Best inks?

[Mikey]

Ok, starting to get into fountain pens s I have been only making rollerballs until now. (read: marketing into higher end) Anyway, does anyone ever use the ink cartridges that come with the pens, or do you toss them and include something different? I ask because I don't know how good the ink that comes with the pen is and if it costs $.75 to put in a cartridge of good ink, it would be worth it.

Also FWIW, I have been buying the premium schmidt ink pumps that sure look a whole lot better than the cheap plastic ones spplies with some kits. the pumps will be included with more expensive ones anyway, but still wonder about the cartridges.

 

[ashaw]

Mikey

I have been supplying private reserve with my more expensive pens. There are two that I would recommend either private reserve or Noodlers. There is a third supplier that I am looking into. One note Noodlers tend to bleed more on the nib then private reserve but Noodlers does have a supply of bullet proof ink that will not bleed if you paper comes in contact with water.

 

[Monty]

Ditto what Alan said.

 

[DCBluesman]

I do not use the cartridges that come with the pens. I set them aside and hand them out as giveaways at shows. Everyone of my pens goes out with a fresh cartridge or Private Reserve ink, generally Midnight Blues since it is a nice blue/black. I also use the Schmidt premium piston-style converters but am looking at a higher end product akin to what Namiki uses. BTW, Both Anthony and I sell Private Reserve inks and the cost per cartridge is closer to about 45-cents.

 

[Firefyter-emt]

My best behaved inks are the Visconti & Diamine inks. The Private reserve inks are nice but very saturated and rich, one could say quite wet. Noodlers inks are a great buy for the money and you get a lot of ink, but I tend to like my suggestion suppliers best.

FYI. The Noodlers bullet proof inks are good from a ink to paper standpoint, but they sufffer from "nib creep" which is where the ink weeps onto the outside of the nib and personaly I will not use the ink because of this. Each to their own, but I dislike ink all over my nib.

That said, what you want to do is to try them and use them yourself. The best way to do this is to use the sample program at www.peartreepens.com James had a program where you can sample up to 4 inks for just $3.00 shipped. The upside to this is the little glass bottles they come in are just made for a "sample ink" for your customer. When I sell a pen I give a choice of anyone of my personal inks in this bottle. I have a about 7 bottles of diffrent inks that I use myself.

EDIT: it appears that James has put a hold on the sample program for now.. His blog said that it just a temp. What a shame, it's a great way to try out inks before you buy a bottle. Still a great site to buy form either way.

 

[PenWorks]

Whatever seems to flow best in your pen and you are happy with the color and line.
I use PR about 50% of the time and the rest is split between Caren D'ache, Stipula & Visconti. They cost more, but you pay a little for the name and the classier looking bottles that double as an ink well. As for their inks being better ??? They work and I like the colors. That being said, I still use the cheapo ones that come with the kit pens, they work to ! I hate throwing anything away. []

 

[Mikey]

Wow, lots of info so far. I appreciate all the input. I do have a bottle of Private Reserve that I am using and I notice that it does indeed seem "wet" as compared to the cartridge that came with the pen. I get a much bolder line when using the PR ink with the converter. I'll have to give the other brands mentioned a try, but as much as i'd like, if the ink creeps from the nib with the Noodlers, then I won't be using that as I can for for a while sometimes without pulling out one of my handmade pens.

 

[wdcav1952]

Can't say as I have ever noticed the "ink creep" with Noodlers. I use it daily to make all notations in a patient's chart and have never had any problem. For people who write notes that are meant to be permanent, the Noodlers bulletproof, also available through peartreepens is my first choice.

 

[Firefyter-emt]

FWIW, the "nib creep" is only on the buletproof inks not the normal inks. What you will see is a light covering of the ink on the outside of the nib. Don't rule out all of their inks as there are many many, oh and so many ink colors that are not bulletproof.

