Please Help Me Choose A Dark Olive Green For Daily Use (Among Some Shortlisted Candidates)

[chingdamosaic]

Hello FPN members,

 

I'm looking for an olive green for daily use, that is, it should be dark enough to write/read a whole page without burning the user's eyes, and I hope it will stay as dark even in extra fine nibs(I'm using Platinum 3776 EF, Sailor PG EF, and sometimes LAMY Safari EF).

 

Other requirements:

Shading: the richer the better

Sheen: not necessary

Waterproof: not necessary

Water resistance: bonus point

Light fastness: not necessary

Dry speed: the faster the better

Price: bonus point

 

Here are some candidates that I shortlisted:

 

1. R&K Alt-Goldgrun

I've tried several R&K inks and was very satisfied with their behavior. However this ink is a little bit too yellow and too bright(in fine nibs) for my taste.

 

2. Sailor Tokiwa-Matsu

This is almost as dark the color as I imagine...or maybe too dark? But I don't like the phenol smell of Sailor inks....

 

3. Private Reserve Avocado

Nice color and shading, but a bit too saturated and dries too slow.

 

4. Diamine Meadow/ Emerald/ Sherwood Green/ Umber/ salamander....

Never had a Diamine ink so am hoping to get one. Most of their greens seem nice, but in some reviews I found them so bright that makes me hesitated.

 

5. J.Herbin

Currently not considered. I find their inks generally too bright and watery. (maybe my impression was wrong, but I've already have quite a few of JH inks and would like to try something new anyway)

 

6. Noodler's / Montblanc

Currently not considered. Too hard to get them here.

 

 

I'd be very grateful if someone can help me find my dream-green. Big thanks!!

[proton007]

Order samples from Diamine.

 

Another ink that comes to mind is Stipula Moss Green.

 

Also, online ink reviews tend to vary based on the scan and the monitor calibration. What you see is not what you get in some scenarios.

[lgsoltek]

Personally I'd choose Tokiwa-matsu among these.

[Fabienne]

Alt gold-green (R&K)

Stipula Moss green

Montblanc Daniel Defoe (if you can find it)

[ac12]

Diamine Sherwood Green is a nice ink. But that ink does not behave well with all pens. I think it is the high saturation level of the ink, which causes it to clog some of my pens, requiring frequent cleaning of the nib. In fact I gave up using it with my Baoer 388, because is constantly dried and clogged in that pen.

 

Diamine ULTRA Green is the bright ink that you don't want.

 

I recommend that you get samples of the ink, before you buy the bottle. MANY times the on-line ink samples, do not look like the same ink out of YOUR pen on YOUR paper. One reason is that the shade/color of some inks change based on how wet the pen writes that ink. Example, Waterman green is a nice medium green out of most of my pens, buy it is a DARK green out of my Sheaffer and Waterman.

Edited January 27, 2016 by ac12

[chewytulip]

Personally I'd choose Tokiwa-matsu among these.

+1

 

And if you find alt-goldgrun to be too yellow and too bright, you'll almost definitely find Diamine Meadow to be too bright.

 

I know you're not picking a Noodler's Ink because of availability issues, but if I were picking an ink out of my personal collection for you, I'd choose Noodler's Army Green. Affordable, dark, easy to work with, and definitely in the olive green family. Plus, it dilutes well, if you suddenly have a need for a lighter ink.

[geoduc]

I'd agree that Alt Goldgrun is a bit bright for an every day ink. It's not eye-searing, but a full page can look bright. No water resistance whatsoever, otherwise well behaved.

 

As previously suggested, Stipula Verde Muschiato is an excellent choice, although more of a brown-green. Impeccably well behaved and excellent shading. It doesn't completely wash out, but I wouldn't call it water resistant.

 

Tokiwa matsu is my green of choice. It's more sedate that the previous ones, but is a pleasing color that works well as an everyday ink. Shades well, shows well in a variety of nib widths, superb behavior. It has some water resistance - most of the color will be washed out but you can still read the original writing. The only downside is that the dry time is slightly longer than the others. Not terrible, though.

 

Also consider Diamine Evergreen. Another very nice green, similar to tokiwa matsu but slightly less yellow. Also behaves well, has some shading, and is a good choice as an everyday ink. Not water resistant.

 

I don't have enough experience with the others on your list to comment, other than to say that Avacado is a serious pain to clean out of a pen.

