Ink . where to start?

[wrathen]

So I have my first FP on the way a TWSBI 580 w/ a Fine Nib. I was looking at getting a Lamy Safari for my first pen (and most likely will still get one) but I found a great deal on a used 580 and I wouldnt need a converter ... since this will be my first FP I have nothing ....

SO where does one start? I need some ink to for my 580 start learning to write with it ... in the past I have mostly written in black. So should I get a bottle of black and start learning with that? I keep hearing the name Noodler's and the price looks good but even in their blacks there are TONS of different ones and I dont understand the difference: Bulletproof, Eternal, etc. I was hoping to get something that might show hints of other colors.... maybe red or purple? or maybe even blue? 54th Massachusetts looks nice.

While I havent ever really written with alot of different colors before I have seen a few that I really like. For example Apache Sunset and Habanerro look REALLY nice. Since orange is one of my favorite colors (since my other favorite "colors" are white, black, and silver dont really count for ink) I thought I might at some point get one of them but not sure if its good to learn with a colored ink. Also since its my only FP and I dont think writing everything in an orange would be good I thought maybe it shouldnt be my first ink.... but maybe I'm wrong

Should I order a bottle of black and just go with that to learn to write with my new FP? should I get a few samples of different inks from somewhere like Goulet Pens? I'm pretty lost and didnt really find any guides on picking inks like I did with pens.

I'm open to any advice at this point from some of you seasoned FP masters

Edit:
Other than FP, paper & ink .... what else does one need? ...

 

[DukeNDuke]

Welcome to the asylum wrathen. Like you, I'm a complete beginner when it comes to fountain pens. I just got a TWSBI and I love it. It looks cool when inked with vibrant colors. I'd suggest that you pick up a sample pack of blacks from Goulet (Awesome service!!) to find out what you like. Pick up a color or two as well. Writing in black get boring after a while. Also, pick up a syringe. It comes in handy when using samples.

Good luck with your new pen. Before long, you'll be buying another, and another, and another..........

 

[Krodor]

Get 5-10 colors of your choice from Goulets sample sizes. Like $1.25 apiece and you can get a couple fills worth from each. When you find the one(s) you like, then you get yourself a bottle of it. Rarely is a bottle emptied through use (my experience), so only buy the ones you like, cuz you'll have them forever (unless spilled by/on your cat).

Goulet has an "ink drop" program kinda like a book of the month club...they pick a theme and send you 5 sample vials per month. Maybe try a couple months of that and let them pick the colors for you? I doubt I use up that amount of ink in a month.

edit: inkdrop is going through changes over the next month or two...will restart in November: www.inknouveau.com/2014/09/ink-drop-changes-are-coming.html

 

[Slivovitz]

You might actually find a bottle of Parker black Quink at some local store. My local Staples sometimes actually has that on the shelves, plus Monteverde and Iroshizuku inks in their catalog.

Black or blue inks may be less likely to stain your pen. This does not include Noodler's infamous Bay State Blue, apparently. I'm partial to purples and browns. I've found the perfect brown for me (Sailor Jentle Doyou) but the jury is still out on the best purple.

Frequent advice is to get an ink from someone who also makes pens. I like Pilot Blue-Black and Blue for example, others recommend Pelikan, Waterman, Parker, Sailor, or Montblanc. There are other good brands, of course. Diamine doesn't make pens as far as I know, but many swear by it.

One thing I didn't realize when starting out is that many if not most fountain pen inks are not water resistant. Whether or not this is important to you, it's something to be aware of. There are water resistant choices, of course.

Just make sure you don't get India ink, or other inks which are designed for dip pens only.

 

[wrathen]

Ok So it looks like the sampler thing is the way to go.

So I know I want the following what other recommendations from Goulets would people recommend for somone getting started? I would like a black with a hint of purple and a black with a hint of red, then maybe a nice Blue-Black, and a nice solid black. I have read some inks dont like cheap paper. I use alot of the yellow legal pads at work (the Office Depot ones) is there an ink that would work well on them and look ok on the yellow paper?


Here would be a list so far for a sample order.
1. Noodlers Apache Sunset
2. Noodlers 54th Massachusets
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

 

[syngent]

If you look at our stickies you will see a reference and review thread that has tonnes of reviews on inks to look through with lots of pictures.

I would add Parker Quink blue black, as it is usually available locally if you have an Office Depot or staples around you.

