Have you heard of A Signature Ink? Is there one color that you could use that expresses who you are perfectly? Is it perfect for your fountain pen? Let's explore the topic!
I bought a bottle of Writer's Blood before even trying it! I had a feeling it was the perfect shade of red I was looking for. It is my favorite! I have a pen with it at all times.
@@HemingwayJones I have tried Oxblood and it didn't quite do it for me. The Writer's Blood was exactly what I was looking for. I do think the Oxblood has a beautiful tone to it!
I really like your concept of a signature ink. I have been attracted to the Montblanc Lavender Purple ink for years, and I could easily adopt it to be my signature ink. It is dark and saturated, and well behaved, so practical for business, and I really like it for it's antiquated look, appearing almost blackish grey brown, but with a unique purple tinge to it that stands out. It is very unique in color I think, unlike any other I am aware of. Montblanc renamed this ink to Amethyst Purple.
I don’t know that I could just use one. I like the idea, it’s important to have signature elements of your personal looks an style but with inks they behave differently in my different pens, so I use certain ink brands with certain pens. Maybe if I had one or two pens in the same brand I could but that’s one of the fun things about fountain pens, is being able to use all the inks out there, plus I find that my tastes change throughout the years. I first liked royal blue, then blue-black, then purples and right now I’ve been buying green which I think I’ll want to explore more of next.
The Krishna Moonview is so awesome! Also love the Diamine Oxblood. When I was an Assistant Weapons Officer on the last submarine I served on, I used a Zebra Sarasa in mahogany which is a very similar color.. loved it!
Wow, you had an awesome duty. What is the perfect fountain pen for a submarine? Diplomat Aero, because it looks like one? I guess the Zebra since it actually did that duty with you. All the best.
Funny you brought this up. I was just asking my dad yesterday if he had any fountain pen kits because he is a wood turner & told him about the pen, a Parker 51 if I remember correctly, that was gifted to me from the base skipper for signing my first authored SOP for mobile small arms ranges. Gunner's Mate Guns til the day I die! Hooyah shipmate!
@@HemingwayJones the truth be known, I inherited the ink color and a few boxes of pens. We wrote in different colors to differentiate between different members of the Command team and to signify that documents were originals vice copies. We mostly write in boring black, otherwise. I did love that color, though! I’m thinking of going with something like a TWSBI, because they just seem to check a lot of boxes at a low price point.. I really love your brass pen, what a statement piece!
@@nixternal Hooyah! I was a SECO in my last job, and we discovered that our rifle range at Joint Base Charleston on the Weapons Station side wasn’t long enough for us to legally fire 5.56mm from our M4A1’s. I worked with Carlos Hathcock, III, USMC, GySgt, Retired (yes, the son of the one and only) to add SRTA to our NCEA to continue using that range.. we were almost to the point of acquiring a mobile range for my MA’s - good times! My dad turns wood, too, super cool!
@@davidblack8174 that is genius; so you know who wrote what. I wonder if other organizations did something similar. I’m glad you like the Brass Kaweco. It’s brilliant. One of it favorites.
+1 for the Caroube de Chypre! I use it after I've decanted it, removing all the shimmer. I find that those types of inks are lubricated, and by removing those flecks, I'm left with a nicely lubricated ink that works extremely well in Japanese F and MF nibs.
I've only been using fountain pens since 1969, so I'm still figuring out inks. Also, part of my "signature" is to vary the color and properties. ... May I say, I find your videos more contemplative in our hobby than bound to whatever the next interesting product is. Keep it up!
I’ve been trying different “work appropriate” inks over the last few months, but haven’t settled on one particular ink yet. Interestingly, there is a nurse I work with who always uses a purple color in a gel pen. As you mention the video, I instantly recognize her writing.
Great to use fountain pens for work, since they add a bit o fun in serious stuff. Personally I use only fountain pens and after years of use I realized that the coice of the ink is very important. Most of the inks you mentioned, the ones I know, are not for signature since they are washable. I lost days of work for few drops of water. Even, many blue inks are too sensitive to light that they tend to desapear with the time. Pilot blue is good enough, and it is one of my preferred inks. Not the same is true for almost all Montblanc inks; the MB Toffee Brown was one of my preferred inks, but unfortunately I realized that it is not for serious stuff, since it suffice one single drop of water to loose a full page. A very good ink, from many perspectives, is the Pelikan Blue-Black. Another exceptional ink is the Sailor Seiboku.
Just came across your video and I must say I took to what you're saying right away! I first started writing with fountain pens in 2016 and I instantly fell in love with the culture & artistry! I gifted myself a LAMY Vista "Demonstrator" Gift Set with 7 different color cartridges & also a TWSBI Diamond 580 Silver "Demonstrator". I tried out all the seven color cartridges and I bought a bottle of LAMY Turquoise ink to go in the TWSBI. I used that TWSBI pen for 3yrs straight with that ink, while purchasing multiple other pens during that 3yr time span for other pens, and I found myself always going back to that LAMY Turquoise Ink and soon it became synonymous with me, the company & industry I work in. That color became so well known with me until many times I didn't even have to sign my name on some of the notes and holiday cards I sent out because people know that they've only ever seen that shade of ink used by me. I still use it until this day; It's truly become my true signature color! 💙💙💙
Hello HJ. There was a time that I only used J. Her in Emerald shimmer ink. That was my signature ink that absolutely no one in the company could ever match. Truth be told, I kept it a secret from everyone else. Today, I have discovered a variety of ink colors that are always inked up in the 5 fountain pens that I own. If the mood strikes me, I have a glass pen that satisfies my craving for another color. I have learned that there are infinite colors out there in the world so why would I live with just one?
I own two Stipula Duettos in Cognac, and have developed a bourbon, cognac signature color for these… it is a unscripted dash and drop of three other inks, and this started out as a means to decrease the drying time without sacrificing the wetness of the primary ink while adding more of that honey-brown to what is basically a shading ink that is composed of mainly bright orange and yellow. I love how this initial experiment turned into an alluring signature color and is still very much possessed of shading and wetness, but for me, a leftie, dries quickly. The two secondary inks are Graf von Fabre-Castell Hazelnut Brown, Akkerman SBRE Brown… and the main secret foundational ink… these combined with the incredible chatoyant finish of the Stipula Duetto in Cognac makes for hours of enjoyment of true self-expression…. thank you. I love your content… Please, stay safe. BTW, I just refer to this signature color as “cognac.”
Just subscribed. I do have a signature ink. I write thank you letters and Christmas cards to clients and fellow agents, as part of my business model. It's done with a specific in and pen: Twsbi Vac 700 with a 1.1 stub nib and Pelikan Turquoise 4001 ink. A very personalized choice that is impossible to mistaken from anyone else; especially since I am a left handed over writer.
@@christoulouse3747 Thanks very much and welcome! TWSBI Vac with a Stub, awesome combination! Pelikan Turquoise is close to my mom’s signature ink, so I get it. Very nice indeed. I just got an E95S and I quite like it. Review coming very soon. All the best.
I have two inks. At work, most people are 100% electronic. I am not. I have two inks that as soon as anyone sees the writing they know it is mine. I enjoy my Waterman Carene in the Coral color. I match that with Waterman red which is actually more of a coral color when you lay the pen next to it. The second pen I use a lot for letter writing and sometimes at work is the Waterman Essence of Silver pen and I like to match that with the J. Herbin Poussiere De Lune. It makes me think of the silvery moon in the evening or early morning sky....and when people see it they know it is from me. I love your topics that you talk about
Hello HJ, very nice video. Well, I grew up attending a Catholic school in North-East India, before moving to the USA. We were allowed to use only blue inks at school. So, I grew up usig Parker Quink Royal Blue inks exclusively.. I remember my parents would buy Parker Quink ink in big 2.5 or 3.0 litre bottles, which were available in India, in the 1970s and 1980s. So, naturally, when I arrived in the USA for college, I went to the campus book store and bought some Parker Quink Washable Royal Blue ink. This was in the mid-1990s. Then I started using Waterman Florida Blue ink. None of my peers used fountain pens, so, I did not learn about the many colors and shades and the many manufacturers of ink that existed in the market!!!!! In 2000, I went to the Ohio Pen Show, and was I gob-smacked by the variety of inks that I saw and tried out. But, somehow, the indoctrination in ink colors that the Catholic school, I could noy break from, and I continued to use, and I use blue inks exclusively even today. I have Quink Royal Blue, Waterman Serenity Blue, Pelikan 4001 Blue, Akermann Binnenhoff Blue, and Delft's Blau, and Pilot Iroshuzuku Kon-Peki What can I say, I just like blue inks. BTW, at about 9;12 in the video, you show some of the ink bottles you have, with a very interesting, vintage looking bottle of Quink ink. Is it really a vintage bottle? If not, where did you et Quink in that particular bottle. Well, hope you have a wonderful weekend with your family. I am looking forward to attending a reading by the former Poet Laureate of America, Billy Collings, and am really looking forward to it.
I wish I could tell you how much I love this comment. Such a great story, background, and information. As a product of Catholic education myself, I appreciate your perspective. So yes, I have two vintage bottles of Quink from the 1940s or so with ink in them. And they work but are very watery. They look great in the B Rolls. A good friend from TikTok gave them to me. Passport Collector, if you know him. Lovely fellow.
Thank you or your kind comment, Hemingway. Yes, I attended Catholic school in the north-eastern State of Meghalaya, In India, in a city named Shillong. The school was "St Edmunds College" . It was run by the Christian Brothers, a teaching order. I think if you looked on RUclips, you will see videos of the school. When I attended , I used to thing that it was a grand campus, but, now, it looks a bit ragged, and not as impressive!!!
I was able to get two vintage bottles of Parker Quink from ebay. They were new unopened old stock, 1 permanent Royal Blue, and 1 blue black. They cost about $20 US each, and work well in every pen in which I have used them.
