Most frustrating ink

[oldstoat]

My nomination is Diamine Majestic Blue.

Lovely, deep blue, gorgeous red sheen, especially on papers with a slight glaze.
But...
How can an ink refuse to come out of the nib and yet still get all over the section, barrel and my hands. It also takes real effort to get it off one's hands. The best solution is alcohol as I discovered with a gin and tonic spill some years ago. And rediscovered after applying aftershave to my face this morning-it got it off my hands but merely to transfer it to my cheeks.

[naimitsu]

Playing dumb here... have you tried it in multiple pens? If not, have you tried other inks in that pen?
I was all set to hate a particular ink, but when I switched pens, it was a night and day difference. And when I tried other inks in that troublesome pen, it continued to be awful.

[carlc]

Naimitsu: Nice of you to try and help but Stoat isn't new to this - he'll be posting after trying several pens.

I know that as soon as I post this people will be saying - 'No - that can't be true. That is the best behaved ink in the world. Have you tried xyz...' but my nomination is

(drum roll please)












Waterman Florida Blue

It has never worked for me in any pen - Waterman or otherwise. Having said that it has never caused nib creep.

All in all Waterman and me don't get on, ink, pen or converter. I really want to love their inks and pens but they just hate me and become hard starting, dry writing, nib creeping monsters. Bloody French - they still wont forgive for Waterloo.

[reprieve]

I've had similar issues with Majestic Blue. It's a gorgeous, gorgeous color and the red sheen is eye-catching but I've had hard starting and skipping issues in every single pen that I tried it with. I finally gave up.

Akkerman Voorhout Violet has similar issues for me. It dries up and clogs up my pens if I let them sit even for just a few hours. I haven't been able to find a good pen for this ink even though I really like the color.

[Lady Onogaro]

I have had problems with Sailor Jentle Grenade in a couple of pens. It creeps out everywhere. I had it in a Jinhao with a Goulet nib, and I could never write with the pen without getting ink on my fingers. It creeped out of the bottom of the section. I think I have finally found a pen that it likes: a Sailor Profit 1911. Go figure, right?

[oldstoat]

You're right Carl. I've avoided F/EF nibs but M, B and BB nibs, laying down more ink, do show the sheen better. Perversely, Majestic Blue will sometimes gush out and blob and blot, but willstill clog in the feed.

[The Good Captain]

Akkerman's Shocking Blue is a pleasant alternative (not the same ink!) to Majestic, with sheen, far less smudging problems, good start-up and a lot easier to 'remove', for whatever reason.

[Edith]

My most frustrating experience has been with Diamine Grape. It dried and clogged in the nib of several pens (two fine points and a medium point), each time within a day or two, getting and worse and worse throughout the day. However, about a week ago, I put it into a pen with stub nib, and so far I have not had any problems. I am very glad to have found a pen in which I can use it.

[southpaw52]

I have also found to have problems with the ink also. I h ave yet to find a pen that is happy with the ink.

[Newjelan]

I use Diamine Majestic Blue often and in different pens. I've never had a problem with it except it takes a little longer to flush the pen clean. On the other hand, Mont Blanc Oyster Grey drove me crazy as it's so dry even in the wettest pen. I gave it away.