DurocShark
Member
I don't see a thread discussing the various brands and types of fountain pen inks available to us. I thought I'd start with my experiences. (NOTE: This is LOOOONG... hah!)
The hardest thing about talking about inks is that it's hard to use a whole bottle! Really, there is a LOT of ink in one little $10-ish bottle.
While I do have a rather nice vintage Parker 51, my three daily drivers are kit pens. My favorite is an El Grande with the kit IPG nib. I also have a Jr Gent with a Heritance nib, and a Vertex mag cap with a Heritance nib. I have tuned them to write well for me.
**Ok, I know there's tuning and tuning. For me, tuning is tweaking the flow by straightening then spreading the tines (or tightening them), and gentle shaping of the tip. I have found only a couple of kit nibs I couldn't get writing nicely just by those simple steps.**
I notice no difference in writing between the IPG nibs and Heritance nibs as long as I've tuned them first. And broken them in...
I just wanted to lay out what I'm using...
Also, I don't measure paper bleed through. I'm using lots of different papers, and haven't kept track. My Moleskine notebooks will react far differently than my Circa paper, or the copier paper I use for my custom Rollabind notebooks.
We all start with the kit inks. Ugh. They are all over the map. It's like there are a bunch of different manufacturers, and they're all drastically different. Or maybe they're different ages, and some have starting drying out. No idea. But just when you get set up for a nib to work well for one cartridge, then the other will be thinner and dump on the paper. I don't think it's really that any of them are BAD. Just that you can't count on them to be consistent. I'll note that I've gone back every so often just to see if I can use them. Still inconsistent and generally a PITA. I hate to throw out ink, but it's just not worth the trouble.
My first purchased ink was Private Reserve in cartridges. Once I got used to using proper inks, they flowed well. I discovered after going through a couple packs that they were expensive compared to bottles. I haven't bought any in a year or two. No significant seepage through the tines.
I bought some Monteverde colored ink cartridge packs at Staples. More expensive than Private Reserve, but I was out and that's all my Staples carried at the time. Since then, they carry a lot more, but I haven't bought anything else from them. The ink is ok, but they tended to gunk up the nib pretty quickly. Lots of seepage through the nib tines too. I still have them, but they're not much used anymore.
Private Reserve Invincible Black Fast Dry. A little more like charcoal gray than black on every paper I use. Fast dry is pretty accurate. Around 2 seconds to dry on Moleskine, a little longer on other papers. Seepage through the tines is pretty bad, and because it dries quickly, it is a bit harder to clean once it dries. Not good for a "checks only" pen because it gunks up. Good flow when not gunked.
Private Reserve Invincible Aqua Blue. A really nice lighter blue. Doesn't dry fast like the Black above, but that also means it doesn't gunk up as much. Still some seepage through the tines, but not a big deal. This has become the "Checks only" pen's ink.
xFountainPens Chesterfield Blue (I forget which blue). This bottle had leaked during shipping wiping out the label. They've since changed their packaging it looks like, but what I have is just a glass jar with a screw on cap. Poor flow, and when it *did* write, it gushed a big blob on the paper. It's in the trash now.
xFountainPens is selling De Atramentis ink under the name "Architekt". I took another shot with them and ordered two bottles of scented ink on 12/12/13. They arrived this morning, 12/26/13. Make your own decision...
I loaded up the Architekt Absinthe in the El Grande, and Architekt Amaretto in the Vertex. Both write very nicely. No noticeable seepage between the tines, and the scents are wonderful! They don't seem to be gumming up either, but since I just got them today, I'll wait and see. However the reviews I've read out there assure me that they aren't gummy inks. Yay! I do believe I have a new favorite ink!
Though the next ones I order I think I'll get from Goulet... :wink:
You'll notice I talk about seepage through the tines. I've found that to be a sign that I'm going to have trouble. If I start writing with a new ink and it immediately starts bleeding out of the vent or between the tines, I just know it's going to become a problem. It just seems to be a red flag. Gummy inks do it the worst to me, but even some of the ridiculously thin kit cartridges will do it. I don't know why... Perhaps when the ink is "just right" it doesn't seep much if at all. My adjustments to the nib don't seem to make any difference either, which I found strange. Maybe someone can tell me what it really means?
