Recommend a Blue with these Properties

[Kulprit]

I finally got around to buying a Custom 912 with an FA nib. The pen is the be used primarily for jotting quick notes in court and signing documents - both on standard copy paper. No feathering, minimal bleeding, even when flexed. The ink needs (well, I want it) to be a nice, vibrant blue.

Based on my experience with my Konrad and Ahab, I bought a bottle of Noodler's Liberty's Elysium as I'd had good luck with samples I'd tried. It met all my criteria. Unfortunately, when the Pilot arrived, that combination of pen and ink proved to be too wet. No joy.

After cleaning out the pen I decided to try out some samples I had while the search continued. When I inked it up with Diamine Prussian Blue I was floored by its performance in the Pilot. It's dry enough to give me a nice, super-fine line with no feathering or bleeding, but viscous enough to maintain an unbroken flow when flexing the nib.

Unfortunately, it's not the shade of blue I'm looking for. So that brings me to the point of this thread: what blue inks would y'all recommend that have all the properties of the Prussian Blue but come in a more vibrant shade?

To give you an idea of where I'm looking on the spectrum, Asa-gao and Serenity Blue are too purple and Tsuyu-kusa (on copy paper) is too pale. I want a saturated blue, but it still needs to be blue, not violet.

TIA!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[sgtstretch]

Diamine Oxford Blue maybe?

[Chrissy]

Diamine Majestic Blue has similar qualities to Diamine Denim while being a brighter blue. Also look at Diamine Cornflower or Blue Velvet that are in the same colour range without being "Blurples"

38672

[FredRydr]

Just an aside. I love these big comparison sheets.

[Kulprit]

Thanks for the suggestions thus far. I had looked into brighter Diamine Blues (like Oxford and Majestic) but the reviews always suggest that they're on the wetter side, while Prussian Blue seems to often be reported as being on the drier side.

I have quite a few Diamine samples yet to try out, but unfortunately they're all in the blue-black range as I bought them to try in a different pen.

Thanks for the suggestions so far and, by all means, keep them coming!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Scooby921]

Parker Quink Blue-Black has good properties, but it's a bit more green than Diamine Prussian Blue. Montblanc Permanent Blue is a little on the pale side, but very permanent for legal documents. I have used it on cheap copy paper out of a medium cursive italic. Not the greatest performance in that case (for signatures), but I suspect it's a better performer out of an EF nib with less ink on the page. Diamine Blue Velvet was the ink I bought when looking for a very vivid, attractive blue.

I just dripped water on some notes written with the Parker and Diamine inks. Neither one appears to be very permanent, though the Parker is the better of the two. Wiping up the water droplet with a napkin pretty much removed all of the Diamine ink from the page. The MB Perm Blue is bulletproof, hence its ISO standard / certification for use on legal documents.


Edit: Trying to find some non-intellectual property notes written in MB Perm Blue to share and drip water on to show permanence.



Edit2: Here you go. MB Permanent Blue out of a Lamy 2000 EF. Paper is a company-supplied notebook which isn't stellar. You can see the show-through of things written on the back side of the page. Area circled in green is where I used an eye-dropper and placed 5 drops of water. I waited 5 seconds and wiped down the page with a napkin. Also, I write with a pretty heavy hand, so this is enough ink to make an EF look like an F.

https://fpgeeks.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=38673&d=1521120075

[SIR]

GvFC Royal Blue?

https://zegarkiipiora.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/gvfc_royal_blue_sm-2.jpg

[Jon Szanto]

Where on Earth in these lists is Pilot/Namiki Blue? It has become my hands-down, go-to blue, not only for looks and behavior but because you get all those good qualities and waterproofness to boot. This is, IMHO, the most unhearalded blue ink available today.

[Scooby921]

Where on Earth in these lists is Pilot/Namiki Blue? It has become my hands-down, go-to blue, not only for looks and behavior but because you get all those good qualities and waterproofness to boot. This is, IMHO, the most unhearalded blue ink available today.
I don't know about everyone else, but I can't recommend that which I haven't used :). Perhaps I too should give it a try, though I'm not sure I need more inks.

[grainweevil]

Where on Earth in these lists is Pilot/Namiki Blue? It has become my hands-down, go-to blue, not only for looks and behavior but because you get all those good qualities and waterproofness to boot. This is, IMHO, the most unhearalded blue ink available today.
I don't know about everyone else, but I can't recommend that which I haven't used :).
I have used it, and still wouldn't recommend it - I don't care for its staining habits.