Hi Hemingway Jones. I'm a new subscriber from Chris Saenz's channel. I got into fountain pen/ink in 2016 because I wanted to find my signature color. My favorite color has always been dark navy blue and I wanted to find a perfect shade of it. From the very beginning, my signature ink has been Diamine Regency Blue and I still use it everyday. Over the years I've received some inks as gifts and I use them too, but I use Regency Blue for 95% of the all the writings--journals, letters, business notes, etc. If Regency Blue ever gets discontinued, I could use Diamine Oxford Blue--this was a contender when I was searching for my signature color. I picked Regency Blue because it had more vibrancy to it than Oxford Blue but they are pretty close. I consume about 2-3 bottles of Regency Blue every year and always keep at least 2 extra bottles. I'm not into fountain pen itself, though. I've been using Pilot Metropolitan with Regency Blue all these years and have no complaints. If I have to pick another signature color that is not blue, I'd pick dark purple, my second favorite color. I also received a TWSBI Eco as a gift and use Akkerman Treves-Turquoise in it because the ink came with the pen. Besides Diamine Regency Blue and Akkerman Treves-Turquoise, I own Diamine Purple Dream, Diamine November Rain, Colorverse Brane, and Vinta Pagtangi. I'm excited that I have many of your older videos to watch!
Hello and Welcome! I am very happy to have you here. Those are some excellent choices! I especially like Oxford Blue. Very well done. Thanks so much for embracing the back catalogue! I love when an older video gets some love. Thanks!!!
What an interesting topic! I don’t know if I have a signature ink due to so many arrays of inks I like and own. Also I am at a stage where I am looking for great pen and ink combinations, so could that be a considered a signature ink for a certain pen? This could be a great conversation. Thanks Hemingway, for a thought provoking topic!
When I first started using fountain pens in the 90’s, I only used Herbin Poussiere de Lune and Waterman South Seas Blue, now Inspired Blue. Over time, I still love those two colors but I shifted to the green-blue/blue-green family. I love teal inks such as Monteverde California Teal, Iroshizuku Syo-Ro, and Sailor Yama-dori which are dark greenish-blue with some red sheen. I find Iro inks to have the best “feel”, in general when comparing brands of ink. But, there are too many beautiful colors to be limited to a single ink. So, I started in the hobby very intentionally with a signature ink (or two) but now I don’t have one because life is too short to limit your color choices.
@@HemingwayJones I had never expected I'd be interested in a shimmering ink, but that Krishna is stunning! Too bad it's so hard to find, as you pointed out.
@@mattswanson79 Right??? That is a major issue for certain. I ordered it directly from India. I would keep an eye on their website and see if they come out with anything new as well. All the best!
With my recent purchase, the Cross Peerless 125, I wanted a new ink because I knew I would be using the pen a lot, something less traditional, but not too far out there like hot pink or bright turquoise. I didn't want a sheening shimmery ink, I didn't want black, blue or blue black, so I chose instead green-black, "Dark Forest" by Diamine and I'm very pleased with it. I also love Diamine "Oxblood" in my Lamy 2000 and have never changed inks in this pen for 4 years.
I have found that when it comes to prose style writing, black is the best ink. If I were to read a book with the words in a colored ink, my subconscious would be asking constantly and naggingly, "What is the purpose for this colored ink?" Black ink allows the reader to dive into the narrative without distraction. As most of my writing is prose style, my main ink is DeAtramentis Archive black. I use it because it I love its properties; it dries fairly quickly, it seems better lubricated than other inks I've tried, and I can pause for long periods without the nib drying. I wish it came in larger bottles as it is my #1 ink. (Plus, it's very permanent!) My signature paper is (A4) Clairefontaine Triomphe. I use the Atoma paper punch to put the pages in the Atoma binder/notebook system. I learned of the Atoma system from Michael Jecks of Writerlywitterings, another RUclips reviewer and a great guy.
Thanks John! I like the way you think. That is a great ink choice and you have nice uniformity in how you present yourself. That has become your Signature Ink! I’ll look up that other RUclipsr as well. I need to see who else is out there. Thanks!
You've featured some really nice choices. I ordered a bottle of Oxblood this week and am really looking forward to using it.The Diplomat Moss Green also looks great. My current go to ink is Diamine Aurora Borealis
I've never really thought of this question so it would be a lie if I suddenly announced my own 'signature ink'. In my line of work the letters I send are all computer generated. However, I do have to sign each letter before posting. My organisation states you can use any colour ink you like as long as it's black! So, I don't have a lot of options. Having said that it would be easy to identify a letter I have signed because I must be the only fountain pen user in the whole building! At home things are very different. I have more than enough inks of all colours. I have to say Oxblood is one I like as well. Another is Waterman Absolute Brown.
I started to use fountain pens not that long ago (2018), and the first ink I ever used was Diamine’s Oxblood with a fine nib Pilot fountain pen. Then I was put on to LAMY which has become my go to pen, sometimes I use their inks because it’s a lovely quality but more recently I decided to try the Jacques Herbin Poussière de Lune and absolutely fell in love. The deep, Smokey quality of that particular ink literally took my breath away. I’m very partial to purples so this ink is pretty much my ‘go-to’ ink because of how versatile it is, it’s darker, not so purple it’s offensive to the eyes of other and in my opinion can be used in day to day writing. So if I were to say I had a signature ink it would definitely be Poussière de Lune!
I love this and that is a great ink! Poussière de Lune makes the perfect black substitute; if you want dark, but to keep it interesting. Thanks for watching!
New subscriber and have been playing around with fountain pens for only about a year. In my line of work black ink was only allowed. Now that I have retired I only use blue ink on everything. For serious writing it’s Visconti blue, for fun Diamine arctic blue. The packaging on Visconti is also a plus too bad the bottle is plastic☹️
My signature ink is Pilot Iro Ama-iro. It's my favourite colour -- the perfect shade of sky blue! Not too light, not too dark. It's readable & it flows beautifully in my EF nibs. My friends are quick to recognize my notes, letters, & the rough drafts for my stories now that I use it so often 😆
I’d have to have a signature ink in each color family. Birmingham Pen Co - Cold Steel .. a lovely blue black Diamine - Monboddos Hat .. an excellent deep red purple, almost burgundy. De Atramentis - Alexander Hamilton Robert Oster - Fire and Ice .. a gorgeous deeper teal sheening red Iroshizuku - Jurojin .. lilac purple.. amazing.. LE sadly Private Reserve - Ebony Green .. one of my fav greens, deep and stunning. I would love to design a color. I would not consider writing in only one color, but sometimes when I use Pilot Blue Black I feel that it is a perfect color. Fun vid!!!
Hemingway, thank you for all the excellent content! Just got into the addiction of fountain pens! Your channel has been a big help, so I truly thank you for that. I'm up to 12 pens and 9 ink varieties. It may be pretty pedestrian, but I'm an all blue guy, much like yourself. But in my limited experience, the Pilot Kon-Peki is my absolute favorite. I was hooked on Diamine Royal Blue, but the pilot won out. I'm looking forward to the broad horizon of pens and inks! The highest quality pens are two Lamy 2000s, one fine and one medium. That pen provides a phenomenal writing experience. Who knew the process could be so enjoyable?
Wow! You are developing a great collection! Thanks so much for the kind words and the support of this corner of the internet where we meet. Keep in touch.
For the past couple years I have used Montblanc Irish Green. This is such a beautiful, full bodied green. I get comments about it as this is also what I sign document in (unless forced to use blue) and personal letter to others. It also seems to flow the smoothest in my Delta Dolce Vita (regular size and undersized pens)…..
Black being a favourite colour of mine in general because of the difficulty to make it beautiful and on account if its gravitas as a colour it is my main ink colour of use. Leonardo, Aurora, Pilot Iroshizuku and Sailor blacks are mainstream for me as I was given them when purchasing their high end pens. I love a thick and legible font whether handwritten or printed and black without any tinting fits the bill. However, for my diary I always use a pinkish red with which my Targa Sheaffer is permanently inked. This is because this particular hue stands for joy, hope and blossoming. Besides these I sometimes use a teal/turquoise or a violet blue ink for personal notes, just for the sake of variety.
I came here to leave a comment about ink. I was never expecting you to have a copy of Judika Iles Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells good on you! ~ As for the ink.. My signature has been a mixture of "Private Reserve: Avacado" and "Pelikan's Brilliant Black." Where I work every document that is written is checked by The State. Therefore everything must be in black. However, I find this to be INCREDIBLY dull so I skirt the rules lol.
I'm really enjoying your videos on those hobby, thanks again for another interesting one. My signature ink for Christmas greetings and birthday wishes is from the Jacques Herbin 1670 series, Emeraude de Chivor. It's a green ink with gold shimmer. I keep the shimmer consistent by using it in a Twsbi Eco. That way I can see when it's starting to settle and needs to be agitated. When friends or family get a card or letter written with that ink, sealed with Jacques Herbin supple sealing wax, they have no doubts about who sent it!
I mostly use Pilot Iroshizuku Asa-gao after finding this ink. It's wet and smooth, but well behaved and the color is very nice. I sometime use Caran d'Ache Vibrant Green and Lamy T53 Crystal Obsidian for times when black is the way to go. But Asa-gao is my main ink for must situations.
Thank you Richard! I am so glad you have enjoyed it. That’s interesting about China. In the US, we used to have to sign in blue. Thai was to differentiate from the black typeface to prove it was an original signature. Now it’s all moot. All the best and thanks.
I love (almost) all of my inks. But I have one special ink which is dedicated to a single pen and a single purpose. That is Montblanc "Toffee Brown" in my Montblanc "Marcel Proust" which I only use for writing letters to good friends.
My signature ink is Noodler's Dark Matter. I have been trying to branch out from just loving a black, red, and blue ink by trying some shading and shimmering ink samples. They are quite fun!
