Inks you grew to love

[Spideysgirl]

Are there any inks you bought and hates at first because of any reason but ended up liking after a while?

[inklord]

Rohrer&Klingner Dokumentus "Braun" (brown): a greenish grey ink that is absurdly wet and spreads even on Rhodia. Now it's my cure for dry, overly fine nibs!

[Dreck]

ESSRI was problematic when I first started using it. I can't recall how many times I'd fill a pen only to flush it a day or two later. It's now about the only ink I use.

[Lady Onogaro]

Almost anything green or brown was a "no" for a long time, but then I fell in love with the greens in the murky green family. And I really like reddish browns and toffee brown. I don't have many in my collection, but I suppose I got to like them because of the old Goulet Ink Drop (which I miss). Now I don't strike anything off my list.

[VertOlive]

Yes. Every single blue I bought and kept had to grow on me. I'm no fancier of blues but now I own bottles of 2 of the 4 I like. OS Blue Crab and DA Sherlock Holmes are still in my ink box.

The other 2 are OS Blue Merle and Noodler's 54th Massachusetts

[The Good Captain]

Diamine Asa Blue - now permanently in my M805 Demo.

[Dreck]

Yes. Every single blue I bought and kept had to grow on me. I'm no fancier of blues but now I own bottles of 2 of the 4 I like. OS Blue Crab and DA Sherlock Holmes are still in my ink box.

The other 2 are OS Blue Merle and Noodler's 54th Massachusetts

It took a lot for me to love (or even appreciate) blue ink as well. Before taking up the fountain pen, I wrote only in black or red (for grading). The honest truth is that ballpoint blue smells funny and sent me on a bad flashback to high school. There are so many color choices with a fp, though, that it just seemed a waste to limit myself to black. I tried browns, but one day it occurred to me that both my penmanship AND ink choice made my writing look like poo. I tried greens, but I really needed to stay with something professional enough for professional academia. That limited my choices to blue or black. I love the smell of 54th Mass, but it bleeds like a stuck pig. Enter iron gall ink. Now I get both blue *and* black!

[naimitsu]

Blue-Black inks were also a bleh >.< for me... until Bungbox 4B. It's been permanently installed in my MB Brahms.

The other one was Bungbox Aofuji. It was too light and watery the first time I wrote with it, but since it's been living in the Visconti Voyager, it's darkened quite a bit and is now one of my favorite blues.

I'm still much a no-go with most browns, with the exception being Bungbox Piano Mahogany. I tend to lean towards the red-browns, and this is definitely a red-brown.

[KrazyIvan]

Waterman Florida Blue. I like very vibrant blue inks, and Florida Blue leans a bit too purple for my liking. Since I review a lot of pens, I decided I needed to standardize on ink to use. This would help my reviews by removing variables. Since then, the ink has grown on me. I'm down to my last bottle and will be buying its successor, Serenity Blue.

[Aurora]

I personally don't. I have never purchased a full bottle without sampling it first. If I don't like the sample, I give it away to a pen friend. They don't get a chance to "grow on me". Seems harsh, but life is too short to use an ink we don't like and hope it will grow on us

[Armstrong]

One of the first ink's I tried and one I always keep inked. That would be Noodler's Bad Blue Heron. It flows well, archival or as Noodler's puts it eternal, forger resistant, and I like the med-dark blue with a bit of teal color. It is fine for the office but has that little bit of difference from traditional blues and blacks. I have never had a problem with it in my piston pens, my main users, and it feeds a stub/feed combo well.

[Chrissy]

Blue-Black inks were also a bleh >.< for me... until Bungbox 4B. It's been permanently installed in my MB Brahms.

The other one was Bungbox Aofuji. It was too light and watery the first time I wrote with it, but since it's been living in the Visconti Voyager, it's darkened quite a bit and is now one of my favorite blues.

I'm still much a no-go with most browns, with the exception being Bungbox Piano Mahogany. I tend to lean towards the red-browns, and this is definitely a red-brown.

Blue-black inks are still a bit of a meh to me, but I really like L'Artisan Pastellier Callifolio Equinox No.6.

