Ink Recommendations

What are some of your favorite inks?

One fellow I from whom I just purchased a FP likes the Pilot Iroshizuku. Quite pricey but it does get wonderful reviews. He also recommended Private Reserve. Are there other recommendations?

Thanks.

I have been using diamine oxblood. I really like it a lot. I'm sure it's not considered the same tier as iroshizuki, but the color is beautiful.

MY favourite black ink is Aurora Black. I'm a huge sucker for Iroshizuku Kon Peki as well as Waterman's Tender Purple. J.Herbin's Rouge Opéra has been my default "red pen" ink for some time but it's rather lifeless. The ugliest "weird" ink I own is Sailor Jentle Apricot, though I've never once used it for anything.

This thread could get interesting!

sysop said:

MY favourite black ink is Aurora Black. I'm a huge sucker for Iroshizuku Kon Peki as well as Waterman's Tender Purple. J.Herbin's Rouge Opéra has been my default "red pen" ink for some time but it's rather lifeless. The ugliest "weird" ink I own is Sailor Jentle Apricot, though I've never once used it for anything.

This thread could get interesting!

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I hope so. I would love to get as many perspectives as possible.

I like Pilot Iroshizuku inks Shin Kai blue black and Shin Ryoku green. Noodler's Bulletproof black is my go to black, used in several pens with no issues. I also have Noodler's Antietam and B&B 5 O'clock Shadow, so far no issues. Hero 232 blue black, very cheap, but no problems, Pelican 4001 blue black is also nice. Actually I've not had problems with any of thes inks.

My favorite inks are Iroshizuku Tsuki-Yo (blue-black) and Fuyu-Syogun (gray); Noodlers Fountain Pen Network Van Gogh Starry Night (very deep blue-black) and B&B 5 O'Clock Shadow; J Herbin Poussiere de Lune (purple gray), and 1670 red and ocean blue (whatever they are actually named); plus a bunch of vintage fountain pen inks and modern gall inks.

Of these, B&B 5 O'Clock Shadow is my most used ink by far. Very versatile. Looks distinctive and elegant. It has turned out to be a perfect ink for me. It has been a while since I have had the Fuyu-Syogun. I wonder how versatile I would think it was now. I love the 1670 ocean blue color, but it does not often seem to be the shade I want to use in something I write. I would use the Poussiere de Lune more often, if I thought the color did not stand out.

I have tried most of the Iroshizuku colors. To me these are great inks, but I am indifferent to most of the colors. My experience with Noodlers is more mixed. Diamine, Sailor, Private Reserve, and J Herbin experiences all good.

My inks include some that have been mentioned and others that have not been.
I am a big Diamine fan - I have Blue Black a deep blue black, Sherwood Green, Steel Blue and Classic Red. I have 2-3 Noodler's - Black (doesn't get much use), 54th Massachusetts, and Apache Sunset (a favorite). Waterman Serenity(formerly FLorida) Blue, Pelikan 4001 Blue Black. (if in US need to go to UK to get it anymore, but it is a great color) Levenger Pomegranate a nice deep dark red.

Some exclusives and not on the market just yet from a ink maker called BlackStone. Once they become available the primary source will be Just Write in Australia. They come as a powder - 4 grams of powder will make up to about 90-100 ml of ink. If you want a wet ink, mix to 30 mil. A "standard" ink, 50-60 ml, a dry ink 90-100 ml. I have been a tester for these.
Black Cashmere, Blue Cashmere, Red Cashmere and Green Cashmere. The current green had some issues (mine did not) and won't be released initially. I have the blue mixed dry, the black wet and the red at 50 ml and green at 62 ml.

The red has a nice sheen and is a darkish red mixed at 8% (50 ml), my green depending on mix could be considered a green black. I have it mixed in a Pelikan 4001 bottle (62.5 ml) nice color, more dark than bright though. The black is nice and opaque, and the blue has a nice purple-ish hue....

You can't go wrong with Iroshizuku. Unless you NEED water-resistance, it is pretty much the perfect ink. Perfect flow, good dry-times, deep & vivid colors, won't stain, won't gunk up and dry in a feed and get greasy and smear after two weeks. The weak point is water, they just wash away. To some that's important...it doesn't matter to me. And yes, they are expensive. To offset the cost though, I just buy them from Amazon, where they're cheaper than most pen places online.

Sailor inks are also very good. I've had nothing but good experiences with them. The same goes for Diamine, though some report that Diamine red and brown inks tend to stain converters a little. Rohrer & Klingner also makes good inks. I've used the Sepia before and use the Verdigris regularly. Very good in all aspects. J. Herbin inks are also very friendly, with good flow and nice colors. It's a company that's been around 340 years, so they know what they're doing.

I will disagree with your salesperson on Private Reserve. I haven't tried their "fast dry" range, which is new, but their regular inks are just....ugh. Great colors, but terrible performance (on "good" paper, anyway). Takes epochs to dry, and then it smears once it does. Gunks up in converters and feeds after a week or two. Due to the cheap price, it's often the first ink a newbie is introduced to. I'll just say that, if price is a factor, just go for Waterman or Sheaffer Skrip inks. They're better in terms of performance and they;re safe and low-maintenance, even if they don't have the same range of colors. I don't trust Private Reserve as far as I can throw it.

Noodlers...ah, Noodlers. Arguably the most popular ink brand in the US. Over 130 inks. I've tried 5, four bottles and one sample. I don't like the brand because of the inconsistent performance and properties, so thus I don't use Noodlers ink. I have an issue with "batch to batch differences" as a "security feature." The inks often don't flow to my liking. They are very saturated, and dry in converters and feeds, and get a greasy consistency after awhile. Dry times are fine, average for most inks on good paper, and of course most Noodlers inks have water-resistance and/or permanence, if that matters to you. And there is the huge range of colors. They are a good value, as most of the inks sell for $12.50 for 90ml.

