Underrated inks

[Laura N]

I'm slowly reevaluating my ink collection. I'm trying to approach the inks I already have with an open mind, to reassess what *I* personally like in an ink--rather than being unduly influenced by marketing hype or online reviews, rather than constantly searching for the newest best thing.

+1

I can't name names, darn Mystery Ink, but I had this experience a year or so ago when I bought a very nice, very hyped, very expensive ink -- that I still enjoy -- and realized it wasn't that much different from a very nice, very unhyped (to the point of dismissal), very inexpensive ink. Further, boring old underrated ink cleaned up more easily. There was a slight difference between them, but it wasn't so much that anyone else would probably notice.

I actually wrote about this recently in a letter to someone -- no matter what the hobby or interest, there can be a downside in too much focus on the best, or the newest, or any kind of connoisseurship. I mentioned a relative of mine who got into tea so deeply that she couldn't enjoy a cup at a restaurant because it was served in a teabag rather than brewed loose leaf. I know people who like the quality of their medium format cameras so much they don't like taking snaps with a 35mm (or digital).

I take a lot of photos with my phone; I've just transferred that to inks. Good enough sometimes equals darn good.

[jde]

And how about Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue/Konigsblau? Or the R&K Konigsblau? Great inks and probably passed over by many of us.

+1 here for the Pelikan ink. The Royal Blue is the ink I may return to if Pilot Blue-Black ceases to be available.

There really are only two inks in the blue family I've found kinda boring even for me. I say that because unlike so many of you, I'm more utilitarian (and economical) user than not. I do have some color in the ink drawer for special cards or notes, and for pen pals who tire of my pedestrian Pilot B-B.

I stopped following the ink herd some time ago.

Edited to add: What I love about what reprieve has raised in this thread is the idea that we might change our minds about given inks, or that our tastes may have changed to include inks we earlier dismissed. That's similar to the idea of the mystery ink: how open minded can we be?

I've spent a lot of time figuring out what inks, pens, papers work best for me. I personally draw a line at a certain price point, but the Sailor inks I choose for color are not inexpensive, nor low maintenance. At the same time, they do not cost as much as some others.

What I do know is that if at some time in the future, these inks become unavailable to me for whatever reasons (a sudden embargo, some disaster, or I can't afford them), I'll find other inks to return to. They may not have all the qualities I've come to like or want in a ink, but that future is unknown to me now.

[migo984]

I have a lot of inks, ranging from the most inexpensive to very pricey inks. I've used them all & IMO cheap inks are cheap for a reason. You get what you pay for (but excluding L.E. inks by the big brands, which are often disappointing). It's nothing to do with fashion, fads or hype. My favourite ink(s) are not the most expensive, but are far from the economy end. I can use a rollerball if I just want utilitarian, generic & easily maintained.

[Avalona]

And how about Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue/Konigsblau? Or the R&K Konigsblau? Great inks and probably passed over by many of us.

I love both shades of Konigsblau! I've currently got a bottle of R&K's, though when I finish that one, I may get the Pelikan kind (I've used the cartridges quite a bit). They're both very nice blues, and they mix quite well together (I once topped off a cartridge of Pelikan with R&K and couldn't tell where one ended and the other began).

[VertOlive]

Two inks that surprised and delighted me:

DeAtramentis' "Maron", a rich mahogany brown.

DeAtramentis' "Sherlock Holmes", a dark,slightly ashen blue.

[Jon Szanto]

Haven't seen it mentioned: Namiki Blue. Benign in the looks department, not expensive, and water resistant to boot. You could do worse - I have.

[Lady Onogaro]

Two inks that surprised and delighted me:

DeAtramentis' "Maron", a rich mahogany brown.

DeAtramentis' "Sherlock Holmes", a dark,slightly ashen blue.

I haven't tried "Maron," but I use "Sherlock Holmes" all the time. I really like it.

I'm usually not one for reds, but I tried De Atramentis' "Arthur Conan Doyle," and I really like that, too (enough to buy a bottle).

I also like Waterman's "Mysterious Blue" quite a lot, and Private Reserve "Daphne Blue."