I've never 'got' Bungbox 4B. I love the vase shaped bottle, but not the ink inside it.

[LeFreak]

I have the opposite problem... I think I'll love an ink forever, but soon can't stand the sight of it.

[dam]

Years ago, the inks I liked the most were very saturated (PR, Noodler's) and in consequence, every Herbin ink I tried was a let down. Found them too watery and frankly boring. As I've moved away from fine nibs and have begun using broader ones, they now appeal to me, my favorites being Vert Empire, Bleu Pervenche and Poussière de lune.

Also, I don't give a rat's ass about permanence, so the "bulletproof" qualities of some inks are not a criteria.

[ethernautrix]

I wouldn't say I hated it, but when I tried Pilot/Namiki Blue-Black -- also Blue, for that matter -- I was not impressed. That was about nine years ago.

Earlier this year, I became interested in finding a blue ink that matched a Pilot gel pen, realized I had a Pilot Blue cartridge, popped it in, and realized, This is it! THIS blue! Very cheerful, Indian Summer Sky Picnic Afternoon blue.

Meanwhile, I'd read threads about water-resistant blue-blacks. Pilot's was mentioned, and I remembered how much I didn't like it. But a couple of reviews in particular swayed me to give it another chance. I LOVE Pilot Blue-Black, particularly in my Pilot Falcon (SEF). LOVE it.

Otherwise, like LeFreak, I tend to "fall in love" with inks, only to lose interest after a while (Noodler's Zhivago, for instance) (also, Noodler's Walnut, but I'm keeping this bottle, cos my interest in brown inks comes and goes).

[FredRydr]

Montblanc Toffee. When it was first released, I bought it because it seemed to be the replacement for their Bordeaux in the old bottle. Meh was my reaction, at first. But then I put it into a pen with a copperplate nib, and the writing it produced looked as though it was written a century ago, especially on vintage stationary and postcards. It's like sepia but with a subtle bit of red. I like it so much that I now keep a spare bottle of Toffee constantly on hand.

Fred

[stage15]

Lamy Blue. My first ink, and I thought that the shade was terrible. After a while, I got back to it, because to me it is right on the verge between bright and dark. The color is very eye-catching, yet blue (so it doesn't raise eyebrows) and very readable. It has been my staple for last couple months. Great for taking notes, great for signing papers (I'm usually using it on cheap office paper with a fine nib).

[Scooby921]

Bungbox Clown Tears for me. When I first wrote with it I thought it was too pink (magenta / fuchsia perhaps). This was immediately after inking up the pen. After writing with it for a few days it seems to have darkened up to more of a dark red, which I like. Throw in the ridiculous amounts of sheen Sailor inks are generally known for and it's quickly become a favorite. I think it'll go back into a pen when one of the currently inked 3 runs out.


I can also go the opposite direction. I bought a sample of PR Avacado and loved it. I bought a whole bottle of it. As I used it more it became boring. The last time I inked a pen with it I wound up with dried up goobers in the feed and around the nib. I no longer love this ink. I have most of a bottle which needs to find a new home. This is also the case with Racing Green (Diamine's version made for Rolf @ missing-pen). I saw the sample, bought the bottle, was excited about it the first time I wrote with it, and have never put it into a pen again. In fact I just gave away the whole bottle to a co-worker who bought one of my pens.

[chalkdust]

I am fairly. new to this whole thing, so "grew" is not a very long past tense for me. The ink that has surprised me in this regard I am almost embarrassed to admit. It is Noodler's X-Feather. I mean, come on - that is just black! What gets me is how clean and black black black it is. It fascinates me. It goes on kind of shiny then as it dries it flattens to a dark-as-a-black-hole black. I like it most with its free Charlie pen (fine point). That embarrasses me too - that one of my favorite pens is a free eye dropper. What can I say? I am weird. Perhaps it is just a phase and I will grow out of it...

[Pennanngalan]

I guess Pilot blue-black and Noodler's Bad Belted Kingfisher both fit that description. I just had to find the right pen for these inks (Nemosine Singularity with EF nib). Chalkdust, you aren't alone with your enjoyment of the Charlie pen, I really like mine too!