Noodlers Baystate Blue

[sparkinflint]

What do you guys think of this ink? I'll probably pick it up as my first blue ink

[Jon Szanto]

/reserved

[mhosea]

A FP user having Baystate Blue as their first blue ink is like a vegetarian having foie gras as their first non-vegetarian food. My advice is to choose something a little less exotic but still of the highest quality: Aurora Blue. Diamine Royal Blue is also very nice.

[Laura N]

I really think it's not a good choice for your first blue ink.

It's known as a high-maintenance ink which can stain some pens, at the very least.

Choose an ink that has better behavior for your first. Some of those may seem to have less exciting or vibrant colors, but in truth with an ink you use a lot sometimes the more vivid inks become tiring. Waterman Serenity Blue, Montblanc Royal Blue, many of the Diamine blues, Pilot Blue, Aurora Blue, Visconti Blue -- all of these are excellent blue inks with more friendly behavior that are better suited for your first blue ink.

If you make just eight more posts, you can enter the PIF for Diamine Washable Blue.

[Neo]

If you want vibrancy of color, how about private reserve DC super show blue? The Goulets are having a sale on samples this month, you can try a few of the excellent suggestions above too.

[Waski_the_Squirrel]

I really like this ink. My first blue was a cartridge of Parker Quink which I really hated. Admittedly, this ink can stain and is a little difficult to clean. But, it's a nice, bright color and I really like it. The main thing with this ink is that you seriously need to dedicate a pen to only this ink.

Another nice Noodler's color is Noodler's Blue. It isn't as bright, but it is a nice blue and is easy to clean.

[Jon Szanto]

Baystate Blue is the ink equivalent of TYPING IN ALL CAPS.

You know: shouting.

[carlos.q]

I would not recommend BSB as a first blue: it stains and feathers a LOT. I read so much about this ink that I finally got a bottle through a trade... Used it once and will never use it again.
There are many beautiful and well behaved blues you can choose from. If you want a nice bright blue check out Diamine Sapphire or Iroshizuku Asa-Gao.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Good suggestions, especially about the samples.

I just loaded a cheap pen with Noodler's Eel Blue to test both of them. So far, the cheap nail of a 616 knock-off writes nicely with this bright, lubricating mid-range blue.

[sparkinflint]

Thank you all for the tips. Might be going to pick up a bottle of Diamine RB or SB. haven't really made the final decision yet but these look the best

[sparkinflint]

BTW how is the Diamine Majestic blue?

[Laura N]

BTW how is the Diamine Majestic blue?

Another one I wouldn't recommend as a first blue, but for different reasons. This one is incredibly "wet," which means it flows very fast and heavy. It's a nice color, but usable only with super dry pens, in my experience. With a normal or wet pen, an ink that is too wet will make a very dark line, but it will be wider than expected, it will show through and often bleed through the paper, and it will take a very long time to dry on the page; in fact it will often smudge even when you think it's dry.

[mhosea]

Thank you all for the tips. Might be going to pick up a bottle of Diamine RB or SB. haven't really made the final decision yet but these look the best

Diamine Royal Blue is one of my favorites. If you think about the visible color spectrum from violet on the left to red on the right, Diamine Royal Blue falls to the right of Sapphire Blue, i.e. more towards the center of the blue area. I really, really like Diamine Sapphire Blue, though: smooth-writing, easy-flowing, decent (not great but not poor, either) water resistance. Goes down purplish-looking but dries more blue. It just so happens that I recently restored a 1937 (third-quarter) Silver Pearl Parker Vacumatic (standard) and loaded it up with Diamine Sapphire Blue for its first trip out of the house today. Sorry for the crappy cell phone pic--you won't get even a hint of accurate color from it (though I monkeyed with the color balance to try to make everything not be yellow).

Attachment 14757

[gbryal]

I think you should get BSB if you like the color! After all, your first ink is often rapidly followed by your 2nd and 20th. If you have a budget, of course, focus on a well-behaved ink and a reliable pen, but if you are thinking of experimenting, BSB can be part of the experiment.

I have a relatively inexpensive FPR Triveni that is just for BSB. Since it's a glossy Ebonite pen with Ebonite feed, BSB shouldn't do much to it, most of the ink should run off the section, and if it stains, I can replace it fairly inexpensively. Some Noodlers inks ship with an eyedropper converted Preppy; those are $3.95 and Nathan must believe they hold up to different inks well (or are cheap enough to replace).

I think all of the Noodlers pens have ebonite feeds and should be suitable for BSB, but I would probably stick to dark opaque pens. I have a Konrad that shows any ink that is in the feed through the acrylic section, which is fine with me, but I'd like the option to wash it out.

I did an experiment with BSB in a Serwex eyedropper with clear barrel, that I left in for 2 months. With lots of patience and just ammonia and water I was able to get it mostly clean. The barrel has a slight blue tinge to it now, so don't put it in your Opera Crystal or something where that would be a problem. I often would get a powdery crust on the nib that was unpleasant on the paper but went away after I got the ink flowing.

My recommendation for a first ink is Waterman Mysterious Blue, if you like blue-black ink. Or Serenity Blue if you want blue blue. Waterman has a reputation with its blue inks such that if your pen has a problem, the ink probably won't be assumed to be the culprit.

I wonder what kind of pen you plan to put this in. You've posted a lot this week, I'll check your other threads.

[sparkinflint]

I just checked if my local store had any of the diamine RB and SB and well... They didnt. Might have a look at PR DC blue and noodlers blue now

And gbryal i was going to use BSB in a watermans crusader but i got a lamy safari instead so i was planning on using BSB in it. But now looking back pairing a neon yellow lamy safari with BSB is probably a terrible idea.

and if anyone is wondering penchalet was doing a 40% off on the neon yellow lamy
https://www.penchalet.com/fine_pens/...on_yellow.html

[sparkinflint]

J herbin inks anyone? Noodlers bad blue heron and bernanke doesnt look bad either..

[Neo]

Herbin éclat de saphir is the only one I've used personally and it looks nice, seems to have a bit of purple though.

[Sailor Kenshin]

J herbin inks anyone? Noodlers bad blue heron and bernanke doesnt look bad either..

Bernanke is a nice, vibrant blue, but I have taken to calling it Bernanke Bleed.

[gbryal]

I use Waterman inks in my Waterman and Lamy inks in my Lamys but I am weird like that. But they come in neat bottles with a strip of paper to clean your nib, and the Lamy Police can never say you used the wrong ink.

[sparkinflint]

bad blue heron anyone?