[mhosea]

Responding to nobody in particular...I'm not sure I would concede that an ink is "underrated" simply because it happens to be a good ink and isn't celebrated. Lamy Blue is "underrated", I think, because people actively think it is a pale purple-blue, which it often seems to be when one pops in the cartridge that comes with a Lamy Safari. A sample or a bottle combined with a wet-writing pen and good paper tells a different tale...at least for awhile until it kind of fades in. But a lot of inks are just good inks that nobody complains about and nobody celebrates. They aren't therefore "underrated". Sheaffer Skrip Red (Slovenia) is a good ink, a bright red that doesn't lean towards the orange or the pink noticeably. There's nothing wrong with it. It's a little less lubricious than most of its competitors in my cabinet, and one or two of my reds have better water resistance, but it's a worthy ink. And yet, I'm not moved to celebrate it, particularly since I actually choose to use it very seldom. This is important because I'm not trying make any points or to do anything. It's just a situation where I have a pen and a dozen "red" inks to choose from, and I just choose. I'm pretty sure it's the step down in lubrication that makes me bounce off to something else when I consider it. But the performance otherwise, the color, and the appearance on the page, both immediately and days later, is nice. There's nothing wrong with it.

I use a couple of inks that I suspect I like better than the average person out there. One is Diamine Royal Blue. OK, so it's not Baystate Blue vibrant, but it's a bright blue that doesn't lean too much towards either green or purple. Another is J. Herbin 1670 Bleu Ocean. Sure, the color is a bit dull, and there is no sheen, no sparkly bits, but once you get over your disappointment that it doesn't have silver glitter in it, you might happen to notice that its performance is top tier, and it's not that dull if you think of it as being in the dark blue rather than royal blue category, not quite blue-black but also not suffering from the teal-leaning nature of some "blue-black" inks.

[Jon Szanto]

Plenty of sheen.

[mhosea]

Yeah, Jon, but that ink is not well-behaved.

[reprieve]

Haven't seen it mentioned: Namiki Blue. Benign in the looks department, not expensive, and water resistant to boot. You could do worse - I have.

Namiki (or Pilot) Blue! That's my go-to everyday workhorse ink, along with Pilot Blue-black. I am always recommending those inks to people who want a water-resistant, affordable, well-behaved ink. They're wonderful.

[reprieve]

Responding to nobody in particular...I'm not sure I would concede that an ink is "underrated" simply because it happens to be a good ink and isn't celebrated. Lamy Blue is "underrated", I think, because people actively think it is a pale purple-blue, which it often seems to be when one pops in the cartridge that comes with a Lamy Safari. A sample or a bottle combined with a wet-writing pen and good paper tells a different tale...at least for awhile until it kind of fades in. But a lot of inks are just good inks that nobody complains about and nobody celebrates. They aren't therefore "underrated".

This raises an interesting point. Is an "underrated" ink an ink that is actually quite good but receives little fanfare (i.e., it's undervalued or under-appreciated)? Or is an "underrated" ink an ink about which people actively harbor misconceptions (i.e., it's misunderstood)?

[Jon Szanto]

Yeah, Jon, but that ink is not well-behaved.

Depends on how badly you want Sheen. I threw mine out.

[klpeabody]

Responding to nobody in particular...I'm not sure I would concede that an ink is "underrated" simply because it happens to be a good ink and isn't celebrated. Lamy Blue is "underrated", I think, because people actively think it is a pale purple-blue, which it often seems to be when one pops in the cartridge that comes with a Lamy Safari. A sample or a bottle combined with a wet-writing pen and good paper tells a different tale...at least for awhile until it kind of fades in. But a lot of inks are just good inks that nobody complains about and nobody celebrates. They aren't therefore "underrated".

This raises an interesting point. Is an "underrated" ink an ink that is actually quite good but receives little fanfare (i.e., it's undervalued or under-appreciated)? Or is an "underrated" ink an ink about which people actively harbor misconceptions (i.e., it's misunderstood)?

At the prompting of this question, I can't help but wonder: are the two mutually exclusive? Just thinking out loud.

[Laura N]

How about we look at sales statistics? It's not the same thing, but it's important for ink manufacturers.

When I go to Jetpens and open "Bottled Inks," and arrange them by popularity (sales), I find that the three J. Herbin 1670 inks, including the 1670 Blue, are all in the Top Ten fountain pen inks. Rounding out that list are one Platinum ink, two Sailor, one Lamy and three Pilot Iroshizuku. I am excluding the inks that are not useable for fountain pens, but only for drawing, but I will note that Jetpens does market to artists so the Platinum and one of the Sailors might appeal more to their customer base than to fountain pen users in general.

Expanding to the Top 25, and again including only inks that work in fountain pens, I add five more Pilot Iroshizuku but also three Waterman, Pilot Blue Black, three Herbin including a package of scented, Pelikan Black and even Parker Quink Blue Black. Plus one Diamine -- but only one.