Enzo Ferrari signed all his documents in purple. I think that is so neat, but like you mentioned today we don't sign for much. Sometimes I wish they bring back the old VISA transaction method. But, I don't know if anyone will accept a signature in any color other than blue or black. At the moment I'm settling on Diamine Oxford Blue, but I also like Diamine Ruby Blues. Waterman Serentiy Blue is a staple ink for me, but depending on the nib it can come out really wet and vibrant or pale and dull. You bring up an idea that I have been mulling over, and in hunt for about a year. A signature ink has to be readily available, a safer ink that I would be comfortable to use in any pen, and relatively inexpensive to handle the volume of its use. That does limit me to a handful of brands. The more difficult choice is that my favorite color is blue. Blue is also a versatile ink, so win-win. I like the darker blues so it'll definitely be in that hue.
Thank you very much! I have always liked this concept and I would love to have one. It would probably be Diamine Oxblood or J Herbin Eclat de Safir, if I could exclusively commit! Good luck in your search. The classics will always be there.
I think I’ve been having a signature ink without really thinking about it for the past 3 years. I bought a Pilot Custom 823 in 2021, and picked up this brown ink called from Montblanc called “Sand of the Desert”. Even though I liked the ink from the very beginning, I didn’t think much about it first. But over time, every time I inked the pen with any other ink, I realised I did not enjoy it as much as the MB. So I eventually decided to stick to just that. A year later, I finished it and went to the store to pick up another bottle. To my surprise, the staff told me that it was a limited edition ink and they didn’t have any more of it. Luckily, I was able to import another bottle, but had to pay a significant premium over the MSRP as duties and taxes. Ended up costing me over £100 in the end. Fast-forward two years to now, I’m close to running out of my second bottle. I don’t want to repeat the cycle but at the same time haven’t found another brown ink that looks identical to it, setting aside any performance differences. Furthermore, I must say that I’m rather attached to it by now and changing it wouldn’t be very easy. Moral of the story: Do not make limited edition inks as your go-to or signature.
Hear, hear! And I’ve never heard of that one. I used to write everything in Montblanc Bordeaux. Do you remember that one? I loved it! Thanks for watching. I like this video! (It’s hard for me to watch my own stuff.)
I mix my signature ink. Red is the base colour; then medium blue and a small amount of black is added. It starts out black, but gives an intriguing burgundy tone when dry.
Personal taste is a changing thing. I would usually stick to a favorite ink for quite extended periods of time. But sometimes there's also dramatic change. Currently my absolute favorite is tobacco sunburst by diamine. I love that I can tell my mood during writing a certain passage afterwards, just by looking at the inks appearance on the paper. When writing lightly and fast, it shows an almost "leonardo'ish" light red-brown. When you write slowly with putting a lot of thought in the process, it looks almost black and you need natural sunlight to recognise that it's brown. And of course, same as with pens, there's also certain "grail-inks", which are hard to get. My #1 on that list would be Pelikan Edelstein, "golden lapis", a dark royal blue with golden shimmering
Hello ☺️ I've at home arround 50 ink bottles... No one that i love more than my DIAMINE Writer's Blood ! On the second place, the HERBIN Vert impérial 😉 Nice WE to all the FP Lovers 😊 JF
Writer's Blood is so fantastic. I was on the hunt for a perfect red for my everyday writing awhile back. I tried so many samples of reds and kept thinking I just needed something between Oxblood and Syrah. When they announced thr Writer's Blood ink and I saw the sample photo online I bought the bottle without even trying a sample first! So perfect!
Mine is probably Noodlers Air-Corp Blue-Black. It’s a beautiful dark teal that I love to write letters with. I use Platinum Carbon Black in school because of the bad paper we use, but I would use just Air-Corp Blue-Black if I could use my good paper all the time.
Enzo Ferrari is famous for only using purple. I had a teacher in undergrad who only used green ink. I remember sitting in his office on occasion and watching him write or receiving graded papers back all marked up in green (I swear I’m not as old as I sound haha). Unfortunately, he’s passed away but anytime I see green ink I think about him.
I didn’t know that about Enzo. Have you ever seen “A Good Year?” There is a bit in that about a signature green ink. Yours was a very touching story. Thank you for that. Teachers have a huge affect on us.
I like the concept but I find a lot of joy in color. I'm both a "variety is the spice of life" and "nothing comforts like the familiar" kind of gal and nothing in between those two! Hard to develop a "signature" when you change color a lot. It seems like something that works better in the work environment. Or maybe I could adopt that for the ink I always do my correspondence addressing. Something to think about.
To me green would be the best one, green is a clam colour, and when reading something with a green tint, you take more time to look and dive into every letter, it’s an interesting way of making people delve into every word
Diamine Oxblood is my signature ink. It's a pleasure to look at and very friendly flow with my pens. Red dragon is a nice soft shoot but isn't as deep and writer's blood is a little bit too dark for my taste. There's really nothing like Oxblood. I'm new to your page, but love the videos I've seen so far!
I have not used just one ink, but I could. I am partial to brown inks. The MB Swan Illusion is a fave. They quit making it. No one has it for sale now. The other ink I do enjoy , although not considered to be brown, is the MB James Purdey. I am stocked in that one.
Hi Hemingway. I do like Diamine Ox Blood and Diamine Green Black. I have other favorites by Noodlers. Could you please do a video on how often you clean your pens and especially those with shimmering inks? Thank you for this interesting video, and I also enjoyed reading what others favorite inks are for their pen collections.
Recently I have been using Noodler’s Black Swan in Australian Roses. I load it in my recently purchased Sailor Progear Realo w/ medium 21k nib. This sounds weird but I like the mood it establishes on standard clairfontaine triomphe white paper.
So sorry, that is the worst! Just as you find the perfect thing, it gets discontinued. That happened to me with hair product. That is a very nice color, indeed. All the best.
Noodlers Qin Shi Haung/1st Emperor is my primary ink I use for my signature on important documants. Not only chemically resistant/proof to everything they use to lift and fake a signature, but also glows under UV light. (black light)
I use the Graf Faber Castell Cognac Brown ink. This cause i did not want to have black or bleu, cause altough you can get lots of kinds of black and blue, in the end its still black or blue. I wanted a dark colour but it needed to be one you never see, brown fitted the bill after darkgreen and dark grey were tried but i had no "feeling" with those. The reason i took the Faber Castell version is because the put in in a heavy and beautifull glass container, no reason the ink cant be eye candy just as the pens are.
I’ve always been utilitarian in ink preferences: Noodler’s bulletproof black and Bad Blue Heron (closest thing to my signature ink). In fact when I was signing legal documents, the attorney asked, “are you SURE that’s blue?” 😂 I like the bullet proof features for signing the occasional check and I’ve always liked a good blue-black. However recently I picked up Robert Oster’s Bora-Bora Waters and I can’t stop using it. It’s was a Pen Boutique exclusive and it looks like they’re out so I don’t know what I’m going to do! In my cursory research, looks like Robert Oster’s Bondi Blue will get me close.
I keep searching for that ink. I like Birmingham Pen Company Cold Steel. It is a dark blue that isn't like any standard pen ink from ballpoint or rollerballs. I also like Diamine 1864 Blue Black, but I don't think it stands out as all that special in some pens. It can be too black in some. This is one of my goals to get an ink that, once seen, identifies the author of the document as me.
I don't have a single signature ink but I do have my top favorite inks that I use quite exclusively for writing important stuff. Waterman serenity, GvFC Cobalt, MB Lavender Purple, Diamine chocolate brown and GvFC Moss green. I'm trying to pare down my collection to just these 5 inks now. Fortunately none of these are hard to find or limited editions. One other favorite ink that has now been discontinued is MB corn poppy red. I have about a bottle of it left and will be sad when it is gone.
In my line of work, I still sign my name with pen and ink on a regular basis. So, for me, it’s Noodlers Liberty’s Elysium blue. It’s a wonderful shade of blue and it’s permanent, so it’s great for legal signatures. It’s a color that you can only get from The Goulet Pen Co. and it works great in my Lamy Al-Star with a medium nib.
For the most part even the fact I use FPs is my signature style. However, of the 5-6 inks I have (baby collector so far) my favorite that I tend to reach for is Diamine's Purple Pazzazz in TWSBI 580ALR EF. I have found it rarely to never clogs despite the shimmer (and the fact Blue Lightning clogs every pen I own while mostly working in my Jinhao Ms) and the combo of med-dark purple and gold flecks is very me. I also love California Teal by Monteverde which has beautiful color on all papers and on "good" ones a complementary red sheen.
I’m still searching for my signature color. Purple is certainly a strong contender; the J. Herbin Amethyst de l’Oural , Diamine Lilac Satin(for a lighter mood ) and Colorverse Cat. Bottom line , my signature style is shimmer. Since I have a naturally large hand writing, stubs and broad nibs work well for me and show off my inks in their best qualities.
For many years, I used only Waterman South Seas Blue (now Inspired Blue). Everyone knew that the brilliant sky blue ink was from me. I continued that off and on for many years, but some of my superiors frowned upon the color. I ended up moving to Pilot Blue which seemed more "office-appropriate", and even used that ink all through grad school. Now that I own a business, I do use one ink exclusively for the business - Pilot Iroshizuku Tsuyu-kusa. Unfortunately, Pilot has decided to discontinue this ink. Thankfully, I purchased several extra bottles. Other possible options include Asa-gao, Sailor Manyo Konagi or possible Scribe Indigo - each a little different but still distinctive. For my notes or personal journaling, I use a variety of different colors.
Hello and thank you for the comment. You definitely have a signature ink. Even as it evolves, this is definitely something you do. I loved reading your comment and hope you stop by again. All the best.
@@idebk Thank you for your suggestions. Yes I have tried all three and find them very nice. Eclat de Saphir can be a bit too wet for some of my pens. I really enjoy Asa-gao, and Namiki Blue is a staple in my pen collection.
@@dr.d723 I am glad you are into Asa-gao & Namiki Blue. I use those for work & documentation. My signature ink is Baystate Blue. Yes,it is quite cumbersome but once one is familiar with this awesome ink,it is just like any other inks but with a little extra precaution. The Namiki Blue has quite strong water resistant properties which many are unaware of.
I surely did establish a signature ink. That is Herbin's Cafe des Iles. However, I love the Caroube de Chypre, especially being a native of Cyprus and growing up and knowing how sweet those carobs are. Oxblood is also beautiful but I never had it. My other inks that I occasionally use are Birmingham Locomotive and KWZ Honey.
