Most Disappointing Ink Buy

[MrsWeetag]

It is interesting to see what people like and don't like, I agree. Many of the colours that I like were named here e.g. MB Irish Green, Noodler's Apache Sunset, J. Herbin PdL (I must have an old bottle). Here are some of the ones that I'm not thrilled with:

 

1) Noodlers Baystate Concord Grape - way too wet for me (almost put me off of a really nice new pen), feathers terribly on all the papers I tried or else stays wet far too long, stains

 

2) Noodlers Periwinkle - chalky, too pale, feathery

 

3) Noodlers' Tiannenmen - too wet, sticky, guess I'm not a fan of reds

 

4) Private Reserve Ebony Green - too wet, takes a long time to dry, nib creep, though I did find one pen that seems to be OK with it (a Sheaffer with a very dry, very fine F nib).

 

5) J. Herbin Opera Rouge (cartridges) - too pale, still a red

 

6) J. Herbin Lie de The - just doesn't do it for me for brown, I had higher hopes for it (but I like Waterman Havana and MB Toffee Brown)

 

7) Pelikan Brown - at first I just didn't like this one, then a penpal used it on cream paper and I thought "Hmm, that's not bad!" but I use it sparingly

 

I'm sure there are more, I have about 16 bottles of Noodlers, 6 bottles of Waterman, 2 bottles of Pelikan, 6 or so J. Herbin, 2 of Visconti, etc. and I don't get through them all very often.

 

I have the Noodlers Black Swan Australian Roses - eegh, it's OK. I don't get the shading in that one and seems more burgundy to me.

 

But isn't it great to have choices? I keep wondering if it's possible to dilute an ink that feathers and make it stop feathering.

 

 

Christine

[Blubber_AWD]

The most disapoointing ink buy was Montblanc ruby red Art. no. 16110 (allegedly containing "super cleaner SC 21") ink cartridges for the use with a MB 144 fine nib. Being a lawyer by profession, I have to dictate and to correct a lot, and so I wished to use a vivid red ink instead of a red felt tip pen. But - within months, the ink seemed to disappear through the cartridges plastic wall. It simply wasn't there any more! Just a few red stains were left inside the cartridge when I cut one open to see what has happened to it. The wall and the ball plug were fully intact! The solvent seemed to have vanished through the walls while being stored in my writing table drawer.

[WhosYerBob]

As much as I admire Noodler's Bullet-Proof inks, I was extremely disappointed by Luxury Blue and Polar Blue. I found both to be much chalkier on paper than scans would indicate and the color in the bottle does nothing to brace one for what the pen delivers.

[mag]

Private Reserve Dakota Red, to me is a rather reddish brown.

Edited November 12, 2012 by mag

[invested]

Noodlers Baystate Concord Grape...period.

 

I absolutely love the colour but the ink itself is way to wet and seems to feather on all of the paper I try (Even Rhodia). The only paper it worked on, was a Moleskine sketch book, which is basically cardboard sheets of paper that are bound in a Moleskine; not a pleasure to write on.

 

It was one of my first ink buys and I was unaware of the staining properties of the Baystate line of inks (this was prior to me finding FPN). It almost ruined a Diamond 540 demonstrator which really rattled me.

 

Thats it for me.

 

J

[robynsnest]

Sailor Jentle Grenade. Only because the color wasn't what I thought it would be and I have tried but can't make myself like it

[robynsnest]

I have the Noodlers Black Swan Australian Roses - eegh, it's OK. I don't get the shading in that one and seems more burgundy to me.

 

 

 

Christine

Christine I didn't like the Black Swan either, too burgundy for me but THEN... I added about 2-3 drops of black per refill and now I love love love this ink. It's a lovely deep eggplant now. Try it and see if you like it.

[flyingmarmot]

I'm relatively new to the world of fountain pens. Lamy Blue-black was only the second bottle of ink I bought, and I really struck out there. It is so dry that it makes my Lamy 2000 feel scratchy. I would have thought that a Lamy ink would work well in a Lamy pen, but I did not find that to be the case. I suppose I can save the ink for a wetter writing pen down the line, but I find the color to be so washed out and unappealing.

[Mt.Roll]

Sailor Sei-Boku.

 

Perhaps I didn't do enough research. It looks like water on the page and dries purply. Not my pot of 'tsuki-yo'.

Fails horribly as my perfect 'blue-black' especially with wetter pens (more ink, more red tinge).

