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View Full Version : Praise for Diamine Inks



southpaw52
July 11th, 2012, 01:22 PM
I was on Noodler's ink buy mode for awhile. Noodler's inks have fallen out favor with me due in part to the disappointment of their pens. Diamine inks have been adding some exciting and interesting colors. I just recently bought Apple Glory and Red Dragon, both are great colors. The flow nicely in my pens, work well with a fine nib, dry time is quick. All of these qualities are what I look for in an ink especially being left-handed.

Diamine has been adding what I feel is some outstanding colors.

FP_GaF
July 11th, 2012, 01:50 PM
I concur completely. Diamine inks are awesome. I love the Matador and the Sepia for their shading. The gemstone series (Emerald Green, Saphire Blue, Onyx Black, etc.) is really nice. I read on Richard Binder's website (section on inks) that he considers Diamine as "truly great inks" for their flow and lubrication properties but also because they are easy to clean out of pens.

The Good Captain
July 12th, 2012, 02:19 AM
I really rate the Diamine range for many reasons but they are made in England which is a pleasant change too! Also, readily available in my local 'big' town as well as from internet sites so they make up the majority of my 'stock'.

KrazyIvan
July 12th, 2012, 04:21 PM
While I have only two bottles of Diamine (Asa Blue and Ochre) I have a lot of samples and enjoy them quite a bit.

ianmedium
July 12th, 2012, 06:27 PM
I just got my third bottle of Diamine today from my local pen store. I had majestic blue, lovely colour but it did not like my pens. It was always hard to start them after leaving a day so I gave it away, also, though lovely it was not the shade of blue I was looking for.

I also have chocolate brown and I love that ink, good flow, no creep and lovely shading. The bottle I got today was after much research. First I have to say I am not a fan of blue ink on the whole. Most of it looks like Roller ball or ball point ink... Boring :lazy2: If you have gone to the trouble of owning a fountain pen I just can't understand why one would want the ink used to look like you have written with a ball point!

After a few vintage pen purchases over the years and the flushing out of old ink that entails I really loved the look of the teal/ turquoise blues that seem to be in most of those pens, there is a slight green/ yellow tinge to them unlike most blues which seem to have violet overtones which I don't like ( I like violet on its own though!)

So I got ASA blue, I just spent a lovely hour decanting what was left of the Hitchcock red that was in my daily carries, flushing then re-filling. I must say it is as near as I can get to that vintage colour I loved so much, looks great on the off white/creamy paper in my leuchtturm journal. Has lovely shading even with my finest nib pen. In short, I think this will in all likelihood become my go to ink!

writingrav
July 13th, 2012, 04:40 AM
I just got my third bottle of Diamine today from my local pen store. I had majestic blue, lovely colour but it did not like my pens. It was always hard to start them after leaving a day so I gave it away, also, though lovely it was not the shade of blue I was looking for.

I also have chocolate brown and I love that ink, good flow, no creep and lovely shading. The bottle I got today was after much research. First I have to say I am not a fan of blue ink on the whole. Most of it looks like Roller ball or ball point ink... Boring :lazy2: If you have gone to the trouble of owning a fountain pen I just can't understand why one would want the ink used to look like you have written with a ball point!

After a few vintage pen purchases over the years and the flushing out of old ink that entails I really loved the look of the teal/ turquoise blues that seem to be in most of those pens, there is a slight green/ yellow tinge to them unlike most blues which seem to have violet overtones which I don't like ( I like violet on its own though!)

So I got ASA blue, I just spent a lovely hour decanting what was left of the Hitchcock red that was in my daily carries, flushing then re-filling. I must say it is as near as I can get to that vintage colour I loved so much, looks great on the off white/creamy paper in my leuchtturm journal. Has lovely shading even with my finest nib pen. In short, I think this will in all likelihood become my go to ink!