I use De Atramentis Document Black the most because I am artist and art teacher, but the color ink that I like to write with and occasionally doodle with the most, one I may consider my signature ink, is Rohrer & Klingner Alt-Goldgrun.
While I love Diamine inks in general and Oxblood is a great choice, my favorite burgundy ink has to be Noodlers Black Swan in English roses. They’re close in comparison but side by side Black Swan has just a hint of darkness in it, but I own both and and they’re both great.
I've got two of the inks in this video.. Eclat de Saphir and Jacques Herbin Caroube de Chypre. The Saphir is so gorgeously wet compared to my graf von Faber castell inks.
Last year when I first started to write with pilot metropolitan, which is my first and only fountain pen at the moment, it was a quick transition from scratching ball point pen to a smooth writing experience. And the serene colour of the Iroshizuku kon peki complements it just perfectly, so I think it is my signature ink though I dont know if I shall find any other inks in future which will replace the kon peki.
@@HemingwayJones have you tried Jacqes herbin kyanite du nepal? It has very beautiful colour and also sheen. I think you will love it if you have not tried it already.
I haven't found that "Signature" ink yet and to be frank I don't think I ever will, but the ink I always seem to love is Pilot's Ama-Iro. That being said Diamine's Imperial Purple stands out nicely.
Ama-iro is my favourite colour! It's the perfect shade of sky blue, which is why it's my signature ink. I love it so much, whenever someone asks me what my favourite colour is, I simply take out my notebook & point at my writing in Ama-iro so they can see what I see.
I am new to fountain pens due to starting a journal, at the recommendation of friends and family. I'm looking for non-expensive quality inks. do you have any recommendations? My current preference as of right now is blacks and blues. The only pen that I have right now is a Wordsworth & Black fountain pen. I found it on Amazon.
Haven't chosen one yet, but pretty fascinated with Montblanc's Around the World in 90 days. Not really blue, not teal, just right. I would chose it if I had to choose.
I choose my ink and pen based on how well I know the person I'm writing to and the situation I'm in when writing instead: - Don't know the person well & as EDC => Iroshizuku Shin-Kai + pen with a steel nib [EF] (safe combination all around) - Networking & formal settings => Iroshizuku Shin-Kai + Pilot Custom 74 [SF] (professional, but shows some personality) - Close friends and family only => Iroshizuku Murasaki-Shikibu + Graf von Faber-Castell Guilloche [EF] (favourite ink + favourite pen)
I haven't had the luxury of owning a lot of inks, though I had sampled a few. My current ink, though is the only one I have, is my absolute favorite. It is the Pilot Iroshizuku Ku-jaku. I love it everytime I put it on paper. I've been thinking of adding a complementary ink in red and I've been looking at the Pilot Iroshizuku Momiji. I think they would make a great pair. Have you tried any of those? What are some of the viewers thoughts on these? I am curious to know what you guys think of it. Cheers!
After reading this, I think I need to order some more Iroshizuku inks! I haven’t tried the ones you’ve mentioned. I love Kon peki and Yama Budo. I will try them and either post or let you know. Thanks!
For a bold signature, it's Baystate Blue or go home. For a whole letter, maybe another Noodler's favorite, El Lawrence. These are only theoretical choices, as I never sign my name or write letters by hand.
It's not for the color, but: Let's say '54'th Massachusetts' (Noodler's) is my signature ink. I'll be happy with that. But the color doesn't stand out so isn't "easily recognizable". It is however one of the two best inks in the world. If I could use only one ink, this would be it. The other being Noodler's Black. They flow and write as well as Quink on all papers, but have neutral Ph and are completely permanent on paper, cotton, linen and wood, but easily washable from everything else, including the pen. (note: cellulose reactive inks like these, need to have the content of the bottle mixed up, by, for example, turning it, every time before you fill the pen. Other note: and no, other inks from Noodler's are not necessarily as good as these two. Every Noodler ink has it's own properties, and many of the most permanent ones are very difficult to manage.) A final note. Those old scripts that you mention, probably didn't always have that brown color. In Europe, until recently, what was mostly used since the 400's was Iron Gall inks. It's both good and bad. What's good is that it doesn't erode away from the surface of the document as soot inks may, and that it's ultra-permanent on both parchment and paper, which is why we still have these old texts. It's bad, because if it was made too strong, it brittles paper over hundreds of years (only where the writing is, so text perforates the paper) so can make it a difficult case for conservators. Anyway, that brown color is iron oxide. Originally it would have been black.
Would you say a blue-black like 54th Massachusetts is a good business ink? I love it and it fits all my great pens but I wanna make sure that would be ok.
Noodler’s should make a Leonardo copy like they did for dark matter. But I wonder if they’d have to have a sample of the ink still in existence to do it. I’d totally buy that even though I’m restraining myself from buying ink until/unless the economy improves. This is a great topic though. I love the responses in the comments. It would be so interesting to ask the friends and families of those responding what they think people’s signature colors are, because how we see ourselves and how others see us is so different many times. At least we all stand out by using fountain pens, though.
That is a very good point. It would be super interesting if anyone actually picks up on it. Thanks so much for watching. It means a lot. Noodler’s makes some great inks. I hope the economy gets better before you run out of ink. All the best!
I would consider Diamine Imperial Purple to be my signature ink, I use it for most documents at work. Do you have any recommendations for different purples?
I love Diamine Scribble Purple. It’s a beautiful dark purple that can pass for black on a fine wet nib, yet gives this amazing dark golden sheen in more generous applications💜
Interesting question, a signature ink. But isn't handwrting unique enough to one person. Personally I'm quite borring with my inks, I prefer blue inks cause it's easier to clean out of the pen.
Waterman Serenity Blue for me: Works on nearly every paper, shades decently, cleans easily, and works in every pen from A to Z. Flashy? No. Reliable? Yes.
I don’t know Homer Greek Blue, but I love the sound of it, especially since the color blue is never mentioned in the Iliad or Odyssey. I am going to look for that one. Thank you so much for introducing me to it. Stop be again soon. All the best.
Shouldn't a signature ink be with good water resistance as well? For security and archive purposes? It is the reason I would never use Diamine inks for signatures: they just wash away completely from paper with water.
It certainly can be, if you sing your name a lot. It’s signature in the sense that it signifies you. Think of it as the ink equivalent of a signature smell (perfume/cologne). I’m in banking and I sign my name multiple times a day but never with a pen anymore. Always electronic. It really depends on how you live. All the best.
I tend to want my signature ink to have some permanent qualities, and particularly to inks that have some water resistance (or at least are legible after wet) so I've been leaning to some Noodlers inks for this. I like Air-Corp Blue Black a lot (it is more a green black). If I need a blue, I lean to Noodlers X-Feather blue. These are harder than average to clean, so I tend to put keep them in less costly pens that are just for this purpose.
All great choices! I stay away from permanent inks because I am messy. You are right of course that if you sign a check or a legal doc that you do not have control of, permanent ink is the only way to go.
For permanent or water resistant inks,have u tried Noodler's Baystate Blue or Midway Blue? The BB has been my signature ink past 5 years & in my line of work,water resistance is important. The ordinary Pilot Blue,Blue Black & Black inks are very underrated water resistant inks ! Cheap,easily available & it does the job !
Diamine Writers Blood quickly became mine especially with a 1.1 stub. I write a lot of Weird/Dark fantasy so it suits that very well.
That sounds perfect and especially with the stub nib.
I bought a bottle of Writer's Blood before even trying it! I had a feeling it was the perfect shade of red I was looking for. It is my favorite! I have a pen with it at all times.
@@curatedavalon Have you tried Oxblood too? I love them both and agonize over which I should use.
@@HemingwayJones I have tried Oxblood and it didn't quite do it for me. The Writer's Blood was exactly what I was looking for. I do think the Oxblood has a beautiful tone to it!
@@curatedavalon Writers is a bit redder. I certainly understand the allure.
I really like your concept of a signature ink. I have been attracted to the Montblanc Lavender Purple ink for years, and I could easily adopt it to be my signature ink. It is dark and saturated, and well behaved, so practical for business, and I really like it for it's antiquated look, appearing almost blackish grey brown, but with a unique purple tinge to it that stands out. It is very unique in color I think, unlike any other I am aware of. Montblanc renamed this ink to Amethyst Purple.
That sounds perfect as a signature ink! All the best.
I don’t know that I could just use one. I like the idea, it’s important to have signature elements of your personal looks an style but with inks they behave differently in my different pens, so I use certain ink brands with certain pens. Maybe if I had one or two pens in the same brand I could but that’s one of the fun things about fountain pens, is being able to use all the inks out there, plus I find that my tastes change throughout the years. I first liked royal blue, then blue-black, then purples and right now I’ve been buying green which I think I’ll want to explore more of next.
The Krishna Moonview is so awesome! Also love the Diamine Oxblood. When I was an Assistant Weapons Officer on the last submarine I served on, I used a Zebra Sarasa in mahogany which is a very similar color.. loved it!
Wow, you had an awesome duty. What is the perfect fountain pen for a submarine? Diplomat Aero, because it looks like one? I guess the Zebra since it actually did that duty with you. All the best.
Funny you brought this up. I was just asking my dad yesterday if he had any fountain pen kits because he is a wood turner & told him about the pen, a Parker 51 if I remember correctly, that was gifted to me from the base skipper for signing my first authored SOP for mobile small arms ranges. Gunner's Mate Guns til the day I die! Hooyah shipmate!
@@HemingwayJones the truth be known, I inherited the ink color and a few boxes of pens. We wrote in different colors to differentiate between different members of the Command team and to signify that documents were originals vice copies. We mostly write in boring black, otherwise. I did love that color, though! I’m thinking of going with something like a TWSBI, because they just seem to check a lot of boxes at a low price point.. I really love your brass pen, what a statement piece!