 

[alamocdc]

I think Anthony said it best. What ever works best in your pen. I first started "again" using a FP after I started making them. The supplied cartridges worked well enough, but I knew there were better inks out there. I bought a bottle of PR from Anthony and my pride and joy quit writing well. Two of them in fact. I poicked up a bottle of Diamine at the pen show in Columbus and I'm happy again. I'm sure there's a pen that my PR will work well in, but I haven't inked them all b/c I don't write that often.

 

[wdcav1952]

Originally posted by Firefyter-emt
<br />FWIW, the "nib creep" is only on the buletproof inks not the normal inks. What you will see is a light covering of the ink on the outside of the nib. Don't rule out all of their inks as there are many many, oh and so many ink colors that are not bulletproof.

I do use the bulletproof ink all day, five days a week. Never had any problem. I do use a Pelikan as my daily writer, whether that has anything to do with it I don't know. I just know that I get NO "ink creep." YMMV

 

[PenWorks]

Again, I do not know if they are the best inks, but they work in the pens I choose for them, and these are my faves.....
PR, Black Velvet, Tanzinite, Sherwood Green, Naples Blue,
Visconti, Bordeaux (red) Stipula Terra di Sienna (sepia) & Caran D'ache, Saffron & Storm []

 

[samuel07]

Staples and I think office Depot sell Parker Quink Black in bottled ink. a well respected ink that works well in my pens.

 

[bjackman]

It is fairly commonly known in many fountain pen circles that the bulletproof noodlers inks are more likely to show nib creep. Some nib experts also lay blame on individual nibs for showing more creep. The better detail finishing a nib gets the less likely it is to experience ink creep. The slit between the tines is the key. If vertical lines/scrapes are left from the slit cutting process it is easier for the ink to wick up those lines and spread on the smooth polished or plated surface of the top of the nib. William, your finely crafted Pelikan probably saw a little extra care in that area by the maker. btw, what Pelikan do you write with?

No nib will write perfectly with all inks.
No ink will write perfectly in all nibs.
If you find an ink that a particular nib/feed just doesn't like, try some other inks and see what works best in that nib.
I use mostly Noodlers bulletproof and Private reserve. My favorite non-waterproof ink is probably PR DC Supershow Blue, diluted to about 50/50 with distilled water. It gives me just the right color, a wet, clean flow and dries faster than undiluted.

 

[wdcav1952]

Bill,

Thanks for the information. You make an excellent point WRT the quality of nib. I have a few MK30 and MK10 pens, but my daily writer is an older 200 with an extra-fine nib I got from Richard Binder. Yep, probably a nib with a bit more care than the average kit pen. Now I have to load one of my kit pens with Noodlers bulletproof and see what happens.

 

[Scott]

This is a fun topic on inks! And since I am an ink adict, I have to jump in even though most has already been said!

Right now (this instant) my favorite ink is Noodlers Navajo Turquoise. It is a nice, vibrant that practically leaps off the page at you! Yet it is just barely normal enough to write with in situations where odd ink colors would be frowned upon. It shades very nicely, but it is somewhat slow to dry. Hey, no ink is perfect! []

But I have, and use, lots of inks. In my Parker 51 I keep Watermans Havana, a nice brown ink with good flow characteristics. If you have a pickey pen, Watermans is usually a good choice! In my Namiki Vanishing Point I keep Private Reserve Tanzanite, also good for pickey pens. In my big Danitrio I am trying out Noodlers red-black. There are times I like it, and there are times it looks a lot like brown, which is not what I wanted. I have bought some Aurora black and some Diamine Monaco Red that I am going to try mixing my own red-black.

If I were to give a recommendation for the best all-around ink, I would lean towards Watermans Blue-black. It flows well in most any pen, is nice and saturated, looks very conservative while not being exactly normal, just very nice.

Playing with different inks is one of the very best reasons to write with fountain pens!

Scott.

 

[wdcav1952]

Dadgummit Lee! You had to mess with my mind.[] I cleaned my Pelikan up to spotless, and I did note a slight ink creep by afternoon. SIGH!! [:I]