“Serenity Blue” by Waterman was the very first bottle of fountain pen ink I purchased when I discovered the hobby of fountain pens at the end of 2019. This was after doing a little reading on ink & decided “Serenity Blue” would be an interesting choice. I recently realized while playing with fountain pens & the various inks was the first time I’ve ever had a hobby. I’m not sure reading counts because I need to read as much as I need to eat, ever since childhood. All I did for years was work, college & then travel all over the United States with trips to mostly Paris & South Korea for work. I guess I have a hobby now, how different. The problem is I love color & I am trying to own bottles of every brand of ink in every color in existence... You are lucky. I use a color depending on what seems interesting + I adore effects. I began using pinks (which I always disliked) when I learned it was the 1st color discovered from many millions of years ago. It was the color of specific organisms in the sea, prior to the existence of vertebrate life forms I guess. It was a bright almost fluorescent pink. This is obviously a different story than the discovery of the pigment blue for art. This is why I began to like pink. Damn, I am a boring nerd... Sorry to write your ear off. I do enjoy your reviews...
Not boring at all! I had no idea pink was first colour. Will look into origin of colours, thank you! Since you seem to have many inks, which ones do you like most?
@@alexandrapirvu7945 I have some favorite inks so far this month. I enjoy effects, such as sheening & shading is nice as well. Shimmer appeals to me, but shimmer is an actual particulate added to the ink, much like a pigment. I have found if the particulate size (which is measured in microns) is too large, it will clog your pen. You will not find this information on ink. Unfortunately, it’s try as you go. I’d purchase an inexpensive fountain pen which can be a good writer to try these inks out. Jinhao makes some decent writers & I found a few demonstrator or clear Yiren’s made out of plastic for $0.99 from Ali Express. I also found recently a very plain black metal pen on eBay for approximately $9.50 called Pimio with a medium steel nib. It writes quite nicely. It’s also known as Picasso & when it comes in a nice box it’s a lot more money. I have some very nice pens, & I have used sheening inks in them, but maybe I’m being bad. So far the pens are fine. Those inks are more heavily saturated. Most ink for fountain pens is dye. Pigment is color similar to sparkle particulate. There is all kinds of sparkle & some inks are great & some don’t work in any size nib. I’m still researching & learning. I have a lot yet to learn. Favorite inks this month: Vinta is a brand of ink from the Philippines & they have 32 colors in their collection. My 2 favorites from Vinta are Malayan Apple “Makopa” 1938 & Azure “Maharlika” 7107. They both sheen, but you need better paper, like Tomoe River to see the sheen. I have more from the collection I enjoy which don’t sheen, like Summer Green “Karnival” 1908. It’s a very pretty green. I love Organics Studio “Nitrogen Royal Blue”. So far, it sheens on everything & I have it in a fairly nice pen for the past month. A couple of shimmering inks which surprised me are Colorverse Ink Project “Shiny Black” Glistening/001 & Jacques Herbin “Vert Atlantide”. At first I couldn’t stand “Shiny Black” by Colorverse, but now I like looking at it & it writes very nicely in a medium nib. I really enjoy Noodler’s “Cactus Fruit Eel”. It’s a lot nicer than I was expecting. Also Iroshizuku “Kon-Peki” is always a beautiful blue. Lamy Crystal “Peridot” & “Beryllium” are favs as well. I love Diamine’s Anniversary Edition “Blue Black 1864”. That’s my favorite “Blue Black” so far. But, I really like all the Diamine Anniversary Edition colors. Diamine “Red Dragon” & “Oxblood” are reds I like. But I tend to like blood red. If you like a brighter red, Iroshizuku “Momji” is nice. BunGuBox “Imperial Purple” is a really nice dark purple color & as back-up I like Diamine “Bilberry”. I’ve been using Diamine”Sherwood Green” as well. So far Diamine writes nicely in all my pens. Hero Ink “Black” in the 40 mL bottle was my favorite plain black, because it is so dark & uncomplicated. I can’t find it anymore. I bought it in China. I have a new “Black” arriving (I hope) which is suppose to be just as good. And I have all the standard blacks which are recommended. My goodness, I just realized I have many more inks & some I haven’t had the chance to use except to try them out. I may have a problem...
@@hekatsees9449 thank you for the detailed information! I haven't tried any shimmer ink yet. Agree about Jinhao, some of them write better than expensive pens. I wish I could order more ink samples in my country, but there's no seller doing it. Diamine is already "rare", but Vinta inks, even more. I hope to give them a try from other European sites. Thank you for sharing what you have learned and your ink favourites!
@@alexandrapirvu7945 I apologize for not inquiring where you are located. What fountain pen inks are readily or easily available to you? Who knows, maybe I have tried some of them. There are many inks that are quite nice...
I bought a Parker Quink blue bottle around 2005, and I still have it, I've started using it more recently. I don't know if ink "expires" or anything like that, but this ink bottle is fine.
I like the way you introduce this ink video because i agree that the biggest thing that you can give us is simply your opinion on the inks and why you like them. Bringing the inks to our attention is the main point, not to show them more perfectly then anyone ever has. Its basicly immpossible...
I'm not a content creator but have some familiarity with photography. I always wonder wouldn't a 20% grey card and white balance adjustment against that in post editing solve these issues? There is a blue tint to the picture Inn this review and I can't believe that can't be fixed. Having said that, I do appreciate the value of these videos for drawing attention to potentially new inks and of course just to see more great content from Mr Brown.
Yes...got some for Christmas last year, and as soon as I started using it, noticed the orange. It’s more apparent with its shading. The odd thing is I don’t even like orange, but that aspect of the ink very attractive! Love the ink.
@@breadyegg you can use a colour pasport and software to get an exact match.. on your end. But then little Timmy watches your video with his monitor set to ‘gaming’ or some super saturation / cool profile and it will look different again Colour calibration is good for print or product shots you hand over to someone for editing.
Waterman Tender Purple was my first bottle of non-standard coloured ink (before that I only had blue and black Quink). Even though I now have lots of Diamine, the Tender Purple still has a place in my heart 🙂
Stephen…….I always enjoy your presentations and this one was not an exception. I have found that when I want the nitty gritty on a pen, your channel is my first choice. I thoroughly enjoy your no nonsense-if-you-don’t-like-it-tough-bananas approach. Thank you!
