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Dear FPN Community, Imagine for a moment that you're faced with a rather daunting decision: you can only choose one ink to use for the rest of your life. Yes, just one! In a world filled with endless colors and shades, this task may seem nearly impossible. However, let's indulge in this hypothetical scenario for a moment. If you had to select just one ink to accompany you on your fountain pen journey indefinitely, which ink would it be? Would you opt for a timeless classic, a versatile everyday color, or perhaps something more adventurous and bold? I invite you to share your thoughts and reasoning behind your choice. Whether it's based on practicality, sentimental value, or simply the joy it brings to your writing experience, I'd love to hear your perspective. Let's dive into this intriguing thought experiment together and discover which ink reigns supreme in the hearts of our fountain pen enthusiasts. Looking forward to your responses!

I've been browsing online for fountain pen inks, and I've come across some that are priced at over 1.5 USD per milliliter (think BUNGUBOX in the US), and that doesn't even include shipping and duties. While there may be ways to obtain that particular ink at a lower cost domestically, I'm not looking to delve into that here. I'm curious: at what price per milliliter do you guys personally consider an ink to be overpriced, to the point where you would hesitate or refuse to make the purchase? Is there a specific threshold you have in mind, or does it depend on factors like brand reputation, unique color properties, or limited edition availability? What's the most expensive ink (in terms of price per ml) you've purchased? For me, it's those small 15 ml Pilot Iroshizuku bottles (I purchased them at 1.27 CAD/ml). I opted for them because I didn't want to invest in the full 50 ml bottles for colors I knew I wouldn't finish within a reasonable amount of time. Oh, and just to clarify, let's not include samples in this discussion!

Hey FPN! I've been pondering over ink choices lately, and I'm curious about your approach. Do any of you adhere to specific rules when it comes to selecting ink colors? Personally, I find that using only one unique color each year paired with black helps maintain a sense of coherence in my writing, preventing it from becoming a colorful mishmash. Plus, it's a neat trick – instantly knowing a piece of writing is from a particular year based on its ink color! But that's not all – sticking to this rule also prevents me from falling into the trap of buying too much ink and collecting more than I'll ever use. It's a practical way to avoid wastefulness and ensure that every drop of ink is put to good use. Do you have similar strategies to keep your writing aesthetically pleasing and organized? Perhaps you have rules regarding ink shades or combinations to maintain consistency in your notes or correspondence, while also curbing the temptation to amass too much ink? Whether it's sticking to a limited color palette or other guidelines, I'm eager to hear about your ink habits and any tips you have for ink selection! Let's discuss and share our ink wisdom!

Dear FPN Members, As avid enthusiasts of fountain pens and their accompanying inks, many of us have amassed quite the collection over the years. However, with a large collection comes the concern of ink spoilage. Do you ever find yourself worrying about your precious inks going bad before you have the chance to use them? In this thread, I invite you to share your experiences, tips, and concerns regarding the preservation of fountain pen ink collections. Whether you have a modest assortment or a vast array of colors, your insights can be invaluable to fellow members seeking to maintain the quality and longevity of their inks. Some potential discussion points include: Strategies for storing and organizing your ink collection to minimize spoilage. Signs that an ink may be spoiling and how to identify them. Best practices for rotating through your ink collection to ensure each bottle gets its fair share of use. Any preventive measures you take to extend the shelf life of your inks. Recommendations for ink brands or types known for their longevity. By sharing our knowledge and experiences, we can help each other enjoy our fountain pen inks to the fullest while minimizing the risk of waste due to spoilage. So, don't hesitate to join the conversation and contribute your thoughts on this important topic. Have a good day!

Has anyone tried CX Made ink, and if so what was your experience with it?

