What is a good starter ink?

[Terie_Benjamin]

I just purchased a Esterbrook J in green, nice clean pen, lever fill, 2668 nib, what ink would you suggest? Also do i need to purchase anything in addition to the ink?

Sorry for all the novice questions.

[Anne]

I just purchased a Esterbrook J in green, nice clean pen, lever fill, 2668 nib, what ink would you suggest? Also do i need to purchase anything in addition to the ink?

Sorry for all the novice questions.

I guess a nice and safe ink would be Waterman Serenity Blue. If you like a darker one, I have safely mixed equal amounts of Serenity Blue with Waterman Intense Black.
Blunt syringes would be a good thing to purchase in my opinion too. I bought mine from Goulet Pens. I use them with pens that are not even eyedroppers. Sometimes, I just don't like dipping the nib in the bottle of ink.
Keep the questions coming, I need to learn too :)

[Marsilius]

Modern Parker Quinks are also good, trouble free, and easy to find at office supply stores.

[top pen]

I'd agree with Anne, Waterman inks are one of the most sensible inks to start with and Serenity blue is standard royal blue ink. If you'd like a more teal like colour Parker Blue Black is a really nice ink and of my favourites. MB Blue black is another option one the nicest true blue blacks around.

I also like J Herbin inks too, perhaps you might like a green to go with your green pen Vert Olive, Vert Empire and Lierre Sauvage are nice inks.

Another option is to buy half a dozen samples however if this is your first ink it may be worth just buying a bottle of ink in a relatively sensibly colour.

What colour inparticular are you looking for?

[Marsilius]

Yep, Herbin is also cool. More transparent and liquid and light looking than some others. Time to head over the Ink Review sub forum! Fun awaits.

[Anne]

What colour inparticular are you looking for?

Yeah, Terie. Is there a shade that you lean toward? Do you even like blue?

[Lady Onogaro]

Terie,

I like also Waterman Mysterious Blue, if you want to branch out a bit. I won a bottle in a PIF (Pay it Forward) once, and I use it quite a lot at work. But Waterman Serenity Blue is a good ink to have as a first ink. Do you know about the Swab Shop on the Goulet site? You can see colors there.

[Terie_Benjamin]

My favorite color is purple which I ordered from Goulet with my metropolitan .

Definitely need green to go with my new pen.


I like a variety of colors. I usually have pinks,blues, purples are usually my go to. But I think I will order a sampler pack that was suggested. And maybe a few other goodies for my bday. ;)

[Scooby921]

Good starter inks are definitely the sample sizes from Goulet and Anderson. You get enough to fill the pen a couple times and decide whether or not you like the color before spending $10-30 on a full bottle. It is probably easier to list what inks NOT to use as starter inks and let you pick up the ball and run with it.

Not Recommended for "starters":
Baystate Blue (not for starters, not for ever...it stains everything...it's like cancer, but you can't nuke it)
Iron gall inks (cleaning becomes more important)
Glitter inks (fun to write with, but not something I'd leave in a pen as the glitter can settle and potentially clog things up)

[top pen]

My favorite color is purple which I ordered from Goulet with my metropolitan .


I'd recommend trying J Herbin Poussiere de Lune a really nice dusty purple.

[chojo]

As others have said waterman is a good brand but For me you really can't go wrong with Diamine. Good well behaved ink at a very reasonable price in a huge range of colours. Also mentioned were syringes if your going to get into the hobby long term you will need these and maybe some vials too, oh and some blotting paper and some more shelves would be useful because once you start it becomes very addictive very quickly!

[HoLmeslice]

Modern Parker Quinks are also good, trouble free, and easy to find at office supply stores.

Ditto on this one. I've still got a little less than half a bottle of my first Quink ink (blue-black variety), and every time I think of passing it on or selling it, I'm amazed at how solid of an ink it is (in terms of cleaning, working in any pen I have, etc.).

Also, +1 vote for Diamine inks too... Ancient Copper is splendid to use.

[jar]

May I suggest you also get a bottle of Pelikan 4001. All of the other inks mentioned so far are pretty wet while 4001 is relatively dry. This will give you a feel for what people mean when they talk about wet or dry inks and how it can change the whole character and sensation of a given pen.

[Lady Onogaro]

Since you like purple, as do I, you might try Pelikan 4001 Violet. It's a nice color.

[SeminarianMike]

I'm surprised no one has suggested noodlers ink! That is a great start up ink, some blunt tip syringes cheap as dirt on eBay, also get your self some rhoadia tablets as you are going to be searching for things to write as you will love your pen so much! Also more pens buy more pens it's an addiction Mahahahaha [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]

[Dreck]

I'm surprised no one has suggested noodlers ink! That is a great start up ink, some blunt tip syringes cheap as dirt on eBay, also get your self some rhoadia tablets as you are going to be searching for things to write as you will love your pen so much! Also more pens buy more pens it's an addiction Mahahahaha [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]

I alternate between Iron Gall and Noodler's 54th Massachusetts in my Esterbrook J.