I can vouch for watermans blue being the MOST paper friendly ink i have ever used. I have one ink journal in which the paper quality sucks. Which sounds stupid but it reveals which inks are safe with the bad paper. And in this particular book..... Watermans blue was the ONLY ink that didnt look terrible when it dried. And there are over 40 different ink reviews in it. It still bleeds on envalopes and such but in this one particular book it was the ONLY ink to work well. Worth noting :)
Even on the cheapest school paper ever it behaves. Cleaning it is a breeze. All the Waterman inks are well behaved. If you don’t like serenity blues color try any other Waterman ink!
11:53 Oddly the reason that make you like this ink color is exactly the same reason why I loathe any ink that looks "School blue" (pale slightly grayish blue). I agree Montblanc Irish Green is the "perfect green". I never had the opportunity to try Montblanc Corn poppy Red but it looks like the perfect red too.
great video :-) I have a similar attachment to Parker's Blue/Black Quink. I remember loving the smell for some reason; and now it reminds me of being small and having my first fountain pen.
I noticed the other day that some of my noodlers inks have a slight smell. And it reminds me of art class as a kid. (It smells like those goopy paints in the little plastic cups lol)
@@korax67 in the 90's my only option was parker blue OR black at the store lol. Not even a blue black :D I think they still have the same two options at that store. But now i can get whatever online as well.
My favorite blue black is Script. I used it in high school and I always have one pen inked with it. (The newer ones don't smell as good but I guess I could have lost some sense of smell.) Love SBREBrown's videos. No fluff, just straight forward subject matter.
Pilot Blue Black ink I love the 70ml round bottle with the clever ink miser function inside. Waterman's Tender Purple is lovely Seitz Kreuznach Palm green which shades beautifully. Platinum Carbon Black cartridge ink in my Platinum Desk pen for drawing and writing envelopes. Absolutely waterproof.
Yes, how we perceive colour is also affected by the 'colour' of light during the course of a day (toward the blue end of the spectrum in the morning, red in the afternoon). Flourescent versus incandescent versus LED lighting, etc., will also inform our perception. My personal favourites at the moment are Diamine 'Sapphire Blue' and their 'Jet Black'. Both flow nicely and give a good wet line. I have yet to experiment further with the rainbow of colours and brands available.
Thankfully I learned that Corn Poppy Red was discontinued a while ago from you so I got my bottle when they were still readily available. It’s by far my favorite color, thanks for that!
Great selection, I love that you have a blue/black in there, when I got back in to writing with FPs my first pen came with a blue / black cartridge (Lamy), always has a soft spot for me even now, also shading in an ink is just the best!
I'm using Platinum Carbon Black and Mont Blanc Royal Blue. Platinum Carbon Black is really gorgeous. Smooth, wet, dries fast, shiny finish and means business.
I understand needing a professional color. I personally keep one of my pens that I keep on me inked with waterman serenity blue or platinum carbon black for that very reason.
I've been using Diamine almost exclusively for the (little) writing that I do. Can recommend Sargasso Sea, Oxblood, and Eau de Nil as being fantastic inks! I also really enjoyed the Montblanc Saint-Exupery Encre du Desert from previous years
Many of my favorite inks also. Cross Purple is also a great purple. An alternative to MontblancCorn Poppy Red could be Diamine Matador, one of my favorite red inks. I have bought many fancy and expensive inks, but I always return to these classic great inks.
Thanks a bunch for ALL of your videos, Stephen. They're informative, humorous and, frequently, drive me to try something new and a bit out of my comfort zone. That said, my pen and ink zone is pretty similar to yours (you've helped shape it), though my upper-end pens fall far short of your upper-end pens!! --- Hope you and Azizah had a very Happy Thanksgiving and have a very Merry Christmas.
Nice video, and some really nice inks...aside from the lack of water-resistance. :-D Interestingly, I went through my entire school life writing with a blue Bic pen on white paper. Now, with the exception of Baystate Blue, I try not to use blue ink or white paper for personal use--mostly cream-colored paper and non-blue inks for me. That's not even because I disliked school (I'm a teacher now), but because I just wrote with that combination too much. And I'm glad to see SBRE Brown show up. That really does look like a great ink!
I really like ink. Maybe I love ink. I have more ink that I could possibly ever use. Now I must buy more. 😊 Enjoyed seeing your favorites, and your reasons for liking them. Thanks.
I love Serenity Blue, too, and the Irish Green. For red Diamine Red Dragon. I don't have any Star Ruby Red but it's lovely. I'll have to try Tender Purple. Very nice that you have your own ink!
With all those crazy sheening and shimmering inks, it is good to be reminded that saturated inks are beautiful and serve their place in our inks cycling. I wish that Montblanc red was still available... I wonder if the Montblanc boutiques are selling inks, too? They sell expensive items, would their inks be too cheap for their own stores?
Thanks for the vid, it felt really special to watch this, at least to "end a day". I couldn't help but have a happy gasp at Irish Green. Mine has an amusing story behind it in a pre-2020 sense. I suppose having a "blue-black" like Graf von Faber Castell Deep Sea Green in a Jinhao shark might negate the "professionalism", but... it's a gusher that needs a drier ink. It feels like when you have a discontinued ink, you're usually on the lookout for something similar. A few pennies to the fountain. Best.
If you like shading blue, Pennonia Kekfeny is a beautiful blue shading even on lesser quality paper. Pennonia is a new brand of inks, but they're on LaCouronneDuComte and Kekfeny behaves very well.
Akkerman inks are some of the best. I have a number of them and my favourite is Delfts Blauw. Sadly Akkerman cannot supply this colour as well as my second favourite, #5 Shocking Blauw. I suspect that Akkerman buys their ink from Diamine. I would love to hear if Diamine produces an equivalent colour. I have not seen one. It was suggested that maybe Diamine China Blue might work. I am continuing my search. Thanks for the video, some very interesting inks, not to mention the pens. I use SBRE Brown in a fine as well as a medium and it looks orange. Must get myself a stub. 👍🇨🇦
You named 2 of my favorite Akkerman Inks. Have you found them yet? I’m in the United States and found them at Vanness in June, 2021. I haven’t checked lately, but they may still be available….
