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

[by_a_Lady]

I believe I have listed all of my current ink collection in my signature, but just in case I should change it one day:

• Diamine: Amaranth, Ancient Copper, Asa Blue, Bilberry, Classic Green, Earl Grey, Eau de Nil, Golden Brown, Macassar, Majestic Blue, Oxblood, Sargasso Sea, Syrah
• Lamy: Black
• Noodler's: Heart of Darkness
• Rohrer & Klingner: Alt-Goldgrün
• Sailor: Jentle Yama-Dori, Nano Sei-Boku

Out of all of these, my favourites are Yama-Dori, which is extremely close in colour to Diamine Eau de Nil (another favourite of mine), but with more vibrancy and sheen; Alt-Goldgrün, a beautiful spring colour in my opinion; Ancient Copper; Asa Blue (I'm told it's very, very close to Pilot Iroshizuku Asa-Gao); Earl Grey; and Majestic Blue.

Classic Green has a sort of status quo - I like the colour very much, but I'm sure that I'd find something very similar with more red sheen and maybe even other additional qualities if I actively looked for it. Oxblood and Syrah are close contestants for my favourite red colour, but I kind of want to try Red Dragon and maybe some other reds as well and see which one has the most interesting appearance (sheen?).

Sargasso Sea is very vibrant yet still extremely boring, it shows no shading and less sheen than Majestic Blue and doesn't have as much colour depth. Golden Brown and Macassar don't wow me, but they're nice enough to use from time to time when I want some diversion. Amaranth and Bilberry are the two colours that I don't use except when there's a specific occasion for them, I'm not a fan of vibrant pink and violets in general. Lamy Black is just that, a lame black that literally pales in comparison to Heart of Darkness.

 

 

Dominique

[Steveg58]

Perhaps my most favourite colour is Private Reserve Plum but I am appalled by its lack of fade resistance. PI Yama-Budo would be a good replacement but it seems just as fugitive.

My second favourite colour is green-black. I have Diamine Green-Black and Platinum Forrest Black. Both of these have a very satisfactory appearance.

Beyond that My next most used ink would be J Herbin Violette Pensee a lovely mauve shade.

I tend to prefer blue-black inks to straight blue or black. Sailor Sei-Boku is my current favourite.

I would like a nice sepia but so far I have not found one that satisfies me.

[LizEF]

• Diamine: ... Classic Green...

Classic Green has a sort of status quo - I like the colour very much, but I'm sure that I'd find something very similar with more red sheen and maybe even other additional qualities if I actively looked for it.

 

Sailor Tokiwa Matsu is not so far away in color, and has lots of red sheen, should you wish to give it a try.

[TestTube]

Man, I feel so "noobish" if you will, posting single inks at a time as I find new favorites; after seeing so many people post large list of inks (which is definitely what I wanted to see anyway, very happy about that!)

That said, I just inked up with some Diamine "Blue Velvet" and I gotta say I really like it. It's by far the most saturated ink I tried so far, but it's a super nice true blue (and blue is my favorite color=p) It's also the first ink I tried that I wouldn't feel wrong writing up a professional document with. I'm getting the best of both worlds over here. =)

Edited June 7, 2018 by TestTube

[sanphoemo]

I absolutely adore Diamine Shimmering Seas and Skull and Roses, Steel Blue is very nice,Red Dagon has made it, too.

Rohrer and Klingner AltGoldgrün and Cassia.

I likee Diamine in general, especially the shimmering inks. Also have Citrus Ice and Brandy Dazzle which, of course you cannot use as ofen as the others.

 

Diamine Lilac Satin has just arrived and another Red, Amaranth.

Edited June 7, 2018 by sanphoemo

[Olya]

I am also all about the blue inks and never understand when people say they don't like them... Blue inks are also the only ones I really buy, as I have little use for otherwise coloured inks (though they are gorgeous and are tempting!), when I need or want other colours I use gels and rollerballs (I now love esp the Pentel Hybrid glitter gels and have the Sakura gelly pens on my list!).

 

All time favourites and most used are Pilot Blue & Blue Black, Monteverde Horizon Blue, J Herbin Éclat de Saphir & Emeraude de Chivor, Diamine Royal Blue & Sapphire Blue & Asa Blue, Sailor Jentle Blue & Yama Dori.

 

Other favourites, though used less (esp black inks) are Pilot Black, Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black, Parker Quink Permanent Blue & Black (with Solv-X - high time they bring solv-x back!), Diamine Majestic Blue & Blue Black, Sailor Jentle Black, J Herbin Perle Noire.

[amberleadavis]

 

Sargasso Sea is very vibrant yet still extremely boring, it shows no shading and less sheen than Majestic Blue and doesn't have as much colour depth.

