Chesterfield Ink

[Sandy Fry]

Hi,

I just spent about an hour reading posts ( as far back as 2006) on Chesterfield ink. The main consensus seems to be that it is just re-bottled/re-labeled Diamine ink. If this is true, then it should be pretty safe for most of my pens then, right?

 

The reason I ask is that " xfountainpens" sells 100ml bottles for $10 and domestic shipping is free for orders over $15 so that seems like a very good deal to me if I were to buy 3 or 4 bottles.

 

Opinions? Impressions of Chesterfield ink?

 

Thanks

 

David

[Starguard]

I bought some chesterfield ink awhile back and it's been fine. I have some of their Night Sapphire and some other smaller samples.

[mhguda]

Been using Chesterfield inks for years and no negatives in any pen. I've bought some of the inexpensive offerings of 100ml and they're very nice.

[mooshi]

My go-to ink is Chesterfield Archival Vault - rebranded Registrar's iron gall ink. It's worked just fine in all of the pens I'd put it in.

 

xFPs has great prices and amazing customer service in the years I've used them.

 

They also offer samples, which are nice if you just want to try out a few colors.

[OCArt]

I have used many Chesterfield inks with good effect. One of my favorites is Antique Oxford which may be Diamine Majestic Blue. There is a chart somewhere on FPN that lists the Chesterfield to Diamine equivalents, but I believe it may have some errors. The following is my personal list composed by comparing online ink swatches. It may not be 100% accurate and I welcome any corrections.

 

Chesterfield ink to Diamine Name

 

So here is my guess at what each Chesterfield named ink is named in the Diamine Range:

 

Amethyst= Imperial Purple

Antique Copper = Ancient Copper

Antique Crimson = Crimson

Antique Oxford = Majestic Blue

Antique Yankee = Regency Blue

Archival Vault—Register’s Ink (Iron Gall Blue changes to Black) a very nice ink!!

Capri – (like Noodler’s Bernake Blue?)

Cobalt= like Sargasso Sea? Or Midnight?

Emerald=Emerald

Erinite= green black

Fire Opal= Orange (close to Apache Sunset)

Garnet= Ruby

Mahogany= Rustic Brown or Saddle Brown

Night Sapphire = Twilight

Obsidian= Quartz black

Rose= claret

Ruby=Ruby

Sapphire = Sapphire Blue

Sodalite = Blue-Black

Xircon = royal blue or washable blue; shading

Siam=Monaco Red

Smoked Topaz= Burnt Sienna

Sodalite= Indigo

Teal=Teal

Tourmaline= Umber

Turquoise= Turquoise

Zircon= Aqua Blue

Edited September 30, 2015 by OCArt

[Sasha Royale]

I learned this several years ago. I thought it a good opportunity to sample a lot of Diamine colors.

Of the 20 - 5ml samples of Chesterfield ink, none disappointed me. I passed the partials to a friend who draws in pen. Then, I ordered larger bottles of Garnet and Emerald.

[Sandy Fry]

Thanks folks.

 

I am going to go ahead and order 3 or 4 bottles then.

 

@OCArt...thanks for the list. Very helpful.

 

Thanks again folks. Much appreciated.

 

David

[inkstainedruth]

@OCArt --

Thanks for posting the revised list. It's very useful, and the old list had a fair number of gaps (mostly didn't have the newer Diamine inks, although there may not be equivalents in the Chesterfield).

Interestingly enough, xfountainpens has another line of ink, called "Architekt", which is rebranded De Atramentis; but those inks aren't renamed, as far as I have been able to determine.

I have no experience with ordering from them -- they're local to me, but don't have a storefront (it's just, AFAIK, a mail drop in a block of offices -- a little sort of industrial park -- because if you go by street number, there's an alley where that number should fall; I presume they're in one of the offices in that alley, but the one time I tried looking for them I couldn't find parking.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Sandy Fry]

I went ahead and ordered 3 bottles...Antique Copper, Night Sapphire and Erinite. 100ml bottles. Those 3 bottles should keep me going for quite a while.

 

My first time ordering from Xfountainpens so I am interested to see how quick/slow their shipping is. Can't really complain as it is free I guess.

