Gift Ink Recommendation

[tandaina]

Hey all, I've got a friend who keeps borrowing my fountain pens and then saying "I need to get one of these." So for Christmas, I'm going to give her a starter kit. A Lamy Safari (she's a SOLID ball point owner, has trouble using my more finicky fountain pens, I want something that will be EASY and bullet proof.)

 

For ink I want something fun, so looking for an ink in her favorite color: Teal. (I know, really, never had THAT answer before!)

 

So, suggestions for a well behaved teal colored ink? (So dark turquoise I guess that is? I'm NOT great with colors beyond "pretty.") Preferably something not TOO expensive, and preferably something I can get from a place like Goulet Pens or other easy to deal with site. I have NO FP stores within a 2 hour drive of me, so has to be online.

[JefferyS]

If teal is the same as turquoise, then look here. Sorry that something so simple got so complicated. I don't use turquoise I mean teal, but just about any mainstream ink is going to be good. I like Diamine, both for quality and price. Noodler's is the most economical, and its is readily available in the US. Private Reserve and Sailor inks are also recommended.

[tandaina]

Yeah, I stared at that page and came away no idea which would be the closest to "teal." I use Noodlers and Diamine so unless someone pops up with a favorite I may just choose one of those.

[JefferyS]

I know watercolor artists who use only Winsor and Newton paints, or Old Holland paints, and they are never lacking in selection even while being so label-loyal.

 

I'm a bit embarrassed having so many different inks when, if pressed, I could live with a small palette of colors.

[Laura N]

All the brands have a nice turquoise, it seems. There's Waterman South Sea Blue (or whatever it's called now), Diamine Turquoise, and Lamy Turquoise. All are beautifully behaved and reasonably priced. Skrip Turquoise looks great too, in letters from one of my pen pals. The Lamy probably would be my choice, since it comes in a cool bottle with that awesome blotter paper.

 

If you want something actually teal, then I like Diamine Steel Blue. To me, Diamine Teal isn't actually teal, but I guess it depends how you define the color. Diamine, though, has an amazing breadth of blue and blue-green inks to choose from, so I'm sure you can find something she'll like from Diamine.

[lapis]

Being as you are, in Texas (I think I see), buy anything from Noodler's or Private Reserve. [A] these both have the hugest number of varieties in the US, are the least expensive there, and [C] available from practically anybody online.

Check ouit their own websites or Goulet's and others for a color that you think might fill the bill... and then... if in doubt, "consult" the ink reviews here.

For your situation, inks to avoid would include anything from England e.g. Diamines, or Germany/Austria e.g. Pelikan, MB, Lamy (although these 3 might come into question), CdAs from Switzerland (very expensive), and many inks from Japan -- above all the lroshis.

 

All the best! Mike

[Trebster]

Private Reserve Blue Suede should fall nicely into the teal spectrum at a reasonable price. While I can't personally attest to the qualities of Blue Suede (a bit allergic to heavily green-shifted inks), I've quite a bit of time on board with many Private Reserve inks and find them quite reliable. "Shading" and "Private Reserve" are not commonly associated phrases (though some PR inks will shade, if a little), which means the line from the Safari will be consistently vibrant. That's a big plus for many!

[BT-7274]

I'm going to +1 Lamy Turquoise here. Lovely ink, although it does change color a bit depending on the pen used. Dry nib makes it turn really light blue. Wet turns it dark. Some paper makes it appear slightly green.

[Sasha Royale]

Great choice !

 

This is a very conscientious gift.

Noodler's Turqoise is a "light" teal, from my pen.

It is somewhat darker if laid on heavily.

 

Goulet Pens site has ink color charts that are very useful.

***************

For any of my people, who are reading this . . . .

How come I don't have friends like this ohe ?

:roflmho:

[Genius]

Montblanc's Meisterstuck Diamond Ink. It's got beautiful packaging, bottle, shading and it looks pretty teal to me. As the saying goes, diamonds are a girl's best friend.

 

A very nice review here:

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/225885-montblanc-meisterstuck-diamond/

[Joe in Seattle]

Diamine Teal is way too dry, pass it by.

[tandaina]

One of the Noodler's inks looks like a pretty good Teal, a bit more green than pure turquoise. But then it appears from Googling that "teal" isn't a terribly well defined color so we'll see what happens.

 

I dunno, starting a poor unsuspecting young person off on Fountain Pen addiction might not make me a good friend! But at least she'll learn how to use FPs properly and stop making me nervous when she wants to borrow mine.

 

I think I may go with the Noodler's Turquoise. Affordable and wet enough that the review I see that talk about Lamy Safaris being a little dry should balance out nicely. (Never owned a safari myself so basing this off reviews here.) But you all have added a ton of inks to MY wish list.

Edited November 29, 2012 by tandaina

[K. Cakes]

My favorite teal is Private Reserve Ebony Blue. Yes, it says blue it really comes out more teal . And J. Herbin's Blue Pervenche is my absolute favorite turquoise. At any rate, if she ends up liking fountain pens as much as the rest of us, she'll be buying buckets of her own ink in no time!

[P.A.R.]

You might consider Noodler's Bad Blue Heron. It suppose it could be considered a blue leaning teal. It's supposed to be forgery proof. My bottle worked great for close to a year, at which point I had to add a few drops of dish soap to help flow - it now works perfectly again.

[The Good Captain]

Parker Quink Blue-Black or Waterman Blue-Black - the current version of the Parker without Solv-X - will dry to a very good teal colour. This really annoys a lot of people who wanted a blue-black effect but they could be just the job for you. I imagine that the Quink should be easily available in the US but I don't know.

[Sandy1]

Hi,

 

For reference, here's Wiki Teal LINK

 

I think that Noodler's Turquoise is a fine choice.

 

One other ink that I thought might be worth a look is Diamine Eau de Nil, which brings some water resistance to the party.

 

Bye,

S1