 

Amaranth and Bilberry are the two colours that I don't use except when there's a specific occasion for them,

 

 

 

Dominique

 

 

I love Sargasso Sea and Bilberry as mixing inks - take any otherwise boring ink and add SS or B and WOW instant improvement. You will see shading.

 

I'm not a fan of Magestic Blue (or the Akkerman counterpart) because for me they are cloggy. Sargasso Sea never clogs.

[Arkanabar]

TestTube, I am not like you.

I like my inks legible, fade resistant, and well-behaved. There are seven inks I buy (as of now, presuming I run out of sufficiently close colors). Six of them are the Six Essential Inks I've linked to in my signature, that I chose to prevent ink proliferation and decision paralysis. The seventh is a "must-have" for a specific pen.

Black: I have four bottles, but when the last one starts to run low, I'm going to get me some Noodler's Heart of Darkness.
Blue-Black: I don't actually have one yet. I will probably go for Pilot Blue-Black, though, with the possibility of darkening it ever so slightly with whatever black is on hand. Unless I decide to mix some up, probably with either Sheaffer Turquoise or Noodler's Midway Blue as a base....
Purple: As with Amber, I like me some Noodler's original Purple.
Blue: Noodler's original Blue or Blue Eel. As far as I can tell, they have identical dye content. There's also a bottle of Noodler's Midway Blue sitting around, and another I've dubbed "I Can't Believe It's Waterman Florida Blue!" That's what the bottle says, but it's too saturated and too photoresistant for me to readily believe it.
Green: Diamine Sherwood.
Brown: Diamine Chocolate. But I bought a bottle of Noodler's original Brown just a couple of days before I tried my sample of Diamine Chocolate, and I have to use that up first.

The Must-Have: Being the delighted and proud owner of an aqua demonstrator Pelikan M205 that my wife gave me for Christmas, and having a bottle of Iroshizuku Ku-Jaku that my wife bought for me by mistake when I thought that Iro Yama-Guri might be the Essential Brown, I put the two together. It's like Pelikan made this pen to be a perfect color match for this ink. I love it.

And if I am too poor to buy ink, and run out of colors I like, I can always blacken the Noodler's Widow Maker and Rattler Red Eel that have no other utility into something like Red-Black.

[chromantic]

I frequently find myself fascinated with new inks I'm trying out but whether they end up becoming 'favorites', it's hard to say - there's just so many beautiful inks to choose from. If I had to pick a few that cover the basic colors ...

 

Lamy Petrol

Cross Violet

OS Nitrogen

KWZ Honey

Skrip Turquoise

Sailor Yama-dori

GvFC Moss Green

Kobe Kana-cho Midnight

(special mention to the 2 Kobe van Gogh LEs, Dark Green and Dark Blue)

 

with a subset of:

Sailor Pink

Lamy Coral

KWZ Red #1

KWZ Maroon

Stipula Saffron

Pilot Yama-guri

Diamine Yellow

Diamine Macassar

GvFC Deep Sea Green

 

I'd have to say, though, that my all-time favorite is Skrip Yellow, whose bright, beautiful lemon yellow color is wedded to an near-total impracticality.

[martinbir]

I have reduced my ink accumulation to about 75. These are all inks I can imagine using, yet many have not been troubled for a year or more. I do have a favourite which lives in my daily writer 90% of the time and a couple of other always in use. Beyond that, I have thought which ones would be urgently replaced in the event of catastrophe.

 

Diamine Eau de Nil - all time favourite

 

Montblanc Permanent Blue + 5% Black - always in use

Diamine Classic Red - always in use (but for practical reasons, so maybe not a favourite)

Diamine Syrah - my Christmas ink

Edelstein Tanzanite

Diamine Ancient Copper

Diamine Asa Blue

[Bookman]

I never thought I would say this, but one of my favorite inks is Waterman Bleu Sérénité. In the nine years since I stopped using ballpoints and gel pens, I've gone through at least one bottle of it a year, despite having so many other bottles of ink that, in my mind anyway, I like and use much more frequently. I've bought more of it than anything else, and yet I've never listed it in my profile as my favorite ink. Go figure.

 

FAVORITES (IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER)

• Aurora Blue
• Aurora Black
• Visconti Blue
• Montblanc Royal Blue
• Monteverde Charoite
• Akkerman #4
• J. Herbin Perle Noire
• Platinum Blue-Black
• Pelikan 4001 Black
• Waterman Bleu Sérénité

Edited June 8, 2018 by Bookman

[Rossler]

A picture is worth a thousand words....

