What Are Some Of *your* Favorite Fountain Pen Inks? =)

[TestTube]

Hey guys. I just recently got into fountain pens and *instantly* fell in love. I can't get enough of it.

 

That said, I'd like to (hopefully) start a massive thread getting to know what some of everyone's favorite inks are.

 

I have been sampling inks like crazy in the last two weeks and I would love to add to the collection; as well as help others decide what inks they might want to try out themselves, so...

 

To start us off, out of the ones I've sampled so far (only have sampled about 10 out of the 40 I ordered so just listing the favorites of the ones I know), my favorites are:

 

Pilot Iroshizuku: "Kon-Peki" and "Momiji"

Noodler's: "Apache Sunset"

Diamine: "Flamingo Pink"

 

Fire away!

Edited June 5, 2018 by TestTube

[twin63]

I'm fairly new to fountain pens too, so I haven't sampled a ton of inks. Here's what I like so far:

 

Pilot Blue Black. My favorite so far. Might be considered a bit boring, but it just works for me (various pens, paper, etc.).

 

Iroshizuku Take-sumi, Kon-peki and Tsuki-yo

 

Diamine Red Dragon and Blue Black

 

J. Herbin Pearl Noir

 

Noodler's 54th Massachusetts. I need to give Apache Sunset another chance now that I have a couple of pens with broader nibs.

 

I just got a few samples, so this list may change .

[TestTube]

I have the entire set of Iroshizuku ink samples to test out, and I also have the Diamine Red Dragon and Noodler's 54 Massachusetts to eventually test out as well. I just ordered a few more Metropolitans so I can test out more colors faster. =p

Edited June 5, 2018 by TestTube

[LizEF]

I'm possibly your antithesis. I mostly prefer murky colors:

• Akkerman #09 Laan van Nieuw Oost-Indigo is my favorite blue-black (I could give you a huge list of blue-black-ish inks, if you want)
• I'm not done hunting murky greens (my favorites so far are discontinued), but here are some currently available
  • Diamine Classic Green
  • Sailor Tokiwa Matsu
  • Graf von Faber-Castell Olive Green
• Robert Oster Blue Denim and Colorverse Warped Passages are good lighter, bluish shades
• Robert Oster Caffe Crema and Aussie Brown are competing for my favorite brown
• Sailor Sei Boku is my favorite permanent color - and just a really cool blue - nice shading!
• Robert Oster Green Lime and Caran d'Ache Delicate Green are fabulous bright, yellow-ish greens - good for annotations
  • Pilot Iroshizuku Yama Budo and R&K Solferino are also really good for annotations
• I've got a gazillion more samples to go, including some darkish oranges I'm looking forward to trying, but for bright oranges, Akkerman Oranje Boven is really nice. Nemosine Solar Storm 1859 is a bit more muted (but not too much).
• ETA: Oh, forgot grey: Pilot Iroshizuku Fuyu-Syogun is fabulous.

Edited June 5, 2018 by LizEF

[titevm]

I don't really care for samples, since the beginning I got full bottles after a lot.of research, at 45ish atm. I love Kyo-no-oto Aonibi, KWZ Monarch, Kobe #67 Ogo Farm green and Kobe# 51 Kano-cho Midnight.

I really like Montblanc Balzac Dandy Turquoise. Those are almost always in pen. But I never bought an ink that I hated. Hope it continues like that! Cheers!

[Noihvo]

 

[amberleadavis]

I love samples. I usually fill from samples and not my bottles.

These are SOME of my favorites in the Blue-Purple Range, other color ranges will follow in another post.

 

Purples

Noodler's Purple - this is an amazing and well behaved ink

Noodler's La Couleur Royale

KWZI Violet #4

Sparkly

J Herbin Amethyste de l'Oral

Montblanc Beatles

Diamine Purple Pizazz

Diamine Eclipse can look purple.

 

Purple Blacks

Sailor

Bungbox Ink of the Witch

Sankodo Nishikisan

Deep Purple Black

Shigure

Private Reserve Ebony Purple

 

Blues and Blurples

KWZI Blue #4 (I don't think he makes this any longer. It stains, it fades but it is waterproof, vivid and amazing)

Aurora Blue

Noodler's

Eel Blue

Bay State Blue

North Star Liberator

Midway Blue (Turquoise)

Manhattan Blue (Really dark)

Ellis Island (ok it's not really a blue, but I like it and it's sort of blue)

Levenger

Cobalt

Skies of Blue

Sailor

Kobe Maya Lapis

Kingdom Note Lidthi Jay

Private Reserve

DC Super Show Blue

American Blue

Black Magic Blue

Electric Blue

Tanzanite

Diamine

Sargasso Sea

Bilberry

de Atramentis

South Seas Blue

Hyacinth (it fluoresces)

[amberleadavis]

@Testtube, as Noivho stated, the post can only be edited for 24 hours, but just add another post to tell us of your findings.

