Ink Recommendations

[Snargle]

Modern iron gall inks (e.g. R&K Salix and Scabiosa, Diamine Registrars) are not as problematic as some of the older, more corrosive formulas. Even so, they shouldn't be left in pens for extended periods of time (several weeks or months) without flushing. Also, pens should be thoroughly cleaned before filling with different, non-IG inks. Of course, that's good advice for any ink.

 

[Kevan]

I prefer Diamine inks and J Herbin. Always easy to flush, good flow. I have good things about Kobe inks from Japan I personally have not used it yet. They are on E-Bay, $20 with free shipping.

Yeah, the Kobe inks are part of Sailor's Japan-only ranges. There's so many inks (and of late there have been difficulties with inks shipping out of Japan; not pens, but inks specifically -- no idea why) in the various ranges that I don't even want to look at them and be interested.

Since they're Sailor, they're great, so $20 a bottle isn't a bad deal, but that's just a bug that I don't want to be bitten by.

 

[Al_S]

Some of these have already been mentioned, but I really like Iroshizuku Tsuki Yo and Asa Gao. Noodler's Liberty Elysium is also a favorite of mine, a beautiful blue though I've had some trouble with it in some pens. In some pens it seems too wet & leaks a bit. In one, an Aurora Crystal my Noodlers inks often wouldn't start. I suspected the pen was having issues and set it aside, but later came back to it after buying the Tsukiyo and it flowed fine without any hiccups. Mont Blanc Leonardo Divinci (a chalk reddish/orangish brown) is a really interesting color as well.

 

[whosaidpigeon]

I don't have a lot of experience with a huge range of inks, only having started this adventure last June, but I agree that Diamine make some good inks. I'm quite partial to their Majestic Blue ,which in my eyes is almost identical to Noodler's Liberty's Elysium (minus the semi-bulletproof) properties, and also Twilight if I'm thinking Blue/Black. Still haven't found a red that I am truly taken with, but I'm thinking of getting a sample of Red Dragon as that seems to look bright, without being eye searing. I know Oxblood gets a lot of love, but it seems a bit flat, colour wise, to me.

Iroshizuku inks... To me they seem a little boring as they Just Work(tm) (in everything, on every paper); But their bottles are awesome. I'm still trying to find one of their inks I really like the colour of, just so I can have a bottle. I might have to revisit my Tsuki-yo sample...

Noodler's... I've been a bit disappointed with the samples I've had. 54th was greener than I was looking for and was a pain to clean. Dragon's Napalm didn't have quite have.. something. I can't put my finger on it exactly. Black Swan in Australian Roses was pretty decent, but I don't find that I write in that particular colour very often. Liberty's Elysium is probably my favourite Noodler's and I'm pretty close to buying a bottle of that.

Lamy... no one seems to mention these, but going back through my sample writing I still find Lamy Blue a pleasing colour to look at and it has held up well. From memory it was well behaved. I guess the only criticism of this is that it looks a bit too Bic Ball Point.

Wow. I kind of rambled on a bit there....

 

[Eeyore]

Not to hijack the thread (well maybe a little) whats there to know for us relative noobs about Iron Gall inks?

Do not fear, but do respect.

 

[Eeyore]

Lamy... no one seems to mention these, but going back through my sample writing I still find Lamy Blue a pleasing colour to look at and it has held up well. From memory it was well behaved. I guess the only criticism of this is that it looks a bit too Bic Ball Point.

I am still a user of Lamy inks. But lately, I rate the Akkerman offerings higher than any other inks I own, with the exception of Diamine inks.

 

[andrew98]

I really like Diamine and Pilot Iroshizuku inks. I have several bottles and many samples of the former and a couple bottles of the latter. Pelikan 4001 blue-black is wonderful (and water resistant), but you have to order it from the UK or Europe. Pelikan Edelstein Inks are nice too but are relatively expensive. Waterman, Sheaffer, and Parker inks are reliable standbys.

I think Diamine inks are among the best value out there, and they perform well.

-Andy

 

[nortac]

You can get Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black through Amazon and it ships from Japan. Takes a while to get here, but worth the wait!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0026I4UGY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[eezee]

So there has been one big "No" vote on Private Reserve. Is this a consensus? Is there any love out there for this brand of ink?

 

[BubblesTGB]

So there has been one big "No" vote on Private Reserve. Is this a consensus? Is there any love out there for this brand of ink?

