Permanent(ish) Ink for LAMY Safari(f)?

[gnomedeplume]

While I love the permanence of Noodlers BP black and blue black, I've always had flow problems using them in my LAMY; they flow right out of the nib and into the cap.  For several years. I've been using  Waterman Florida Blue and have had no similar problem with it; however, I find it's water solubility very limiting.  Any suggestions for a waterproof ink that flows well (but not too well) in a LAMY?  Blue preferred, but not necessary.

 

Thank you!

[Carrau]

I’ve had a Lamy Safari continually inked with Noodler’s Blue -Black as an EDC for about three years now, with no flow issues.  About two months ago, I inked another Safari with one of Birmingham Pens new Everlasting inks (a nanopigment ink).  The color is Black Ice, and I’ve had no issues with its flow/clogging,.  It lays down on paper beautifully, and it writes immediately after several days of rest in the pen.  This is a dark teal color, difficult to pigeonhole really in terms of color, but office appropriate.  I’ve tried a couple of their other Everlasting inks, namely Chimney Soot (a dark grey, nearly black), and Pincushion Moss (a murky green).  They’ve been lovely inks to write with as well, although I haven’t had any pens inked with them for as long as I have Black Ice.  As other reviewers have pointed out over the years, many of Birmingham’s standard inks have good water resistance as well, although this is not an advertised claim by the company, except for the new Everlasting inks.  They don’t currently have a blue in their Everlasting lineup, however, I would anticipate that they may in the future, to complete the available color spectrum in that ink line.  Black ice is darker in the Safari with a 1.1 stub than in the website swatch.

 

I should add that I really like KWZ IG Blue Black also, although my experience with it is mostly in pens other than Safaris.  It’s not as dry as some other IG inks, and I love it’s deep blue color.

[A Smug Dill]

6 hours ago, gnomedeplume said:

Any suggestions for a waterproof ink that flows well (but not too well) in a LAMY?  Blue preferred, but not necessary.

 

There simply aren't that many waterproof inks that I know of, notwithstanding that I have in excess of three hundred different commercially available inks here. Depending on your idea of what is recognisably blue as a colour range or family, you may or may not consider Sailor Seiboku as blue ink. Sailor STORiA Night Blue is very water-resistant, but still falls short of being waterproof. (Alas, I don't have Platinum blue pigment ink here to test, so I don't know how it would compare.) Noodler's Kung Te-Cheng, which leans purple as far as blue goes, has a reputation for being everything-proof, and in my experience is indeed close to waterproof; but it also has a reputation for staining everything it touches and also of clogging pens.

 

Permanence in the sense of writing remaining legible after a long soak in water is a different matter. Plenty of blue or blue-black iron-gall inks in the market presently would tick that box, but most of them won't stay blue for very long, with or without soaking. You also might not like what they could do to either poor quality or compromised steel nibs.

[arcfide]

Given that it's easy to get replacement Lamy nibs, and that Lamy pens are easy to clean out, assuming that you use your pen on a regular basis so that drying out is not an issue, then I'd feel comfortable with recommending just about all of the available water-resistant inks from most pen makers and probably most of the boutique brands as well. I would just pick up some samples of the ones that fit your fancy and see how they behave. I wouldn't at all feel troubled by putting an IG or any other sort of ink in a Lamy Safari, including pigmented inks and cellulose reactive ones. 

 

To that end, I say go wild and see what works for you. The only caveat I would have is if I wanted to keep the pen capped but unused for a while, ready to write, in that case I might want to pick with more care, as I haven't found that Safari's are as good at sealing as some other pens. 

 

Among the ones I would definitely check out: Sailor Seiboku, Platinum Blue Black, Pilot Blue Black, KWZ IG Blue Black, Montblanc Permanent Blue/Permanent Black, Platinum Pigmented Blue/Carbon Black, Sailor Storia Night, TWSBI Blue Black, Lamy Benitoite, as well as the Monteverde and De Atramentis permanent lines. 

[dave321]

i have just started using Twisbi Blue-Black in my Pelikan M215 with Broad nib.

it is certainly water resistant and after a good soak the writing is hardly reduced in colour.

 

i am so impressed that i think it will become my ink of choice.

i may even prefer it over KWZ Blue-Black, which was previously my preferred Blue-Black iron gall ink.

 

give twisbi blue-black a try i think you will be impressed

[bunnspecial]

When looking for inks that you can be fairly sure will play nicely with a particular pen, the manufacturer's inks are never a bad starting point.

 

Lamy Crystal Benitoite is a blue-black(blue grey in some references, and I see where that description comes from) is water resistant at least.

 

Montblanc inks tend to be similar in wetness/flow to Waterman, and while I find MB Permanent Blue on the dryer side of them, it's still a decent flowing ink. I find its color similar to Waterman Serenity Blue, but possibly a bit more saturated. If it matters to you, it meets ISO permanence criteria which go beyond water resistance.

[gnomedeplume]

Thank you to everyone who responded for the many leads.  I'm sure one of these inks will work brilliantly for my purposes.  Despite the wording of my original post, I don't need an absolutely permanent ink: just one that won't bleed to illegibility if paper gets wet or fade to obscurity in sunlight. 

[BlazeOrangeGuy]

I’d suggest Pilot/Namiki Blue. It is an amazing performing ink in the pen and paper. Well behaved, no hard starts, smooth, and easy to clean out of pens. It will shed a little dye if it gets wet but 60-70% of the dye will remain and will be very legible. This ink gets overlooked a lot but it’s a great performer. 
 

My personal preference is for Pilot Blue Black. Same performance as blue but it’s a dark blue/navy. It isn’t available in bottles here in the US or Europe, but you can find it on Amazon and EBay from importers. I have the 70ml bottle and refill from the 350ml coke bottle size. You can get 350ml for $25.