Given that I am utterly floored at anyone describing Serenity Blue as even slightly purple, I'm of no use to the OP - we clearly see the world quite differently. :)

[titrisol]

IMHO a few inks may be close to what you want specially the "dryness issue"
Parker blue or blue black
Waterman mysterious blue
Lamy blue or blue black
Diamine blue black (similar to prussian blue in characteristics but a bluer color)

[Kulprit]

GvFC Royal Blue?

https://zegarkiipiora.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/gvfc_royal_blue_sm-2.jpg

Thanks. I'll look into that. The two GvFC inks I've tried were indeed on the dry side and seemed to work fine when "flexed" (though that was in a SF 3776, so we're talking about a nib that's both finer and less flexible than the FA).


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Kulprit]

Where on Earth in these lists is Pilot/Namiki Blue? It has become my hands-down, go-to blue, not only for looks and behavior but because you get all those good qualities and waterproofness to boot. This is, IMHO, the most unhearalded blue ink available today.

You know, I've used quite a bit of Namiki Blue and didn't bother to buy more when I ran out because it was rather "blah" in regular pens (on Rhodia; office-supplied printer paper it was almost identical to Tsuyu-kusa) and it had a habit of staining my converters. I don't recall if I ever tried it with a flex nib.

This is a good suggestion, though, because the FA will be used almost exclusively on office-supplied printer paper and I could care less if it stains this Con 70 since I'm looking for a dedicated pen/ink combination. I'll have to get a sample to try out to see if it flows well when flexed.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Kulprit]

Given that I am utterly floored at anyone describing Serenity Blue as even slightly purple, I'm of no use to the OP - we clearly see the world quite differently. :)

Well, not *grape* purple....more like *violet* purple, with a tinge of indigo. I just don't like saying "violet" because to me that conjures up light colors, like the actual flower, which would be much more similar to an Iroshizuku Ajisai. And of course no one would confuse Serenity Blue with Ajisai.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mulrich]

I recently finished a pen with Pilot Blue and thought it was a fine ink but not vibrant at all. It's a nice option when I need a waterproof blue but it's rather bland otherwise.

Have you considered Monteverde Horizon Blue?

[grainweevil]

Given that I am utterly floored at anyone describing Serenity Blue as even slightly purple, I'm of no use to the OP - we clearly see the world quite differently. :)

Well, not *grape* purple....more like *violet* purple, with a tinge of indigo. I just don't like saying "violet" because to me that conjures up light colors, like the actual flower, which would be much more similar to an Iroshizuku Ajisai. And of course no one would confuse Serenity Blue with Ajisai.

I knew what you meant, I just, I dunno, don't see it. But now you mention Ajisai, you get quite a nice blue when blended with Kon-peki. I go 2:1 A:K-P, but obviously that can be tweaked to taste. Not nice enough to deliberately go out and buy them, but if you have them.

Yes, I am that weird person who routinely tries mixes of Iroshizukus together. I know no fear. Or is that shame...?

[Jon Szanto]

You know, I've used quite a bit of Namiki Blue and didn't bother to buy more when I ran out because it was rather "blah" in regular pens (on Rhodia; office-supplied printer paper it was almost identical to Tsuyu-kusa) and it had a habit of staining my converters. I don't recall if I ever tried it with a flex nib.

This is a good suggestion, though, because the FA will be used almost exclusively on office-supplied printer paper and I could care less if it stains this Con 70 since I'm looking for a dedicated pen/ink combination. I'll have to get a sample to try out to see if it flows well when flexed.

Aha, well, at least you've already tried it. I have to confess that I haven't personally had any problems with staining, but that could be dumb luck. I've also never had a good answer nor picked up a sample of plain "Pilot" blue to compare if they are the same inks. The ink I am specifically referencing comes like this:

https://static.shoplightspeed.com/shops/610282/files/004955111/pilot-pilot-standard-bottled-ink-blue.jpg

[Chrissy]

Where on Earth in these lists is Pilot/Namiki Blue? It has become my hands-down, go-to blue, not only for looks and behavior but because you get all those good qualities and waterproofness to boot. This is, IMHO, the most unhearalded blue ink available today.
I don't have it and have never had the opportunity to try it. On the other hand, as you can see, I already have a few blue inks. ;) I adore that beautifully shaped bottle. :)

[Jon Szanto]

Where on Earth in these lists is Pilot/Namiki Blue? It has become my hands-down, go-to blue, not only for looks and behavior but because you get all those good qualities and waterproofness to boot. This is, IMHO, the most unhearalded blue ink available today.
I don't have it and have never had the opportunity to try it. On the other hand, as you can see, I already have a few blue inks. ;) I adore that beautifully shaped bottle. :)

I was semi-swooning over your lovely sheet... until I remembered all those bottles of blue I have, too! :D

Maybe I'm just imagining the mythic properties of Namiki Blue, but it happens to be one of the few inks that I have simply settled on and go to on a very regular basis.