[RudyR]

I'm surprised no one has suggested noodlers ink! That is a great start up ink, some blunt tip syringes cheap as dirt on eBay, also get your self some rhoadia tablets as you are going to be searching for things to write as you will love your pen so much! Also more pens buy more pens it's an addiction Mahahahaha [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]

I would never suggest noodlers (puddlers, featherers, ruinyourpenifyournotcarefulers) to a beginner. I never suggest Diamines either since it can be a real pain in the 4$$ to clean out since they are super saturated. These inks are in my opinion, strickly for more intermediate users who have learned proper pen hygiene and understand the possibly of bad chemical reactions between different inks.

I am a great lover of Iron gall inks, but I would not suggest them for a beginner either. When writing was more commonly used for general communication, they would not have been such a problem for the beginner, but since some beginners forget to use their pens and sometimes let them dry out, clogging the feed is real probable issue (although soaking the nib in vinegar does take care of that problem).

Here is my suggestion for Beginners inks:

Head of the class is Waterman - reliable formula, easy to flush out, good bottle design for ease in refilling a pen, excellent writing performance

Montblanc - not head of the class only because they are more expensive, otherwise my most favorite ink and the best commercial bottle in the business. Everything said above for Waterman is the same said for Montblanc except that it has more water resistance in some formulas and one of only two ink manufacturers worldwide that hold a ISO certification for a true document ink.

Pelikan 4001 inks - good inks, a bit dry and their best ink (blue/black) is not available in the US

Parker Quink - at the bottom only because of reports that indicate fading in a short amount of time; otherwise they do flush out of a pen very easily.

[Anne]

also get your self some rhoadia tablets as you are going to be searching for things to write as you will love your pen so much! Also more pens buy more pens it's an addiction Mahahahaha [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]

Yes, and also to use them to record which inks you like in certain pens, as they will all look a bit different depending upon the size nib you use. Then, if you get into mixing your own colors...you can record your results too:) And share with us!

[Lady Onogaro]

I'm surprised no one has suggested noodlers ink! That is a great start up ink, some blunt tip syringes cheap as dirt on eBay, also get your self some rhoadia tablets as you are going to be searching for things to write as you will love your pen so much! Also more pens buy more pens it's an addiction Mahahahaha [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]

Mike,

I would not recommend Noodler's wholesale for a beginner, simply because there are some of them that stain quite a lot. Now, when Terie starts looking at the ink threads, she will see the inks that folks have discussed as needing more cleaning/flushing, etc.

In the alternative, you could suggest some of the Noodler's inks that have been nice, reliable, easy to clean inks for you (so that she stays away from something like Bay State Blue, which is not really a good ink for beginners).

[SeminarianMike]

Yes bay state blue any bay state colors i stay away from period except in cheap pens... Noodlers Apache sun set is a great beautiful ink that would be safe !

[reprieve]

If you're looking for a well-behaved green ink for your new Estie, check out Diamine Sherwood Green. It's nice and dark and, while it's saturated, it's relatively low-maintenance. For something brighter, Kaweco Palm Green is vibrant and easy to clean up.

Purples and reds will take longer to flush from your pens and will be a little more prone to staining. But if you're looking for a purple that isn't fussy, Pilot Iroshizuku Murasaki-shikibu is excellent (I'm a fan of all of the Iroshizuku inks and would recommend any of them). Also, take a look at Waterman Purple, Pelikan Violet, and Pelikan Edelstein Amethyst.

For a standard blue and blue-black, I can't recommend Pilot Blue and Pilot Blue-black highly enough. They are wet-writing inks that work relatively well on cheap paper, sheen and shade beautifully on high-quality paper, and are water-resistant. Plus they flush quickly and easily and play nicely even in pens that are prone to be picky about inks.

Also, don't overlook Lamy Blue and Pelikan Blue-black. They might seem boring, but they are actually quite lovely and there's something to be said for a simple, straightforward, easily-obtained, cheap, easy-to-clean ink.

[Morgaine]

I find Diamine Ancient Copper, although a lovely shade, a bit gungy. Diamine is reasonably priced for colourful inks. For a while before I discovered Diamine (think an fpgeek penpal mentioned them) I was using Quink (as I almost exclusively had Parker, except when I was a teenager and went for those fashion cartridge fountain pens and liked the bright but standard colours - signing cheques in magenta, cyan, green and brown..) - I still have a couple of the bottles as well as cartridges - blue I think though I haven't looked at it for ages..

[Terie_Benjamin]

I want to order all of them. I can see I will be a hoarder in no time.

I did purchase namiki purple cartridges for my metropolitan.

I'm going to order a few sampler packs from goulet.

[bluesea]

I want to order all of them. I can see I will be a hoarder in no time.

I did purchase namiki purple cartridges for my metropolitan.

I'm going to order a few sampler packs from goulet.