Diamine denim is also a good blue black

 

[Krodor]

Ok So it looks like the sampler thing is the way to go.

So I know I want the following what other recommendations from Goulets would people recommend for somone getting started? I would like a black with a hint of purple and a black with a hint of red, then maybe a nice Blue-Black, and a nice solid black. I have read some inks dont like cheap paper. I use alot of the yellow legal pads at work (the Office Depot ones) is there an ink that would work well on them and look ok on the yellow paper?


Here would be a list so far for a sample order.
1. Noodlers Apache Sunset
2. Noodlers 54th Massachusets

3. Private reserve Ebony Purple (black with a hint of purple / hyper-dark purple, with a little black). Noodlers Nightshade is also nice.
4. I also want a black with a little red, but can only seem to find dark reds...just not dark enough to suit me. So far deAtrementis Cherry has fit the bill best, but still not there.
5. "solid black"....check Aurora Black, Noodler's Black, and Noodler's Black X-feather. The former is a nice black, with a bit of gloss to it. the middle is The Standard for bulletproofness and blackness, the latter is like the middle, but is intended not to bleed on cheap paper.

 

[Allegrabene]

Noodlers Black swan in Australian Roses. It is an absolute must

 

[dgreene120]

As with everything on this site, YMMV, but I really have not had great success with Noodler's inks. I've found them to be a little too thick for my writing style. The two brands of inks that I have in regular rotation right now that are J. Herbin and Diamine. I'm using blues (J. Herbin Eclat de Saphir and Diamine Florida Blue) and I absolutely love both inks. I use both on yellow legal pads regularly. So, you may want to give these manufacturers a shot. Good luck!

 

[Elevenn]

Diamine Midnight is a very nice dark blue/black ink. For a true black I really like J. Herbin Perle Noir; it's very nice. One resource that has helped me a lot as I've tried to find inks that I like is the Ink section of Fountain Pen Network. There are hundreds of reviews there where the ink in question is shown on the page in written form. The reviews also go over things such as water resistance, smearing, etc. I think you will find that a lot of inks that look great as a swab can be difficult on the eyes when used at length on the page. Anyway, I'm new to all this as well, so good luck.

 

[Sharon888]

Great suggestions from everyone. One tool to check out on the Goulet site is the Swab shop. It has swabs of all the ink they carry. You can look at all the colors from a certain brand or you can look at looks at swabs of the same color to compare them. As you've found there isn't only one black! I like blues and there are lots of nice ones, but I like the darker ones. The Swab shop shows me which inks those are. It also has a comparison tool where you can compare five different inks at a time. It's a great tool.

http://www.gouletpens.com/Swab_Shop_s/793.htm

As to Noodler's ink properties, here's a description of what the different properties mean.

http://noodlersink.com/noodlers-ink-properties/

And a spreadsheet that Goulet Pens put together of all Noodler's ink and their properties.

https://www.gouletpens.com/v/vspfiles/files/noodlers-ink-properties.pdf

 

[wrathen]

Thank you everyone for your information this really helps.

 

[Doc4]

I'd suggest trying one or two inks from several major manufacturers as well, to see which you like better. Toss in an "iron gall" ink sample or two as well ... Diamine Registrar's Ink and Rohrer & Klingner seem to be popular and well-regarded choices there.

You will find that a bottle of ink lasts a loooooong time, so samples are probably the best way to go until you find which ones you like best. And just signing up for the ink drop may get you enough ink to keep you going!

I keep hearing the name Noodler's and the price looks good but even in their blacks there are TONS of different ones and I dont understand the difference: Bulletproof, Eternal, etc.

Noodler's inks are generally very good, although some are "quirky" ... the creator (Nathan) occasionally looks to make inks that push the boundaries of what inks can do, accentuates a particular quality, and other qualities can suffer a bit (or a lot, occasionally) as a result. But if you get his "regular" inks you should be just fine, and get great performance.

Noodler's "black" is a must-try ... a really good black.

The terms "bulletproof" and "eternal" get tossed around a lot, but in general think:

"bulletproof = forgers can't wash it off undetected" and
"eternal = won't fade noticeably for a long, long time".

Not all bulletproof and eternal inks have those properties in the same "strength", and often the qualities overlap so ... if either is important to you, dig further! Also, here's what Noodler's says about this: http://noodlersink.com/noodlers-ink-properties/

Often, though, what people really want is "waterproof" ink, and if that is important for you, you need to ask specifically about it, as the bulletproof & eternal inks may or may not have enough of that quality for you.