[hipcat]

1. Private Reserve Sherwood Green: flows too easy, bleeds through everything, don't like the color.

 

2. Platinum Mix Free Flame Red: more pink than red

[wastelanded]

Diamine Green-Black. I was so looking forward to trying it, and the result reminded me of the sludge I scrape out of the trap in the bathroom sink.

[lbr218]

The first ink I ever bought was Lamy Blue-black in the Lamy Starter Kit from GPC. I also was an idiot and bought a pack of cartridges OF THE SAME COLOR (because i really had no idea what I was doing). I hated it from the get-go. It just looked like a bruise to me (which is why blue-black is a good name). This was completely my fault, and I should have gotten turquoise. But now I have a nearly-full bottle of Lamy Blue-Black and 4 Lamy cartridges full of it just sitting there, and I don't want them! I guess it's good for looking professional, because the only other inks I have are Diamine Ultra Green and a mis-colored De Atramentis Frankincense that is a nice reddish-brown but it smells like frankincense (I won it in a GPC giveaway!), and neither of those are very professional, but rarely do I write anything by hand other than class notes.

[mattwiggins]

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one out there who has ink buyer's remorse. I'm a big WWII history buff (which is my entry point into fountain pens actually) and wanted a blue-black so Noodler's Air Corpse Blue-Black seemed like a no-brainer, except it's actually green-black. Then I really liked the look of Noodler's new Bernanke Black & Blue as a replacement, but it flows so fast that it bleeds through paper even with an EF nib on my Safari. Think I really need to start buying samples first . . .

Edited November 20, 2012 by mattwiggins

[JeffPDX2]

It's interesting to see one of your favorite inks mentioned in a thread like this. It is true: different people different tastes.

 

Ink's whose color did not appeal to me: R&K Blau Permanent, Noodles Polar Blue (xmas present this year), and R&K Alt Bordeaux. I didn't get overly excited about the Mount Blanc Burgandy I picked up in DC recently.

 

I have never had a de Atrementis ink behave well for me. I have tried many through the Goulet Pen sample program; the inks are too wet for this lefty. Many pretty colors, though.

 

Ink's that I have loved from the moment they came out of the box: Iroshizuku Ama-iro; Mount Blanc Jonathon Swift green; I also have pens inked with some of the disappointments listed above. For instance my Pelikan with the Cursive Italic nib is carrying a load f Iro Kosumosu.

 

Louie had it right: What a wonderful world.

[marigolds]

Oh, another vote against Polar Blue. I hate the color--so blah.

[mhphoto]

I was pretty disappointed by Noodler's Air-Corp Blue-Black. I mean, I knew what to expect (really a dark greenish blue), but I still wasn't blown away, and for whatever reason I was expecting to be blown away by it.

[mmkoenecke]

+1 on the MB inks. I think that my issue was incredibly high expectations with the way many rave about them. It may be the pen/ink/paper combination, but I was looking forward to pleasant shading. I haven't found any with either Lavender Purple or Midnight Blue. I also just found out that Midnight Blue is an iron-gall ink, which makes me a bit more nervous about filling my pens with it.

 

I will say that although Pelikan colors are not the most exciting, they are some of the most reliable that I have come across, which occasionally outweighs the aesthetic properties for me. Practicing calligraphy, a nice flowing plain black is much more important to me than something that shades beautifully.

[SeeksAdvice]

Hehe at Polar Blue. I discovered that it's not so "polar." At temps that many place in the Northern US can reach, it will freeze. At -18F it was solidifying quite nicely. Of course the way our winter is going, may not see temps that low for a while at least in my little corner of the Northern Plains. At least it is darned near impossible to get of paper. Sticks to the page and not to your hands. Also terrible nib creep.

 

Luxury Blue - looks great in bottle. Looks chalky on paper. Also nib creep issues. It and the Polar Blue are being kept around for those rare times when indestructibility is required.

 

The blue ink that shall not be named.

 

RE Asa-Gao - I actually like the ink. A bit free flowing in my Pelikan, but the color is great. It's blue, period. Stands out well on the page without destroying one's eyes.

[terminal]

I've got a new worst ink of all time: De Atramentis Fir

 

Not only is the color chalky, washed out and flat, but it literally smells like PineSol. NOT ONLY THAT but it ate one of my vintage pens! I really think it shouldn't be sold. It's got some kind of solvent in it I think.

[Chrissy]

I bought Montblanc Jonathan Swift ink but hated the colour when I saw it. I managed to sell it on ebay though