Fountain pen inks reviews and comparisons

  Purple by Raduga. A Russian ink and a brand that stems from the Soviet era. As I have been told it is the default ink in Russia. It's a standard ink, no frills. So why did I buy it? Curiosity mostly, and because I didn't have it yet. It's not available in the Netherlands, but I stumbled upon a Ukrainian seller on eBay.  The ink surprised me. A deep medium dark purple that writes nicely on all sorts of paper. It's best handled with care because it will leave its marks easily. Pleasant enough for longer readings and writings. A true work horse that can easily be used for work notes, personal notes and letters. There is neither shading nor  feathering, it dries fast and the lubrication is good enough. The ink is water resistant; once dry it is hardly affected by water. Drying times are below average, 38 secs on Tomoe River paper. The characteristics: Feathering None Shading None Show th...

Citrus Black is one of the inks from the Platinum Classic ink series. A beautiful color-shifting iron gall ink that really stands out. When first applied to the paper it is a retina-destroying yellow, but then the oxidation of the iron used quickly makes the ink change into a darker color that resembles more olive green than citrus fruit in my opinion. But the name  maybe comes from the initial yellow which is not unlike a lemon. I had to get used to this color, but it works really well. Definitely an eye catcher in the office and unusual but perfect for personal correspondence.  The video below shows how it shifts colors on paper.  The ink itself is a bit dry when writing, but very well behaved. A (wide) wet nib is recommended for both the color and ease of writing. Shading is beautiful and heavy, there is no feathering,  negligible show-through and drying times are reasonable. As a true iron gall ink, this ink can take a bit of water.  It's hard to compare thi...

A very dark purple with a high amount of green sheen. I had never seen this color until I accidentally ran into it at a small pen and ink shop. Especially with finer nibs the purple is near black. That makes the color suitable for the workspace and of course, for any personal writing.  The ink is very well behaved. I have used it in various pens with different nib sizes. The green sheen is visible in all nibs used. Especially on Tomoe River paper, but also on Rhodia or Clairefontaine.  In the image below you can clearly see it in the title with a broad poster nib.  Despite the very dark color you can still see shading. Show-through is minimal. There is no feather on decent paper. Lubrication is good and even though the ink doesn't seem that wet, its drying time is high, more than one minute!  Compared to some other purple inks, Scribble Purple is by far the darkest. Diamine's Bilberry is dark too, but leans far more to a blue. Damson is a ...

Bilberry by Diamine is in the twilight zone between blue and purple. Far more dark than the European blueberry it’s named after. Billberry is a very nice dark ink. I’d call it a dark purple leaning towards blue, but it’s really a matter of perception. In any case it’s an elegant ink that works both for personal correspondence as well as note taking in the office. At first glance many will consider it a blue.  Like most if not all Diamine inks, this ink is very well behaved. No feathering, some shading, and minimal show-through. The ink is less wet than most, writes smoothly and has a drying time that's below average for Diamine (Clairefontaine paper). The ink is very afraid of water, even a little drop or some wetness will smear it and ruin your writing. Even days after writing.  Diamine’s Lilac Night was my first thought for a comparison, but it’s much lighter and more blue. Noodler’s Tchaikovsky (a not very vibrant purple) and iroshizuku’s Murasaki don’t come ...

I've mentioned it before: I like red inks, my absolute favorite is  Diamine's Oxblood  and I am still searching for a dark bright red . After Crimson I decided to buy Red Dragon as well. A popular red and often sold out.Red Dragon is definitely a beautiful red.  It's dark and elegant enough to use in the office for note taking. But in my opinion this ink is far more suitable for personal use. Personal notes, greeting cards, stories that require red ink, etc.  The ink is more wet than usual for Diamine, causing a slightly longer drying time, some show-through and negligible bleed-through. Still the ink is very well-behaved and writes very smoothly. The ink is saturated and has low to moderate shading, even in broader nibs.During normal writing there is no feathering, but on Vellum paper and broad nibs I have noted it a few times, as visible on the scan. As always with these inks, water is a bad idea, but you might have a chance to rewrite it.  Red ...