My favourite ink is...... essri/diamine registrars ink. The shift of colour from light blue to blue black in seconds, blue black to black in a week, and black to black with a tinge of yellow in months. Beautiful. Fully waterproof. Maybe a bit dry, but rarely feathers even on cheap crappy paper. 10/10 for me
Absolutely love turquoise inks. The Edelstein Star Ruby Red is beautiful, however, a bit costly for a 50 ml. bottle. Montblanc Irish green is $50 for a 50 ml. bottle. Love your selection of inks. Even though several are out of my price range, they are still beautiful inks! I've been watching your vids for years, and you always had good taste.
What a terrific video! Incredibly useful. As much as color is subjective, an ink being well behaved and easy to clean out of our precious pens IS NOT. So thanks so very much for making that an important part of your demonstration. Stay safe.
You stated at the beginning of the video that you like usual and not so extraordinary inks. Well, I am not an ink collector, but it happens that I have five of the inks you mentioned. That tells a lot.
Thanks for showing your favourites. Very interesting to see what others like. And why. Unfortunately school ruined the love for the "normal" used ink color for me. And I heard it is the same for many here. There are even some jokes that you do not mention the k-word. Translated in royal blue would be okay, I think. :)
K-word :D i had hated that colour, but today it's one of my favourites. I started to write with Parker Vector and Parker Quink washable blue in 1999... Today one of my most used inks is Pelikan not to be mentioned K :) Maybe it's because here in the Czech Republic we had to use fountain pen only two years and then i switched to ballpoints for many years.
@@zdenkasimurdova32 I think it is an color which is okay. Like any other color. But it is overused through school and it is the "norm". The love-hate of that color is more or less joke-material.
@@gaurava972 It is more or less a bad joke. A joke about the fact that many doesn't like that specific color, because it is the typical school-ink-color. And used anywhere. It is Königsblau. There. I said it.... :( :D Translated it is the royal blue. Many here in germany and surrounding nations are joking that this is the ink that should not be named. ;)
Considering you seem to like inks with good shading, and you like blue inks, I highly recommend trying out Robert Oster Clearwater Rain. It is easily in my top 3 favorites.
I also love Waterman inks, except for the green - which seems strident. But I sometimes wonder why I bother with "basic" colors from other manufacturers. Edit: at the moment, Waterman's Blue-Black is "Mysterious Blue." I shall have to get samples of Irish Green and Delft Blau. I've had my eye on the latter for awhile.
Waterman green is just a bit too basic like that green ballpoint you used in school. Waterman’s best inks personally are the two blues, the purple and maybe the brown or red. I don’t care for black inks (mainly due to a horrible incident with poor Chinese quality hero ink/failed purple grey mix) they are a bit to boring.
Thank you. Appreciate all your videos and that these are normal inks. I bought a very expensive Japanese ink and thought it was like any other. Wine in boxes great too (just joking on the wine)
Found a new sealed bottle of Mont Blanc Corn Poppy red on eBay... wasn’t cheap, but I feel successful... great vendor from Japan and received it in 3 days...
Thank you for describing the qualities of each and for the initial caveat that none would be shimmery. I, too, like straight-up colors, and I was delighted that we share three of the same favorites. I wonder if, in light of Montblanc Poppy Red 's unavailability, you might try Noodler's Qin Shi Huang or some of his other reds. Thank you for your injected humor, too.
I've read that Diamine Matador is pretty similar to Corn Poppy Red, too. I'm a fan of Diamine's own Poppy Red, but Diamine's version is definitely more orange.
I am new to fountain pens. I am slowly building my collection, if it could be called that. I am planning to get a pilot metropolitan soon. Also I noticed this video is suggesting my small channel's video, so I would like to grab this chance to thank you. Very much appreciated!
I've read that Diamine Matador is similar-ish to MB Corn Poppy Red. I am a pen person, less so an ink person. 85% of my writing is with workhorse inks like Aurora Black or Blue, Pilot Blue Black, Rohrer & Klingner Königsblau and so on. I avoid "high maintenance" inks. Not worth the headache, to me. My first bottled ink was actually two bottles that I purchased--Monteverde's old formula Black and Blue. They've long since changed their ink lineup, but the Black was awful--a dry, dark, grayish purple. The Blue was a solid, if unremarkable, royal blue ink.
I had just jumped into inks world, and the most that I loved is a GVFC Burned Orange and the Aurora Blue Black, have you ever tried them? What I definitely hate is Lamy red, it writes like a completely orange ink.
You poor guy...the caveats you have to share on the video seem such a chore but I do not doubt the need if you get comments as you must. Thanks for taking the time to do the video's always a gem of useful info to be found.
Very helpful overview--thank you. I would appreciate knowing which nib you have in the Opus 88 Omar (I am about to buy one), but I don't believe you usually respond to comments.
Another great video Stephen!!! Now that Mont Blanc “KILLED” the Corn Poopy Red what do you recommend as a good replacement that is as close to that perfect Red of the Corn Poppy???
Dear Dr. Brown, I has question: red inks are notorious for producing nib creep - how do the two reds you like behave in this regard? I tried to pixel peep on the nibs but to no avail. Elsewise, I'm in full agreement on Serenity Blue, but very rarely put it in my pens. I don't find the colour intensely appealing, but I love the ink because it provides me with a standard by which all other inks in my collection are measured. In addition to ink behavior comparisons, it also lets me evaluate nib & feed performance and various paper recipes. I've not had the pleasure of trying your ink, but in it's place I am very well pleased with Montblanc Toffee Brown. I also keep MB's Irish Green close by. Thanks for sharing your favourites!
Ancient copper Heart of Darkness Oxford blood Sapphire blue Aurora borealis North African violet Black Swan Australian roses Noodlers blue black Baystate blue Red Dragon
1. Thanks for this interesting info and opinions. I'm impressed by how striking the Montblanc inks are. 2. Do you concern yourself with lightfastness? After just a month lying on the brightly sunlit windowsill, some of my more colorful inks faded, much to my disappointment. For anything not protected by being inside a journal, I will stick with darker, duller colors.
