What inks to use in "nicer" pens?

[shaverjoe]

In a previous thread I authored today, it was the consensus to de-ink my pens and flush them clean since they will be out of use for a month while I am on vacation. I am in the process of doing this now.

I really only have one "nice" FP, a Lamy 2000 my wife got me this spring as a surprise gift. As many of you know, it is a piston filler. My other FPs can either be disassembled or use a converter so cleaning is far easier.

I was curious what properties should I look for in an ink to use in my Lamy 2000 in the future to prevent any problems from occurring, or at least reducing the chance of a problem from occurring? If I clean the pen regularly, would it matter?

Currently, I use all Noodler's inks, save one, Diamine Oxblood. The Noodler's seems to creep terribly in all the pens I use- Lamy 2K, Safari, and TWSBI. The Diamine is much better behaved. I would like to re-ink the Lamy with a gray ink, so any suggestions for a good grey ink would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your reply.

 

[Eeyore]

One of the safest inks is Quink Royal Blue.

 

[nemo]

Inks made by long-established pen manufacturers seem to be the safest. Parker (Quink), Sheaffer, Waterman, Pelikan, Montblanc, and Lamy come quickly to mind. Exceptions would be J.Herbin (that has been in the ink business since 1670), Rohrer and Klingner, and many of Diamine's inks.

 

[redbike]

Most of my inks are heavily saturated - Noodlers and PR, and I use them without problems in my lever filling and c/c pens. However I do have a couple of nice pens - a vintage Aurora 88 and a Parker Vacumatic, and I use my Aurora Blue and Diamine inks in those pens.

 

[cursethis]

I've only used two greys... Noodler's Lexington (which doesn't fit your needs) and Pilot Iroshizuku's Fuyu-syogun. If you don't mind dropping ~$30 on a bottle of ink, I'd recommend it as a nice grey.

That said... I've read that Diamine Grey and Diamine Graphite are pretty good greys, and you could get both of them for the price of the bottle of Fuyu-syogun.

P.S. - It seems no one read the last couple of lines in your post.

 

[Doc4]

P.S. - It seems no one read the last couple of lines in your post.

I would like to re-ink the Lamy with a gray ink, so any suggestions for a good grey ink would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your reply.

Noodler's Lexington will be fine in your nicer pens.

IMHO Noodler's gets a bad rap due to a few inks (baystate blue, and a few "dry cloggers" like Whaleman Sepia and such ... ones where Nathan is pushing the envelope of ink performance. But the normal inks do just fine.

 

[cursethis]

Noodler's Lexington will be fine in your nicer pens.

IMHO Noodler's gets a bad rap due to a few inks (baystate blue, and a few "dry cloggers" like Whaleman Sepia and such ... ones where Nathan is pushing the envelope of ink performance. But the normal inks do just fine.

Lexington is a bit of a nip creeper... at least in my experience anyway.

 

[GHCHambone]

I have a bottle of Montblanc Oyster Grey and I really like it. Also it is a little on the dry side so it may improve your creep issues. I have found all my Noodler's inks to behave the same way as you have experienced.

 

[Vlad]

Noodler's Lexington will be fine in your nicer pens.

IMHO Noodler's gets a bad rap due to a few inks (baystate blue, and a few "dry cloggers" like Whaleman Sepia and such ... ones where Nathan is pushing the envelope of ink performance. But the normal inks do just fine.

I still love Noodler's...I love heavily saturated inks. But I am very careful with them now mostly due to the potential for staining. See my custom title

Lexington should be just fine, though.

 

[Craig9802]

My favorite (and only) gray is Iroshizuku Kiri-Same. It looks like #2 pencil on certain papers if you squint a little. It's not a dark gray, so you don't get a lot of contrast if writing on ivory or other papers with some tint to them. I wouldn't use it for business, but I like it for the occasional letter or for more creative projects.

 

[Eeyore]

I am just rereading, and I completely overlooked that you were looking for a grey ink!

You could take a look at Pelikan blueblack ink; when it dries, it turns very much blueish grey. As did the old style Sheaffer Skrip (the one made in the USA).

 

[nemo]

You could take a look at Pelikan blueblack ink; when it dries, it turns very much blueish grey.

Good suggestion, too bad Pelikan pulled the plug on that ink for North America.

I wonder what Montblanc Oyster Grey is like, so far I really like their inks and the bottle, too!

 

[Isaac]

Inks made by long-established pen manufacturers seem to be the safest. Parker (Quink), Sheaffer, Waterman, Pelikan, Montblanc, and Lamy come quickly to mind. Exceptions would be J.Herbin (that has been in the ink business since 1670), Rohrer and Klingner, and many of Diamine's inks.

ive started to practice this exact recommendation. I'm enjoying J. Hebrin, Montblanc, iroshuzuki, and Pelikan as of late.

 

[Eeyore]

Good suggestion, too bad Pelikan pulled the plug on that ink for North America.

Really? I hope that is not a sign for global discontinuation! Time to hoard some then

 

[SmoovD]

Really? I hope that is not a sign for global discontinuation! Time to hoard some then

I think you are safe. Not heard or read anything about Pelikan stopping distribution completely. But you had better purchase a few bottles just in case.

 

[GHCHambone]

Good suggestion, too bad Pelikan pulled the plug on that ink for North America.

I wonder what Montblanc Oyster Grey is like, so far I really like their inks and the bottle, too!

I just happen to have it in my Pelikan M200:

 

[nemo]

I just happen to have it in my Pelikan M200:

View attachment 355767

Excellent! Thanks.

 

[Boro62]

the only ink that I have that I am afraid of putting in my nicer pens is J herbin rouge hematite.

 

[ChefJohnBoy-ardee]

Now I have two Montblanc colors I want... Sigh.