My First Ink

[craftmanhk]

Hello,

I am new to the fountain pen world, but have just learned shorthand am tired of problems with ball point pens. I bought me a Noodlers Ahab Pearl and now must get ink. I want something waterproof, a friendly black, something to dry fast, something that wont feather and penetrate too deep, but very readable. What are some recommendations for me? I know nothing about ink. Thanks in advance!

 

-Heber

[inkstainedruth]

I'd have a look at Noodler's Heart of Darkness. A lot of people will probably point you at the standard Noodler's Black, but I find that HoD dries faster and doesn't smudge (the downside of bulletproof -- i.e., cellulose reactive inks) is that only the part actually in contact with the paper will bond with the cellulose...). At this point it's probably my go-to black ink.

I have other blacks, but HoD has the edge for black without a lot of spread IMO; mind you, there are some inks that are "blacker" but HoD is the best all around performer and is still pretty black (the blackest and fastest drying black in my experience is Organics Studio Charles Darwin and it's "fall into a black hole black" -- BUT it had horrible spread and bleedthrough issues, even in a pen with a fine hooded nib).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[ErrantSmudge]

Second the recommendation for Noodler's Heart of Darkness. My experience is that it dries faster than Noodler's standard black, but Noodler's standard black is better behaved (less showthrough) on cheap papers.

[Noihvo]

 

[craftmanhk]

Thanks for the help guys!! Noihvo, is that darker color you switched to Heart of Darkness?

Edited May 31, 2017 by craftmanhk

[Arkanabar]

One thing to bear in mind is the pen you've bought, the Noodler's Ahab, is meant to be adjusted and tinkered with. Brian Goulet has posted a number of videos on how to get it working just so. Sometimes they're a little touchy and finicky. Some are wonderful; some are horrible.

If the Ahab lays down too much ink for your tastes, and you cannot remedy that behavior, get an inexpensive Japanese pen with a fine point. My first recommendation is a Platinum Plaisir, which might be found on Amazon for under $15. The cartridges are easily refilled with 3ml disposable pipettes (sold by several online pen retailers) and also with blunt syringes. Platinum also sells an adapter so you can use short international cartridges and possibly even international converters. Platinum's own converters have a reputation for a short service life, though some say this can be remedied with a judicious application of pure silicone grease. The Plaisir is a tough, lightweight pen of anodized aluminum with a nice girth (about 10mm at the section). You can leave a Plaisir alone for several months, and it will still write on the first stroke. Platinum nibs have some feedback; they are not butter-on-glass smooth.

Pilot also sells a couple of pens that would have less flow than an untamed Ahab. These are the Metropolitan and the Kakuno. Pilot cartridges are even easier to reload than Platinum carts, and I've even seen a video about resealing the darned things. The Metro is a slim pen with a moderately heavy brass body. The section diameter is around 8.5mm, and the body has a sharp step where the section screws in. Some people are bothered by this step, and others aren't; the pen has TONS of rabid fans.

The Kakuno, on the other hand, is a school pen, made of brightly colored plastic, with no clip on the cap, and a smiley face on the nib (which is otherwise identical to the Metro). It weighs next to nothing and has a hexagonal, ~10.5mm section.

If neither of these floats your boat, you might consider the Pilot Prera. It has the same nib/feed section as the Metro and Kakuno, but the body is different. It's quite short, and the cap should be posted for writing. It has more girth than the Metro, and more gravitas than the Kakuno.

 

eta: I would also suggest Noodler's Heart of Darkness; my second suggestion would be either Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black or an iron-gall ink, like Diamine Registrar's. Iron gall inks are famous for their tight lines and for writing rather dry. They will form solid, insoluble precipitates if left exposed to air, but your Ahab is made to be taken apart and scrubbed with a toothbrush should such unpleasantness befall it.

Edited June 1, 2017 by Arkanabar

[Noihvo]

 

[craftmanhk]

Thanks for the help Arkanabar! So will Noodlers Heart of Darkness work well in the Pilot Metropolitan? I am considering one of those in the fine point. How are you doing in Sweden Noihvo? My great grandfather immigrated from Sweden.

[ErrantSmudge]

My advice is not to overthink this. Part of the joy of using fountain pens is trying out different pen and ink combinations. Get your Metropolitan, and a few inks in colors you think you might like. The online vendors offer ink samples for less than $2 apiece so there is little risk involved.

[Arkanabar]

I have not used HoD in any Pilot except a Parallel 3.8mm calligraphy pen, where it was well-behaved. But it did really well in my coworker's Ahab, and in a cheap IPG international c/c school pen hand-ground to an oblique(ish) stub, and in a Hero 616. Alas, I am now out of HoD (it belonged to the coworker with the Ahab), and unwilling to buy more when I have four other bottles of black ink, which are generally serviceable. I doubt you'll have any problems using HoD in a Metro.

[wallylynn]

for general use, I also suggest HoD over Regular Black. Regular Black was developed for newsprint, very absorbant paper. The story is someone like to do crosswords and thus Regular Black was born. HoD was developed to be a bit more penetrating for use on a larger variety of paper. Personally, I bought HoD because the label was prettier than Regular black...