This is a page where I write down what I think of every fountain pen ink I wrote with. I use ink for purpose and focus on utility. I do keep an “ink journal”. However, everything that is important to using an ink I can say with just text. The ink should be a good workhorse ink.
Maybe it is useful if I tell you my ink habits:
I crack a single bottle open and write it down before buying and opening a new one.
I use my pens for writing, drawing and calligraphy.
I currently use one pen with a flex nib and one brush pen.
I care about the cost.
Here are qualities I look for:
Dark enough colour.
writing: must be easily readable.
drawing: must be dark enough to clearly see thin hatching.
brush: the brush spreads the ink over a larger surface. Its lightest shade must be useable.
Well behaved on various papers.
should not feather and bleed through too much.
should not need fountain pen specific paper, as this is quite expensive.
Easily cleaned: must not be hard to clean out.
Vintage friendly is a bonus: if it’s fine in vintage pens it will be fine in any pen.
Well designed bottle.
should not be easy to topple over.
should have a way of getting ink out the bottle into the pen when the ink level is low.
Price.
should have a good eur/ml ratio.
if it is more expensive, it should have a clear feature that makes it worth it.
if bought online, shipping cost is included! no cheating.
Waterproof is a bonus but not required.
Shading and sheen can be nice but not required.
Local.
bonus: bought in a local shop.
supports local economy.
keeps alive physical shops.
you can go on your bicycle instead of dealing with the post system.
better for the environment.
bonus: brand with history. I rather buy from long standing consistent brands than the newest shiny brand with a million new shades with party trick effects.
bonus: EU based brand. Supports “local” economy over the cheapest overseas option.
Smell: no requirements but I WILL smell it.
Pelikan 4001 Blau Schwarz
Waterman Serenity Blue
Parker Quink Blue Black
Herbin encre Éclat de Saphir
Diamine Sargasso Sea
FPR Green with Envy
not comparable
Vintage Sheaffer Skrip Jet Black
Kuretake black ink cartridge
50 ml, paid 9 euro.
dark enough:
ok for normal writing
nice dark colour for flex
ok for drawing
ok for the brush
would not want anything much lighter
well behaved: does not bleed and feather excessively, works on cheaper papers
cleans out easily
famously vintage friendly
good bottle:
can be put on side when ink is low
nice smooth bottle threads: cap can be flung off with one finger like a nut on a screw
good price: 0.18 eur/ml (2023)
not waterproof
bit of sheen
bought locally in physical shop, EU based brand, made in France, historic brand but was bought out so it’s not really the Waterman of old
smells inky, got mouldy later on (that’s my fault probably)
Subjective colour verdict: Nice basic blue. Not special but never wrong.
Conclusion: great ink.
3 of them, came free with a pen. Only used in brush but would fit in a platinum compatible pen. Most likely pigmented.
dark enough: yes, very black. Matte for a single pass, bit shiny for more than two.
extremely well behaved: resists bleeding and feathering well
cleans out ok enough
very waterproof
no shading at all
came from Japan
Pigment does rub off, slowly staining the page it touches.
Subjective colour verdict: nice.
Conclusion: decent.
1.7 ml, small sample.
dark enough: ok, roughly the same as Serenity Blue
badly behaved:
bleeds and feathers a lot on my writing paper
goes right through my sketchbook paper when flexed a bit
supposed to flow well for flex but totally not worth it
cleans out well enough
vintage friendly: not known to be bad but not known to be very good either
bottle: don’t know
price: don’t know, samples are more expensive
not waterproof
some sheen present
bought online, US based company, not preferred
smells ok
Subjective colour verdict: Nice but not that different from Serenity Blue.
Conclusion: eh, much rather have Serenity Blue.
1.7 ml, small sample.
not dark enough:
bit light for normal writing
doesn’t get darker with flex depending on the paper…
ok for dark spots when drawing but not for light textures
too light for brushing
badly behaved:
bleeds and feathers as much as Sargasso Sea
really high surface tension: beads up weirdly in the sample vial
doesn’t darken up with flex on paper that works fine with other fountain pen inks
does darken up with flex on Clairefontaine but that stuff is too expensive for daily writing
cleans out well enough
vintage friendly: god knows
bottle: don’t know
price: don’t know, samples are more expensive
not waterproof at all, worse than the others so far
no sheen
bought online, US based company, not preferred
smells ok
Subjective colour verdict: It’s ok, not really feeling it.