I still don't like them, though, so I don't use them, and they rank just above Private Reserve on my "don't trust" list. I think they're just too troublesome for what they're worth. Many (well, most) people disagree with me. That's fine. Mr. Tardif has a huge customer base without me. I am still tempted by several colors (Liberty's Elysium being one), but I have enough inks to keep me happy for now.

And I will close this by saying that if you're a fan of brown ink, the best I've ever found is Montblanc's Toffee Brown. Worth a look.

There are several other brands out there that people can tell you about. Parker, Aurora, Visconti, Omas, Stipula, Akkerman, De Atramentis...and still others. I would tell you to explore and see what you like.

One of the mistakes many new people make is that they're given an avalanche of recommendations for Noodlers inks (which has performance issues that are so inconsistent it's all over the map, and that's why I don't consider it a beginners ink) or Private Reserve, and it performs okay, and they just live with it and think "I guess this is what inks are like," (that was me back in 2009)...when there could be an ink brand out there that would be perfect and everything they want. So order some samples and explore.

I have
three favourite blue inks: Diamine Sargasso Blue, JL Herbin Eclat de Saphir and Sheaffer Skrip.
two green inks: Pelikan Edelstein Aventurine and Diamine Emerald.

Kevan said:

Noodlers...ah, Noodlers. Arguably the most popular ink brand in the US. Over 130 inks. I've tried 5, four bottles and one sample. I don't like the brand because of the inconsistent performance and properties, so thus I don't use Noodlers ink. I have an issue with "batch to batch differences" as a "security feature." The inks often don't flow to my liking. They are very saturated, and dry in converters and feeds, and get a greasy consistency after awhile. Dry times are fine, average for most inks on good paper, and of course most Noodlers inks have water-resistance and/or permanence, if that matters to you. And there is the huge range of colors. They are a good value, as most of the inks sell for $12.50 for 90ml.


One of the mistakes many new people make is that they're given an avalanche of recommendations for Noodlers inks (which has performance issues that are so inconsistent it's all over the map, and that's why I don't consider it a beginners ink) or Private Reserve, and it performs okay, and they just live with it and think "I guess this is what inks are like," (that was me back in 2009)...when there could be an ink brand out there that would be perfect and everything they want. So order some samples and explore.

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Ah ... Noodler's.

I'm a fan. I know lots are, and lots are not. Fair enough. My take on "the Noodler's problem": Noodler's has lots of inks (I don't think as many as Diamine, but ... lots!) and some of them are mainstream "performers" and some are more sort of "niche inks" to one degree or another. Nathan (the "one man show" of Noodler's Inks) sometimes tries to really push the envelope in terms of what inks can do in terms of one or two certain factors, and that results in a "give and take" in terms of ink characteristics, and so you get some other "issues" with that ink as a result. Does anyone go as far as him in terms of forgery resistance, deep cold writing, super-fast and super-slow dry times? Nope, not even close. But those "envelope pushers" are almost without exception "difficult" inks in some other regard, to some degree or another.

But that in no way detracts from the "beginner-friendly" excellence of other Noodler's inks. His basic Black is a good example of a great ink, great for beginners, which just happens to be a Noodler's Ink. The 5 O'clock Shadow mentioned above, ditto.

A personal favourite of mine is Noodler's Kung Te-cheng ... a sort-of purple ink that is halfway to a blue-black, with great performance ... it has a "respectable" business-appropriate tone, dries quickly on even good paper, and is completely waterproof as well.



I will also agree with Kevan about not recommending "difficult" inks to beginners. Every time I see someone posting a request "I am new to wetshaving ... what shave soap should I get?" I wince when the inevitable "MWF" response comes in. Ditto with putting troublesome inks into a n00b's pen.

I completely agree that experience among the various Noodlers inks can vary a lot. I do not think the 5 O'Clock Shadow or the Starry Night exhibit any problems for anyone.

I personally have not had problems with Private Reserve, but maybe my experience is not that broad. I like their Sherwood Green.

I am not fond of waterproof, much less bullet proof, inks. I am too messy to use them!

Five O Clock Shadow and Black Swan in Australian Roses are my two favorite inks for fountain pens followed closely by Pelikan 4001 Turquoise. My currently most used ink is Pilot Blue in the form of a cartridge for my work pen. It does well enough.

I can't yet recommend any inks, but I can recommend a vendor. Go to Goulet Pens and use their filter to find out which inks are water-resistant, fluorescent, etc. and read the reviews. You can get samples after you narrow down your choices a little.

I am a fan of the Akkerman inks, especially of the royal blue, the iron gall ink, and the turquoise.

Great info here for a newbie. I don't want nib creep. I thought that Noodler's were always highly thought of. It's good to hear of some of the issues before I buy more.

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.

I'm still new to the fountain pen game. I've got lots of samples from Goulet that I'm working my way through. So far, my favorites are: Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-Peki, Noodler's Liberty's Elysium, Noodler's Black, and Aurora Black. My absolute favorite unique ink is J. Herbin's Stormy Grey. If you can find a sample, I'd highly recommend you give it a try.

If I had to use one brand of ink, it would probably be Diamine. Yeah, there's others that may be better for certain applications or special colors, but Diamine seems to have most of my bases covered. An up-and-coming addition to my ink stable is Rohrer & Klingner, which I'm liking a lot, particularly their Iron Gall inks (Scabiosa and Salix).

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

nortac said:

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

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_gall_ink