What Was The Worst Behaved Ink You Ever Used?

[lectraplayer]

I don't quite understand why this is the case, but most any "factory" black cartridge I've tried seems to be a pen clogger, regardless of where it come from. Often these carts are included with the pen, sometimes I also get them from my hobby shop. Strangely, if I dump those cartridges and refill them with, say, Heart of Darkness, or I use any other color, I can empty the cartridge one after another. Dunno... I guess they use ground carbon or something as the "dye."

[DrDebG]

Intensity said:

"Maybe I'm lenient toward inks, but I tend to think that some inks are situational and require certain pen/paper/care combination to get the best out of them. I don't expect every ink to work in every pen and on every paper. I'd rather have inks that work Excellently with a properly worked out combination than a bland jack-of-all-trades ink. I consider carefully what pen to use with each ink, and sometimes I hate a certain combination, so I flush out the ink and fill it in another pen."

 

I tend to agree. In fact, I have had issues with some inks in the past that I am re-examining now. I have not had the best luck with many Noodler's inks mainly because I was using them in what I call my "fussy pens" - pens that are generally my less expensive but tempermental pens (i.e. some of my Chinese pens). I was also using them only on one type of paper (xerox copy paper). Currently, I have a sample of Noodler's Texas Blue Bonnet (a Dromgooles exclusive) and I am really enjoying it. I have had to find the right pen to optimize the flow of pen and ink and then discover the right paper. Currently, It is loaded in a Monteverde Prima with a Goulet stub nib and I have been using it Midori MD paper and my engineer's pad with minimal feathering and no bleedthrough. I am also doing the same with Noodler's Berning Red. It pairs well with my FC Loom and Namisu Nova Titanium but does not play well with my Lamy Safaris. And it does not like cheap paper at all. But other than that, it is a great ink and a keeper.

Edited January 17, 2019 by DrPenfection

[Ardakilic]

Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black (bottled).

 

Damn, I love the color, but its flow is killing me. I almost destroyed two pens adjusting the nib. It sometimes feels like I'm using tar instead.

[dvalliere]

Any number of Noodler's inks. Some that feather, many that refuse to dry on less absorbent papers. I simply won't use them at all anymore.

[A Smug Dill]

Any number of Noodler's inks. Some that feather, many that refuse to dry on less absorbent papers. I simply won't use them at all anymore.

I still like Noodler's Green Marine, Golden Brown and Kiowa Pecan inks well enough, and X-Feather has its place (in my Rotring 400 with EF nib, which has been an almost faultless partnership for years, for me anyway), but I won't be buying any more Noodler's inks.

[lectraplayer]

Any number of Noodler's inks. Some that feather, many that refuse to dry on less absorbent papers. I simply won't use them at all anymore.

I'm a firm believer in Noodler's inks myself, and while I see them taking forever to dry on some papers, they're not much worse than the other inks I've tried. I'm also prone to use wetter pens as well.

[A Smug Dill]

I'm a firm believer in Noodler's inks myself, and while I see them taking forever to dry on some papers, they're not much worse than the other inks I've tried.

 

 

In terms of brands, the only other brand of inks I've used that are as prone to feathering as Noodler's is De Atramentis. Sailor and Pilot inks simply do not feather like them, and neither does Diamine and KWZ Inks.

[lectraplayer]

 

 

In terms of brands, the only other brand of inks I've used that are as prone to feathering as Noodler's is De Atramentis. Sailor and Pilot inks simply do not feather like them, and neither does Diamine and KWZ Inks.

Strangely, I've had the Pilot inks feather a bit, though the pens themselves are probably part of the problem since the ones I've tried seem to be a bit on the wet side.

 

...though Iroshizuku in my Calais and Preppy also feathered like nothing else, and those are some much drier pens. I primarily used them on Hammermill copy paper though.

[A Smug Dill]

I primarily used them on Hammermill copy paper though.

I have a Muji notebook here with such horrible paper that even thin lines drawn with my very fine Rotring 400 EF nib in Noodler's X-Feather ink will feather observably to the naked eye. I've written with fourteen different Pilot Iroshizuku inks on that paper, and every single one of those feathered, too. (I was doing a test page and intending to write with all twenty-four standard Iroshizuku colours, but gave up in disgust after fourteen.) I'm not going to form an opinion of the inks based on that, though.

 

Inks that don't feather on Rhodia, Clairefontaine and Leuchtturm paper count as good enough for me in that respect.

[Mongoosey]

As the list suggests: predominantly Noodler's Inks:

 

Kung Te Cheng: Beautiful ink that doesn't work in any pen I have. Dried up in no time.