You're wise. The lightfastness of an ink also gives an indication of how it will age. Back in the 1980s I filled a couple of books with sketches, logic and algorithms for a project I worked on. I used different colored inks for different contexts to make it clearer. Slightly more than a decade later I revisited those notes, and a lot of them had faded badly. It was clear that they wouldn't even be readable in some more years. I test my inks on a window, in daylight, for two weeks. What I can say in general terms, is that the hue known as 'Royal Blue'/'washable blue' seem to be made from the same dye in most brands, because they all not just look the same but also fade about the same - which is not much, but still noticeable. Consistently good brands, regardless of color, have been Parker Quink and Rohrer & Klingner. Montblanc might also be consistently good, I've just not tested all. Most other brands offer both hits and misses; some of their inks are very good, others are fugitive. Consistently bad colors are bright blues (brighter than Royal Blue/Washable Blue) leaning towards violet, i.e. cobalt or ultramarine blues, but usually named 'Sapphire Blue'. I've never encountered a good one sofar. It's as if there's no good dye available in that color. The best of them seem to be Baystate Blue and it's still not good. Consistently good colors are blues that lean toward cyan, turquois, particularly Blue-Blacks that lean a bit towards green. But also just as you suggested, dark dull colors in general. The champion when it comes to durable inks is Noodler. But Noodler also have some fugitive inks. So it's the inks that are marketed as durable, like "bullet proof", "eternal", "warden", "empire" that are the most lightfast. But they are also usually the most gunky and troublesome. Noodler's Black and 54'th Massachusetts are excellent though.
@@Vermiliontea It just struck me that you said some inks fade over time even inside a sketchbook, unexposed to light. That is VERY disheartening. I guess I will stick with Noodler's Archival inks from now on.
@@ichirofakename There is no such thing as a completely permanent organic dye or pigment. Time will eventually break them down. Exposing to light accelerates the process and thus lightfastness gives us some indication of what permanence to expect from each. Noodler's archival inks are also the most annoyingly troublesome. Gunky, irregular flow and toxic. Some of them even ruin some rubber and plastic parts of some pens. And have a ton of protection you probably don't need, against things like bleaches, solvents, IR-lasers, UV-lamps. I like Noodler's Black and 54th Mass. They're a good compromise. They're waterproof and fade resistant, but still handle and write rather well. But there are fade resistant inks among the normal, benign inks as well, in all brands. You just have to test them to know. P.S. a tip. When using a cellulose reactive ink like Noodler's or de Atramentis' waterproof inks, you should turn over and swirl the ink in the bottle, before each time you fill the pen. Most people don't seem to know this.
@@ichirofakename You mentioned "sketchbook"? If you want a black ink for artwork, you should look at Platinum Carbon. It's a non-organic, carbon nano-pigment ink. It's completely permanent and can be washed over with watercolors without bleeding. You just have to be attentive to the pen. Wash it out in time. Don't let the pen dry out and use it in a pen that is easy to disassemble and clean.
Kind of funny how you like Akkerman Delfts Blauw because it reminds you of the ink you had to use in school, whereas I really never want to use the ink I had to use in school ever again. In my case the ink we had to use was Pelikan Royal Blue. Basically the only ink I ever wrote in with fountain pens, until I actually got into fountain pens as a hobby (in 2016, I think) and discovered different bottled inks. I turned away from Pelikan Royal Blue and have never looked back. I understand it's a very good, solid ink choice, work-appropriate, well-behaved, the whole shebang (not sure that's how you spell it), but I honestly never want to see it again.
“Serenity Blue” by Waterman was the very first bottle of fountain pen ink I purchased when I discovered the hobby of fountain pens at the end of 2019. This was after doing a little reading on ink & decided “Serenity Blue” would be an interesting choice. I recently realized while playing with fountain pens & the various inks was the first time I’ve ever had a hobby. I’m not sure reading counts because I need to read as much as I need to eat, ever since childhood. All I did for years was work, college & then travel all over the United States with trips to mostly Paris & South Korea for work. I guess I have a hobby now, how different. The problem is I love color & I am trying to own bottles of every brand of ink in every color in existence... You are lucky. I use a color depending on what seems interesting + I adore effects. I began using pinks (which I always disliked) when I learned it was the 1st color discovered from many millions of years ago. It was the color of specific organisms in the sea, prior to the existence of vertebrate life forms I guess. It was a bright almost fluorescent pink. This is obviously a different story than the discovery of the pigment blue for art. This is why I began to like pink. Damn, I am a boring nerd... Sorry to write your ear off. I do enjoy your reviews...
Not boring at all! I had no idea pink was first colour. Will look into origin of colours, thank you! Since you seem to have many inks, which ones do you like most?
@@alexandrapirvu7945 I have some favorite inks so far this month. I enjoy effects, such as sheening & shading is nice as well. Shimmer appeals to me, but shimmer is an actual particulate added to the ink, much like a pigment. I have found if the particulate size (which is measured in microns) is too large, it will clog your pen. You will not find this information on ink. Unfortunately, it’s try as you go. I’d purchase an inexpensive fountain pen which can be a good writer to try these inks out. Jinhao makes some decent writers & I found a few demonstrator or clear Yiren’s made out of plastic for $0.99 from Ali Express. I also found recently a very plain black metal pen on eBay for approximately $9.50 called Pimio with a medium steel nib. It writes quite nicely. It’s also known as Picasso & when it comes in a nice box it’s a lot more money. I have some very nice pens, & I have used sheening inks in them, but maybe I’m being bad. So far the pens are fine. Those inks are more heavily saturated. Most ink for fountain pens is dye. Pigment is color similar to sparkle particulate. There is all kinds of sparkle & some inks are great & some don’t work in any size nib. I’m still researching & learning. I have a lot yet to learn.