For a long time I felt that way about blues, not too mention blacks, but carried one of each in a jitterbug and Kawaeko Sport in my shirt pocket specifically for business-like occasions where only blue or black would do. In my carry case none of it. But lately I have been intrigued by the variety of shades available in blacks and grays as well as blues. Private Reserve D.C. Electric Blue is phenomenal especially in a broad nib, as is BSB, Diamine Washable Blue, Pelikan Blue-Black...and on it goes.

Lt. Tom
July 23rd, 2012, 07:54 AM
Diamine's Red Dragon is probably my favorite ink right now. I also have some of their Imperial Purple. I'm not much of a "purple guy" but it's very well behaved in all of my current pens. The three inks I'm excited about right now come from three different manufacturers (in three different countries!). Those would be Diamine's Red Dragon, Private Reserve's American Blue, and J. Herbin's Lierre Sauvage. With some inks it has been a matter of buying the ink and then finding the pen it works best in, but the Diamines I've tried have really worked well in pretty much everything I've put them in! While I'm still trying different brands to see what I like, at this point if I had to pick a favorite, it would be Diamine.

KrazyIvan
July 23rd, 2012, 08:50 AM
I cleaned out a couple of pens with Diamine Ochre last night and it was a pain. I for one, will not be putting the ink in a pen that cannot be fully disassembled for cleaning. The red component of the ink does stain. I had to fully disassemble my Konrad to get it clean. The piston seals were especially problematic and took some good scrubbing to get all the red out.

I had it in my Pelikan M215 and I dumped it and flushed with J.B.'s Perfect Pen Flush a few times until the expelled liquid was coming out clear. The red stained my sink and did not come out until I soaked a few minutes in 100% bleach.

It looks like the red came off my fingers after a shower but my hands do have a rosy tinge to them today. :p

fountainpenkid
July 23rd, 2012, 12:21 PM
I cleaned out a couple of pens with Diamine Ochre last night and it was a pain. I for one, will not be putting the ink in a pen that cannot be fully disassembled for cleaning. The red component of the ink does stain. I had to fully disassemble my Konrad to get it clean. The piston seals were especially problematic and took some good scrubbing to get all the red out.

I had it in my Pelikan M215 and I dumped it and flushed with J.B.'s Perfect Pen Flush a few times until the expelled liquid was coming out clear. The red stained my sink and did not come out until I soaked a few minutes in 100% bleach.

It looks like the red came off my fingers after a shower but my hands do have a rosy tinge to them today. :p
so this is like the BSB of browns?

KrazyIvan
July 23rd, 2012, 01:30 PM
so this is like the BSB of browns?

Maybe not BSB level of staining but pretty persistent. The yellow and black components of the ink come right out.

fountainpenkid
July 23rd, 2012, 01:50 PM
but it would be fine in a lamy 2k, right? or is it so persistent that it might stain the ink view window?

KrazyIvan
July 23rd, 2012, 02:05 PM
It did not stain my Pelikan window, so I would say no. I would just be careful with it and use extra good pen hygiene with the ink. I am hesitant to use it in a pen that I cannot completely dissemble myself.

fountainpenkid
July 23rd, 2012, 07:18 PM
i think that if you put a q tip and twist the piston down in a lamy 2k, the piston comes out (like a noodlers). can anyone verify this?

dgator
July 23rd, 2012, 08:24 PM
i think that if you put a q tip and twist the piston down in a lamy 2k, the piston comes out (like a noodlers). can anyone verify this?

Taking apart a Lamy 2000 (link to FPN) http://bit.ly/MjPOdt

fountainpenkid
July 24th, 2012, 06:58 PM
Taking apart a Lamy 2000 (link to FPN) http://bit.ly/MjPOdt

thanks sooo much!
just got 4 nice diamine browns from DanielCoffey. Ochre, Ancient copper....