 

David

[katerchen]

I was wondering about the same thing a while back, here's the thread with the data I found:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/121990-chesterfield-ink-to-diamine-cross-reference/

 

I use their version of Diamine Registrar's and Majestic Blue on a daily basis. I got a bottle of Teal as well, but as of late I find myself gravitating towards blues, blue/blacks and purples.

 

-k

[Randal6393]

@OCArt --

Thanks for posting the revised list. It's very useful, and the old list had a fair number of gaps (mostly didn't have the newer Diamine inks, although there may not be equivalents in the Chesterfield).

Interestingly enough, xfountainpens has another line of ink, called "Architekt", which is rebranded De Atramentis; but those inks aren't renamed, as far as I have been able to determine.

I have no experience with ordering from them -- they're local to me, but don't have a storefront (it's just, AFAIK, a mail drop in a block of offices -- a little sort of industrial park -- because if you go by street number, there's an alley where that number should fall; I presume they're in one of the offices in that alley, but the one time I tried looking for them I couldn't find parking.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

Hi, Ruth, concur with how useful the Diamine - Chesterfield list is. I now have (or have used) Mahogany, Archival Vault Black, Antique Crimson, and Rose from the Chesterfield list. All are decent inks, very comparable to the Diamine performance. In other words, great everyday inks. Love the Antique Crimson, it is the only red I have right now.

 

I have two of the Architekt inks, Black and Jeans Blue (AKA DeAtrementis Denim, I believe). The Black is comparable to Noodler's Black or Aurora Black, a high-saturation ink that does a decent job. But it isn't nearly as water-resistant as the Noodler's and seems to feather about as much as the Noodler's. Much the same can be said about the Jeans Blue. A decent blue, good performance, not anything to write home about, though.

 

Maybe the address is why xFountainPens is an online site only. Reminds me of the time I went looking for John Neal, Booksellers. Found it, in between a pawn shop and a topless bar. Was mostly bins and shelves, they really didn't know what to do with a real live customer in their shop. Now I definitely order on line. Just recently ordered two pens and a bottle of Chesterfield ink from xFountainPens. No problems, good products, 3 to 5 business days for shipping by the USPS.

 

Enjoy,

Edited October 2, 2015 by Randal6393

[TheBishop]

I've been ordering from xfountainpens.com for about 5 years now and have always received good products and wonderful customer service. The first bottled ink I ordered was Chesterfield Cobalt. Good blue. The Antique Crimson is really red. I heartily recommend them!

[Bentlink]

I bought some Night Sapphire with my Nemosine pen from XFountainpens. Oddly, the ink works great in all my pens...except the Nemosine which it clogs horribly. Pen works fine with other inks. Ink works fine with other pens.

Edited December 26, 2015 by Bentlink

[Helen350]

So interesting how all of my Chesterfield Inks have worked in all of my pens. However, disturbingly my new ink, Iroshizuku Kon Peki, is causing some minor skipping with my 1.1 stubs.. I'll go back and flush the pen again, hoping this will resolve the issue. I'm thinking it is an ink-feed problem??? This is my first Iro ink, and had looked forward to it for a long time. I like the color, but I don't like the skipping after writing about half a page.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Hi,

I just spent about an hour reading posts ( as far back as 2006) on Chesterfield ink. The main consensus seems to be that it is just re-bottled/re-labeled Diamine ink. If this is true, then it should be pretty safe for most of my pens then, right?

 

The reason I ask is that " xfountainpens" sells 100ml bottles for $10 and domestic shipping is free for orders over $15 so that seems like a very good deal to me if I were to buy 3 or 4 bottles.

 

Opinions? Impressions of Chesterfield ink?

 

Thanks

 

David

Like!

 

I use:

Sodalite

Mahogany

Teal

Erinite

Obsidian

Siam

Fire Opal

 

All to good effect in many of my pens. They seem to mix well, too.

