I like amongst these 8, I may indeed get a sample and give it a go. Thanks for giving me your votes! WFB does have a lot of likers.

 

Chris

 

I initially got WFB based on the reviews on this forum. When I used it in a medium point cross the result was what looked like a very faded out blue. Not what I was looking for at all. I then tried Pelikan Royal blue which looked a lot brighter.

 

Now that I got a Parker 51 Fine, the WFB looks a lot different! It looks a lot brighter and much more like the screen shots I've seen of it here. So the nib/pen can make a huge difference on the appearance of the ink.

[Chris H]

Thanks for the info, red, I'll keep that in mind.

 

Chris

 

 

 

[Chris H]

I want to thank everyone who gave voice to their favorites and offered suggestions.

 

Today I happened to be in a Blick Art and Craft store. They had Sheaffer Skrip Black and Blue. So I bought a bottle of each.

 

I gave the blue a test drive in my fine-point Waterman Phileas and an Esterbrook J with a medium 2668 nib. The ink is clearly blue to my eye. No shading towards the green or red spectrums that I could detect. I think the ink a tad lighter in the fine point pen. Either way, a nice serviceable blue. So for now, I think I'll put my blue search to rest.

 

Thanks again.

 

Chris