[Joban]

Oldie but goodie that is still available from BMW of all places...Montblanc BMW Blue.

 

Second vote goes to Bung-Box Sapphire blue aka First Love.

[TestTube]

Oh, that's quite unfortunate that we can't get a mega-post going for some consensus favorites, but thank you for letting me know.

 

And yea, I love sampling inks. I'm very glad I did this before buying a bottle. Honestly, there hasn't been an ink that I've tried so far that I truly disliked. However, I didn't realize until after I got these samples how long ink lasts (if you aren't using some flex nib or something like that constantly). Now, I figure I can try out a bunch of different inks and when I finally find one I just can't get enough of, I'll buy a good ole' fancy bottle of it. =)

 

And keep'em comin' guys. I have a feeling I'm going to end up going through this thread in a week or two and taking a look at every ink mentioned, and buying a sample of 3/4ths of them lol.

Edited June 5, 2018 by TestTube

[LizEF]

And yea, I love sampling inks. I'm very glad I did this before buying a bottle. Honestly, there hasn't been an ink that I've tried so far that I truly disliked. However, I didn't realize until after I got these samples how long ink lasts (if you aren't using some flex nib or something like that constantly). Now, I figure I can try out a bunch of different inks and when I finally find one I just can't get enough of, I'll buy a good ole' fancy bottle of it. =)

 

That's my approach. I have yet to use up or get tired of my samples. Variety is fabulous!

[crahptacular]

Normally, I try to explore as many different inks as I can because I like to see what's out there. I enjoy the vast majority of inks I try, but because I don't spend that long with each ink, it's hard to choose favorites. However, off the top of my head, here are some inks I've had for a long time but still get an itch to return to, roughly organized by maker.

 

Sailor:

Tokiwa Matsu

Rikyu-Cha

(Kobe) Kano-Cho Midnight

(Kobe) Himeajisai

(Kobe) Minatojima Island Blue

(Bungbox) Fresh Oranges of Lake Hamana

(Bungbox) Norwegian Wood

Special mention to both pigmented Nano inks (Sei-Boku and Kiwa-Guro) for utilitarian properties

 

Kyoto TAG:

Soft Snow of Ohara

Aonibi

Stone Road of Gion

Hisoku

 

Pilot (Iroshizuku):

Mursasaki-Shikibu

Fuyu-Syogun

Momiji

 

KWZ:

IG Turquoise

Honey

Gummiberry

 

...and the rest of my inks are in a drawer instead of on the shelves, so I can't glance over them as easily. But for me, I have more fun exploring new colors than I do using old favorites. The "inks I should try" list already grows faster than I can manage, so I find it harder and harder to justify "settling down" with full bottles, even for inks I really enjoy samples of.

[johnboz]

I have tried many different inks and enjoy almost all of them, but really only love a few. Loving an ink is a very individual experience, so I know not everyone will agree with my list, but here goes:

 

Iroshizuku yama-budo - Every single time I write with it it makes me happy. Every single time I use someone else's pen that's filled with it, I say, "Ooh, that's a great color. What is it?"

Iroshizuku syo-ro - A beautifully subtle color that changes color as it dries and has a nice bit of sheen as well!

J. Herbin 1670 Emerald of Chivor - Shading, sheen, shimmer, and a beautiful color. What's not to like?

Rohrer and Klingner Alt-Goldgrun - A funky green color that I just love to use. It has amazing shading.

Waterman South Sea Blue (vintage) - Such a beautiful color of blue. While there are probably some modern equivalents out there, they don't smell like vintage ink does.

[MHBru]

Irishizuku...I have several and love them all... kon peki, ama iro and ku jaku currently in full bottles and have sampled many others

Franklin Cristoph Midnight Emerald is my one and only and favorite green... it's a dark green. I'm not a fan of bright green inks

Monteverde Purple Reign is my choice of favorite bright purple although I also have and enjoy Caran d'ache Ultra Violet which has a much duller finish

J Herbin Bleu Nuit is my favorite blue/black.

I don't use black inks but really do like Papier Plume Oyster Grey which is a pretty dark grey.

 

separately, I'm excited to see Amberleadavis's list and look forward to her others!