After three iron gall inks by KWZ inks I decided to try one of their standard inks as well and ordered Baltic memories. A dark blue with a bit of green in it. A dark blue with some green can be used anywhere. It's pleasant to read, neutral, and looks good. Perfect for both the office and personal use.  The ink is well-behaved, a little bit on the wet side. It writes smoothly, doesn't feather and you can still use the backside of your paper. Shading is a bit lower than expected, you will need a broad of stub nib to really see it come out. Drying times are a bit slower than average. The ink can't stand water and immediately becomes a blur.  Writing on paper the color looks predominantly as a very dark blue. However, there is a significant amount of green in it and when compared to other blues, this becomes very clear. Baltic memories is a bit darker than KWZ's IG turquoise (dried a day) and a lot  greener than Sailor's Yonaga, Iroshizuku's Shin-kai an...

My favorite fountain pen ink brand is - without hesitation - Iroshizuku. Excellent behavior, a beautiful bottle and some amazing colors. Tsuki-yo (moonlit night) is the first Iroshizuku ink I ever bought, roughly seven years ago. A beautiful dark teal color. It's a dark blue but with a very clear hint of green in my opinion. Which makes it perfect for any situation, both personal and professional. This ink deserves and demands high quality paper. If for some reason you cannot use that, please forget this ink brand. Buy Noodler's then. But if you can and do use it, you will be rewarded accordingly. The ink writes like a dream, very smooth! No feathering, no serious show-through, wet but with acceptable drying times, and very beautiful shading. Water will damage your writing, but won't wash it away completely. Compared to other teals this one is way  more blue than the others. Syo-ro, ku-jaku and Emeraude de chivor (Herbin) are considerably more green. Keeping Sai...

My recent buy of the KWZ inks  got me interested again in Iron Gall inks. Years ago I had a bottle of P.W. Akkerman's iron gall ink (in Dutch: IJzer-galnoten) but never replaced it. The bottle itself is amazing. Practical because of the reservoir (sealed off with a marble) on top and a gem on every bookshelf. The ink itself is a very sturdy and practical blue-black ink (but definitely grayish too when dry. It is perfect for the office, but there is no reason not to use it for personal notes or letters as well. The color may not be very vibrant or cheerful, but it's a good, solid, beautiful ink. The ink is a bit dry, but behaves extremely well. Writing is smooth. No feathering, decent shading, minimal show-through. Drying time on Crown Mill Vellum paper is less than 15 seconds, fast! This iron gall ink definitely has registrar qualities, it is not afraid of water. You don't even see on the grid where I dropped water. And a separate two hour soak-in-a-cup test di...

Maybe the summer is the time for bright, vibrant colors... but recently I am more drawn to dark brown colors like yama-guri . This interest also made me buy Macassar. And this color has not disappointed me. A very dark brown, leaning towards black. A pleasant color to take work notes, easy to read. But, definitely suitable for personal correspondence and writing as well. As always, depending on the subject and mood of course.   Diamine inks are smooth, a bit wet and well-behaved. Macassar is no exception.  No feathering, a nice shading and negligible show-through. Water resistance is low (and turns the remaining brown into orange) and drying times are a bit above average, 40 seconds on Rhodia paper. Personally I prefer wetter, broader nibs for these colors. But that is personal taste, the ink behaves equally well in fine and extra fine nibs. Compared to yama-guri the color is quite similar. Yama-guri is even darker. Cacao du Brésil (Herbin) and even more...

Traditional fountain pen colors are blue and black. There are quite a few great blue inks available, but black is notoriously difficult. I have tried a few, but none were really a success. Much as I love Iroshizuku, Take sumi is a disappointment. J. Herbin's Perle Noir the same. I don't write with black often, but an ink collection isn't complete without a really good black.  Then I stumbled upon Aurora black. Recommended by one of my favorite penshops, the darkest available color according to internet reviews, I had to try it. And I can say, this is the first black I really like. It's dark, it's smooth, it has a long drying time but other than that writes like a dream. And, at 45ml for less than 15 euro's it's not very expensive. Excellent value for money.  Of course black can be used for business purposes but I also like to write slightly darker thoughts and stories with it. For this review I have taken some quotes from Stephen King...