Favorite inks this month: Vinta is a brand of ink from the Philippines & they have 32 colors in their collection. My 2 favorites from Vinta are Malayan Apple “Makopa” 1938 & Azure “Maharlika” 7107. They both sheen, but you need better paper, like Tomoe River to see the sheen. I have more from the collection I enjoy which don’t sheen, like Summer Green “Karnival” 1908. It’s a very pretty green. I love Organics Studio “Nitrogen Royal Blue”. So far, it sheens on everything & I have it in a fairly nice pen for the past month. A couple of shimmering inks which surprised me are Colorverse Ink Project “Shiny Black” Glistening/001 & Jacques Herbin “Vert Atlantide”. At first I couldn’t stand “Shiny Black” by Colorverse, but now I like looking at it & it writes very nicely in a medium nib. I really enjoy Noodler’s “Cactus Fruit Eel”. It’s a lot nicer than I was expecting. Also Iroshizuku “Kon-Peki” is always a beautiful blue. Lamy Crystal “Peridot” & “Beryllium” are favs as well. I love Diamine’s Anniversary Edition “Blue Black 1864”. That’s my favorite “Blue Black” so far. But, I really like all the Diamine Anniversary Edition colors. Diamine “Red Dragon” & “Oxblood” are reds I like. But I tend to like blood red. If you like a brighter red, Iroshizuku “Momji” is nice. BunGuBox “Imperial Purple” is a really nice dark purple color & as back-up I like Diamine “Bilberry”. I’ve been using Diamine”Sherwood Green” as well. So far Diamine writes nicely in all my pens. Hero Ink “Black” in the 40 mL bottle was my favorite plain black, because it is so dark & uncomplicated. I can’t find it anymore. I bought it in China. I have a new “Black” arriving (I hope) which is suppose to be just as good. And I have all the standard blacks which are recommended. My goodness, I just realized I have many more inks & some I haven’t had the chance to use except to try them out. I may have a problem...
@@hekatsees9449 thank you for the detailed information! I haven't tried any shimmer ink yet. Agree about Jinhao, some of them write better than expensive pens. I wish I could order more ink samples in my country, but there's no seller doing it. Diamine is already "rare", but Vinta inks, even more. I hope to give them a try from other European sites. Thank you for sharing what you have learned and your ink favourites!
@@alexandrapirvu7945 I apologize for not inquiring where you are located. What fountain pen inks are readily or easily available to you? Who knows, maybe I have tried some of them. There are many inks that are quite nice...
I bought a Parker Quink blue bottle around 2005, and I still have it, I've started using it more recently. I don't know if ink "expires" or anything like that, but this ink bottle is fine.
The irish green looks superb
I also am very much in love with Waterman's Mysterious Blue: great in antique pens, but also pretty good in modern ones.
I like the way you introduce this ink video because i agree that the biggest thing that you can give us is simply your opinion on the inks and why you like them.
Bringing the inks to our attention is the main point, not to show them more perfectly then anyone ever has. Its basicly immpossible...
A recent video by gadgetstop123 shows SBREBrown in a number of pens looking orange.
I'm not a content creator but have some familiarity with photography. I always wonder wouldn't a 20% grey card and white balance adjustment against that in post editing solve these issues? There is a blue tint to the picture Inn this review and I can't believe that can't be fixed. Having said that, I do appreciate the value of these videos for drawing attention to potentially new inks and of course just to see more great content from Mr Brown.
Yes...got some for Christmas last year, and as soon as I started using it, noticed the orange. It’s more apparent with its shading. The odd thing is I don’t even like orange, but that aspect of the ink very attractive! Love the ink.
@@breadyegg you can use a colour pasport and software to get an exact match.. on your end.
But then little Timmy watches your video with his monitor set to ‘gaming’ or some super saturation / cool profile and it will look different again
Colour calibration is good for print or product shots you hand over to someone for editing.
A great video, thank you Stephen. It has helped me to relax at the end of a busy week. I'll ink up some pens tomorrow and have fun journaling 🙂
Waterman Tender Purple was my first bottle of non-standard coloured ink (before that I only had blue and black Quink). Even though I now have lots of Diamine, the Tender Purple still has a place in my heart 🙂
Stephen…….I always enjoy your presentations and this one was not an exception. I have found that when I want the nitty gritty on a pen, your channel is my first choice. I thoroughly enjoy your no nonsense-if-you-don’t-like-it-tough-bananas approach. Thank you!
I can vouch for watermans blue being the MOST paper friendly ink i have ever used.
I have one ink journal in which the paper quality sucks. Which sounds stupid but it reveals which inks are safe with the bad paper. And in this particular book..... Watermans blue was the ONLY ink that didnt look terrible when it dried. And there are over 40 different ink reviews in it.
It still bleeds on envalopes and such but in this one particular book it was the ONLY ink to work well. Worth noting :)
Even on the cheapest school paper ever it behaves. Cleaning it is a breeze. All the Waterman inks are well behaved. If you don’t like serenity blues color try any other Waterman ink!
11:53 Oddly the reason that make you like this ink color is exactly the same reason why I loathe any ink that looks "School blue" (pale slightly grayish blue).
I agree Montblanc Irish Green is the "perfect green". I never had the opportunity to try Montblanc Corn poppy Red but it looks like the perfect red too.
great video :-)
I have a similar attachment to Parker's Blue/Black Quink. I remember loving the smell for some reason; and now it reminds me of being small and having my first fountain pen.
I noticed the other day that some of my noodlers inks have a slight smell. And it reminds me of art class as a kid. (It smells like those goopy paints in the little plastic cups lol)
Back in the 70s and 80s when I was a kid Parker Blue Black Quink was the only alternative to blue ink ...
@@korax67 in the 90's my only option was parker blue OR black at the store lol. Not even a blue black :D
I think they still have the same two options at that store. But now i can get whatever online as well.
My favorite blue black is Script. I used it in high school and I always have one pen inked with it. (The newer ones don't smell as good but I guess I could have lost some sense of smell.) Love SBREBrown's videos. No fluff, just straight forward subject matter.
Pilot Blue Black ink I love the 70ml round bottle with the clever ink miser function inside.
Waterman's Tender Purple is lovely
Seitz Kreuznach Palm green which shades beautifully.
Platinum Carbon Black cartridge ink in my Platinum Desk pen for drawing and writing envelopes. Absolutely waterproof.
Sbre brown is honestly the most amazing brown ink I have seen, ideal for wet writers in my opinion.
Yes, how we perceive colour is also affected by the 'colour' of light during the course of a day (toward the blue end of the spectrum in the morning, red in the afternoon). Flourescent versus incandescent versus LED lighting, etc., will also inform our perception. My personal favourites at the moment are Diamine 'Sapphire Blue' and their 'Jet Black'. Both flow nicely and give a good wet line. I have yet to experiment further with the rainbow of colours and brands available.
Thankfully I learned that Corn Poppy Red was discontinued a while ago from you so I got my bottle when they were still readily available. It’s by far my favorite color, thanks for that!