I was hoping to get something that might show hints of other colors.... maybe red or purple? or maybe even blue? 54th Massachusetts looks nice.

Noodler's did a custom ink for B&B ... 5 O'clock Shadow ... and it's black with hints of green. Get it here: http://www.westcoastshaving.com/Badger-Blade-5-OClock-Shadow-Ink-by-Noodlers-Ink_p_1178.html

Let me also suggest a personal favourite .... Noodler's Kung Te-cheng ... try a sample from Goulet!

While I havent ever really written with alot of different colors before I have seen a few that I really like. For example Apache Sunset and Habanerro look REALLY nice. Since orange is one of my favorite colors (since my other favorite "colors" are white, black, and silver dont really count for ink) I thought I might at some point get one of them but not sure if its good to learn with a colored ink. Also since its my only FP and I dont think writing everything in an orange would be good I thought maybe it shouldnt be my first ink.... but maybe I'm wrong

Haha ... welcome to the rabbit hole! Of course you need more than one pen ...

Any ink colour is fine for learning with, but if you plan to use the pen for real work, then you might want to chose your ink colour with an eye to that as well.

Other than FP, paper & ink .... what else does one need? ...

Really, nothing.


(Well, apart from lots more pens and inks. And papers.)

 

[coyotewhisper]

Hello and welcome to the beginning of your pen AD,the ink AD will kick in too.
Diamine ink is great ink.

 

[whosaidpigeon]

Get 5-10 colors of your choice from Goulets sample sizes. Like $1.25 apiece and you can get a couple fills worth from each. When you find the one(s) you like, then you get yourself a bottle of it. Rarely is a bottle emptied through use (my experience), so only buy the ones you like, cuz you'll have them forever (unless spilled by/on your cat).

Goulet has an "ink drop" program kinda like a book of the month club...they pick a theme and send you 5 sample vials per month. Maybe try a couple months of that and let them pick the colors for you? I doubt I use up that amount of ink in a month.

edit: inkdrop is going through changes over the next month or two...will restart in November: www.inknouveau.com/2014/09/ink-drop-changes-are-coming.html

+1

Samples are a great way to start. I thought Noodlers 54th would be my favourite ink, but now I've tried it I'm glad I bought a sample, rather than a bottle. It writes a little too wet for me and the colour isn't quite what I was expecting.

My only problem is that it can be a little difficult to get to the ink in the tiny vial. But I'm just a noob at all of this.

 

[Vespasian]

I agree with dgreene120: I haven't had any luck with Noodler inks. Way too many colors to keep control of the manufacturing, so his inks are inconsistent, for me, I stress. Also, I want ink, not politics, so I find his labels supremely annoying.

I have had great experiences with J. Herbin inks. Good colors, but not light-fast. Goulet samples are the way to go.

 

[Doc4]

My only problem is that it can be a little difficult to get to the ink in the tiny vial. But I'm just a noob at all of this.

I find that if you have an "eyedroppered" pen, you can just dump the whole vial into the body of the pen no problem.

You can also use a syringe to get the ink out and into a pen, but that would likely mean removing your converter from the pen and filling it manually every time ... which can wear out the connection point for the converter so it becomes loose on the pen. Empty cartridges can be refilled the same way.

If you have a Pelikan, the nib screws out easily and you can just put the ink directly into the piston reservoir, and screw the nib back on. (I don't know if it's big enough to hold a whole sample, or if you need a syringe to put in "just enough".)

 

[cody6766]

I'd say it's a good idea to buy a bottle of Noodler's black right away. It's a good ink in every pen I've filled, it's very black instead of grey'ish like the bottle of Quink Black I have, and it's a universally accepted color...mostly.

For your sample list, I just recently got these and think they'd be worth a look:
Diamine Eclipse - black/purple, a great color
Noodler's Blue Black - more black than blue, Nice color though
Diamine Blue Black is more blue than black, nice color though
Noodler's Apache Sunset is an awesome ink just for the shading and character. It's yellow/orange, seen in the pic below

Here is a pic of my scratching with the ink samples I recently bought. My goal was mostly black, but with a hint of character. The black ink used as a reference is Noodler's Zhivago. It's supposed to have some green to it, but it looks just like their black to me.