@@nixternal Hooyah! I was a SECO in my last job, and we discovered that our rifle range at Joint Base Charleston on the Weapons Station side wasn’t long enough for us to legally fire 5.56mm from our M4A1’s. I worked with Carlos Hathcock, III, USMC, GySgt, Retired (yes, the son of the one and only) to add SRTA to our NCEA to continue using that range.. we were almost to the point of acquiring a mobile range for my MA’s - good times! My dad turns wood, too, super cool!
@@davidblack8174 that is genius; so you know who wrote what. I wonder if other organizations did something similar. I’m glad you like the Brass Kaweco. It’s brilliant. One of it favorites.
Oxblood looks fantastic on ivory or cream paper. It has a lovely antique look that somehow makes it feel appropriate for most purposes.
I agree completely! Thanks.
+1 for the Caroube de Chypre! I use it after I've decanted it, removing all the shimmer. I find that those types of inks are lubricated, and by removing those flecks, I'm left with a nicely lubricated ink that works extremely well in Japanese F and MF nibs.
That’s a good way to handle it. The shimmer is so inconsistent anyway.
That’s a great tip. Do you just let them settle to the bottom as they prefer to do anyway? Or do you actually filter them out?
I've only been using fountain pens since 1969, so I'm still figuring out inks. Also, part of my "signature" is to vary the color and properties. ... May I say, I find your videos more contemplative in our hobby than bound to whatever the next interesting product is. Keep it up!
Thank you Rob. I appreciate the encouragement. Thanks so much for being here.
I’ve been trying different “work appropriate” inks over the last few months, but haven’t settled on one particular ink yet. Interestingly, there is a nurse I work with who always uses a purple color in a gel pen. As you mention the video, I instantly recognize her writing.
That’s exactly the dynamic I was speaking about. Thanks for the comment.
Great to use fountain pens for work, since they add a bit o fun in serious stuff. Personally I use only fountain pens and after years of use I realized that the coice of the ink is very important. Most of the inks you mentioned, the ones I know, are not for signature since they are washable. I lost days of work for few drops of water. Even, many blue inks are too sensitive to light that they tend to desapear with the time. Pilot blue is good enough, and it is one of my preferred inks. Not the same is true for almost all Montblanc inks; the MB Toffee Brown was one of my preferred inks, but unfortunately I realized that it is not for serious stuff, since it suffice one single drop of water to loose a full page. A very good ink, from many perspectives, is the Pelikan Blue-Black. Another exceptional ink is the Sailor Seiboku.
Nice. I love Pelikan inks. Very good indeed.
Oxblood/writers blood are two of my favorites right now and I sign most of my work signatures with it.
Excellent Choices!
Just came across your video and I must say I took to what you're saying right away! I first started writing with fountain pens in 2016 and I instantly fell in love with the culture & artistry! I gifted myself a LAMY Vista "Demonstrator" Gift Set with 7 different color cartridges & also a TWSBI Diamond 580 Silver "Demonstrator". I tried out all the seven color cartridges and I bought a bottle of LAMY Turquoise ink to go in the TWSBI. I used that TWSBI pen for 3yrs straight with that ink, while purchasing multiple other pens during that 3yr time span for other pens, and I found myself always going back to that LAMY Turquoise Ink and soon it became synonymous with me, the company & industry I work in. That color became so well known with me until many times I didn't even have to sign my name on some of the notes and holiday cards I sent out because people know that they've only ever seen that shade of ink used by me. I still use it until this day; It's truly become my true signature color! 💙💙💙
Wonderful! That is an excellent choice! I could probably live with Eclat de Saphir. I need to revisit this idea.
Hello HJ. There was a time that I only used J. Her in Emerald shimmer ink. That was my signature ink that absolutely no one in the company could ever match. Truth be told, I kept it a secret from everyone else. Today, I have discovered a variety of ink colors that are always inked up in the 5 fountain pens that I own. If the mood strikes me, I have a glass pen that satisfies my craving for another color. I have learned that there are infinite colors out there in the world so why would I live with just one?
I agree with this completely! J Herbin Saphir is my default though.
Another J. Herbin ink that I own and love is the Bleu Ocean. I will have to look into the Saphir. You can get lost with all that is out there.
Truly! I am a huge fan of J Herbin.
I own two Stipula Duettos in Cognac, and have developed a bourbon, cognac signature color for these… it is a unscripted dash and drop of three other inks, and this started out as a means to decrease the drying time without sacrificing the wetness of the primary ink while adding more of that honey-brown to what is basically a shading ink that is composed of mainly bright orange and yellow. I love how this initial experiment turned into an alluring signature color and is still very much possessed of shading and wetness, but for me, a leftie, dries quickly. The two secondary inks are Graf von Fabre-Castell Hazelnut Brown, Akkerman SBRE Brown… and the main secret foundational ink… these combined with the incredible chatoyant finish of the Stipula Duetto in Cognac makes for hours of enjoyment of true self-expression…. thank you. I love your content… Please, stay safe. BTW, I just refer to this signature color as “cognac.”
This is pure genius! I wonder if I could replicate it. Wonderful comment. Thank you.
Just subscribed. I do have a signature ink. I write thank you letters and Christmas cards to clients and fellow agents, as part of my business model. It's done with a specific in and pen: Twsbi Vac 700 with a 1.1 stub nib and Pelikan Turquoise 4001 ink. A very personalized choice that is impossible to mistaken from anyone else; especially since I am a left handed over writer.
Day to day work at my office, I use my Pilot E95s with Iroshizuku Asa-gao as I feel that is appropriate for filling/signing contracts.
@@christoulouse3747 Thanks very much and welcome! TWSBI Vac with a Stub, awesome combination! Pelikan Turquoise is close to my mom’s signature ink, so I get it. Very nice indeed. I just got an E95S and I quite like it. Review coming very soon. All the best.
I have two inks. At work, most people are 100% electronic. I am not. I have two inks that as soon as anyone sees the writing they know it is mine. I enjoy my Waterman Carene in the Coral color. I match that with Waterman red which is actually more of a coral color when you lay the pen next to it. The second pen I use a lot for letter writing and sometimes at work is the Waterman Essence of Silver pen and I like to match that with the J. Herbin Poussiere De Lune. It makes me think of the silvery moon in the evening or early morning sky....and when people see it they know it is from me. I love your topics that you talk about
Wow, that is the very definition of a signature ink. It is yours now. I love that color too. Great choices and a great comment. Thanks!
Hello HJ, very nice video. Well, I grew up attending a Catholic school in North-East India, before moving to the USA. We were allowed to use only blue inks at school. So, I grew up usig Parker Quink Royal Blue inks exclusively.. I remember my parents would buy Parker Quink ink in big 2.5 or 3.0 litre bottles, which were available in India, in the 1970s and 1980s. So, naturally, when I arrived in the USA for college, I went to the campus book store and bought some Parker Quink Washable Royal Blue ink. This was in the mid-1990s. Then I started using Waterman Florida Blue ink. None of my peers used fountain pens, so, I did not learn about the many colors and shades and the many manufacturers of ink that existed in the market!!!!! In 2000, I went to the Ohio Pen Show, and was I gob-smacked by the variety of inks that I saw and tried out. But, somehow, the indoctrination in ink colors that the Catholic school, I could noy break from, and I continued to use, and I use blue inks exclusively even today.
I have Quink Royal Blue, Waterman Serenity Blue, Pelikan 4001 Blue, Akermann Binnenhoff Blue, and Delft's Blau, and Pilot Iroshuzuku Kon-Peki
What can I say, I just like blue inks.
BTW, at about 9;12 in the video, you show some of the ink bottles you have, with a very interesting, vintage looking bottle of Quink ink. Is it really a vintage bottle? If not, where did you et Quink in that particular bottle.
Well, hope you have a wonderful weekend with your family. I am looking forward to attending a reading by the former Poet Laureate of America, Billy Collings, and am really looking forward to it.
I wish I could tell you how much I love this comment. Such a great story, background, and information. As a product of Catholic education myself, I appreciate your perspective. So yes, I have two vintage bottles of Quink from the 1940s or so with ink in them. And they work but are very watery. They look great in the B Rolls. A good friend from TikTok gave them to me. Passport Collector, if you know him. Lovely fellow.
Thank you or your kind comment, Hemingway. Yes, I attended Catholic school in the north-eastern State of Meghalaya, In India, in a city named Shillong. The school was "St Edmunds College" . It was run by the Christian Brothers, a teaching order. I think if you looked on RUclips, you will see videos of the school. When I attended , I used to thing that it was a grand campus, but, now, it looks a bit ragged, and not as impressive!!!
I was able to get two vintage bottles of Parker Quink from ebay. They were new unopened old stock, 1 permanent Royal Blue, and 1 blue black. They cost about $20 US each, and work well in every pen in which I have used them.
Hi Hemingway Jones. I'm a new subscriber from Chris Saenz's channel. I got into fountain pen/ink in 2016 because I wanted to find my signature color. My favorite color has always been dark navy blue and I wanted to find a perfect shade of it. From the very beginning, my signature ink has been Diamine Regency Blue and I still use it everyday. Over the years I've received some inks as gifts and I use them too, but I use Regency Blue for 95% of the all the writings--journals, letters, business notes, etc. If Regency Blue ever gets discontinued, I could use Diamine Oxford Blue--this was a contender when I was searching for my signature color. I picked Regency Blue because it had more vibrancy to it than Oxford Blue but they are pretty close. I consume about 2-3 bottles of Regency Blue every year and always keep at least 2 extra bottles. I'm not into fountain pen itself, though. I've been using Pilot Metropolitan with Regency Blue all these years and have no complaints. If I have to pick another signature color that is not blue, I'd pick dark purple, my second favorite color. I also received a TWSBI Eco as a gift and use Akkerman Treves-Turquoise in it because the ink came with the pen. Besides Diamine Regency Blue and Akkerman Treves-Turquoise, I own Diamine Purple Dream, Diamine November Rain, Colorverse Brane, and Vinta Pagtangi. I'm excited that I have many of your older videos to watch!
Hello and Welcome! I am very happy to have you here. Those are some excellent choices! I especially like Oxford Blue. Very well done. Thanks so much for embracing the back catalogue! I love when an older video gets some love. Thanks!!!