 

[aardvarkbark]

I'm admittedly on the other end of the Adventuresome spectrum from one who has Pink Flamingo in their set of favorites. I now almost exclusively use FPN Starry Night as my favorite black-blue, and Diamine Denim as my favorite blue-black. I do like Oxblood when I'm in a let's-get-wild mood. I have Red Dragon for when I (rarely) need red, and it is indeed a great red.

[Hallel]

After getting into inks in a big way I have discovered that my favourite colour is definitely blue, which was the colour I thought of as being the most boring when I first left behind ball points and Bic Sticks. I usually have about 6-10 pens inked up at once and more than half of them will be filled with some kind of blue and the rest will be purples or reds or greens. I just don’t use other colours that much.

 

So in no particular order, my favourite Blues

Diamine Oxford Blue, Monteverde Horizon Blue, Robert Oster School Blue, Iroshizuku Kon Peki, Sailor Bung Box Sapphire Happiness, Bung Box Blue Black (4B), Lamy Turquoise, Diamine Majestic Blue and Sargasso Sea, J. Herbin Bleu Pervanche and Bleu Nuit, Diamine Regency Blue. Sailor Nioi-Sumire

 

My favourite Purples

Lamy Dark Lilac, Diamine Eclipse, Sailor Shigure, Diamine Bilberry, Diamine Purple Pizzazz, Diamine Amazing Amathyst, Rohrer & Klingner Cassia, Monteverde Charoite, iroshizuku Yama-Budo

 

My favourite Reds

J. Herbin Rouge Hematitie, Diamine Wild Strawberry, Sailor Irori, Iroshizuku Momiji, Diamine Syrah, Lamy Vibrant Pink, Noodlers Ottoman Rose, J. Herbin Rouge Caroubeir, Sailor Oku-Yama, Monteblanc William Shakespear

 

My Favourite Greens

Diamine Salamander, Sailor Rikyu-cha (All time favourite ink), R&K Alt-Goldgrun, Sailor Tokiwa-Matsu, Diamine Meadow Green, Diamine Green Apple, Diamine Classic Green, Iroshizuku Syo-Ro

 

 

 

My favourite ink brands are Diamine, Anything by Sailor, and Robert Oster

[CraigR]

In the 10 plus years that I have been on FPN, this question has been raised a number of times. I always love to read about the depth and diversity of inks that other members hold dear. To quote a phrase from my teens - "Different strokes for different folks."

 

My longtime friend and favorite ink is Waterman's Florida Blue, now called Serenity Blue. It has been the best performer in the wide variety of pens I have collected over the years. I think my second favorite is Waterman's Blue Black.

 

I own and like a large number of inks, but those are my favorites.

[senzen]

Since an image is worth a thousand words... In the same order I mentioned.

 

[Runnin_Ute]

I regularly keep about 10 pens inked at any given time. (plus or minus two)

 

• Pelikan 4001 Blue Black - my favorite blue black. Followed closely by Diamine Blue Black. Currently both are in pens.
• 4001 might be my all time favorite, regardless of color. I am about half way through bottle number three, it has been in my Pelikan 140 almost continuously since its arrival last August. I think I ran one or two fills of other inks in it.

Pens inked currently:

TWSBI 580 B stub - Lamy Pacific

Parker 51 Special - Levenger Amethyst

Parker 51 Demi Vacumatic - Diamine Blue Black

Parker 45 - (Ef or A - forget which is inked) Diamine Classic Red. A great true red

Pelikan 140 F Pelikan 4001 Blue Black

Pelikan M200 Brown Marbled M- Blackstone Barrier Reef Blue

Pelikan M200 Cognac OB Sheaffer Skrip Emerald Green (vintage)

Platinum 3776 Century Borgogne B - Diamine Merlot

Esterbrook J transitional 1555 Gregg/Diamine Royal Blue (sample)

Guider Capsule "Copper Mountain" B- KWZI El Dorado - a gorgeous golden color. Too yellow to be orange, too orange to be yellow. Must be gold. I actually think it is perfectly named.

[inkstainedruth]

I'm not sure where to begin. I have too many favorites (I did a quick check today at the spreadsheet of inks I've tried, and that number is over 350. I'm particularly fond of blues and purples, and the less teal-leaning blue blacks. I also like some pinks and a number of greys.

But these are the ones I would probably never want to be without (in order by brands I have tried/have):

Noodler's Kung Te Cheng, El Lawrence, Park Red, Liberty's Elysium, Heart of Darkness, and (just for the giggle factor) Blue Ghost.

Diamine Classic Red, Tyrian Purple, Emerald, Denim, Turquoise, Terra Cotta, Osford Blue, and Grey; maybe a couple of the Shimmer inks as well.