I use a couple of PR inks and have had no problem with them at all. Because the snorkel is kind of a pain to flush, I just keep Private Reserve Lake Placid Blue in it all of the time. I flush it once every 4-6 fills and I haven't had an issue with it.

I'm also a fan of American Blue. This month, Goulet's ink drop had Ebony Purple. I'm really liking this ink and may have to pick up a bottle, though the last thing I need is another bottle of ink.

 

[musicman1951]

Richard Binder (who has forgotten more about pens than I know) recommends Waterman and Diamine. My collection is almost all Diamine and I have been very happy.
. . . there are several problems that can be traced to the use of Private Reserve or Noodler’s inks. Among these problems are flow issues and clogging, mold, staining, and actual destruction of pens.

I always figure it's better to be safe than sorry.

 

[LouieGrandie]

Here is everything you need to know about ink. One of the, if the THE best source of information on the web about ink.

http://www.marcuslink.com/pens/ink/index.htm

 

[Kevan]

Richard Binder (who has forgotten more about pens than I know) recommends Waterman and Diamine. My collection is almost all Diamine and I have been very happy.
. . . there are several problems that can be traced to the use of Private Reserve or Noodler’s inks. Among these problems are flow issues and clogging, mold, staining, and actual destruction of pens.

I always figure it's better to be safe than sorry.

This statement has been addressed many times by Noodlers ink users and the reactions range anywhere from "Nibmeisters are biased against Noodlers!" (ridiculous statement, since Mr. Binder also praises Bulletproof Black elsewhere on his site as being an excellent ink) to "These are just examples of people not doing proper pen hygiene and allowing the ink to dry out," to "Nathan already said that Baystate Blue only destroys cheap Asian plastic feeds, and I don't own a Vanishing Point so it doesn't affect me!"

Now, I haven't watched the whole film-length Youtube video where Nathan Tardif defends his precious creation BSB from the "holier-than-thou's" (his term), but the portions I did watch include a fair bit of misunderstanding and misconstruing on his part, and I haven't read his long posts defending his inks from attack on all sides. I haven't actually seen the "cheap Asian plastic" comment from him directly...only secondhand, from other people. If he did actually say that term in reference to Vanishing Point feeds (and the picture on Richard Binder's site), then I have to say that's a sad thing. To call any Pilot/Namiki fountain pen cheap in construction is just off the mark in so many ways. It's the ink that's the problem, not the plastic used by a 95 year old company that knows what they're doing. (EDIT: Apparently, the comment was made in reference to Lamy feeds, not Pilot feeds. But still, any ink that can destroy the plastic in a feed is the problem, not the plastic)

As to the flow issues and clogging, I've had that happen to me on multiple occasions, using PR and Noodlers inks. I'm not a neophyte that doesn't flush out my pens regularly, but sometimes I have a lot of pens inked at once so some pens don't get used for several days at a time, or a week. As I've said already, these inks are heavily saturated, and they tend to get all concentrated and greasy and thick, and you have flow issues in as little as a week. I experienced this not too long age with a Jinhao 950 and Noodlers Navy. I didn't use the pen for 6 days, and when I returned to it, it wouldn't write. I had to re-prime the feed and dip the nib in water for it to write again. Sure, it's a slip-cap, but so is the Pilot Elite and that thing writes every time, all the time, and I don't use it but maybe once a week. And once I went 3 weeks. I only use inks that I trust in it, though.

But those are just my personal experiences. Going back to Mr. Binder and other Nibmeisters that warn against Noodlers and PR inks, these guys see more pens every week than we would in our lifetime. They have vast experience. And sure, a lot of the pens they see are pens that belonged to owners that didn't flush regularly. but that still doesn't negate their vast experience.

That said, these statements are their opinions. There are many, many users of Noodlers and PR inks out there that haven't had the experiences I've had. That's fine. I'm just glad that we live in a time where we have LOTS of choice of which inks to use.

 

[Doc4]

Argghh!!



I had a nice, long comment posted in response to Kevan's latest, and then I somehow clicked the little "x" at the top of the page and closed my B&B page ... and lost the whole thing.

Dag-nab it!!

Oh well ... the highlights:

I much prefer when someone like Richard Binder is specific about which Noodler's he thinks are good and bad ... praising Black and slamming BSB, for example, rather than speaking in broad "Noodler's sucks" terms. I've had great Noodler's inks, mediocre ones, and outright terrible ones.

As for Nathan ... he's ... a "character". Think of him as "mostly Willy Wonka with a bit of backwoods Montana "prepper" nut thrown in".