What an interesting topic! I don’t know if I have a signature ink due to so many arrays of inks I like and own. Also I am at a stage where I am looking for great pen and ink combinations, so could that be a considered a signature ink for a certain pen? This could be a great conversation. Thanks Hemingway, for a thought provoking topic!
Thank you very much! I am glad that you enjoyed it. Great pen and ink combinations is a perfect topic. Thank you for that! Please do stop by again.
When I first started using fountain pens in the 90’s, I only used Herbin Poussiere de Lune and Waterman South Seas Blue, now Inspired Blue. Over time, I still love those two colors but I shifted to the green-blue/blue-green family. I love teal inks such as Monteverde California Teal, Iroshizuku Syo-Ro, and Sailor Yama-dori which are dark greenish-blue with some red sheen. I find Iro inks to have the best “feel”, in general when comparing brands of ink. But, there are too many beautiful colors to be limited to a single ink. So, I started in the hobby very intentionally with a signature ink (or two) but now I don’t have one because life is too short to limit your color choices.
My journey is similar. MB Royal Blue for years, now each pen has a different color. It doesn’t help that I am always reviewing inks as well.
Wow...that Krishna ink looks quite ethereal. Heavenly, really. I am intrigued by the Diamine Oxblood, as well.
Thanks! The Krishna is still the best sheening ink I have every seen. All the best.
@@HemingwayJones I had never expected I'd be interested in a shimmering ink, but that Krishna is stunning! Too bad it's so hard to find, as you pointed out.
@@mattswanson79 Right??? That is a major issue for certain. I ordered it directly from India. I would keep an eye on their website and see if they come out with anything new as well. All the best!
With my recent purchase, the Cross Peerless 125, I wanted a new ink because I knew I would be using the pen a lot, something less traditional, but not too far out there like hot pink or bright turquoise. I didn't want a sheening shimmery ink, I didn't want black, blue or blue black, so I chose instead green-black, "Dark Forest" by Diamine and I'm very pleased with it. I also love Diamine "Oxblood" in my Lamy 2000 and have never changed inks in this pen for 4 years.
Oxblood is a favorite of mine. Dark Forest sounds awesome.
I have found that when it comes to prose style writing, black is the best ink. If I were to read a book with the words in a colored ink, my subconscious would be asking constantly and naggingly, "What is the purpose for this colored ink?" Black ink allows the reader to dive into the narrative without distraction.
As most of my writing is prose style, my main ink is DeAtramentis Archive black. I use it because it I love its properties; it dries fairly quickly, it seems better lubricated than other inks I've tried, and I can pause for long periods without the nib drying. I wish it came in larger bottles as it is my #1 ink. (Plus, it's very permanent!)
My signature paper is (A4) Clairefontaine Triomphe. I use the Atoma paper punch to put the pages in the Atoma binder/notebook system. I learned of the Atoma system from Michael Jecks of Writerlywitterings, another RUclips reviewer and a great guy.
Thanks John! I like the way you think. That is a great ink choice and you have nice uniformity in how you present yourself. That has become your Signature Ink! I’ll look up that other RUclipsr as well. I need to see who else is out there. Thanks!
You've featured some really nice choices. I ordered a bottle of Oxblood this week and am really looking forward to using it.The Diplomat Moss Green also looks great. My current go to ink is Diamine Aurora Borealis
Thanks very much! Oxblood is so nice! Top notch! Thanks so much and stop by again soon.
I've never really thought of this question so it would be a lie if I suddenly announced my own 'signature ink'. In my line of work the letters I send are all computer generated. However, I do have to sign each letter before posting. My organisation states you can use any colour ink you like as long as it's black! So, I don't have a lot of options. Having said that it would be easy to identify a letter I have signed because I must be the only fountain pen user in the whole building! At home things are very different. I have more than enough inks of all colours. I have to say Oxblood is one I like as well. Another is Waterman Absolute Brown.
Those are great colors. Absolute Brown is great and Oxblood is one of my favorites. I hope that all is well, David!
I started to use fountain pens not that long ago (2018), and the first ink I ever used was Diamine’s Oxblood with a fine nib Pilot fountain pen. Then I was put on to LAMY which has become my go to pen, sometimes I use their inks because it’s a lovely quality but more recently I decided to try the Jacques Herbin Poussière de Lune and absolutely fell in love. The deep, Smokey quality of that particular ink literally took my breath away. I’m very partial to purples so this ink is pretty much my ‘go-to’ ink because of how versatile it is, it’s darker, not so purple it’s offensive to the eyes of other and in my opinion can be used in day to day writing. So if I were to say I had a signature ink it would definitely be Poussière de Lune!
I love this and that is a great ink! Poussière de Lune makes the perfect black substitute; if you want dark, but to keep it interesting. Thanks for watching!
New subscriber and have been playing around with fountain pens for only about a year. In my line of work black ink was only allowed. Now that I have retired I only use blue ink on everything. For serious writing it’s Visconti blue, for fun Diamine arctic blue. The packaging on Visconti is also a plus too bad the bottle is plastic☹️
Thank you and welcome! Great suggestions for colors. I’ve never used Visconti. I’ll have to seek it out.
I want to make mine R&K Sketch Ink in Jule (I mostly only use waterproof inks) in my new Boheme. I love that purply red color
I love the Boheme. This sounds great!
My signature ink is Pilot Iro Ama-iro. It's my favourite colour -- the perfect shade of sky blue! Not too light, not too dark. It's readable & it flows beautifully in my EF nibs. My friends are quick to recognize my notes, letters, & the rough drafts for my stories now that I use it so often 😆
That sounds amazing. Well chosen.
I’d have to have a signature ink in each color family.
Birmingham Pen Co - Cold Steel .. a lovely blue black
Diamine - Monboddos Hat .. an excellent deep red purple, almost burgundy.
De Atramentis - Alexander Hamilton
Robert Oster - Fire and Ice .. a gorgeous deeper teal sheening red
Iroshizuku - Jurojin .. lilac purple.. amazing.. LE sadly
Private Reserve - Ebony Green .. one of my fav greens, deep and stunning.
I would love to design a color. I would not consider writing in only one color, but sometimes when I use Pilot Blue Black I feel that it is a perfect color.
Fun vid!!!
Thank you very much! Those are some excellent choices! Maybe a custom ink color could be a business idea for someone one day. All the best!
Hemingway, thank you for all the excellent content! Just got into the addiction of fountain pens! Your channel has been a big help, so I truly thank you for that. I'm up to 12 pens and 9 ink varieties. It may be pretty pedestrian, but I'm an all blue guy, much like yourself. But in my limited experience, the Pilot Kon-Peki is my absolute favorite. I was hooked on Diamine Royal Blue, but the pilot won out. I'm looking forward to the broad horizon of pens and inks! The highest quality pens are two Lamy 2000s, one fine and one medium. That pen provides a phenomenal writing experience. Who knew the process could be so enjoyable?
Wow! You are developing a great collection! Thanks so much for the kind words and the support of this corner of the internet where we meet. Keep in touch.
For the past couple years I have used Montblanc Irish Green. This is such a beautiful, full bodied green. I get comments about it as this is also what I sign document in (unless forced to use blue) and personal letter to others. It also seems to flow the smoothest in my Delta Dolce Vita (regular size and undersized pens)…..
Delta Doce Vita! Lovely! Great choices!
Black being a favourite colour of mine in general because of the difficulty to make it beautiful and on account if its gravitas as a colour it is my main ink colour of use. Leonardo, Aurora, Pilot Iroshizuku and Sailor blacks are mainstream for me as I was given them when purchasing their high end pens. I love a thick and legible font whether handwritten or printed and black without any tinting fits the bill. However, for my diary I always use a pinkish red with which my Targa Sheaffer is permanently inked. This is because this particular hue stands for joy, hope and blossoming. Besides these I sometimes use a teal/turquoise or a violet blue ink for personal notes, just for the sake of variety.
I love it! It is amazing to express mood in color! Thanks for this inspiring comment!
I came here to leave a comment about ink. I was never expecting you to have a copy of Judika Iles Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells good on you!
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As for the ink.. My signature has been a mixture of "Private Reserve: Avacado" and "Pelikan's Brilliant Black." Where I work every document that is written is checked by The State. Therefore everything must be in black. However, I find this to be INCREDIBLY dull so I skirt the rules lol.
You never know what may be in my library. Thanks for watching.
Inspiring and thought provoking video.
Thank you!
I'm really enjoying your videos on those hobby, thanks again for another interesting one.
My signature ink for Christmas greetings and birthday wishes is from the Jacques Herbin 1670 series, Emeraude de Chivor. It's a green ink with gold shimmer. I keep the shimmer consistent by using it in a Twsbi Eco. That way I can see when it's starting to settle and needs to be agitated.
When friends or family get a card or letter written with that ink, sealed with Jacques Herbin supple sealing wax, they have no doubts about who sent it!
Thank you so much! Chivor is top shelf! Great pen choice too. That is wonderful.
I mostly use Pilot Iroshizuku Asa-gao after finding this ink. It's wet and smooth, but well behaved and the color is very nice. I sometime use Caran d'Ache Vibrant Green and Lamy T53 Crystal Obsidian for times when black is the way to go. But Asa-gao is my main ink for must situations.
That is a very nice choice! Inks are so much fun with so many choices.
Nice suggestion to have a signature ink for oneself. In China only pure and solid black is allowed to sign any official documents. Excellent channel.
Thank you Richard! I am so glad you have enjoyed it. That’s interesting about China. In the US, we used to have to sign in blue. Thai was to differentiate from the black typeface to prove it was an original signature. Now it’s all moot. All the best and thanks.
I love (almost) all of my inks. But I have one special ink which is dedicated to a single pen and a single purpose. That is Montblanc "Toffee Brown" in my Montblanc "Marcel Proust" which I only use for writing letters to good friends.
That sounds like an amazing combination! Well done!
