How Do You Choose The First Ink For A New Pen?

[displacermoose]

Yesterday a box arrived bearing my new Pilot Custom 74 with a soft fine nib. I feel like I already know this pen to a certain extent since it is an exact replacement for one that was stolen, but I am still faced with a conundrum: which ink do I use to welcome it into the collection?

 

My own process involves determining the pen's vibe and finding an ink that complements that vibe along with the color. So in this case the pen itself is rather plain, so I'll want an ink that has some liveliness but isn't frivolous. I don't ink more than four or five pens at a time so I try to vary the kinds of colors I have available. This is both a hue/value thing (I have a bunch of inks in my favorite families and try not to have more than one in a pen at the same time) and a tone thing (some inks are serious, some are punchy, some are contemplative so I try to keep a mix to match my moods as they change). Apart from these highly subjective questions, I also want to get a good gauge of how the pen performs. Using an ink with which I'm familiar gives me a more reliable gauge of performance, but I have a ton of samples I'm itching to try out.

 

The welter of questions often produces a delicious flurry of indecision that can last for several days. Right now I'm leaning toward Colorverse Andromeda even though it breaks all of my rules. I suspect that it is too frivolous for this pen, I have two other pens inked with what I broadly consider "red", one of which has Yama-budo (although I'm considering flushing that one; it's a TWSBI mini and they don't really seem to go together), and I'm new to Colorverse as a brand (my other current "red" ink is Dark Energy, which is my first full Colorverse fill) and have never tried Andromeda.

 

So how do the rest of you approach the first fill of a new pen? What questions do you ask yourself? Do you use a standard ink? Why?

[Rosendust2121]

Personally, I use inks that correspond with the pen's brand(Pilot for Pilot, et al).

 

Hope this helps!

[senzen]

Most of the time the ink chooses the pen, depending on whether it looks right or too light or too dark, or in some cases doesn't want to come out at all. Rouge Hematite doesn't get to choose since it will clog whatever pen it's in, so it better be one that's easy to disassemble and clean, in my case a Vista. For some reason I can't explain Ajisai worked but didn't look right coming out of an pearwood Ambition, but Équinoxe 6 does, I'm hoping a black Studio will do the trick.

 

A few lucky matches are Verdigris and a Sonnet, Yama Guri and Imperial Blue Studio, but most of the others took endless rotations. I'm still not happy with Souten on a Platinum Cool, I'm hoping an m205 will remedy that.

[PAKMAN]

For many years I always started a new pen with the same ink, Parker Quink Blue Black. Then I would get a good feel as to how it compared to other pens using the same ink. Now a days I typically pick an ink that matches up color wise with the pen on that reminds me of the pen or it's design.

[inkstainedruth]

It depends. It used to be my test ink was either Parker Quink Black or Waterman Mysterious Blue. But anymore, it's whatever I feel like. Mostly don't match pen and ink color. Sometimes (such as with the Pilot Decimo or the Noodler's Boston Safety) it's the same brand. Sometimes it's whatever sample I haven't tried yet that I think might look good coming out of that pen (so the new purple Vector got Monteverde Olivine).

No particular method, except that maybe I'll use "safe" inks (and that includes vintage inks) on vintage pens -- depending on the pen (I'm less picky about what inks I'd use in a 51 Aerometric, than I would be for a Vacumatic or a Sheaffer Snorkel) and the nib.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[lapis]

My first fill of any new pen depends on nothing else than my own personal feeling at the moment. If I feel like a blue-black or a green or a red, or if I've just opened a new bottle of ink I received today, I just do it, knowing that if that ink doesn't fit tht pen (e.g. too dry, ends up skipping etc), I just empty and refill.

If any new pen makes you unsure, then use a standard ink, "standard" in the sense of being your own bench and/or workhorse ink -- like Waterman's Florida Blue (which I'm not at all hot about) -- for the simple reason that you know if that ink doesn't work "flawlessly", then it's got to be the pen and not the ink.

[amberleadavis]

I would like to believe that I'm methodical and that I start every new pen with the same ink (Dromgoole's Blue Steel), but uh, I ignore my own advice and ink up with whatever ink matches my ink filling rules:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/245296-pen-and-ink-filling-rules-how-do-you-choose-ink-pen-combinations/

[Intensity]

I go by multiple aspects, such as nib tipping shape, some expectation of how the ink will flow (high flow or dry), and pen appearance/color. For instance my Conklin Duragraph "Merlot" has been a home for Diamine Syrah and Colorverse Dark Energy. Lamy Safari Petrol uses Petrol ink. I have a few Lamy Al-Star and LX pens, and I somewhat coordinate barrel colors with them, like Papier Plume Moss Green + Lamy Al-Star Charged Green. However I don't always coordinate ink color with barrel color--I make the greatest emphasis on nib style and writing performance, as some inks look subjectively better with a thicker line, some with thinner line, some with a concentrated line, some with a measured out line with a wider nib.

[sciumbasci]

Is it iron gall?

If yes, it goes into the pen.

 

A pen too precious, delicate, expensive or finicky to use with iron gall inks is not a pen for me. Which is a shame, since I will probably never get to use a Vac700R Unless PenBBS saves the day.