Great selection, I love that you have a blue/black in there, when I got back in to writing with FPs my first pen came with a blue / black cartridge (Lamy), always has a soft spot for me even now, also shading in an ink is just the best!
My first ink I just got was mysterious blue from waterman. I absolutely love the color and look forward to trying others.
I'm using Platinum Carbon Black and Mont Blanc Royal Blue.
Platinum Carbon Black is really gorgeous.
Smooth, wet, dries fast, shiny finish and means business.
Recorded in May 2020, released almost in December.
It's because of COVID - it was supposed to be shown in cinemas, but it went straight to TH-cam ;)
I understand needing a professional color. I personally keep one of my pens that I keep on me inked with waterman serenity blue or platinum carbon black for that very reason.
I've been using Diamine almost exclusively for the (little) writing that I do. Can recommend Sargasso Sea, Oxblood, and Eau de Nil as being fantastic inks! I also really enjoyed the Montblanc Saint-Exupery Encre du Desert from previous years
Many of my favorite inks also. Cross Purple is also a great purple. An alternative to MontblancCorn Poppy Red could be Diamine Matador, one of my favorite red inks. I have bought many fancy and expensive inks, but I always return to these classic great inks.
Lovely inks. Waterman's Serenity Blue is my standard ink for serious stuff.
Agreed don’t forget mysterious blue though!
Me too!
Thanks a bunch for ALL of your videos, Stephen. They're informative, humorous and, frequently, drive me to try something new and a bit out of my comfort zone. That said, my pen and ink zone is pretty similar to yours (you've helped shape it), though my upper-end pens fall far short of your upper-end pens!! --- Hope you and Azizah had a very Happy Thanksgiving and have a very Merry Christmas.
Waterman serenity was also my first bottle of ink.
Parker quink for me :P
Serenity and blue black were my first!
Nice video, and some really nice inks...aside from the lack of water-resistance. :-D
Interestingly, I went through my entire school life writing with a blue Bic pen on white paper. Now, with the exception of Baystate Blue, I try not to use blue ink or white paper for personal use--mostly cream-colored paper and non-blue inks for me. That's not even because I disliked school (I'm a teacher now), but because I just wrote with that combination too much.
And I'm glad to see SBRE Brown show up. That really does look like a great ink!
I have been wanting to buy a black ink that is real black! I think I’m going to give Aurora black a go. Thanks for the video! 🙏🏻
Shaeffer black is also really black.
I really like ink. Maybe I love ink. I have more ink that I could possibly ever use. Now I must buy more. 😊 Enjoyed seeing your favorites, and your reasons for liking them. Thanks.
I love Serenity Blue, too, and the Irish Green. For red Diamine Red Dragon. I don't have any Star Ruby Red but it's lovely. I'll have to try Tender Purple. Very nice that you have your own ink!
You have really beautiful handwriting. It was oddly satisfying to watch you write all that.
I like Montblanc's red ink. it works well and it is a nice bright red.
Very nice presentation Stephen.
Thank you.
With all those crazy sheening and shimmering inks, it is good to be reminded that saturated inks are beautiful and serve their place in our inks cycling.
I wish that Montblanc red was still available... I wonder if the Montblanc boutiques are selling inks, too? They sell expensive items, would their inks be too cheap for their own stores?
Thanks for the vid, it felt really special to watch this, at least to "end a day".
I couldn't help but have a happy gasp at Irish Green. Mine has an amusing story behind it in a pre-2020 sense.
I suppose having a "blue-black" like Graf von Faber Castell Deep Sea Green in a Jinhao shark might negate the "professionalism", but... it's a gusher that needs a drier ink.
It feels like when you have a discontinued ink, you're usually on the lookout for something similar.
A few pennies to the fountain. Best.
If you like shading blue, Pennonia Kekfeny is a beautiful blue shading even on lesser quality paper. Pennonia is a new brand of inks, but they're on LaCouronneDuComte and Kekfeny behaves very well.
Akkerman inks are some of the best. I have a number of them and my favourite is Delfts Blauw. Sadly Akkerman cannot supply this colour as well as my second favourite, #5 Shocking Blauw. I suspect that Akkerman buys their ink from Diamine. I would love to hear if Diamine produces an equivalent colour. I have not seen one. It was suggested that maybe Diamine China Blue might work. I am continuing my search. Thanks for the video, some very interesting inks, not to mention the pens. I use SBRE Brown in a fine as well as a medium and it looks orange. Must get myself a stub. 👍🇨🇦
You named 2 of my favorite Akkerman Inks. Have you found them yet? I’m in the United States and found them at Vanness in June, 2021. I haven’t checked lately, but they may still be available….
This was therapeutic. Tq.
Surprised to find no konpeki, yama budo or any orange.
They are pretty but they sure are expensive! Oof
My favourite ink is...... essri/diamine registrars ink. The shift of colour from light blue to blue black in seconds, blue black to black in a week, and black to black with a tinge of yellow in months. Beautiful. Fully waterproof. Maybe a bit dry, but rarely feathers even on cheap crappy paper. 10/10 for me
You have a very good handwriting
Absolutely love turquoise inks. The Edelstein Star Ruby Red is beautiful, however, a bit
costly for a 50 ml. bottle. Montblanc Irish green is $50 for a 50 ml. bottle. Love your
selection of inks. Even though several are out of my price range, they are still
beautiful inks! I've been watching your vids for years, and you always had good taste.
What a terrific video! Incredibly useful. As much as color is subjective, an ink being well behaved and easy to clean out of our precious pens IS NOT. So thanks so very much for making that an important part of your demonstration. Stay safe.
IS NOT to be considered lightly.
Stephen, thanks for sharing this. There are a couple that I will have to put on my list.
Very nice inks. I especially like the shaders!
Love the content! Been a fan since I bought my first safari.
You stated at the beginning of the video that you like usual and not so extraordinary inks. Well, I am not an ink collector, but it happens that I have five of the inks you mentioned. That tells a lot.
Thanks for showing your favourites. Very interesting to see what others like. And why.
Unfortunately school ruined the love for the "normal" used ink color for me. And I heard it is the same for many here. There are even some jokes that you do not mention the k-word. Translated in royal blue would be okay, I think. :)
K-word :D i had hated that colour, but today it's one of my favourites. I started to write with Parker Vector and Parker Quink washable blue in 1999... Today one of my most used inks is Pelikan not to be mentioned K :) Maybe it's because here in the Czech Republic we had to use fountain pen only two years and then i switched to ballpoints for many years.
