The Five Wettest Diamine Inks

[Chouffleur]

I have two Pelikans with similar medium nibs, an M30 and a P20 Silvexa. When I write with them in my Leuchtterm1917 journal the P20 (Levenger Blue Bahama) looks as I'd expect from a medium nib. The M30 (Pelikan Edelstein Smoky Quartz) looks almost like a fine nib. Both produce enjoyably medum-like lines on other some other papers so I'm looking for a wetter ink to throw into the M30.

 

Having done a cursory search on relative wetness of inks it seems that Diamine (which was on my to-try list anyway) would be a good candidate. Since I've read here that wetness varies among colors within brands I solicit your recommendations for the five wettest Diamine inks. Don't worry about whether you're fond of the color as our tastes probably differ there anyway.

 

For extra credit: Would you consider Diamine inks wetter in general than Levenger inks? If so, is there a closer match in terms of wetness? The attraction of Diamine is that they sell assorted-color cartridge packs so I can try out a number of colors before adding another bottle of ink to the shelf.

 

Thanks

Edited October 28, 2017 by Chouffleur

[goodpens]

Hi there,

 

All of the Diamine inks I have used have good flow. The shimmertastic inks are drier than the normal inks. Witin the normal lineup, though, I cant identify which are wetter than others. They all seem comparable to me. (And it has been ages since I tried Levengers inks, so I cant offer a comparison.)

 

Diamine onyx, sapphire, apple glory, pumpkin, crimson, Monaco red, steel blue, claret, and the others I have tried are all great.

 

Go ahead and try one of the mixed cartridge packs to play around with. As you mention, it is a low cost of entry and youll get to try a wide variety.

Edited October 29, 2017 by goodpens

[ENewton]

Here is a related thread that identifies certain Diamine inks as wet:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/324270-is-all-diamine-dry-or-just-diamine-grape/

[chromantic]

The Diamine's I've tried have all had good flow. A couple - Twilight and Majestic Purple - were horrible bleeders but the rest have been good: Macassar, Wild Strawberry, Ruby, Yellow, the new Dark Forest. I used Evergreen and Teal too briefly to recall much about them.

[lgsoltek]

Regarding Levenger inks, I'd say they are generally much wetter than Diamine. (They also tend to feather a bit more.)

 

I'm not sure which Diamine are the wettest, but I can tell you the driest ink I've ever used: Diamine Autumn Oak. Ugh.

[Chrissy]

I would say that the 150th Anniversary inks are wetter and more saturated .

 

Also, the later Shimmer inks seem to write wetter than the first batch

[lapis]

Evergreen and Registrar's are both so dry that I never use them anymore, even although I find the colours more than okay.

[JakobS]

I agree that the 150th line inks seem to be great inks in this regard, my favorites being Safari and Golden Honey.

 

Also their music line of inks have a really decent flow as well.

 

As far as their regular line of inks, it's difficult to sort out the wettest as many behave with a similar wetness, a solid medium, not too wet, nor dry. Some inks to try:

 

Green: Umber, Safari

Purple: Tyrian Purple

Red: Wild Strawberry, Monaco Red

Blue: Oxford Blue, Steel Blue

Orange: Orange, Golden Honey

Brown: Chocolate, Macassar, Orche

Grey: Grey

[ParkerDuofold]

Hello Chouffleur,

 

Diamine Asa Blue is one of the wettest inks I know.

 

Chocolate, Matador Red and Midnight are pretty good, too.

 

 

- Anthony

[OCArt]

A strong +1 on Levenger inks being wet. My favorite Diamine is their Royal Blue.

Regarding Levenger inks, I'd say they are generally much wetter than Diamine. (They also tend to feather a bit more.)

 

I'm not sure which Diamine are the wettest, but I can tell you the driest ink I've ever used: Diamine Autumn Oak. Ugh.

[evyxmsj]

Regarding Levenger inks, I'd say they are generally much wetter than Diamine. (They also tend to feather a bit more.)

 

I'm not sure which Diamine are the wettest, but I can tell you the driest ink I've ever used: Diamine Autumn Oak. Ugh.

 

I second that one on Autumn Oak. It suprised me how dry it is. I found Blue Velvet to be very wet.

[Uncial]

Diamine Marine has just come out of my rotation and is very wet. Nice colour too.

[minddance]

Regarding Levenger inks, I'd say they are generally much wetter than Diamine. (They also tend to feather a bit more.)

 

I'm not sure which Diamine are the wettest, but I can tell you the driest ink I've ever used: Diamine Autumn Oak. Ugh.

I am in total agreement with you. I tried Levenger Amethyst and it plays well with pens, great flow but doesn't play well with many papers. For a dry Kaweco Steel nib, it works.

 

Yes, Autumn Oak is a very disappointing ink for me. Great colours if presented properly in the form of Swabs that have many passes and flex pens, but certainly way too light, even in my pelikan m1000f. I cannot write with Autumn Oak unless I leave it in cheap chinese pens to allow ink to evaporate and darken. Even on cheap absorbent papers, it is way too light. There are too many limiting factors within the ink that prevent it from forming an affinity with papers. What is the Chemistry/chemical(s) behind this?

 

Sepia, Meadow (gawd!), Beau Blue, Amaranth, (and monaco red actually) are further disappointments.

 

Since then, I only look at ink reviews that write with 'real' pens, say an unadjusted Pilot steel nib or Lamy steel. Glass dip pens, swabs, flex pens can be deceiving and ultimately disappointing if one buys the ink to use in a 'normal pen'.

 

Now, back to the topic, I havent tried all Diamines but I would say

1. Imperial Purple (reasonably wet)

2. Oxblood

3. Chocolate Brown.

4. Blood Orange

5. Sherwood Green.

 

Not sure if they are top5 but certainly wet and rather satisfying.

 

I notice an irony in some fountain pen communities, especially in Asia: some people want pens that flow extremely frugally and very fine-nibbed. This same group of people want Autumn Oak and Umber - and Apache Sunset.

Edited November 4, 2017 by minddance

[moksaa]

Newbie here, so please forgive me if I say something really stupid. I've had the same ink feel really dry or really wet on different pens and nibs. Diamine Amber was a scratchy nightmare in my Noodler's Ahab. And so smooth in a Parker Frontier (I find the Parker Frontiers to be really smooth writers).

 

Anyhow - I recently got a bottle of Diamine Aqua Blue, and it seemed like a very wet ink on different pens.

[Chrissy]

Their recently issued inks that I've tried all seem to be quite wet.

[evyxmsj]

I'd also include Sargasso Sea, though it can be harder to clean out. I suppose any of Diamine's most saturated colours are a good bet for a highly wet feel.