 

Liberty's Elysium: Hard starts galore.

 

54th Massachusettes: WORST bleeder, wrote broad out of a Pilot Fine nib.

 

Pilot inks have been some of the best I've ever used. They sometimes aren't the best for nonfountain pen friendly paper, but not a lot of inks are. For cheap paper, nothing can beat Kiwa-Guro.

[A Smug Dill]

For cheap paper, nothing can beat Kiwa-Guro.

I'd have to say Sailor seiboku and souboku both narrowly edge out kiwaguro as better-behaving inks, since the user preference for colour is not an inherent consideration in that regard – completely waterproof, write somewhat drier, but not apt to clog or leave any residue in the converter, and of course are not prone to feathering.

Edited January 19, 2019 by A Smug Dill

[Mongoosey]

I'd have to say Sailor seiboku and souboku both narrowly edge out kiwaguro as better-behaving inks, since the user preference for colour is not an inherent consideration in that regard – completely waterproof, write somewhat drier, but not apt to clog or leave any residue in the converter, and of course are not prone to feathering.

 

I agree, with regards to being pen friendly. Kiwa-guro has been testy with flow and what pens it likes.

 

On cheaper paper my Kiwa-guro behaves much better than my Souboku.

 

I don't use Sei-Boku because I don't like the color.

[FLZapped]

Edelstein inks - feather like crazy and at their price point should be perfect.

 

Quink Black - tried using it at work. Switched to Borealis Black and all my problems went away.

 

Quink Red - Grows crystals in the pen.

[dapprman]

Quink Red - Grows crystals in the pen.

I had the same problem with an old and a new bottle of Quink Black, which resulted in me moving to Lamy Black, which I've used ever since. This was (at the time) in Parker pens as well.

[wallylynn]

As the list suggests: predominantly Noodler's Inks:

 

Kung Te Cheng: Beautiful ink that doesn't work in any pen I have. Dried up in no time.

 

Liberty's Elysium: Hard starts galore.

 

I guess me too. I had KTC dry up into a sludge in my Ahab. LE hard start in my Hero 616. I still like them after diluting. It is a hobby after all. I like the tinkering.

 

I guess the one that was worst behaved was my sample of Blue Nose Bear. It bled and feathered like nothing else before and since. Then again, it was supposed to. That's how the halo worked. It was a cute novelty, but unuseable for a daily ink.

 

I'm using Rome Burning right now. Tired of using blue and black for months. I guess it bleed through a bit more but not enough to be troublesome. It doesn't hard start like LE.

[Mr.Rene]

Diamine Black quartz..

[sansenri]

Edelstein inks feather on cheap paper, on better paper (Rhodia, Clairfontaine) they are lovely.

Some Diamine inks are very saturated and tend to clog pens and cause hard starts, in my experience Sargasso sea, and Majestic particularly.

In both cases I dilute them ever so slightly, sometimes even after some time in the pen, when the ink tends to concentrate, I dilute them further by injecting a few drops (just a few!) of water directly in the converter with a syringe...works wonders.

A rather uncomfortable experience with R&K Salix, it's so dry! I feel as though it won't come out of the pen (tried with several pens, even wet ones) and writing is like dragging a plow... I have not found a solution yet, which is sad, I like the colour so much!

[ScarletWoodland]

Noodler's Prime Of The Commons. I actually still weirdly like it and may end up with a bottle for a dedicated pen/pad one day BUT... it spreads like nothing I've seen and feathers on anything less than the very best paper. I touched copy paper with it once and good lord. It was the first thing I inked one Jinhao 992 with and from the way it wrote on Rhodia, I thought the nib was a med/broad; since using other inks I discover it's an xf leaning fine!

 

That said, it actually wrote beautifully in it's own peculiar way 😄.

[mirosc]

Akkerman Shocking Blue dried while writing with it. Never could fill a single page without re-dipping it (with every pen I had used).

 

But mostly Noodler's inks were unsatisfying. Not outright horrible, but simply substandard. KungTeCheng, BlackWidow, BurningRome, Baystate Blue and lots more...

I really could live with less politics and label explanation if the ink properties were more consistent.

[TSherbs]

 

 

But mostly Noodler's inks were unsatisfying. Not outright horrible, but simply substandard. KungTeCheng, BlackWidow, BurningRome, Baystate Blue and lots more...

 

Well, these are among the weirder of his inks. HOD, straight blue, BSAR, and Apache Sunset have never given me any problems.