And yes, his inks are on the more saturated end of things. Therein lies one of those "ink trade-offs" I spoke of earlier. That said, some Noodler's inks do well anyhow, and tend not to cause problems. I'd still recommend the ones mentioned earlier in this thread (and some others), but certainly would NOT give a "blanket brand recommendation" to a pen n00b.

 

[LouieGrandie]

Here is something interesting everyone can chew on:

In 1996 Gregory Clark had an article published in Pen World giving the pH levels of a wide variety of inks. A low pH reading indicates the relative level of acid to a high pH reading that indicates the level of alkaline. Some brands/colours are listed with two different readings. That is because Gregory included both the pH levels found through his testing and those reported by the pen manufactures.
Readings that have been previously reported for the pH levels of inks include:

• 1.7 for OMAS Blue-Black, OMAS Royal Blue, Visconti, Lapis Blue;
• 2.2 for Montblanc Blue-Black, Montblanc Bordeaux, Pelikan Blue-Black, Visconti Turquoise;
• 2.6 for Caron d'Ache Imagine in Blue Sky
• 2.7 for Pelikan 4001 Blue, Visconti Permanent Blue-Black, Pelikan 4001 Turquoise, Quink Washable Blue, Waterman Purple;
• 2.8 for Caran d'Ache Escape in Caribbean Sea
• 3.0 for Montblanc Emerald Green, Quink Permanent Black, Waterman Blue-Black, Waterman Blue;
• 4.0 for Sheaffer Brown, Emerald Green, Peacock Blue;
• 5.5 for Caran d'Ache Dream in Blue Night
• 5.6 for Caran d'Ache Protect in Storm
• 6.1 for Caron d'Ache Travel in Grand Canyon
• 6.3 for Parker Penman Emerald;
• 6.5 for OMAS Sepia;
• 6.6 for Parker Penman Ebony;
• 6.8 for Herbin Green, OMAS Vespucci Red, Parker Penman Mocha, Parker Penman Sapphire;
• 7.0 for Waterman Havana
• 7.2 for OMAS Permanent Black;
• 7.5 for Parker Penman Ruby; Pelikan Brilliant Green;
• 7.8 for Visconti Black
• 7.9 for Rotring black, Waterman red, Caran d'Ache Explain in Carbon
• 8.2 for Pelikan brilliant red, turquoise, violet
• 9.0 for Sheaffer jet black

 

[Eeyore]

Anyone who used Parker Penman Sapphire knows that the pH does not tell the whole story.

Interesting info nevertheless!

 

[Snargle]

Anyone who used Parker Penman Sapphire knows that the pH does not tell the whole story.

Interesting info nevertheless!

For those of us who have never used Parker Penman Sapphire, please give us at least the Cliffs Notes version!

 

[Eeyore]

Penman Sapphire must have been a relative of Noodler's BSB (though the shade of blue was very different)

Major staining and flow problems in many pens due to the high dye concentration. It smeared too. But the blue colour was gorgeous!

My favorite Penman colour was Emerald Green.

 

[Kevan]

Penman Sapphire must have been a relative of Noodler's BSB (though the shade of blue was very different)

Major staining and flow problems in many pens due to the high dye concentration. It smeared too. But the blue colour was gorgeous!

My favorite Penman colour was Emerald Green.

Wow, never heard that part of the Penman Sapphire legend. Thanks! Good to know that I don't need to hunt any down.

All I heard was that its fantastic color is unmatched today, prompting hoarding by people lucky enough to have a NOS supply, price gouging on Ebay. Colors that ARE similar to it are Diamine Majestic Blue (as Brian Goulet says in the video Doc4 posted above), PR American Blue has been mentioned too.

Regarding that video as well, I always laugh at that when I see it because very early on, when GouletPens was still a fledgling business, and Brian only sold Herbin inks and no other brands (well, possibly Caran d'Ache), he did an Ink Nouveau video that addressed whether he would be expanding his ink line. He mentioned Noodlers specifically, saying he didn't like the inks, they gunk up pens, they were a pain to clean, etc.

This was either 2009 or 2010, way before he started creating inks with Nathan Tardif and carrying his pens. To this day I wonder if he deleted the video after he started his business relationship with Noodlers.

 

[wind0023]

I just keep Private Reserve Lake Placid Blue in it all of the time.

I've also had little trouble with Private Reserve. Last week at the Philly Pen Show, not a bottle of Lake Placid Blue was to be found: sold out the first morning. Popular and pretty.