What is the meaning of k-word?
@@gaurava972 königsblau (royal blue)
@@zdenkasimurdova32 I think it is an color which is okay. Like any other color. But it is overused through school and it is the "norm". The love-hate of that color is more or less joke-material.
@@gaurava972 It is more or less a bad joke. A joke about the fact that many doesn't like that specific color, because it is the typical school-ink-color. And used anywhere.
It is Königsblau. There. I said it.... :( :D Translated it is the royal blue.
Many here in germany and surrounding nations are joking that this is the ink that should not be named. ;)
A nice well rounded list
Considering you seem to like inks with good shading, and you like blue inks, I highly recommend trying out Robert Oster Clearwater Rain. It is easily in my top 3 favorites.
I also love Waterman inks, except for the green - which seems strident. But I sometimes wonder why I bother with "basic" colors from other manufacturers. Edit: at the moment, Waterman's Blue-Black is "Mysterious Blue."
I shall have to get samples of Irish Green and Delft Blau. I've had my eye on the latter for awhile.
I don't particularly care for Waterman Green either!
Waterman green is just a bit too basic like that green ballpoint you used in school. Waterman’s best inks personally are the two blues, the purple and maybe the brown or red. I don’t care for black inks (mainly due to a horrible incident with poor Chinese quality hero ink/failed purple grey mix) they are a bit to boring.
Thank you for this video! Love all these inks and especially that Montblanc Irish green!
How is it that you did a video about about blue fountain pen inks and yet do don't include the most famous one, Noodler's Baystate Blue?
Aurora Black for the black category, uncontroversial and classy
I searched for Aurora Black ink. Who is the manufacturer of it, please? I loved your video. Thank you so much!
The manufacturer is Aurora.
@@sbrebrown Thank you
Not even a single Diamine ink?
Montblanc Corn Poppy Red can still be found in Amazon (UK), costing £20, but has a hideous £15 delivery cost.
Serenity blue was my first bottled ink to. That and mysterious blue. Technically mysterious was first anyway!
Thank you. Appreciate all your videos and that these are normal inks. I bought a very expensive Japanese ink and thought it was like any other. Wine in boxes great too (just joking on the wine)
How is it that you did a video about about fountain pen inks and yet do don't include the most famous one, Noodler's Baystate Blue?
So we should add salt to our ink?
The part about prices seemed unnecessarily aggressive.
Found a new sealed bottle of Mont Blanc Corn Poppy red on eBay... wasn’t cheap, but I feel successful... great vendor from Japan and received it in 3 days...
Great and secure inks. Thanks.
pelikan inks, be it edelstein or 4001, i find have a very nice flow to it and maintains "good health" of the pens
A very nice topic....Loved this video
Thank you for describing the qualities of each and for the initial caveat that none would be shimmery. I, too, like straight-up colors, and I was delighted that we share three of the same favorites. I wonder if, in light of Montblanc Poppy Red 's unavailability, you might try Noodler's Qin Shi Huang or some of his other reds. Thank you for your injected humor, too.
I've read that Diamine Matador is pretty similar to Corn Poppy Red, too. I'm a fan of Diamine's own Poppy Red, but Diamine's version is definitely more orange.
I like your brown ink! Blue black is my favorite. Check out Kaweco blue black ink - very well behaved like Waterman ink.
Interesting selection. The search for a RED red is a difficult one.
Waterman red, Diamine red dragon, Pilot red.
Schaefer Skrip red is awesome! Not only is it a TRUE red, but it will NOT clog, cleaning up exTREMEly well. And lastly, a bottle of it is inexpensive.
Second Sheaffer red ink. It's a longstanding favorite red for many people, and like most Sheaffer inks, well behaved.
I am new to fountain pens. I am slowly building my collection, if it could be called that. I am planning to get a pilot metropolitan soon. Also I noticed this video is suggesting my small channel's video, so I would like to grab this chance to thank you. Very much appreciated!
I've read that Diamine Matador is similar-ish to MB Corn Poppy Red.
I am a pen person, less so an ink person. 85% of my writing is with workhorse inks like Aurora Black or Blue, Pilot Blue Black, Rohrer & Klingner Königsblau and so on. I avoid "high maintenance" inks. Not worth the headache, to me.
My first bottled ink was actually two bottles that I purchased--Monteverde's old formula Black and Blue. They've long since changed their ink lineup, but the Black was awful--a dry, dark, grayish purple. The Blue was a solid, if unremarkable, royal blue ink.
Try out the Ghat Green from Krishna...It's a fantastic shading ink
I had just jumped into inks world, and the most that I loved is a GVFC Burned Orange and the Aurora Blue Black, have you ever tried them? What I definitely hate is Lamy red, it writes like a completely orange ink.
So with these being your 10 favorite inks (fantastic choices btw). Do you use anything else for inks or have you narrowed it down to just these 10?
As a former employee of the CIA I know exactly how your screen is calibrated, so no worries on the tech aspect.. 🧐🤓🥸😎
?
I think waterman mysterious blue is my favorite waterman ink. I need to get a bottle...
Which ink is good and affordable for general note taking for students? (black, blue and red color) Waterproof and little to no bleedthrough?
Pilot namiki black or blue-black
Thanks for the nice overview. I used to be similarly waterman - heavy and moved to iroshizuku for my standard colours. How do you like those?
You live in Canada now? :) im in New Brunswick:)
Waterman Blue Black! I wasn't expecting that. :-)
Great ink soooo worth it!
@@rhashem1534 Yeah, my definition of ink is "a blue-black writing fluid made by Waterman". :-)
You poor guy...the caveats you have to share on the video seem such a chore but I do not doubt the need if you get comments as you must. Thanks for taking the time to do the video's always a gem of useful info to be found.
Very helpful overview--thank you. I would appreciate knowing which nib you have in the Opus 88 Omar (I am about to buy one), but I don't believe you usually respond to comments.
Muy bonitas todas. Gracias por tu atención. Saludos cordiales desde Medellín Colombia.
