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Dear all, I'm asking here for your help: If you had to pick a good black ink for a pen that you care about, to be used together for the next six months in a large project with tens to hundreds of written pages, what would this ink be? I've issued this request for help also on the thread that inspired me to ask it, where I shared pics and info about the pen I will be using throughout this project: I've just signed my first professional book deal. (On computer systems.) There's a lot left to do and we'll see how it goes but I plan to do at least the planning and content-design in pen on paper. I already bought the pen for it, a Pilot Custom Urushi in vermillion red with 18k two-tone M nib (FKV-88SR-R-M), and I like very much my first experience with it, which happened today. The remaining details regarding the ink-search are as follows: I'm trying to decide on an ink for this Pilot Custom Urushi, M nib. I will have to draw many details and also cross-hatch large structures, and also write both small and large-sized text. I prefer wetter nibs and inks, but here I'm going to also use paper like Moleskine's Workbook (pulpy, very porous) and Leuchtturm 140 gsm (semi-rough and coated), and I'd prefer not to have much feathering. Water-resistant inks are a plus. Some shading would not be bad, but even the lightest shade must be easily legible. I'm thinking at the moment, in this order: Noodler's Dark Matter - seems good, but not water-resistant. Noodler's X-Feather - but it's quite pigmented and I'm afraid it's going to clog the feed and I won't know how to clean it. Noodler's Heart of Darkness - never used it before, but the reviews are raving. May have issues with the Moleskine. Sailor Kiwa-Guro - never used it, but seems to me a (micro-)pigmented ink that you can flush away easily. Sailor Do-you - this one I'm convinced will do a good job and keep flowing (and lubricating). Pilot Take-Sumi - love this ink, but its water resistance seems just too low to consider. What if I spill even a drop of coffee? Pelikan 4001 Black - never used it, but heard good things about it and it's cousins Brilliant Brown, Royal Blue, etc. are wonderful. Same concerns about water resistance as for the Take-Sumi. Platinum Carbon ink - fantastic ink, but how do I clean it after six months?! Are there strong enough but safe cleaning fluids, e.g., the Rohrer and Klingner Reiniger? I'll stop here; eight is a round number in my world. I would appreciate your replies, especially today, when I'll take my decision and hope not to revisit. Do you have other suggestions? They're most welcome. Thanks, everyone.

I was wondering if anyone knew what the correct color ink is to write a thank you to a Japanese family. The note will accompany a small gift. In the States, I'd stick with black, but I'm not sure about Japan. Thank you!

Hello all! Greetings from Sydney, Australia. I have been learning and will continue to learn about fountain pens via this lovely community. Everyone is supportive and has very good things to say! Thank you! According to http://www.melbpenshow.com.au/Ant&Art_page.pdf: "Australia has a small ‘pen population’. Fountain pen use in the UK and US equates to one in 25 to 30 of adult population. In Australia, fountain pen use equates to one in 120 of adult population. As a consequence, Australia has the smallest number of specialty pen retailers per capita, in the world. What follows is that Australians are not the modern pen manufacturers’ best friend!" It is nice to know that there is a global community of fountain pen enthusiasts. I'm aiming to get myself to the Melbourne Pen Show. Fingers crossed! This newbie thanks you all!