De Atramentis Tchaikowsky/Silver Grey, Aubergine, Gold, and Red Roses (scented).

Sheaffer vintage Skrip Peacock.

KWZI IG Blue #3, IG Blue Black, IG Mandarin, IG Violet #3, and IG Gummiberry.

Robert Oster Moss and Purple Rock.

Private Reserve Ebony Purple and American Blue.

J Herbin Eclat de Saphir and 1670 Stormy Grey.

vintage Quink Permanent Microfilm Black and vintage Microfilm Black.

Iroshizuku Yama-budo, Yama-guri, and Kon-peki.

Akkerman Rood Haags Pluche, Shocking Blue, and Dutch Masters Ruisdael's Stormachtig Blauw.

Pelikan 4001 Violet, Edelstein Tanzanite, Edelstein Amethyst, and Edelstein Smoky Quartz (trying to make up my mind between Edelstein Topaz, Diamine Havasu Turquoise, and Akkerman Treves-Turquoise but am leaning towards Topaz even though it's the most expensive of the three).

Sailor old version Jentle Sky High (I haven't tried the reissued Sky High; and despite the claims I didn't think Souten was the same).

Birmingham Smithfield Street Bridge Truss Blue and Schenley Park Thicket Green.

FPN member Pharmacist's IG Turkish Night (I savor between hoarding my one small bottle and fearing that it will all precipitate out on me

Lamy Dark Lilac, Vibrant Pink, and Pacifica Blue.

Montblanc Lavender Purple

Platinum Classic Lavender Black IG and Forest Black IG

 

Mind you, this doesn't include inks I've bought but haven't tried yet, or inks I liked enough to get a full bottle of (which includes Noodler's Bay State Blue, BTW) -- JUST the ones that I really would cry if I couldn't ever get again.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[DrDebG]

Great question. I have seen it asked several times. And it seems everyone has different answers which change by the day, season or year. Inks are to everyones' personal tastes, and those tastes change.

 

I have over 50 bottles of ink, and probably 75 samples. I generally try to sample an ink several times before buying a bottle, but many times I buy bottles because of a special sale or group buy or something like that. Last year I purchased several bottles of J. Herbin inks because they were on a group buy.

 

Here are my current favorites. The one I use the most is bolded:

 

Black: I don't use black inks.

 

Blues:

• Waterman South Seas (currently Waterman Inspired Blue)
• L'Artisan Pastellier Callifolio Bleu Pacifique
• L'Artisan Pastellier Callifolio Bleu Atlantique
• L'Artisan Pastellier Callifolio Bleu Mediterreanee
• Stipula Calamo Deep Blue
• Pilot Iroshizuku Asa Gao
• Pilot Iroshizuku Tsuyu Kusa
• Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-Peki
• DeAtramentis Steel Blue
• Monteverde Horizon Blue
• Colorverse Crystal Planet (I still only have a sample)

Purple:

• Montblanc Lavendar Purple
• Pilot Iroshizuku Murasaki-shibuku
• DeAtramentis Aubergine
• DeAtramentis Pearl Violet

Red:

• Stipula Calamo Dark Red
• Pilot Iroshizuku Yama budo
• Pilot Iroshizuku Momiji
• L'Artisan Pastellier Grenat
• L'Artisan Pastellier Andrinople

Green:

 

• Pilot Iroshizuku Shin-Ryoku
• Pilot Iroshizuku Chiku-Rin
• DeAtramentis Pine Green
• Rohrer & Klingner Verdura

 

Orange and Yellow:

• Stipula Calamo Sapphron
• Pilot Iroshizuku Yu-Yake
• Pilot Iroshizuku Fuyu-Gaki

Brown:

• Graf von Faber Castell Hazelnut Brown

I have a number of other wonderful inks. But I don't use them as much as those above. And, like many others, I love experimenting. So I am frequently buying samples to try.

 

There are some inks and ink manufacturers that I don't use, mainly because I do not care for the way the ink behaves.

Edited June 11, 2018 by DrPenfection

[Fatalpotato]

For any starters, I would recommend going for inks that are both easy on the pocket, and easy on the pen. While learning how to use fountain pens, I've not used ink as efficiently as I could, and sometimes left ink in pens more than they should stay. What I can personally recommend are all of the Waterman inks I used, namely, both blues, black and the brown. They are easily the most well behaved inks I have in my collection, and also very affordable. The other brand I can recommend is diamine, though some inks of this brand have been very hard to clean for me, but the blues, black and some greens were both beautiful and easy to clean. They are also cheap, and probably more economical than watermans. After sometime, as ones habits tend to develop, the ink collection tends to get specific as well