A Dozen Favorite Fountain Pen Inks

In no particular order, these are my most frequently used inks based on color rather than other properties. Already in my collection, this group is in line with my plan to use what I already own. A few have been here at least ten years which probably means I don’t write enough. Maybe this year will be different.

• Iroshizuku syo-ro
• Platinum Classic Lavender Black
• Diamine Sepia
• J. Herbin Poussiere de Lune
• J. Herbin Cafe des Iles
• J. Herbin Vert Empire
• Diamine Steel Blue
• Sailor Tokiwa Matsu
• Sailor Sky High
• Noodler’s Lexington Gray
• Diamine Eau de Nil
• Noodler’s Kiowa Pecan

A few inks almost made the list including Diamine Macassar and Merlot, Platinum Classic Citrus Black, Noodler’s Apache Sunset, Iroshizuku tsuki-yo and kon-peki, and Stipula Calamo Saffron and Moss Green, but that’s twenty and crazy even for me.

What’s on your list?

Too Many Inks

Anyone else challenged by the number of inks on the market? So many brands. So many colors. A few have piqued my interest including several offered by Colorverse and Robert Oster, but I cannot begin to follow all of the Sailor inks and so many others now available. A few days ago, I was looking for an ink for a 1970’s Pilot pen and found myself wishing there was another color in the spectrum. Absent that, I decided to revisit inks that have been around for decades.

Reliable inks from Herbin, Iroshizuku, Diamine, a few Noodler’s and older Sailor colors beckoned. There isn’t an ink in the bunch that I haven’t known for at least ten years, and some are on their second or third bottles, a testament to their properties and characteristics. One of those old inks might be just the right mate for a newer pen.

Iroshizuku syo-ro has been a constant on my shelf since it was introduced. Despite having a number of partners over the years, no pen had proven to be its ideal mate. A few months ago, a Delike fude joined the crew and despite dancing with a variety of partners, the pen with syo-ro has proven to be a terrific match that invites writing in a daily journal, an activity that had fallen out of my routine quite some time ago. Now I look forward to it and the fude is on its fourth fill of syo-ro. Isn’t that the best evidence of a perfect pairing?

Other inks that have new pen mates are J Herbin Larmes des Cassis, Violette Pensee and Rouille D’Ancre. Diamine Raw Sienna continues to look for a companion. Perhaps a mink (brown) True Writer will take to it or a Japanese fine nib or even a Platinum Century. More experimentation is in order along with a bit of restraint or the number of pens on my desk will get crazy.

Are you willing to give some of your earliest inks a chance to play again? I bet none of them will turn you down.

Ideas For Pairing Pens And Inks

Deciding which pens and inks to put together can be anything from a pleasant endeavor to a time-consuming frustration. Do you have rules for matching pens and inks? I don’t after more than twenty years of using fountain pens. However, I have developed a few observations that help narrow my choices when either a pen or an ink is begging for a workout. More often than not, the pen comes first and then the ink. These guidelines help refine my search.

• Dark green and red inks work best with narrow nibs.
• Blue, brown and black work with all nibs.
• Orange and purple suit medium and wide nibs.
• Turquoise and burgundy go well with medium nibs.
• Pastel and pale inks are best paired with wide nibs.
• Blue, teal and brown inks are good with fine to medium fude nibs.
• Wide fude nibs bring out the best qualities of gray inks.
• For the palest pink inks, only the Platinum #3776 Music Nib will do.
• Sailor Peach Pink, Sailor Sakura Mori, Iroshizuku Kosumosu, Herbin Bouquet D’Antan are pretty with any wide nib.
• Characteristics like sheening, outlining and shading are best revealed with stub and italic writing.
• Often I will forget which ink is loaded in which pen, so I keep a scorecard nearby.
• I track how pens and inks perform together by writing a few words in a dedicated pen and ink notebook.
• If there is an outstanding combination, like Diamine Violet with a TWSBI 580 1.1mm stub, that gets noted, too.
• I can be guilty of matching inks to pen colors though on occasion to shake things up, I will put together complementary ones. Red pen with green ink as an example.

Perhaps too many guidelines, but they suit my needs. Most came from analyzing how I put things together without giving my actions any prior thought. They help me narrow my search, and with the size of my collection, they are essential. Your list will be different, but creating one can be a helpful action if choosing pen and ink mates is challenging, frustrating or even too time-consuming. Or you might just do it for fun.