Edited June 6, 2018 by MHBru

[SchaumburgSwan]

Hi,

 

not easy to answer, if I could only take six inks these were:

 

Diamine Racing Green: A Beauty, great shading

Diamine Graphite; Black on first sight, then a beautiful greenish cast

Robert Oster Bronze; brown, a bit greenish, nobel

Diamine Macassar: My ideal brown-black

J. Herbin Perle Noir: just black

De Atramentis Dokumententinte Schwarz: waterproof black, nice colorless sheen

 

Best

Jens

Edited June 6, 2018 by SchaumburgSwan

[ENewton]

My two favorites are:

 

• TAG Kyoto Soft Snow of Ohara
• Sailor Kobe Suma Purple

 

Others I use very regularly are:

• Pilot Iroshizuku Murasaki Shikibu
• Sailor Shigure
• Montblanc Lavender Purple

My only glittery ink is:

• J Herbin L'Amethyste de l'Oural, but it isn't a general-purpose ink like the others

My samples of the following inks have really intrigued me:

• Birmingham Lilac Wind (like Robert Oster Purple Rock but more consistently purple)
• Birmingham Waterfront Dusk

[Studio97]

Favorites:

Waterman violet purple

KWZ Green #3

KWZ Maroon

J Herbin Amethyste Dr l' Oural

MB William Shakespeare Velvet Red

J Herbin Emerald of Chivor

Edited June 6, 2018 by Studio97

[senzen]

Crazy about:

 

Tsuyu Kusa.

Verdigris.

Asa Gao.

Vert Empire.

Équinoxe 6.

Yama Guri.

Orange Indien.

Mandarin.

Rouge Hematite.

Fuyu Gaki.

 

Very nice:

 

Verde Muschiato.

Lie de thé.

Ama Iro.

Ajisai,

Perle Noire.

Chiku Rin.

Poppy Red.

Ina Ho.

Inti.

 

Missing in action, still haven't found a pen that brings out its potential:

 

Kon Peki.

 

Gave up on (mostly had them from before the fountain pen craze):

 

Lamy Turquoise.

Myosotis.

Sheaffer blue.

Sheaffer brown.

Pelikan königsblau.

Don't like:

Violette pensée.

[RileyJanuary]

I use mostly blue inks. I realize that a lot of people find them boring, but blue just happens to be my alltime favourite colour. Everytime I decide to be a little more adventurous I may find an ink that I like, but then I usually find myself thinking: „That‘s a very nice colour! ... I just wish it were a little more blue.“

 

Anyway, here it goes:

Robert Oster Fire and Ice and Soda Pop Blue

Diamine Asa Blue, Florida Blue and Sargasso Sea

DeAtramentis Steel Blue and Deep Sea Blue

Pelikan Edelstein Topaz and Tanzanite

Blackstone Barrier Reef Blue

J. Herbin Eclat de Saphir and Bleu Nuit (bit more muted and dusty than the others)

Rohrer & Klingner Salix (Iron Gall Ink)

KWZ Baltic Memories

Noodlers Bad Belted Kingfisher

Sailor Souten and Yama-Dori (more of a Petrol colour).

 

The new Diamine Skull & Roses has recently taken over as my all time favourite blue because I just love the rich blue colour with the red sheen.

 

A few non-blues that I find myself regularly using:

Rohrer and Klingner Salix, Solferino and Verdura

DeAtramentis Aubergine

Noodlers Heart of Darkness and Apache Sunset

Diamine Earl Grey, Red Dragon, Oxblood and Autumn Oak.

 

Good luck on your journey to ink awesomeness awareness (and probably resulting bankruptcy).

[EBGBs]

First, for the newcomers, and some of you who may have missed it, there are monthly ink combo topics in the CRV section of this forum, where we match 2 or more inks in writing or doodles along a given theme. And guess what next month's theme is; "favourite inks: match two or more inks you really like". Perfect occasion to bring these lists to life!

 

As for me; my favourite colour and inks are blue-greens/ teals:

Diamine Aqua Lagoon,

J Herbin's Emerald of Chivor,

Salior Yama Dori

being at the top of the list

 

I love Monteverde Fireopal for its fantastic shading, depth and colour range

I recently got a bottle of Noodler's Red Black and i just love it - for the same reasons; colour depth and shading.

 

My favourite iroshizukus are Yama Budo (what a nice colour!) and Tsuki-Yo

 

Among the bottles I have yet to try, the one I'm the most excited about right now is De Atramentis Pearlescent Whisky Brown-Copper.

 

I guess I envy those of you who enjoy samples, I have a mental block with them; the smaller the bottle/ vial, the less I touch it. Probably some phobia to finish it, or miss it, or some poor boy syndrome, or whatever. And I have several bottles of my favourite inks..