Slick, waxy, instant dry - what to try next?

[Gotcha640]

Hello Forum

I'm near the end of my sample of J. Herbin Rouge Caroubier, in a Lamy fine nib. This ink struck me immediately as the smoothest writing I'd used.

I've only been using a FP for about 6 months, but I've tried about 8 inks from some Goulet sample packs. Private Reserve Sherwood Green was nice and smooth, but very wet. Pilot Iroshizuku Tsuyu-kusa (Asiatic Dayflower) was also nice, but also wet. Lamy Blue-Black required a bit more pressure, but that might have been because the nib was new (not sure how much to consider nib break-in?).

The Caroubier is smooth, almost slick, in a good way. It feels waxy, if that's a word used in describing ink. It seems to dry instantly, and doesn't feather much on anything better than a postit note. I REALLY like it. I use the pen upside down (back of the nib) to write very fine notes several times a day, and this ink doesn't get scratchy like some of the others.

I'll be filling with a Private Reserve or a Noodlers Bernanke this evening, but I'd like suggestions on other similar inks. Color doesn't matter too much, but I use it for marking up documents, so bright and bold is preferred to a light or standard color.

[chojo]

I find it difficult to to recommend inks simply because there are so many factors that can change the individual characteristics of an ink. Having tried the J.Herbin Rouge Opera myself, I found although I liked the colour I wasn't a fan of the way it performed, It was quite skippy and seemed to dry in the pen too quickly. However if I was to fill a different pen with it or change papers it may be completely different. And thats the battle as I said you just don't know till you try. I have found though that my lamy seems to perform well with any of the Diamine inks, my favourites being ancient copper or the cult pens deep dark orange, or indeed Pelikan edelstein seems to behave itself too. Sorry I can't be of much more help, but I would suggest doing a search on youtube for the inkcyclopedia, that gives much more info on the inks themselves and may offer you more ideas.

[Laura N]

I'd love to throw out some suggestions, but I'm stumped by the request for "similar inks." Do you mean lubricated and fast-drying? Also bold and bright? Because honestly I don't think of Rouge Caroubier, which I have, as bold and bright. It's lovely, and an unusual color, but like many J. Herbin inks I think of it as low saturated with lots of shading. Do you want unusual colors like Rouge Caroubier? Do you like pink? Rouge Bourgogne is a pinkish red that is even nicer than Rouge Caroubier, IMHO.

It's hard to make general statements because there are so many exceptions. But, in general, the more highly saturated inks like Private Reserve are bolder and brighter, but also often take longer to dry. If you want brighter colors that dry more quickly, for marking up things, you may want to try a color like red or purple from a brand like Sheaffer, Parker, Waterman or Diamine.

There are a lot of possible blue choices, from Pilot Iroshizuku (though you might find those too wet) to J. Herbin 1670 Blue Ocean (though, ditto) to Visconti Blue. I don't know if blue is too standard of a color for what you want.

I think you should sample some different inks from different brands maybe. I wouldn't go for the sample packs, but instead pick a few that you like.

Oh, you said the Lamy Black required a bit more pressure. I think that ink may have been too dry for your pen, because a fountain pen ink should flow easily. A Lamy Safari is nice and sturdy but if you need to put pressure on the nib to get the ink to flow, then that ink isn't a good choice for that pen. Chojo makes the excellent point that not every ink works with every combination of pen and paper, and that's been my experience as well.

[reprieve]

I'm also stumped. I'm not sure exactly what you mean by "waxy." I'm intrigued, though.

I would recommend trying a few samples of Rohrer and Klingner inks. In my experience, they dry very quickly and provide lovely shading. They aren't quite as saturated, either, and are similar in that way to Herbin inks. Alt Goldgrün is one of my favorites inks period--it's a beautiful yellow-green and is definitely bright and unusual on the ink color spectrum. Alt Bordeaux, a wine-colored burgundy, is another favorite. And Smaragdgrun, which is a bright tealish green.

Kaweco Summer Purple and Kaweco Paradise Blue are very quick drying and are brighter colors. The bottled inks are on the expensive side, but you could try out samples first. I also like Royal Blue and Palm Green and Sepia. They are really nice inks and are not too wet. I've had a good experience with Summer Purple on very cheap paper and on post-it notes.

I would also recommend trying an ink or two from Sailor. If you want a bright color, try Nioi-Sumire, which is a bright bluish purplish color, or Souten, which is a lovely bright sky blue. I used to love Apricot, a bright orange, but I believe it's been discontinued. Anderson Pens (http://www.andersonpens.com/sailor-ink-samples-s/2067.htm) sells 3 mL samples of Sailor inks so you can try them out before committing to an entire bottle.

[Gotcha640]

Thanks for the replies. I realize the request was a little vague.

What I really like about the ink, and why I tried to call it waxy, is that it feels almost like a crayon, like the nib is sliding on the ink. Is there a way to find out if a particular ink has more than the usual amount of lubricant? Can I mix something in to make it slicker? I'm not afraid to experiment.

As for color, anything that stands out against the typical black and blue and graphite is helpful. I'm more interested in the feeling than the color in this case.

[VertOlive]

My so far hands down best flowing, pen taming ink has been Sailor Jentle Blue. That said it is, er....blue.

[reprieve]

I'll amend my recommendations to add Lamy Coral. It dries almost instantly, barely feathers on (very, very) cheap copy paper, and it does have an odd tactility to it. You might almost call it waxy. :)

Herbin Larmes des Cassis deserves a shot, which is a beautiful purplish shade. And Herbin Vert Réséda. They behave and feel similarly to Rouge Caroubier.

Order some samples. Let us know how it goes. Have you found what you're looking for?

[Gotcha640]

Thanks for the replies. I'm using Bernanke Blue right now, and it's a nice ink, but not the feel I got from the RC. I'll get a few samples of the suggestions.