Hi. Really enjoying your channel. My signature ink is Emerald of Chivor, I just can't get enough of it.🤗 Cheers
Thank you so much! That is a great shade! That is the problem; it’s difficult to find enough for our uses. All the best.
My signature ink is Noodler's Dark Matter. I have been trying to branch out from just loving a black, red, and blue ink by trying some shading and shimmering ink samples. They are quite fun!
That is an amazing color and a great signature ink.
Enzo Ferrari signed all his documents in purple. I think that is so neat, but like you mentioned today we don't sign for much. Sometimes I wish they bring back the old VISA transaction method. But, I don't know if anyone will accept a signature in any color other than blue or black.
At the moment I'm settling on Diamine Oxford Blue, but I also like Diamine Ruby Blues. Waterman Serentiy Blue is a staple ink for me, but depending on the nib it can come out really wet and vibrant or pale and dull.
You bring up an idea that I have been mulling over, and in hunt for about a year. A signature ink has to be readily available, a safer ink that I would be comfortable to use in any pen, and relatively inexpensive to handle the volume of its use. That does limit me to a handful of brands. The more difficult choice is that my favorite color is blue. Blue is also a versatile ink, so win-win. I like the darker blues so it'll definitely be in that hue.
Thank you very much! I have always liked this concept and I would love to have one. It would probably be Diamine Oxblood or J Herbin Eclat de Safir, if I could exclusively commit! Good luck in your search. The classics will always be there.
@@HemingwayJones No one says you can't have two. See you tomorrow in the MB class.
@@ironmic9244 Yes! Is it Tomorrow?!? I better get ready. Thanks!
I think I’ve been having a signature ink without really thinking about it for the past 3 years.
I bought a Pilot Custom 823 in 2021, and picked up this brown ink called from Montblanc called “Sand of the Desert”. Even though I liked the ink from the very beginning, I didn’t think much about it first. But over time, every time I inked the pen with any other ink, I realised I did not enjoy it as much as the MB. So I eventually decided to stick to just that.
A year later, I finished it and went to the store to pick up another bottle. To my surprise, the staff told me that it was a limited edition ink and they didn’t have any more of it.
Luckily, I was able to import another bottle, but had to pay a significant premium over the MSRP as duties and taxes. Ended up costing me over £100 in the end.
Fast-forward two years to now, I’m close to running out of my second bottle. I don’t want to repeat the cycle but at the same time haven’t found another brown ink that looks identical to it, setting aside any performance differences. Furthermore, I must say that I’m rather attached to it by now and changing it wouldn’t be very easy.
Moral of the story: Do not make limited edition inks as your go-to or signature.
Hear, hear! And I’ve never heard of that one. I used to write everything in Montblanc Bordeaux. Do you remember that one? I loved it! Thanks for watching. I like this video! (It’s hard for me to watch my own stuff.)
I mix my signature ink. Red is the base colour; then medium blue and a small amount of black is added. It starts out black, but gives an intriguing burgundy tone when dry.
Tha sounds amazing!
Personal taste is a changing thing. I would usually stick to a favorite ink for quite extended periods of time.
But sometimes there's also dramatic change.
Currently my absolute favorite is tobacco sunburst by diamine.
I love that I can tell my mood during writing a certain passage afterwards, just by looking at the inks appearance on the paper. When writing lightly and fast, it shows an almost "leonardo'ish" light red-brown. When you write slowly with putting a lot of thought in the process, it looks almost black and you need natural sunlight to recognise that it's brown.
And of course, same as with pens, there's also certain "grail-inks", which are hard to get. My #1 on that list would be Pelikan Edelstein, "golden lapis", a dark royal blue with golden shimmering
i sign a lot of papers in my work, and i only use Noodlers 54 Massachusetts and sometimes De Atrementris archive ink black, they have cool properties
Great choices!
Hello ☺️ I've at home arround 50 ink bottles... No one that i love more than my DIAMINE Writer's Blood ! On the second place, the HERBIN Vert impérial 😉 Nice WE to all the FP Lovers 😊 JF
Writer’s Blood doesn’t get enough love. I really enjoy it as much as Oxblood. Great choices.
Writer's Blood is so fantastic. I was on the hunt for a perfect red for my everyday writing awhile back. I tried so many samples of reds and kept thinking I just needed something between Oxblood and Syrah. When they announced thr Writer's Blood ink and I saw the sample photo online I bought the bottle without even trying a sample first! So perfect!
Mine is probably Noodlers Air-Corp Blue-Black. It’s a beautiful dark teal that I love to write letters with. I use Platinum Carbon Black in school because of the bad paper we use, but I would use just Air-Corp Blue-Black if I could use my good paper all the time.
That sounds very nice.
Enzo Ferrari is famous for only using purple.
I had a teacher in undergrad who only used green ink. I remember sitting in his office on occasion and watching him write or receiving graded papers back all marked up in green (I swear I’m not as old as I sound haha).
Unfortunately, he’s passed away but anytime I see green ink I think about him.
I didn’t know that about Enzo. Have you ever seen “A Good Year?” There is a bit in that about a signature green ink. Yours was a very touching story. Thank you for that. Teachers have a huge affect on us.
I like the concept but I find a lot of joy in color. I'm both a "variety is the spice of life" and "nothing comforts like the familiar" kind of gal and nothing in between those two! Hard to develop a "signature" when you change color a lot. It seems like something that works better in the work environment. Or maybe I could adopt that for the ink I always do my correspondence addressing. Something to think about.
I also have a very short ink attention span. Thanks for watching.
To me green would be the best one, green is a clam colour, and when reading something with a green tint, you take more time to look and dive into every letter, it’s an interesting way of making people delve into every word
I like this perspective.
I would consider it but I am really new to fountain pens so I want to explore some inks first
Diamine Oxblood is my signature ink. It's a pleasure to look at and very friendly flow with my pens. Red dragon is a nice soft shoot but isn't as deep and writer's blood is a little bit too dark for my taste. There's really nothing like Oxblood. I'm new to your page, but love the videos I've seen so far!
Thanks very much for the kind worlds. Oxblood is my favorite too so we have that in common. All the best.
I've started using Noodler's Baystate Blue and Noodler's Navajo Turquoise - it's been turning a few heads.
That’s awesome.
I have not used just one ink, but I could. I am partial to brown inks. The MB Swan Illusion is a fave. They quit making it. No one has it for sale now. The other ink I do enjoy , although not considered to be brown, is the MB James Purdey. I am stocked in that one.
Rouge grenat from Herbin mixed with leather scented ink from Montblanc. It makes for a really great ink, looks like blood and smells wonderful.
That’s crazy and I absolutely love it! Great choice!
Hi Hemingway. I do like Diamine Ox Blood and Diamine Green Black. I have other favorites by Noodlers. Could you please do a video on how often you clean your pens and especially those with shimmering inks? Thank you for this interesting video, and I also
enjoyed reading what others favorite inks are for their pen collections.
Yes! I can do that. Very important topic. Thanks for the inspiration.
Recently I have been using Noodler’s Black Swan in Australian Roses. I load it in my recently purchased Sailor Progear Realo w/ medium 21k nib. This sounds weird but I like the mood it establishes on standard clairfontaine triomphe white paper.
This sounds awesome! Great choice.
Fun question! My ink would have to be pilot Iroshizuku Ina-Ho absolutely love it use it on everything! A little devastated it’s discontinued.
So sorry, that is the worst! Just as you find the perfect thing, it gets discontinued. That happened to me with hair product. That is a very nice color, indeed. All the best.
Noodlers Qin Shi Haung/1st Emperor is my primary ink I use for my signature on important documants.
Not only chemically resistant/proof to everything they use to lift and fake a signature, but also glows under UV light. (black light)
That’s awesome! Great choice.
I use the Graf Faber Castell Cognac Brown ink. This cause i did not want to have black or bleu, cause altough you can get lots of kinds of black and blue, in the end its still black or blue.
I wanted a dark colour but it needed to be one you never see, brown fitted the bill after darkgreen and dark grey were tried but i had no "feeling" with those.
The reason i took the Faber Castell version is because the put in in a heavy and beautifull glass container, no reason the ink cant be eye candy just as the pens are.
Very good point. It’s great that it gives your joy. All things should. Great choice.
I’ve always been utilitarian in ink preferences: Noodler’s bulletproof black and Bad Blue Heron (closest thing to my signature ink). In fact when I was signing legal documents, the attorney asked, “are you SURE that’s blue?” 😂 I like the bullet proof features for signing the occasional check and I’ve always liked a good blue-black.
However recently I picked up Robert Oster’s Bora-Bora Waters and I can’t stop using it. It’s was a Pen Boutique exclusive and it looks like they’re out so I don’t know what I’m going to do! In my cursory research, looks like Robert Oster’s Bondi Blue will get me close.
It’s so tough when a favorite ink runs out! Thanks for the wonderful points.
I keep searching for that ink.
I like Birmingham Pen Company Cold Steel. It is a dark blue that isn't like any standard pen ink from ballpoint or rollerballs.
I also like Diamine 1864 Blue Black, but I don't think it stands out as all that special in some pens. It can be too black in some.
This is one of my goals to get an ink that, once seen, identifies the author of the document as me.
Excellent choices, Larry. I need to track down that 1864.
I love Cold Steel too!
I don't have a single signature ink but I do have my top favorite inks that I use quite exclusively for writing important stuff. Waterman serenity, GvFC Cobalt, MB Lavender Purple, Diamine chocolate brown and GvFC Moss green. I'm trying to pare down my collection to just these 5 inks now. Fortunately none of these are hard to find or limited editions. One other favorite ink that has now been discontinued is MB corn poppy red. I have about a bottle of it left and will be sad when it is gone.
I remember that Corn Poppy Red. They had a great Bordeaux color too years ago. Sad to see these colors go.
In my line of work, I still sign my name with pen and ink on a regular basis. So, for me, it’s Noodlers Liberty’s Elysium blue. It’s a wonderful shade of blue and it’s permanent, so it’s great for legal signatures. It’s a color that you can only get from The Goulet Pen Co. and it works great in my Lamy Al-Star with a medium nib.