Noodler's Baystate Blue needs no introduction. I am just a few months into the fountain pen hobby, but even I know that there is no other ink that polarizes the fountain pen community as much as the Baystate Blue (BSB). You either hate it or love it. I bought a bottle of this ink because much of my work happens near water tanks and I needed a waterproof ink for signing documents. But after I ordered the BSB on Amazon, I came to know about another water resistant ink that is made by a part time ink and pen making medical doctor named Sreekumar who lives just 3 hours away from my home. He owns Krishna Inks and Krishna Pens. His waterproof ink is beautifully named as Krishna Lyrebird Water Sapphire Blue. So I got a bottle of that too. I now use BSB in office and Krishna Ink at home for signing the documents. The comparison of both inks, including their resistance to water and bleach, follows. 1. Colour The picture compares Krishna Water Sapphire and Baystate Blue with common inks like Lamy Blue, Sheaffer Blue and Camlin Blue on TNPL 80 GSM Platinum Copier paper. Without question, Baystate Blue is the best colour (in my opinion). In fact the BSB actually jumps out of the paper and my amateur photography skill doesn't do justice to its vibrance. All other colours including Krishna Water Sapphire look dull and boring in comparison. 2. Writing Experience I used two identical Camlin Elegante fine nib fountain pens and Rhodia paper to test the writing experience. Baystate Blue is wetter and and gives more line width. Krishna Ink has less flow but is no less smooth. 3. Drying time I again used identical Camlin Elegante fine nibbed pens on Rhodia paper to determine the drying times. Average drying time for both inks is seen to be about 10 seconds on Rhodia. I repeated this test on TNPL 80 GSM copier paper and the drying time was about 8 seconds for both inks. 4. Water Resistance a) Drip Test I dropped nearly equal amounts of water on the handwritten samples and let the water remain for 30 minutes. Photograph shows the condition after 30 minutes. Both inks showed some top layer run off, but BSB is more water resistant to Krishna Water Sapphire. b) Dip Test I dipped swabs of 5 ink different inks on TNPL copier paper in plain tap water filled tumblers. Before dipping: The next picture is taken just a few minutes after dipping. Lamy, Sheaffer and Camlin inks are no longer in the race. 30 minutes later: Krishna Ink is somewhat water resistant and we can still read the text. Baystate Blue is also not waterproof but clearly more water resistant than the Krishna Ink. 5. Bleach Resistance This was the most interesting of all tests. I used the same ink swabs which had undergone the dip test and poured a few drops of 0.5% w/w Harpic bleaching solution over them. 5 minutes after the exposure to the bleach, Baystate Blue had already started dissolving but Krishna Ink was holding up: 1 hour after exposure: Within an hour, Baystate ink was almost gone and the text was no longer visible. Krishna Water Sapphire was still holding up and the text remained legible. 2 hours after exposure: Part of the text written with Krishna Ink was visible even after 2 hours! Krishna Ink thus won the bleach resistance test. 6. Price (in India) Baystate Blue: INR 4888/- (US$ 66.75) on Amazon for 133 ml (4.5 oz) bottle, after a 75% discount. But you get a beautiful Noodler's Charlie pen for free with the ink. Krishna Water Sapphire: Rs 250/- (US$ 3.41) for 30 ml bottle. The math is left to you. 7. Staining Potential Noodler's Baystate Blue is notorious for staining various surfaces. But I have found it to be a non-issue so far. Bleach can easily remove it. Just be careful not to spill it over something that can't be bleached - like the currency notes, fine leather, costly carpets etc. Krishna Ink stains can be removed with water (and soap, if required) if you notice them immediately. But once the ink dries, those stains can be stubborn due to the water and bleach resistance. Be careful while handling either ink. The Verdict I like both the inks. Both Baystate Blue and Krishna Lyrebird Water Sapphire have character. I use both the inks regularly. So which one to buy? The choice is yours.

First of all, I've gained Rishi's (T2MR guy) permission to post this video here. As he is very busy with his work, I am sharing this link here. Glare India, after successfully launching Glare Pens, have come up with the Glare Inks. They come in not just a handful, but 15 different ink colors. You can view all of them in the following video: Now, these inks seem to be of fairly high quality as the flow and ink saturation both look very good. They come in plastic bottles (something i don't prefer, and can see the reasons why plastic bottles is the future) and carry 60 mls of ink. Also, the quality (of the bottle) looks better than that of Krishna Inks. I will order the New Ochre bottle from their ebay store (for Rs.250 i.e. $4) and hope it would not disappoint me. I've talked personally to Rishi, and he seems to be fairly impressed by the inks. And finally - This video is a proof of the hardwork that this guy puts in his every video. His mobile review videos are bringing him a lot of notice (and subscribers). And i hope he doesn't stop reviewing fountain pens. We need people like him to review fountain pens related stuff.

Just some of beautiful illuminated 'R's created for the Illuminating Beasts project at Rochester Cathedral. With 68 students (ranging from ages 6 to 82 years and some with special needs), 12 small bottles of various coloured Diamine fountain pen inks, 16 dip pens, 16 brushes and some cartridge paper over 6 workshops of 2.5 hours each - What do you think? Costwise it was the best value workshop the cathedral have run to-date with 100% satisfaction score on the evaluation! The most frequent comments were: 'I have never used fountain pen inks in this way before' 'I never knew there so many colours available in fountain pen inks' 'The bleach effect was awesome!' I don't think I need to ram the point home any further! More images at: https://quinkandbleach.wordpress.com/2016/05/25/diamines-for-rochester-cathedral-workshop/

We wrote up an overview of the entire Sailor Storia pigmented inks collection, complete with handwriting scans. I'm glad to report that no pens (vintage or modern) were harmed in the writing of this review. A week or so after the writing samples were written, the pens had run out of their fills and were washed out without any staining or clogging issues encountered. The only extra effort needed was to wipe the nib when rinsing to get a little bit of the "creep" ink off the metal of the nib. Read the full review here : http://goldspotpens.blogspot.com/2015/09/the-story-on-sailor-storia-pigmented.html Pens & Ink match-ups in the review : Visconti Van Gogh Impressionist (F) - Sailor Storia Clown Light Green Kaweco AL-Sport Raw Aluminum (EF) - Sailor Storia Blue Night TWSBI Diamond 530 (1.5mm Stub) - Sailor Storia Fire Red OMAS New Bologna (M 18kt) - Sailor Storia Magic Purple Waterman 352 Stalwart (vintage flex) - Sailor Storia Lion Light Brown Nemosine Singularity (0.6mm Stub) - Sailor Storia Spotlight Yellow Parker Blue Diamond Vacumatic (F) - Sailor Storia Dancer Pink Edison Herald (F) - Sailor Storia Balloon Green