Help! Need A Suggestion On An Ink.

[Miaxina]

I'm in high school and my first ink (which I'm still using) is sailor Jentle Souten. I've used it on copy papers, notebooks and very cheap papers in which it showed zero to almost no feathering.

[Shamalama]

What do you guys prefer, black or blue? Is one more preferable to the other?

Btw, thanks for the abundance of replies!

Edited April 20, 2017 by Shamalama

[displacermoose]

If you're asking about your own notes it doesn't really matter. I taught college English for 10 years. I didn't care what my students used on turn-in work as long as I could read it. Pink is right out. Blue or black are interchangeable. Dark green, brown, and purple are also all perfectly fine, and (for me at least) always made for a nice change of pace. Let me confuse the matter even more for you by throwing out the suggestion for R&K Scabiosa, which is a dark, dusty purple. Since it is an iron gall, it is also permanent. It is dry writing and I have never gotten it to feather or bleed, no matter how junky the paper.

 

I'm surprised that no one has suggested you get a bunch of samples. Goulet pens, Anderson pens, and Vanness are all great shops with a huge selection of samples. For a couple of bucks a piece, you can get enough ink to try whatever you think you may like before you commit to a bottle. You may very well find that colors help you take better notes, or there may be a color you would never think of that makes your heart sing. The truth of it is there are very few inks that can't work on awful paper given a fine enough nib. If you have the funds, get a Platinum preppy or 3 as tester pens ($3 a piece). They are fantastic beaters: cheap and reliable. You can fill up the cartridges with whatever samples you get and go to town with little to no risk.

 

Don't sweat it. Have fun and find what makes you happy.

[Arkanabar]

Another suggestion for a starter pen: Platinum Plaisir. It has more girth than either the Pilot Metropolitan or the Lamy Safari, no sharp step between barrel and section (as on the Metro) and no grip facets (as on the Safari). It can be found for 1/2 to 2/3 the price of the Eco (or possibly the Safari; pricing gets weird sometimes). I'd go for the M nib, but if you're writing Japanese characters, you might prefer the F. In addition, it's a distinguished looking pen made of tough, lightweight anodized aluminum, available in a variety of colors. And even when ignored for months at a time, it will write on the first stroke.

 

I'd also tend to suggest the Pilot Kakuno over the Metro, being cheaper, lighter, and girthier, but with some caveats. First, it looks like a kid's toy, being very obviously made of plastic, often with bright colors. Second, it has no clip. Third, the section is actually hexagonal, but that's close enough to round for me as makes no difference.

 

Several members refill and reseal Pilot cartridges.

Noodler's Black is quite good, but a little prone to smudging. I would dilute with distilled water to mitigate this behavior, or else buy Noodler's Heart of Darkness instead. In my experience, HoD is a better-behaved ink than original Black.

Pilot Blue-Black is really a workhorse ink. You should look up Sandy1's review. (ETA: Here you go.) It performs well in a variety of pens, and on a variety of papers, and resists both water and sunlight. If I had no interest in ink color beyond legibility, it could easily be The One Ink for me. In the 350ml "soda bottle" it is almost certainly the best performing ink around for the money.

Edited April 22, 2017 by Arkanabar