If it weren't so late, I'd try the same at Goulet and Anderson's, where I would expect to find a lot of Noodler's inks in the Top Ten and Top 25. Jetpens doesn't sell Noodler's. I know from discussions with a few US retailers that Noodler's is a very strong seller in the US.

I consider Pilot Iroshizuku and Noodler's both to be popular on fountain pen forums. (And justly so.) And they are good sellers. It's interesting that a lot of the inks that were mentioned as underrated do appear to sell well, at least on Jetpens. I don't think I hear much on forums about Lamy Black (#3), Waterman Black (#24) or J. Herbin scented inks (#16). And not so much about Pelikan Black (#19). So maybe those inks could be considered underrated, or at least under-discussed, based on their sales popularity.

I do hear about Herbin 1670 inks. I do hear about the carbon and nano inks. I'm not surprised that they sell well. But I hear a lot about Diamine, and I find them well-priced, so I'm surprised to see that their sales on Jetpens don't seem to track their popularity. Diamine sales might be higher relatively on Goulet and Anderson's, but again it's late. Anyway, it seems to me, based on this cursory and incomplete research, that some inks are discussed and recommended on forums less than I'd expect given sales figures at Jetpens, while others, like Pilot Iroshizuku, seem frequently discussed and recommended and also seem to sell strongly at Jetpens.

[mhosea]

But I hear a lot about Diamine, and I find them well-priced, so I'm surprised to see that their sales on Jetpens don't seem to track their popularity.

I think it's just because Jetpens charges more for Diamine inks than the going rate. If you factor in shipping, it's still a good deal if you're looking to buy exactly two bottles, but there are better deals out there if you're buying more.

[The Good Captain]

There's an interesting mix or Quinks to get a reasonable blue-black. Certainly looks OK and does use up the colours. to make 10ml use:
Blue:Blue-Black:Black - 4ml:4ml:1ml. Works fine. The various colours can be changed to suit and I found this some time ago on FPN.
Also, add a small amount of red to the original Quink Blue-Black. In theory, it gets rid of the 'teal' effect but I haven't experimented with the quantities. the original post on FPN just said 'small'!

[Lady Onogaro]

I'm slowly reevaluating my ink collection. I'm trying to approach the inks I already have with an open mind, to reassess what *I* personally like in an ink--rather than being unduly influenced by marketing hype or online reviews, rather than constantly searching for the newest best thing.

+1

I can't name names, darn Mystery Ink, but I had this experience a year or so ago when I bought a very nice, very hyped, very expensive ink -- that I still enjoy -- and realized it wasn't that much different from a very nice, very unhyped (to the point of dismissal), very inexpensive ink. Further, boring old underrated ink cleaned up more easily. There was a slight difference between them, but it wasn't so much that anyone else would probably notice.

I actually wrote about this recently in a letter to someone -- no matter what the hobby or interest, there can be a downside in too much focus on the best, or the newest, or any kind of connoisseurship. I mentioned a relative of mine who got into tea so deeply that she couldn't enjoy a cup at a restaurant because it was served in a teabag rather than brewed loose leaf. I know people who like the quality of their medium format cameras so much they don't like taking snaps with a 35mm (or digital).

I take a lot of photos with my phone; I've just transferred that to inks. Good enough sometimes equals darn good.

One of the reasons I asked Migo about the Monet Violet was because while I love the color, I wondered if it was worth it to buy a bottle for $30.00. Her comparison shows me that there are violets that are close enough that are more reasonable in price. I would like to try the Monet Violet, but I don't want to spend $30.00 on a bottle of it unless it's quite different from others in the line.

[Lady Onogaro]

But I hear a lot about Diamine, and I find them well-priced, so I'm surprised to see that their sales on Jetpens don't seem to track their popularity.

I think it's just because Jetpens charges more for Diamine inks than the going rate. If you factor in shipping, it's still a good deal if you're looking to buy exactly two bottles, but there are better deals out there if you're buying more.

Where do you find them less expensive?

[Neo]

But I hear a lot about Diamine, and I find them well-priced, so I'm surprised to see that their sales on Jetpens don't seem to track their popularity.

I think it's just because Jetpens charges more for Diamine inks than the going rate. If you factor in shipping, it's still a good deal if you're looking to buy exactly two bottles, but there are better deals out there if you're buying more.

Where do you find them less expensive?

Jetpens $14.50

Goulet pens, Anderson pens, Goldspot $12.95

the mailman finally arriving....priceless