[Noihvo]

Are Diamine's products really that more expensive in the US compared to Europe? A 25/50/100ml bottle of Chesterfield costs $9/13/15 on xFountainPens ($0.36/0.26/0.15 per ml), while a 30/80 ml bottle of Diamine costs £4/6 on Cult Pens ($0.19/0.11 per ml). I know that various currency exchanges and shipping confuses things, but if the same manufacturer (and presumably the same plant?) are used for both ink brands, that should even things out, shouldn't it?

 

Or are there any other advantage to Chesterfield over Diamine (better bottles, higher availability, and so on) that makes people choose C over D?

 

Or are Chesterfield just riding on ignorance (of their similarity) to sell their inks above Diamine? I realise that sounded harsh, but unless I am disproven, I mean it.

 

PS. Are there any source for Chesterfield in Europe? DS.

 

PPS. Feel free to redirect me to any historical thread that discusses the pricing of Chesterfield, so I can cure my own ignorance DDS.

[Barkingpig]

The current price of Diamine 80ml ink from Goulet Pen or Anderson Pens is $14.95

 

The current price of Chesterfield ink from XFountain Pens is $9.99

 

(One bottle would require shipping charge but XFountain Pens offers free shipping with orders over $14.95 which in the US is a relatively low price to include free shipping.)

 

I believe this is the cost savings that most of us in the US base as comparative cost.

Edited February 13, 2016 by Barkingpig

[Helen350]

My pens, particularly my Jinhao X750 with the Goulet 1.1 stub, loves Chesterfield Inks. Love Antique Oxford and Antique Yankee, and tend to go through those fairly quickly. My Waterman Phileas works like a charm with the Chesterfield inks as well. I find the ink well behaved, and with quality paper I do not experience any feathering. It is true Chesterfield does not come in fancy glass bottles, however, I am more concerned about the ink vs. the bottle. The price is affordable, and the ink is quality! I have13 colors of Chesterfield inks. Thirteen 30 ml. bottles of Diamine would cost me approximately $130+ (give or take). Thirteen 50 ml. bottles of Chesterfield cost me $91. Notice that Diamine comes in a 30 ml. bottle, and Chesterfield comes in a 50 ml bottle. Diamine Shimmer inks come in 50 ml. bottles, and cost $20+. Chesterfield inks also come in 100 ml. bottles at $9.99. Diamine 80 ml. regular inks cost $16+. I do have a few other inks in my very small ink collection, however, I am been extremely satisfied with Chesterfield, and they are surely worth the investment. Right now I'm toying with their new color: Antique Orchid. It is a more subdued purple, however, with a stub nib, it does lay a nice big line of rich purple ink.

[Noihvo]

The current price of Diamine 80ml ink from Goulet Pen or Anderson Pens is $14.95

 

The current price of Chesterfield ink from XFountain Pens is $9.99

 

(One bottle would require shipping charge but XFountain Pens offers free shipping with orders over $14.95 which in the US is a relatively low price to include free shipping.)

 

I believe this is the cost savings that most of us in the US base as comparative cost.

 

I don't have a historical perspective on the prices of xFountainPens, but is this not a temporary discount? It is stated on the webpage as "$14.99 $9.99", so I assumed that $15 was the ordinary price. Also note that this is 100ml bottles, as compared to Diamine's 80ml bottles. A fair comparison would be between ordinary (and not temporarily discounted) prices between retailers.

 

But again, these can be sensitive and complicated matters, and companies are of course free to set whichever price they want on their products. I was just a bit confused about the popularity of Chesterfield.

Edited February 14, 2016 by Noihvo

[jabberwock11]

xFountainpens does that pricing for almost everything on their site. It's meant to be a comparison of the "street price" vs. their price. Look at the Nemosine Singularity pens, they have the outrageous $40 price crossed out and their price of $14.98 written next to it. This is meant to showcase their awesome prices...even though no one in their right mind would ever consider buying a Singularity for $40. It's an effective, albeit slightly misleading, marketing trick.

 

None of that is to say that xFountainpens has bad prices or that they are a bad company, I have ordered from them on several occasions and have always been happy. I have been buying Chesterfield ink from them for more than a year now because their prices are so good (and the ink is excellent). The prices have only changed when they actually have sales, so I wouldn't worry about the $9.99/100ml for the standard inks being a temporary price.