Van Gogh Palette

Fountain Pens For The Weekend

It’s going to be a hot weekend which makes it a good time to take it easy and update the fountain pens on my desk. In the past few months, a Traveler’s Notebook has become my journal for a major project as well as some personal notes. The paper is Tomoe River 52 gsm in a #013 blank refill with 128 pages. A lined template with 5mm spacing keeps my writing on the straight and narrow. The more I can fit on a page the better. Wide nibs are not suited to the task, so I have put some narrow ones to use along with inks that aren’t dark but allow the lines of the template to show through.

• Pilot Custom 1970’s Black Stripe F with Iroshizuku fuyu-syogun
• Levenger True Writer Black Marble F with Herbin Violette Pensee
• Delike New Moon Ice Blue Fude with Sailor Sky High
• Delike New Moon Green Fude with Diamine Raw Sienna
• Levenger True Writer Tangerine F with Herbin Rouille D’Ancre

The green Delike had Iroshizuku syo-ro in it for months and that was a very good combination which I expect to return to soon. Or perhaps I will purchase another New Moon but an extra-fine this time for the syo-ro. A review of this model is in the works. Suffice to say the two that I currently own are getting consistent use and that does speak well of them.

Which pens and inks are in your current rotation? Do they make you want to write or do they fight your best efforts?

A Few Links for Pen People

Need distraction from the outside world? Let me help with a few pen links. 

• Crónicas Estilográficas: More Custom 74
• The Gentleman Stationer: Favorite Pens from 2020
• The Well-Appointed Desk: 2020 Cheers and Tears
• The Well-Appointed Desk: Ink Line Review: Ink Institute Cat Daily Line
• Nick Stewart: My Top 12 Inks of 2020 and Project Review
• The Pen Addict: Diamine Marine Ink Review (Long one of my favorite inks.)
• JournalReviewr.com
• iPenstore.com: Lamy Studio in Glacier Blue (There is a Lamy Studio F on my desk at all times.)
• Pen Chalet and Montegrappa put skulls at your fingertips

Still relevant eight years later.

Links And A Bit Of Green

This photo turned up unexpectedly and reminded me how much I like green ink. Perhaps you enjoy it, too.

• Crónicas Estilográficas: The Father, the Son, and the Anonymous Ghost
• Fountain Pen Pharmacist: Ink Review #287: Diamine Shimmertastic Caramel Sparkle
• Wonder Pens: An Overview of Hobonichi Planners
• The Pelikan’s Perch: Before It Was Cool To Be Clear: The Origin Of Pelikan’s Demonstrators (It took me years to grow fond of demonstrators but now they fascinate me.)
• Pen and Paper Geek: TWSBI Reviews – 580 Diamond and ECO (I prefer the 580 to the ECO due to its solid build and smooth nib.)

Why green? No idea really, but it is a cheerful photo from the archives.

When Just A Few Pens Will Do

Recently, I cleaned all of my inked fountain pens. Yep, not a single filled pen on my desk. Can you imagine that? A Platinum #3776 Century Nice from Luxury Brands is patiently waiting for a fill but which color? It will be the only pen on my desk for the next few weeks so it wouldn’t seem right to call it a rotation unless a mechanical pencil and a uni-ball Signo 307 count.

Well, that didn’t last. I ran across some swatches and resistance was futile.

Two pens qualify as a rotation, right? So it will be the Platinum with Kyo No Oto Kokeiro and a stainless Lamy Studio with Diamine Eau De Nil.

As for the inks, Eau de Nil has average flow from the Lamy and dries fairly fast. Kokeiro flows a bit too freely from the Platinum pooling enough to dry slowly depending on the paper. No feathering with either one. All fine but the colors are why I selected them. In this case, the blue plays well against the yellow green creating a nice pair for a minimal rotation.

That will do for now. I’m already considering inks for an autumn rotation despite the current heat wave. Stipula Calamo Verde Muschiato and Iroshizuku Yu Yake look promising. They could even be added to my summer inks for a four pen rotation. Wouldn’t that be neat and simple.

Shopping List:

• Kyo No Oto Kokeiro No. 03
• Diamine Eau De Nil
• Platinum #3776 Century Nice
• Lamy Studio