[Chrissy]

Just an aside. I love these big comparison sheets.




I was semi-swooning over your lovely sheet... until I remembered all those bottles of blue I have, too! :D

Maybe I'm just imagining the mythic properties of Namiki Blue, but it happens to be one of the few inks that I have simply settled on and go to on a very regular basis.

You're both welcome :)

Dreck thank you for the reputation you gave me. :)

[KrazyIvan]

You know, I've used quite a bit of Namiki Blue and didn't bother to buy more when I ran out because it was rather "blah" in regular pens (on Rhodia; office-supplied printer paper it was almost identical to Tsuyu-kusa) and it had a habit of staining my converters. I don't recall if I ever tried it with a flex nib.

This is a good suggestion, though, because the FA will be used almost exclusively on office-supplied printer paper and I could care less if it stains this Con 70 since I'm looking for a dedicated pen/ink combination. I'll have to get a sample to try out to see if it flows well when flexed.

Aha, well, at least you've already tried it. I have to confess that I haven't personally had any problems with staining, but that could be dumb luck. I've also never had a good answer nor picked up a sample of plain "Pilot" blue to compare if they are the same inks. The ink I am specifically referencing comes like this:

https://static.shoplightspeed.com/shops/610282/files/004955111/pilot-pilot-standard-bottled-ink-blue.jpg

When I first bought a bottle of Namiki Blue, it was purely because I bought it on clearance from a local store that was shutting down. I was not going to turn it down for $7. I used it in a 1.1mm nib pen and was unimpressed. I left the bottle sitting for quite a while until I recently inked a fine nibbed pen and was wowed. With that said, I'd say if the OP is going to use the pen without flexing, they might be surprised.

[welch]

Maybe Parker Quink Blue with Solv-X? I have just started using a bottle of older Parker Blue, maybe from the mid-50s (judging from the lettering on the box and the metal cap). Great stuff. It has saturated itself, just a bit -- now darker and without the purple hint. This seller seems to have Washable Blue and Permanent Blue. I have the Permanent, which has decorated my index finger and is stubborn about washing off. (Permanence is not necessarily a feature, but...)

I got mine from this Ebay offering: https://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-Vintage-Parker-Bottles-of-Quint-Solv-x-Ink-Permanent-Blue-Old-Store/183125375030?hash=item2aa31f7836:g:59IAAOSwwf5Z0lW F

NOTE: ink more than 20 or 40 years old will vary in color, just from evaporation. Quink and Skrip were the most popular inks in the US, judging from how many bottles, nearly full, are still around. Therefore: while I would not assert that any of the old inks will look like this or that, another bottle of Permanent Blue from the same seller probably will look like what I bought.

Incidentally, Monteverde Horizon Blue is, with he Quink Blue, my favorite blue ink this week. MVHB looks a lot like the Parker Penman Sapphire that I've got.

[titrisol]

Maybe Parker Quink Blue with Solv-X? I have just started using a bottle of older Parker Blue, maybe from the mid-50s (judging from the lettering on the box and the metal cap). Great stuff. It has saturated itself, just a bit -- now darker and without the purple hint. This seller seems to have Washable Blue and Permanent Blue. I have the Permanent, which has decorated my index finger and is stubborn about washing off. (Permanence is not necessarily a feature, but...)

I got mine from this Ebay offering: https://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-Vintage-Parker-Bottles-of-Quint-Solv-x-Ink-Permanent-Blue-Old-Store/183125375030?hash=item2aa31f7836:g:59IAAOSwwf5Z0lW F

NOTE: ink more than 20 or 40 years old will vary in color, just from evaporation. Quink and Skrip were the most popular inks in the US, judging from how many bottles, nearly full, are still around. Therefore: while I would not assert that any of the old inks will look like this or that, another bottle of Permanent Blue from the same seller probably will look like what I bought.

Incidentally, Monteverde Horizon Blue is, with he Quink Blue, my favorite blue ink this week. MVHB looks a lot like the Parker Penman Sapphire that I've got.

THANKS FOR THE TIP!
PS. I received the ink today, bottle looks good... box disintegrated
This must be 50s/ 60s vintage :0

PPS The smell is awesome, ink behaves very well and the color is nice and saturated
One of the classic boring dark blue color for business.