Conclusion: almost unusable.
30 ml, 5.97 euro.
dark enough:
dark enough for normal writing
darkens up nicely with flex
dark enough for drawing, thin lines still pop
dark enough for brushing, but not as saturated as I expected
well behaved:
works well on cheaper paper
holds well on my sketch book
putting a saturated nib/feed nib up does not drain the feed
easy to control feed saturation with piston
cleans ok:
not as easy as Serenity Blue
has a slight iron gall quality
stains the metal nib a bit more, bit crusty and dries in
vintage friendly: maybe but the crusting is a bit worrying
bottle:
not as good as Waterman bottle in terms of getting ink out
cap not as sturdy as Waterman cap and threads not as smooth
price: 0.198999… eur/ml (2024)
quite waterproof for an ink that is not marketed as such
no sheen but does shade nicely when flexed from the thin to the thick part
bought in local shop, old school German brand, made in Germany
smells strong: alcoholic, salty. Almost want to taste (forbidden soy sauce)
Subjective colour verdict: Beautiful without being flashy. Blue is dark enough. With flex you get a deep and rich almost black but not quite black colour. Bit of blue shows in the thin scribes away from the thick flex line. More blue bleeds in as the feed gets dryer before I prime it again with the piston mechanism.
Conclusion: Excellent ink.
Over roughly 3 1/2 months, 30ml of this ink got me through roughly:
52 A4 pages of eastern calligraphy practice
35 A4 + 19 A5 pages of western calligraphy practice
22 A5 pages of drawing
Probably 20+ years old. God knows the price. Bottle is 60 ml.
dark enough: very black, practically couldn’t be darker.
extremely angry and violent:
goes through any paper at all
even through fountain pen specific Clairefontaine paper
cleans out fine
the ink is vintage but not sure I would put in in a 100 year old pen…
bottle:
has a glass ink well inside
sheet metal cap, doesn’t screw very nicely but looks good
smells a bit dusty
Conclusion: I don’t know whether it is so angry because it is old or because it always was that way. In the current shape it is not very usable.
57 ml, 9.00 euro.
dark enough:
barely dark enough for normal writing
does not darken up well with flex
bit light for drawing
just dark enough for brushing, pretty good saturation actually
well behaved:
doesn’t work as well on cheaper paper and sketchbooks
bleeds and feathers, but not as much as Sargasso Sea
pretty strong flow, more than 4001 Blau Schwarz
putting a saturated nib/feed nib up does drain the feed
not as easy to control feed saturation with piston
when filling up, letting excess ink on the nib and feed into the bottle doesn’t work. It will keep draining pulling ink from the body. Instead I put the nib up and wipe with paper, wasting a bit of ink.
vintage friendly: yes
bottle:
big bottle
stiff cap like Waterman
very wide mouth
stable base
price: 0.15789… eur/ml (2024) (very good)
very confusing whether this is marketed as ‘permanent’ but it’s not very waterproof
bought in local shop, old American brand, currently in EU, made in France
medium strong smell: almost smells like paint, makes me think about elementary school
Over 10 months, 57 ml of this ink got me through roughly:
24 A5 pages of mosly unshaded western calligraphy practice
158 A4 pages of mostly unshaded western calligraphy practice
78 A4 pages of eastern calligraphy practice
75 ~A5 pages of drawing
10 ml, 4.20 euro.
not quite dark enough
really on the edge of being to light for normal writing
does not darken at all with flex
too light for drawing
too light for brushing,
decently behaved:
bleeds and feathers a bit
medium flow
medium amount of control when saturating the feed with piston
leaks back a bit of ink when filling and putting the nib to the glass
vintage friendly: yes
bottle:
cute small bottle
stamped metal cap
narrow mouth
no sheen
almost no shading
not waterproof
price: 0.42 eur/ml (2025) (very bad but this is a small bottle)
bought in local shop, old French brand, made in France
medium strong smell: smells inky
Over about 6 months (I didn’t write much), 10 ml of this ink got me through roughly:
31 A4 pages of mostly unshaded western calligraphy practice
_ A4 pages of eastern calligraphy practice
1 ~A5 page of drawing
50 ml, 11 euro.
not waterproof
price: 0.22 eur/ml (2025, up from 0.18 eur/ml in 2023)
bought in local shop, EU based brand, made in France, historic brand that was bought
medium strong smell: paint like smell
More on this ink coming when I have used it more.