The hardest thing about talking about inks is that it's hard to use a whole bottle! Really, there is a LOT of ink in one little $10-ish bottle.
While I do have a rather nice vintage Parker 51, my three daily drivers are kit pens. My favorite is an El Grande with the kit IPG nib. I also have a Jr Gent with a Heritance nib, and a Vertex mag cap with a Heritance nib. I have tuned them to write well for me.
**Ok, I know there's tuning and tuning. For me, tuning is tweaking the flow by straightening then spreading the tines (or tightening them), and gentle shaping of the tip. I have found only a couple of kit nibs I couldn't get writing nicely just by those simple steps.**
I notice no difference in writing between the IPG nibs and Heritance nibs as long as I've tuned them first. And broken them in...
I just wanted to lay out what I'm using... Also, I don't measure paper bleed through. I'm using lots of different papers, and haven't kept track. My Moleskine notebooks will react far differently than my Circa paper, or the copier paper I use for my custom Rollabind notebooks.
We all start with the kit inks. Ugh. They are all over the map. It's like there are a bunch of different manufacturers, and they're all drastically different. Or maybe they're different ages, and some have starting drying out. No idea. But just when you get set up for a nib to work well for one cartridge, then the other will be thinner and dump on the paper.
I don't think it's really that any of them are BAD. Just that you can't count on them to be consistent. I'll note that I've gone back every so often just to see if I can use them. Still inconsistent and generally a PITA. I hate to throw out ink, but it's just not worth the trouble.My first purchased ink was Private Reserve in cartridges. Once I got used to using proper inks, they flowed well. I discovered after going through a couple packs that they were expensive compared to bottles. I haven't bought any in a year or two. No significant seepage through the tines.
I bought some Monteverde colored ink cartridge packs at Staples. More expensive than Private Reserve, but I was out and that's all my Staples carried at the time. Since then, they carry a lot more, but I haven't bought anything else from them. The ink is ok, but they tended to gunk up the nib pretty quickly. Lots of seepage through the nib tines too. I still have them, but they're not much used anymore.
Private Reserve Invincible Black Fast Dry. A little more like charcoal gray than black on every paper I use. Fast dry is pretty accurate. Around 2 seconds to dry on Moleskine, a little longer on other papers. Seepage through the tines is pretty bad, and because it dries quickly, it is a bit harder to clean once it dries. Not good for a "checks only" pen because it gunks up. Good flow when not gunked.
Private Reserve Invincible Aqua Blue. A really nice lighter blue. Doesn't dry fast like the Black above, but that also means it doesn't gunk up as much. Still some seepage through the tines, but not a big deal. This has become the "Checks only" pen's ink.
xFountainPens Chesterfield Blue (I forget which blue). This bottle had leaked during shipping wiping out the label. They've since changed their packaging it looks like, but what I have is just a glass jar with a screw on cap. Poor flow, and when it *did* write, it gushed a big blob on the paper. It's in the trash now.
xFountainPens is selling De Atramentis ink under the name "Architekt". I took another shot with them and ordered two bottles of scented ink on 12/12/13. They arrived this morning, 12/26/13. Make your own decision...
I loaded up the Architekt Absinthe in the El Grande, and Architekt Amaretto in the Vertex. Both write very nicely. No noticeable seepage between the tines, and the scents are wonderful! They don't seem to be gumming up either, but since I just got them today, I'll wait and see. However the reviews I've read out there assure me that they aren't gummy inks. Yay! I do believe I have a new favorite ink!
Though the next ones I order I think I'll get from Goulet... :wink:
You'll notice I talk about seepage through the tines. I've found that to be a sign that I'm going to have trouble. If I start writing with a new ink and it immediately starts bleeding out of the vent or between the tines, I just know it's going to become a problem. It just seems to be a red flag. Gummy inks do it the worst to me, but even some of the ridiculously thin kit cartridges will do it. I don't know why... Perhaps when the ink is "just right" it doesn't seep much if at all. My adjustments to the nib don't seem to make any difference either, which I found strange. Maybe someone can tell me what it really means?