 

Here are a few scans for comparison's sake. The colors aren't quite as bright on paper as they are on the scan:

 

R&K Alt Goldgrun:

 

Stipula Verde Muschiato:

 

Sailor tokiwa matsu:

 

Diamine Evergreen:

[stonezebra]

I have several of the inks you listed and like them all. Diamine Salamander is a favorite but it could appear a little more brown than green in some pens (don't have any fine nibs) The Evergreen is a nice dark green but I wouldn't really call it olive. I love PR Avocado and N Army Green. Someday I hope to try Sailor Tokiwa matsu I heartily agree with the others who have recommended getting samples first if at all possible as it will likely save you money. You might also ask Cyber6 what her suggestions are for an Olive Green ink from outside the US as she is a murky/olive green expert I hope you'll let us know what you ultimately choose. I love olive greens too.

 

----- Just saw this thread.... maybe you'll see something you like here.

[proton007]

Olive green is a tricky color indeed

[Sakura FP Gallery]

Perhaps Graf von Faber-Castell Moss Green, KWZI IG green #3 or KWZI IG Green #4. They are at the darker side but great inks.

[Chrissy]

+1 for Stipula Musk Green. I'm very pleased with my bottle.

Maybe Diamine Salamander might be more brown than you want, so I would try a sample of that first.

 

I wouldn't call Sailor Tokiwa Matsu an olive green, but it's a very nice green ink.

[roklpokl]

Montblanc Daniel Defoe is a nice sort of olive green if you can find it since it's a limited edition ink.

Second choice would be Diamine Safari.

Edited January 27, 2016 by roklpokl

[migo984]

Another Tokiwa-matsu fan here. The colour balance is just right for me as I find some olives can be too yellow/grey/murky. It has a pure tonal value. The behaviour, shading and sheen is wonderful too, if that's your thing.

 

Another very good green is L'Artisan Pastellier's Olivestre, part of their Callifolio line.

[Arkanabar]

I have Diamine Sherwood. I've never used it on paper that enhances shading, and I've never seen shading with it. But I tend to doubt it's much for shading regardless. Maybe if it were a tad dilute. In no way would I consider it an olive green. It strikes me as very much a forest green.

Because you want rich shading and a nicely dark olive green, I'm going to suggest an ink I don't actually have: Iroshizuku Shin-Ryoku (Forest Green). Review1 Review2. Alas, it isn't really an olive green either.

[OCArt]

I picked up a bottle of Parker Penman Emerald and it is a darker green but I don't feel any "magic" using it.

[Gudi]

Perhaps Graf von Faber-Castell Moss Green, KWZI IG green #3 or KWZI IG Green #4. They are at the darker side but great inks.

+1 for GvFC moss green. A bit pricey, but I believe it matches all other criteria.

[Sabin]

Stipula Calamo Verde Muschiato....superb ink!

[knarflj]

You could also look at De Atramentis Jane Austen. I can't compare it with the others that have been mentioned, because I normally prefer my greens on the blue end of the range. In fact, I didn't really think I'd like the colour of Jane Austen when I got my first sample of it, but I wanted to try it because of the name, and fell in love with the ink. Well behaved, some shading (my pens run from Japanese F to Lamy EF), looks nice on both white and off-white paper, and pretty good water resistance.

 

Jenny

[chingdamosaic]

Thanks to all the fellow FPNers for your suggestions! (and special thanks to geoduc for taking the time to post those pictures!)

 

Among all the ink reviews I like Daniel DeFoe the most, but don't think I'd be lucky enough to find one... TAT

 

I know the best solution is to order samples first, however the FP shops here don't offer samples and the FP users who sell samples online don't have the aforementioned colors.... And if I were to order samples directly from US/UK, the shipping fee alone is almost equal to 1~3 bottles of 80ml Diamine.

 

I'll receive some Kobe ink samples from a friend this weekend. Don't know which colors I'll get, hope there will be some olive greens though.

 

Anyway, my current top choices are tokiwa-matsu and alt-goldgrun. And since there are some reviews commenting tokiwa-matsu being as dark as black in EF nib, maybe I'll get alt-grun and mix it with some other inks.... If there is no better option coming by....

[Barkingpig]

If your friend includes Kobe #49 (a dark olive green) you may have found your solution.