Which Inks Have Disappointed You?

[Mezzie]

Rohrer and Klinger Scabiosa has been the biggest disappointment for me. I bought a sample pack from Goulet largely because this one was in it, and I thought it would be a nice purple. Instead, it looked washed out and bland no matter how thick a line I made. I'm just glad it was only a sample.

 

I was originally disappointed with Noodler's Shah's Rose because it's a boring pink when used in a fine nib, but it's quite pretty when used in a calligraphy pen. I'm hoping that will be true with Apache Sunrise as well -- it was so light-colored in my Pilot VP I could barely read what I wrote.

[Tylerjordan]

Parker Quink Blue -- Unsaturated and looked more purple than blue.

Parker Quink Black -- Unsaturated as well.

J. Herbin Terre de Feu -- Also unsaturated but that was my own fault for not reading a review and going on a swab sample.

[Nanor]

I neglected to say, all six of the Diamine inks and samples I have, feather/wooly line and that on decent paper. I'll not buy any.

 

On a tangent to this topic: I have limited experience with pens and ink but as soon as I took an interest in fountain pens, a couple of months ago, I set about refurbishing some older pens.

 

I'm having trouble with a Mabie Todd 3320 B and a Waterman 52v Flex both being too wet. I am happy with my work and the way the pens are set up so I am now wondering if these pens would behave better if I replaced the Diamine Blue Black and Ochre that I've been using???

[Zuzu]

While I have neither the Blue Black nor the Ochre, the 5 Diamine Inks I have are all on the wet side. They work great in my super dry Lamy Studio EF.

 

If your pens are rather wet by default, I would try some drier ink. Pelikan is often suggested as a dry ink. The driest inks I have are the Rohrer&Klingner Scabiosa and Verdigris. The Scabiosa is an IG ink though, so I wouldn't put it into a vintage pen personally.

[empyrean]

Baystate Blue. When I was a fountain pen novice, it stained some of the light-colored trim above the nib of my favorite pen . Luckily, a little hydrogen peroxide helped. I think everyone in the world knew the industrial strength of that blue.... but me

[Magicker71]

Diamine Salamander-Try as I would, I could not make it shade and there was no sheen at all. I was expecting a mysterious muzzy green but didn't get that. Alas, can't have everything.

 

I generally love Diamine, but Salamander was just awful. It was a weird green color and seemed to really drag on my nib. Luckily it was just a sample from Goulet.

[Komitadjie]

Baystate Blue. When I was a fountain pen novice, it stained some of the light-colored trim above the nib of my favorite pen . Luckily, a little hydrogen peroxide helped. I think everyone in the world knew the industrial strength of that blue.... but me

 

The staining power is rather impressive... but to me, the colour is such that it's worth having a dedicated pen for the job.

[empyrean]

Hi Komitadjie - i've always kept that bottle and use it on occasion in a black Jinhao pen ... you are so right about the colour!

[arni]

De Atramentis Blue Document Ink. Feathers badly on all the cheap papers I have tried it on.

Diamine Sapphire Blue. Feathers.

 

On a happier note, I have three of Pharmacist's IG inks and they perform very well.

[FloatingFountain]

How could one get those Pharmacist inks; just order them, jump on them when he makes a batch, or does he make it when getting enough requests?

[arni]

I PM'd him, then waited for a year, I think.

[Nanor]

While I have neither the Blue Black nor the Ochre, the 5 Diamine Inks I have are all on the wet side. They work great in my super dry Lamy Studio EF.

 

If your pens are rather wet by default, I would try some drier ink. Pelikan is often suggested as a dry ink. The driest inks I have are the Rohrer&Klingner Scabiosa and Verdigris. The Scabiosa is an IG ink though, so I wouldn't put it into a vintage pen personally.

 

Thanks Zuzu, I'll order up some Pelikan ink.

[InkStainedWings]

Another for my list of disappointments. I bought a sample of Dragon's Napalm because the reviews I had read said it was bright orange, and I love orange...but it is so. not. orange! More like a salmon-pink highlighter...not a fan.

[VivienR]

Rohrer&Klinger Solferino - it basically flooded out from my pen, caused a huge mess. Admittedly the color is beautiful, but probably will use it with dip pen or something similar... but if it can't stay in the pen...

[Zilknitha]

Waterman Intense Black... yet I may have expected too much from this ink.

[SeeksAdvice]

Noodler's "Empire Red." I never should have gotten it, but wanted a true waterproof red ink. I've seen fully chalked out "red" barns from nearly a century ago, out here on the prairie ,that look better than it does.

Noodler's Old Manhattan Blackest Black. Maybe he's changed it, but my new bottle is nothing to write home about.

Noodler's Olde Dutch Colony Sepia. Thinking it's a mislabeled bottle of Golden Brown. That sure ain't a "reddish brown."

Noodler's Zhivago. This area is supposedly "semi arid." I think I need to send it to somebody in an "arid" zone to get it to dry. Also mostly just another "black" in my pens as opposed to the dark green.

Noodler's Q'ternity. This is one of the reasons to always test something yourself before giving it to others. Feathered on Rhodia, and all sorts of papers. Other, better fast drying inks out there such as Kiwa-Guro.

 

Diamine Sargasso Sea. Love the color, but it's almost as bad to clean up after as the Blue that Shall Not be Named. Also, terrible behavior.

Even though I like the line, feel compelled to include:

Iroshizuku Take-Sumi. Can live with the color. Seems like between the sampled I tried, and the bottle I bought, water resistance had been removed from the ink.

[kkshadow]

A few I've been a little disappointed in.

 

...

 

Private Reserve Ebony Purple - I don't get anything but black out of this ink. I might have to try in some other pens, but in the couple I've tried, it's just black. And a smeary black at that.

 

...

I've had the same opinion with the Ebony Purple. However, I use a 2:1 mix of EP and Pelikan 4001 Violet and it's a great ink for me.

[kkshadow]

Private Reserve Gray Flannel. In anything except a wet noodle it's just too watery and light and ...greenish?

[proton007]

In general I've found that inks whose online writing samples used as reference for purchase were written with wide (M+), high flow nibs tend to behave quite differently after purchase when used with finer nibs, or nibs with lesser flow.

 

This is especially true for J Herbin because their inks aren't as saturated as others. Some other inks may not shade because the nib's width and flow are insufficient to bring out shading properties.

 

So, it's not the ink that's disappointing, it's just a mismatch of expectations, unless there are some obvious quality issues.

[av8r172]

Noodler's Operation Overlord Orange

 

Love the name, but i think orange juice would provide a better writing experience.