Another great video Stephen!!! Now that Mont Blanc “KILLED” the Corn Poopy Red what do you recommend as a good replacement that is as close to that perfect Red of the Corn Poppy???
Sheaffer red
A great video, thank you Stephen. why you dont use iroshizoko pilot?
I sure like your reds. I liked the Mont Blanc the most but then you said the "d" word. Dangit. Anyhow, good presentation, thanks.
Someone has finally explained why color cannot be judged on a computer monitor. Pantone...I am looking at you.
Dear Dr. Brown, I has question: red inks are notorious for producing nib creep - how do the two reds you like behave in this regard? I tried to pixel peep on the nibs but to no avail.
Elsewise, I'm in full agreement on Serenity Blue, but very rarely put it in my pens. I don't find the colour intensely appealing, but I love the ink because it provides me with a standard by which all other inks in my collection are measured. In addition to ink behavior comparisons, it also lets me evaluate nib & feed performance and various paper recipes.
I've not had the pleasure of trying your ink, but in it's place I am very well pleased with Montblanc Toffee Brown. I also keep MB's Irish Green close by.
Thanks for sharing your favourites!
There is some nib creep in these inks, but I don't think it is terrible
Ancient copper
Heart of Darkness
Oxford blood
Sapphire blue
Aurora borealis
North African violet
Black Swan Australian roses
Noodlers blue black
Baystate blue
Red Dragon
You crack me up. Thanks.
That is an interesting selection but I noticed you did not include any Sailor or Pilot Iroshizuku inks, which many regard as superlative inks.
Well, as the title says, this is my personal top 10 of inks.
1. Thanks for this interesting info and opinions. I'm impressed by how striking the Montblanc inks are.
2. Do you concern yourself with lightfastness? After just a month lying on the brightly sunlit windowsill, some of my more colorful inks faded, much to my disappointment. For anything not protected by being inside a journal, I will stick with darker, duller colors.
You're wise. The lightfastness of an ink also gives an indication of how it will age. Back in the 1980s I filled a couple of books with sketches, logic and algorithms for a project I worked on. I used different colored inks for different contexts to make it clearer. Slightly more than a decade later I revisited those notes, and a lot of them had faded badly. It was clear that they wouldn't even be readable in some more years.
I test my inks on a window, in daylight, for two weeks. What I can say in general terms, is that the hue known as 'Royal Blue'/'washable blue' seem to be made from the same dye in most brands, because they all not just look the same but also fade about the same - which is not much, but still noticeable. Consistently good brands, regardless of color, have been Parker Quink and Rohrer & Klingner. Montblanc might also be consistently good, I've just not tested all. Most other brands offer both hits and misses; some of their inks are very good, others are fugitive. Consistently bad colors are bright blues (brighter than Royal Blue/Washable Blue) leaning towards violet, i.e. cobalt or ultramarine blues, but usually named 'Sapphire Blue'. I've never encountered a good one sofar. It's as if there's no good dye available in that color. The best of them seem to be Baystate Blue and it's still not good. Consistently good colors are blues that lean toward cyan, turquois, particularly Blue-Blacks that lean a bit towards green. But also just as you suggested, dark dull colors in general. The champion when it comes to durable inks is Noodler. But Noodler also have some fugitive inks. So it's the inks that are marketed as durable, like "bullet proof", "eternal", "warden", "empire" that are the most lightfast. But they are also usually the most gunky and troublesome. Noodler's Black and 54'th Massachusetts are excellent though.
@@Vermiliontea good info
@@Vermiliontea It just struck me that you said some inks fade over time even inside a sketchbook, unexposed to light. That is VERY disheartening. I guess I will stick with Noodler's Archival inks from now on.
@@ichirofakename There is no such thing as a completely permanent organic dye or pigment. Time will eventually break them down. Exposing to light accelerates the process and thus lightfastness gives us some indication of what permanence to expect from each.
Noodler's archival inks are also the most annoyingly troublesome. Gunky, irregular flow and toxic. Some of them even ruin some rubber and plastic parts of some pens. And have a ton of protection you probably don't need, against things like bleaches, solvents, IR-lasers, UV-lamps.
I like Noodler's Black and 54th Mass. They're a good compromise. They're waterproof and fade resistant, but still handle and write rather well.
But there are fade resistant inks among the normal, benign inks as well, in all brands. You just have to test them to know.
P.S. a tip. When using a cellulose reactive ink like Noodler's or de Atramentis' waterproof inks, you should turn over and swirl the ink in the bottle, before each time you fill the pen. Most people don't seem to know this.
@@ichirofakename You mentioned "sketchbook"? If you want a black ink for artwork, you should look at Platinum Carbon. It's a non-organic, carbon nano-pigment ink. It's completely permanent and can be washed over with watercolors without bleeding. You just have to be attentive to the pen. Wash it out in time. Don't let the pen dry out and use it in a pen that is easy to disassemble and clean.
How long did you practice this handwriting? I'd love to get to this level some day.
Where is a good online store for those inks? I just got a pen and love a few you showed. Thanks
There is a list of vendors and discount codes on my website
Great recommendations. Thanks
Any replacement color for corn poppy red?
Sheaffer Skrip Red is fairly close
@@sbrebrown i will check it. Thank you
When did you move to Canada and what do you miss the most? Thanks for the video!
Ah ha , I have a bottle of SBRE Brown batch 2020 and I don*t sell it, I write it, yeah !
Killed 2 birds with one stone. Favorite inks are also shading inks! Yes!
Wow
Kind of funny how you like Akkerman Delfts Blauw because it reminds you of the ink you had to use in school, whereas I really never want to use the ink I had to use in school ever again. In my case the ink we had to use was Pelikan Royal Blue. Basically the only ink I ever wrote in with fountain pens, until I actually got into fountain pens as a hobby (in 2016, I think) and discovered different bottled inks. I turned away from Pelikan Royal Blue and have never looked back. I understand it's a very good, solid ink choice, work-appropriate, well-behaved, the whole shebang (not sure that's how you spell it), but I honestly never want to see it again.
I note that you didn’t choose any Noodler inks. Your thoughts?
He has said in various videos that he doesn't think the inks are well behaved.
What would be an equivalent to this red ink ? Exactly shade I’m looking for . Enjoying your channel . Thanks.
Sheaffer Skrip Red is quite close
@@sbrebrown Thanks