Will

penultress
September 27th, 2012, 10:43 PM
I only have one Diamine ink and it's in Amaranth. Beautiful!

auto winder
September 28th, 2012, 12:38 AM
I have Evergreen, Red Dragon and Ancient Copper, and I like them all very much. Next I'm planning to get Kensington Blue and Pumpkin and possibly also Grape...

Freddy
October 7th, 2012, 02:37 PM
I have several Diamine inks and they are among my favorites. Diamine Grey is the purest gray I have found, not a faded looking black. My latest Diamine purchase, Eau de Nil, is like an aqua or turquoise; it seems bluer than aqua but greener than turquoise and is just a beautiful color. Both Syrah and Oxblood are in my stash, as well as Marine (a color I won in a Goulet Pen Co. contest). While not a huge fan of blue inks, I always have a pen filled with Denim. I really fell for this color as soon as I saw it and it reminds me of original Levi's 501 Shrink-to-Fit jeans before they are washed; it is rich, deep, and dark and could certainly be used in business situations if need be.

Aside from the Diamine colors and performance, another aspect of Diamine that I like is the bottles in which the inks come. These may never win a beauty contest but the wide neck, reasonably deep well, and broad bottom make filling a pen easy with minimal risk of tipping over the bottle. Compare that to a J. Herbin bottle which might win that beauty contest over the Diamine bottle but is the most inconvenient design (to put it politely) that I have ever seen or used for fountain pen ink.

Saintpaulia
October 13th, 2012, 06:45 PM
In fact I early on discovered Diamines. Without really noticing it for a while, one day I realized that of my ink samples, about 40% were by Diamine. All my greens at that time were. And many of the browns. I had Red Dragon once but when it ran out I sort of forgot about it. I haven't tried any of their blues. It does seem to be a pretty problem free line.

The Good Captain
October 14th, 2012, 03:11 AM
I've just reloaded the Sargasso Sea into a Conway Stewart and after I'd just 'tweaked' the nib to make it just a little bit wetter, the combination of line and incredible blue colour is just outstanding. Then the sheen after it dries kicks in and I suggest to those that haven't tried it to have a go and don't pay too much attention to any slightly negative reviews you might read out there.
1342

Sailor Kenshin
October 14th, 2012, 08:44 AM
I can't remember the name of the Diamine blue that shows a metallic sheen, but someone on the other forum posted a writing sample....WANT.

Saintpaulia
October 14th, 2012, 05:34 PM
That Sargasso Sea is yummy. Thanks for including the writing sample. What negative reviews Cap'n?

BikerBabe
March 10th, 2014, 05:04 PM
I have just received my latest order of Diamine inks, and I agre with all of you guys that these inks are mostly awesome.
One of the first new inks that I tested, was Onyx Black, and yup, it's black alright. :D
It's more black than the insides of a nun's...well, let's not go there, let it be sufficient to say that it is very black. ;)
Fortunately I used a dip pen to test the ink, as it left some kind of brown residue on the dip pen nib that was pretty hard to get off the nib.
Washing the nib wasn't enough, I had to burn the nib with a lit match to get rid of that brownish stuff.
So I don't know if I have had a bad bottle of Onyx Black, but - just to be safe - I would suggest that you use either a cheap fountain pen for this ink, or dedicate a particular pen for it; use a dip pen - or stay away from this ink.

The other colours I got was Strawberry Red, Orange, and Red Dragon.
I didn't experience any kind of problems with these inks, they're all lovely.
I only regret that I didn't get an 80 ml bottle of the orange ink, instead of the 30 ml bottle I bought, as I have already fallen in love with that rich vibrant colour. :D

I like mango pudding
March 10th, 2014, 07:06 PM
I have onyx black in my 149 and have not had any staining. It is a very dark black

Newjelan
March 13th, 2014, 04:23 AM
I can't remember the name of the Diamine blue that shows a metallic sheen, but someone on the other forum posted a writing sample....WANT.

It's Majestic Blue and it's beautiful (and majestic).