I have a couple of purple samples I have no use for. The Murasaki-shikibu is a bit low, but the Yama-budo is half full. My experience is often times Goulet sends bottles filled quite low, the exact opposite of Anderson's. Email if interested.

[oldstoat]

As others have said waterman is a good brand but For me you really can't go wrong with Diamine. Good well behaved ink at a very reasonable price in a huge range of colours. Also mentioned were syringes if your going to get into the hobby long term you will need these and maybe some vials too, oh and some blotting paper and some more shelves would be useful because once you start it becomes very addictive very quickly!

The great thing about Diamine (apart from the huge range of colours, and their (mostly) well behaved inks) is the low price of their 30ml sampler bottles. At £2.67 a bottle and 20% less if you live outside the EU, you can afford to try lots of them.

[ac12]

Sheaffer Skrip is also a good safe ink.

I found Diamine Sherwood Green to be problematic. It is saturated enough that it will clog some pens, especially if not used daily. In fact it clogs my Baoer 388 so often that I gave up on that pen/ink combo as unusable.

Diamine and Noodlers have such a wide product line that you cannot say anything in general about the inks, as there will be too many exceptions. So you have to be specific about those inks.

OK so what 'safe' inks do I use:
- Parker Quink; blue
- Pelikan; turquoise, green, black, blue
- Sheaffer Skrip; black, blue, turquoise, red
- Waterman; blue, black, green, brown

I have not had the chance to try any of the Pilot inks.

WARNING, in my experience, cleaning out old pens, red and purple inks have been the hardest and longest inks to clean out. So if you use these inks, expect to take a longer time to clean them out. And don't let the pen dry out, because the cleaning will be even harder for dried inks. Or don't change inks, so you don't have to deal with the issue of cleaning out every last bit of it.

[Anne]

I did purchase namiki purple cartridges for my metropolitan.


How did you like this color?

[Terie_Benjamin]

I did purchase namiki purple cartridges for my metropolitan.


How did you like this color?
It was too light of a purple, imo

[Anne]

I did purchase namiki purple cartridges for my metropolitan.


How did you like this color?
It was too light of a purple, imo

:( Oh okay. Thank You!

[bluesea]

I did purchase namiki purple cartridges for my metropolitan.


How did you like this color?
It was too light of a purple, imo


Lol, that was the first ink I bought starting out with a Met. Ended up emptying a couple cartridges to have spares. Still have the rest.

[Anne]

I did purchase namiki purple cartridges for my metropolitan.


How did you like this color?
It was too light of a purple, imo


Lol, that was the first ink I bought starting out with a Met. Ended up emptying a couple cartridges to have spares. Still have the rest.

Did you not like it either?

[bluesea]

I did purchase namiki purple cartridges for my metropolitan.


How did you like this color?
It was too light of a purple, imo


Lol, that was the first ink I bought starting out with a Met. Ended up emptying a couple cartridges to have spares. Still have the rest.

Did you not like it either?


Actually the Metropolitan is great workmanlike pen with a nice sense of stye. I don't dislike it but the Kakuno fits me a bit better. Although it costs a couple bucks more, the Kakuno is simpler and I like that.

Pilot purple cartridges--I would probably like better with a medium or larger nib (I use mostly f, ef), although I still prefer a more saturated look.

[Hawk]

Terie, dont go crazy on inks if you are going to the Chicago Pen Show. They are going to have an ink testing station. Besides, there are vendors with ink to sell. Support the show vendors because they help keep the shows going and buying at the show helps them on their expenses.

[fountainpenkid]

Another vote of confidence for Pelikan 4001, especially Royal Blue--a washable, erasable ink that has yet to stain any celluloid pen I've owned. The color itself is quite nice as well, and it doesn't seem to gunk up, even after a long time of sitting. Whatever you decide, do not fill a celluloid pen with Noodler's ink.

[Terie_Benjamin]

Terie, dont go crazy on inks if you are going to the Chicago Pen Show. They are going to have an ink testing station. Besides, there are vendors with ink to sell. Support the show vendors because they help keep the shows going and buying at the show helps them on their expenses.
Thank you Hawk. I'm only buying a sample pack. I plan on saving money for show. [emoji4]

[Terie_Benjamin]

Another vote of confidence for Pelikan 4001, especially Royal Blue--a washable, erasable ink that has yet to stain any celluloid pen I've owned. The color itself is quite nice as well, and it doesn't seem to gunk up, even after a long time of sitting. Whatever you decide, do not fill a celluloid pen with Noodler's ink.
Thanks for the advice. I've been making a list of good and not recommended inks.

[ac12]

I recommend you get 2 inks in the color of your choice, which I think is purple.
- Waterman, a wet ink
- Pelikan, a dry ink

Then you can use whichever ink works best in a pen.
Example, I put Waterman ink into a pen, and the pen writes WET, leaving a LOT of ink on the paper to bleed through to the other side, and take a long time to dry. Switching to Pelikan ink slows down the ink flow, and the pens write dryer, and more behaved.