Edited April 5, 2018 by sciumbasci

[praxim]

Pens come up for inking, and inks come up for penning, by semi-random processes. I match the selected inks among the selected pens according to taste at the time, subject to a couple of constraint rules I have around inks and filler types or pen vintages.

 

Usually, I am inking four to six at a time, never one, then write most of those out before doing it again.

 

New pens are more likely to be selected than previously used pens yet may hang around for a while. Right now, there are a dozen waiting to be used for the first time by me*, not counting a few in the workshop for repair. This is why I have some on the market with more to follow; I know that I have too many.

 

* eta: I was taken aback when I realised that.

Edited April 5, 2018 by praxim

[NinthSphere]

Sometimes the pen color makes me want to put a particular ink in it, sometimes it's simply a matter of what colors I have inked at the time & using the new pen to fill a gap while I see how it behaves.

[chromantic]

​I like to link my pens with a particular ink, usually one that matches the pen though sometimes contrasts/compliments. I will buy inks which I know I want to put in a certain pen and I've even ordered pens that I wanted for a certain ink.

 

Doesn't always work out, however, case in point: when I ordered my M405 Stresseman, I finally ordered Take-sumi, which I'd been wanting to try for a long time and figured it would be the perfect color for the pen. The pen arrived in 3 days but the Pilot was coming from Japan by very slow boat. I got impatient and filled the pen with KWZ Maroon - what a serendipitous pairing that turned out to be! The whole black/dark grey/dark red thing was perfect. When the Take-sumi finally arrived, I did try it in the pen and, while the color was indeed a good match, it was like a firehose, far too wet. (I feel it will do well in the white M150 EF, just haven't gotten around to trying it yet.) So it's back to the Maroon for the Stresseman.

[dcwaites]

Almost all new pens get Faux Penman Sapphire #9.

1. it's a nice ink
2. it's about 1/2 water, and made from Diamine inks, so it is really safe
3. it's well behaved as an ink.
4. see point #1

[ParkerDuofold]

For many years I always started a new pen with the same ink, Parker Quink Blue Black. Then I would get a good feel as to how it compared to other pens using the same ink. Now a days I typically pick an ink that matches up color wise with the pen on that reminds me of the pen or it's design.

 

I would like to believe that I'm methodical and that I start every new pen with the same ink (Dromgoole's Blue Steel), but uh, I ignore my own advice and ink up with whatever ink matches my ink filling rules:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/245296-pen-and-ink-filling-rules-how-do-you-choose-ink-pen-combinations/

Hi all,

 

It is best to use ONE ink that you're very familiar with for a new pens maiden voyage... it's a good way to spot potential problems.

 

I use Diamine Asa Blue... which is a wet, free flowing ink... I know if I have any start-up, skipping, hesitation, or other flow problems with DAB; I can be 90-95% sure the problem rests with the new pen.

 

After that, I flush it again and fill it with whatever I like... and hope the pen still writes as well.

 

 

- Anthony

[Chrissy]

I agree with you Anthony. In order to test a new pen I use an ink I know very well. Mine is Waterman Florida Blue. When I write with that combo it then becomes obvious if the new pen prefers a wetter or a dryer ink.

 

There have been odd occasions where a new pen arrives and I'm not at home with my Florida Blue but have other inks so they've just had whatever is there at the time.

[RoyalBlueNotebooks]

I take a look at the tines with my loupe first. If I think they're sufficiently apart, I start with Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue, if they are too close to each other for my liking, I start with Diamine Onyx Black. I don't touch anything at this point.

 

When accidents happen, and they did, these are two colors thatI won't mind having spilled around.

 

I let the feed de-saturate itself and test the nib on different papers, usually takes a couple of days, and then I ink them up with my color of choice. This is also good for me to check any issues during flushing times.

[Driften]

I always have a hard decision for my first inking of a new pen. Using a wetter ink I use a lot like Kon-Peki or more of a medium wet ink like many of my MB or Robert Oster inks. If I think the nib might be a wet one I will go with a non-pilot ink, if I think the pen may be dry I go wet. But in the end I fret over it some for a pens first fill.

 

The next pen coming is a Pelikan M120 Iconic Blue so I might go with Robert Oster Blue Water Ice since I expect it will be a wet nib.

[displacermoose]

Everyone's replies have been fascinating. Thank you! I'm afraid that I can't reply to each one as my work is completely insane right now and most of my free time is spent reminding myself what my kids looks like.

 

The pen in question ended up with Sailor Oku-Yama for it's first fill. It turned out to be quite a bit drier than I expected, so I'm seeing a side of Oku-Yama (one of my staples) that I had not before. I talked myself out of Andromeda since I doubt I would be happy with the combination. Instead, Andromeda ended up in a Prera (the clear one with the green ends) fitted with a smiley nib from a Kakauno (sp?). It's almost sickeningly cheerful.

[Noihvo]

 

[Buzz_130]

I'm in the camp of use what you know. Once I run a familiar ink through a pen to get a feel for the nib and the flow, I'll branch out into the rest of the ink collection. I keep a faithful ink and pen log that records every fill of every ink into every pen. Over the years, I can see what pens and inks become favorite combination. Trial and error is gone, and the pens just write.

 

Buzz