Help Me Choose a Blue

[Foyle]

I've had kind of a hit-and-miss relationship with blue inks. Some are great, and some I haven't liked very much. I've got Waterman Serenity Blue, and I like it quite a bit. It's my favorite blue ink so far. Aurora Blue is great, but I hate the bottle and it's a bit pricey. Pelikan 4001 was decent, but it looked a little too washed out for my taste as did Lamy blue. So with that in mind, here some other blue inks I'm considering.

Sheaffer Skrip Blue, Montblanc Royal Blue, or Pilot/Namiki blue, also considering giving Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue another go.

My criteria is primarily a good flowing, well-behaved, trouble free blue that doesn't fade into near non-existance after a few weeks (cough, cough, Lamy Blue), that is safe for all pens including my beloved Pelikans.

What do you suggest?

 

[Dog Whiskerer]

I like Noodler's Liberty Elysium. Nice pop of blue. Not much feathering, some bleed through on cheaper paper. Not permanent, but more water resistance than Waterman or Sheaffer.

Some folks claim that Noodler's ink aren't safe in pens, but I've not had a problem.

 

[dexutter]

I really liked my Waterman Inspired Blue - it is a lighter (brighter) blue, but stable and looked great.

 

[kcore]

I use private reserve American Blue I have had no issues with it in any of my pens. Really nice blue that pops

 

[Komboloi]

I'll second both the Waterman suggestions and the Noodler's Liberty's Elysium. Another Noodler's whose color I like is Baystate Blue. I've only used it with a dip pen, and somebody said it can be hard to clean from a pen, but I don't know. It's a deep blue like Liberty's Elysium but a bit brighter. Wipes off my glass dip pen without a problem.

 

[fightingillini22]

Thornton's Luxury Blue has been a real diamond in the rough for me. It used to be extremely cheap on the bay (2 30mL bottles for like $7 shipped) but it doesn't look like that deal exists for the blue any longer.

 

[musicman1951]

Goulet's site allows you to select inks by color. They list 123 blues, but some are multiple sizes and a couple are (to my eye) purple. Still, lots of choices.

I really like Diamine ink: relatively cheap and always trouble free. I like Asa Blue, Florida Blue and Eclipse if you want something really dark - although I personally think Asa is probably my favorite.

Pilot Iroshizuku are wonderful inks, but definitely pricey. I have some, but not in blue.

 

[Slivovitz]

Akkerman #5 Shocking Blue is a nice, rich, dark blue. It's expensive and not water resistant. But it looks nice.

Pilot Iroshizuku Asa Gao and Kon Peki are both good colors. Again, not water resistant, or not very. Asa Gao is darker and a bit purplish; Kon Peki is lighter.

Namiki Blue, which was on your list of maybes, is not the most exciting color, but is a good basic blue, with decent water resistance. It, and Pilot Blue Black, are probably the inks I use the most.

 

[nemo]

Try the Montblanc Royal Blue, it's a good one. My Pelikan 4001 isn't washed out at all, are you sure there wasn't any leftover water in the pen?

I use private reserve American Blue I have had no issues with it in any of my pens. Really nice blue that pops

Oh boy, I've had probs, don't get me started.

 

[kcore]

Try the Montblanc Royal Blue, it's a good one. My Pelikan 4001 isn't washed out at all, are you sure there wasn't any leftover water in the pen?



Oh boy, I've had probs, don't get me started.

Yeah I have heard the horror stories but so far I have had no issues with it and really easy to clean out of all my pens it's one of those inks to tread caution with.

 

[kcore]

By any chance [MENTION=21099]nemo[/MENTION] have you had a chance to try out any Robert Oster inks? The Robert Oster Fire and Ice ink is really moving up on the list to buy next

 

[tetraodon]

By any chance @nemo have you had a chance to try out any Robert Oster inks? The Robert Oster Fire and Ice ink is really moving up on the list to buy next

i just ordered the fire and ice ink, ill put up a review after i have some fun with it. ill break out my stub nib as well

 

[SmoovD]

Diamine excels at blues, IMHO. Try Diamine Majestic Blue for a great royal blue with a touch of red sheen. One of my favorite blues. Diamine is not waterproof. Rohrer and Klingner make a modern IG blue called Salix and it is quite nice. Great flow, color and water resistance.

 

[Doc4]

Can you afford, are you willing to pay for, Iroshizuku inks? They have some wonderful blues.

Goulet samples (of those and/or others) are a good way to get started.

 

[nortac]

I prefer mostly Blue-blacks. My favorite is Iroshizuku Shin-kai. On the other end of the price spectrum is Hero 232. In Noodler's I use a lot of Bad Belted Kingfisher. I also have Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black, which has to be ordered from Japan, available through Amazon. I do have some 15 ml bottles of other Iroshizuku blues, but have yet to try them out.

 

[Snargle]

Diamine Asa Blue is lovely. Noodler's Bad Belted Kingfisher is an excellent, well-behaving, waterproof dark blue (not quite blue-black). I frequently use BBK for check writing, envelope addressing, etc.

 

[Runnin_Ute]

Here is 34 pages of blues with writing samples:

http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/f...post-your-pictures-and-tell-us-your-thoughts/

 

[Rasage_Perfecto]

My first choice: Pilot Iroshizuku - Asa Gao
2.- Noodler's - Liberty's Elysium
3.- Diamine - Velvet Blue
4.- Private Reserve - DC Supershow Blue
5.- Private Reserve - American Blue
6.- Noodler's - Blue

You can't be wrong with this blues

 

[Claudel Xerxes]

In no particular order... Any Iroshizuku inks are winners in my book. Pelikan Edelstein Tanzanite is a very dark blue with good flow and is well-behaved. Noodler's Ottoman Azure is nice. Montblanc Leo Tolstoy (Sky Blue) is wonderful. Noodler's Blue Eel is nice, plus it's lubricated. I love J. Herbin inks, so naturally I enjoy Éclat de Saphir. I think that some of the Diamine blues that I've tried have been cool, like Steel Blue, Oxford Blue, and Majestic Blue.

Of the ones you've mentioned, I'm pretty sure that I've only tried Skrip Blue. I find it to be a very nice ink for taking notes. It has good flow to it and performs favorably, but it just lacks personality to me.

 

[BigJ]

I like Mont Blanc royal blue.