Ink colors for extra fine nibs?

[Toulouse]

Other than blacks and reds, what ink colors/brands do you use with your extra fine nibs? I'm looking for something suitable for letter writing and for colors that won't look black.
Thanks!

[mtnbiker62]

I like Iroshizuku inks, and Ama-iro works pretty well in fine and extra fine nibs. I even occasionally see a little bit of shading, which is unusual with fine nibs.

[Lady Onogaro]

Hey, Toulouse--I like Pilot Iroshizuku Murasaki-Shikibu in my EF TWSBI Mini, and I have also used Private Reserve Purple Mojo. Waterman Mysterious Blue is also nice.

[bleunuitguy]

Try these - they all work well in my Lamy Al-Star with EF nib:

Diamine Asa Blue - I experience some shading with this one
Private Reserve Black Magic Blue - a dark purple/blue that looks great with the EF nib (no shading)
Rohrer and Klinger Salix and Scabiosa - some subtle shading with EF and the colors are beautiful
Montblanc Toffee Brown
Sailor Jentle Epinard - a dark green ink - reminds me a bit of the famed Montblanc Racing Green

[Toulouse]

All great suggestions. Two of them I happen to have on hand so will play with them first.

Any advice on a good online source for Montblanc ink?

[bleunuitguy]

Penboutique.com is where I buy my Montblanc ink from.

[VertOlive]

I have the MD Leonardo DaVinci Red Chalk in my Platinum 3776 FP. Plenty of color and presence.

[earthdawn]

Ill vote for Diamine Majestic Blue.

It may look like a plain old rich deep blue, but the magic happens after it is dried and that wonderful sheen comes out. Subtle but certainly there!

[ac12]

In my limited experience, for an XF nib, the darker the ink the better, to get enough contrast to see the ink line.
My standard blue inks (Waterman and Cross/Pelikan) look washed out when put into an XF nib pen.

Waterman and Cross/Pelikan black
Diamine Midnight
Diamine Red Dragon

[The Good Captain]

I've a Pilot 823 with a Fine nib - pretty thin! - and I use Cult Pens/Diamine Deep Dark Brown in there. A nice dark line.

[migo984]

Sailor Jentle Oku-yama. An unusual rich dark red with some brown tones, almost metallic, with nice shading

[Cookies]

All of them? I use xf nibs almost exclusively and have never had to use special inks. Some inks certainly look better in my stubs, but unless an ink is incredibly dry you shouldn't need to look for anything special. Currently in my xf nibs I have Diamine Prussian blue, J. Herbin Vert Empire, Diamine Merlot, Organics Studio Arsenic, and J. Herbin Rouge Opera. In my xxf nibs I have De Atramentis Pigeon Blue and Private Reserve Burgundy Mist. All work well.

[Lady Onogaro]

Another ink I've been using that shades pretty well with an XF nib is Diamine WES Kensington Blue. At first, I didn't like it. It was too light. But as I have been using it on white Rhodia paper, I have noted the lovely shading. You might try a sample from Goulet.

[jacksterp]

Iro Yama-guri works very well with fine nibs.

It is a lovely greyish brown.