Thanks for the suggestion from another person who is constantly signing their name.
I remember that detail on the movie... I loved that green color and I actually keep looking for that ink!
Thank you for the video.
I am so glad that someone knew what I was referring to. Thanks! It was a great green.
For the most part even the fact I use FPs is my signature style. However, of the 5-6 inks I have (baby collector so far) my favorite that I tend to reach for is Diamine's Purple Pazzazz in TWSBI 580ALR EF. I have found it rarely to never clogs despite the shimmer (and the fact Blue Lightning clogs every pen I own while mostly working in my Jinhao Ms) and the combo of med-dark purple and gold flecks is very me. I also love California Teal by Monteverde which has beautiful color on all papers and on "good" ones a complementary red sheen.
Those are some amazing choices and described so well. Thanks for the wonderful comment.
My signature ink has to be Monteverde’s Tanzanite. A blueish purple ink which drys very dark. Just love it as it’s a nice wet ink.
That Tanzanite Ink is gorgeous! Great choice!
I’m still searching for my signature color. Purple is certainly a strong contender; the J. Herbin Amethyst de l’Oural , Diamine Lilac Satin(for a lighter mood ) and Colorverse Cat. Bottom line , my signature style is shimmer. Since I have a naturally large hand writing, stubs and broad nibs work well for me and show off my inks in their best qualities.
Hi Liz, Purple, very nice. I am a fan of Colorverse Cat. It has such a nice color and shimmer. Very good.
Yes, I definitely love Moonview 2
I've been using my good ol' reliable Parker Quink Blue-Black!
Brilliant! Great choice.
For many years, I used only Waterman South Seas Blue (now Inspired Blue). Everyone knew that the brilliant sky blue ink was from me. I continued that off and on for many years, but some of my superiors frowned upon the color. I ended up moving to Pilot Blue which seemed more "office-appropriate", and even used that ink all through grad school. Now that I own a business, I do use one ink exclusively for the business - Pilot Iroshizuku Tsuyu-kusa. Unfortunately, Pilot has decided to discontinue this ink. Thankfully, I purchased several extra bottles. Other possible options include Asa-gao, Sailor Manyo Konagi or possible Scribe Indigo - each a little different but still distinctive. For my notes or personal journaling, I use a variety of different colors.
Hello and thank you for the comment. You definitely have a signature ink. Even as it evolves, this is definitely something you do. I loved reading your comment and hope you stop by again. All the best.
Have u tried Herbin Eclat De Saphir?
Asa-gao is certainly a good ink & Pilot Blue is really good overall but underrated.
@@idebk Thank you for your suggestions. Yes I have tried all three and find them very nice. Eclat de Saphir can be a bit too wet for some of my pens. I really enjoy Asa-gao, and Namiki Blue is a staple in my pen collection.
@@dr.d723 I am glad you are into Asa-gao & Namiki Blue. I use those for work & documentation. My signature ink is Baystate Blue. Yes,it is quite cumbersome but once one is familiar with this awesome ink,it is just like any other inks but with a little extra precaution. The Namiki Blue has quite strong water resistant properties which many are unaware of.
I surely did establish a signature ink. That is Herbin's Cafe des Iles. However, I love the Caroube de Chypre, especially being a native of Cyprus and growing up and knowing how sweet those carobs are. Oxblood is also beautiful but I never had it. My other inks that I occasionally use are Birmingham Locomotive and KWZ Honey.
Those are some wonderful and excellent choices! I love the Cypress connection. It makes it that much more special.
I use De Atramentis Document Black the most because I am artist and art teacher, but the color ink that I like to write with and occasionally doodle with the most, one I may consider my signature ink, is Rohrer & Klingner Alt-Goldgrun.
Great choices, Terry!
I’ve wanted to try that one for a while, but I’m on an ink and pen diet until I either run out of ink or Santa Claus visits.
While I love Diamine inks in general and Oxblood is a great choice, my favorite burgundy ink has to be Noodlers Black Swan in English roses. They’re close in comparison but side by side Black Swan has just a hint of darkness in it, but I own both and and they’re both great.
That Noodler’s ink may have the coolest name ever. Very cool.
I've got two of the inks in this video.. Eclat de Saphir and Jacques Herbin Caroube de Chypre. The Saphir is so gorgeously wet compared to my graf von Faber castell inks.
My favourite ink is royal blue.
But i most try a few different inks sometime
Awesome!
I like the Pelikan Royal Blue (or konigsblau) as it says on my particular bottle. Can't go wrong using it for signatures on legal documents.
Last year when I first started to write with pilot metropolitan, which is my first and only fountain pen at the moment, it was a quick transition from scratching ball point pen to a smooth writing experience. And the serene colour of the Iroshizuku kon peki complements it just perfectly, so I think it is my signature ink though I dont know if I shall find any other inks in future which will replace the kon peki.
I did a whole video on Kon Peki I love it so much.
@@HemingwayJones have you tried Jacqes herbin kyanite du nepal? It has very beautiful colour and also sheen. I think you will love it if you have not tried it already.
I agree - if you like Kon-peki, you must try a sample of Kyanite!
Waterman Green was in the movie A Good Year. The bottle makes a short appearance in the film.
One of my favorite films to watch. Thanks for watching.
I haven't found that "Signature" ink yet and to be frank I don't think I ever will, but the ink I always seem to love is Pilot's Ama-Iro. That being said Diamine's Imperial Purple stands out nicely.
I love Imperial Purple. Such a perfect shade. I’m with you. It’s hard picking one. The idea is intriguing though. It’s all about the process for me.
Currently loving pilots ama-iro as well. Imperial purple stained my pens and just didn’t work for me so I ended up giving it away
Ama-iro is my favourite colour! It's the perfect shade of sky blue, which is why it's my signature ink. I love it so much, whenever someone asks me what my favourite colour is, I simply take out my notebook & point at my writing in Ama-iro so they can see what I see.
I am new to fountain pens due to starting a journal, at the recommendation of friends and family. I'm looking for non-expensive quality inks. do you have any recommendations? My current preference as of right now is blacks and blues. The only pen that I have right now is a Wordsworth & Black fountain pen. I found it on Amazon.
Waterman blue or black is pretty great and affordable. Wish you all the best in your fountain pen journey. I’m here to help with any questions.
@@HemingwayJones thank you for the advice.
Haven't chosen one yet, but pretty fascinated with Montblanc's Around the World in 90 days. Not really blue, not teal, just right. I would chose it if I had to choose.
Montblanc has some excellent colors. That is an excellent choice.
I choose my ink and pen based on how well I know the person I'm writing to and the situation I'm in when writing instead:
- Don't know the person well & as EDC => Iroshizuku Shin-Kai + pen with a steel nib [EF] (safe combination all around)
- Networking & formal settings => Iroshizuku Shin-Kai + Pilot Custom 74 [SF] (professional, but shows some personality)
- Close friends and family only => Iroshizuku Murasaki-Shikibu + Graf von Faber-Castell Guilloche [EF] (favourite ink + favourite pen)
I love this concept. Well done!
I would say that the Diamine blue black is my absolute favorite… Sorry it’s not very unique but I love that it is a super dark navy blue.
That’s a great color! Well chosen!
I haven't had the luxury of owning a lot of inks, though I had sampled a few. My current ink, though is the only one I have, is my absolute favorite. It is the Pilot Iroshizuku Ku-jaku. I love it everytime I put it on paper. I've been thinking of adding a complementary ink in red and I've been looking at the Pilot Iroshizuku Momiji. I think they would make a great pair. Have you tried any of those? What are some of the viewers thoughts on these? I am curious to know what you guys think of it. Cheers!
After reading this, I think I need to order some more Iroshizuku inks! I haven’t tried the ones you’ve mentioned. I love Kon peki and Yama Budo. I will try them and either post or let you know. Thanks!
@@HemingwayJones I'm excited to learn what you'll find in these inks. I'd love to hear your thoughts on them. Till then, cheers!
For a bold signature, it's Baystate Blue or go home. For a whole letter, maybe another Noodler's favorite, El Lawrence. These are only theoretical choices, as I never sign my name or write letters by hand.
Bay State Blue! Good choice!
It's not for the color, but: Let's say '54'th Massachusetts' (Noodler's) is my signature ink. I'll be happy with that. But the color doesn't stand out so isn't "easily recognizable". It is however one of the two best inks in the world. If I could use only one ink, this would be it.
The other being Noodler's Black. They flow and write as well as Quink on all papers, but have neutral Ph and are completely permanent on paper, cotton, linen and wood, but easily washable from everything else, including the pen.
(note: cellulose reactive inks like these, need to have the content of the bottle mixed up, by, for example, turning it, every time before you fill the pen. Other note: and no, other inks from Noodler's are not necessarily as good as these two. Every Noodler ink has it's own properties, and many of the most permanent ones are very difficult to manage.)
A final note. Those old scripts that you mention, probably didn't always have that brown color. In Europe, until recently, what was mostly used since the 400's was Iron Gall inks. It's both good and bad. What's good is that it doesn't erode away from the surface of the document as soot inks may, and that it's ultra-permanent on both parchment and paper, which is why we still have these old texts. It's bad, because if it was made too strong, it brittles paper over hundreds of years (only where the writing is, so text perforates the paper) so can make it a difficult case for conservators.
Anyway, that brown color is iron oxide. Originally it would have been black.
Thanks so much and all the best!
It's any shade of green on light grey paper for my letters, Good sir.
Great video, thank you.
V.
Thank you so much for watching! That is an excellent choice!
Would you say a blue-black like 54th Massachusetts is a good business ink? I love it and it fits all my great pens but I wanna make sure that would be ok.
Liked and subscribed 🖋️
Thank you! Welcome! I am happy to have you here.
Noodler’s should make a Leonardo copy like they did for dark matter. But I wonder if they’d have to have a sample of the ink still in existence to do it. I’d totally buy that even though I’m restraining myself from buying ink until/unless the economy improves. This is a great topic though. I love the responses in the comments. It would be so interesting to ask the friends and families of those responding what they think people’s signature colors are, because how we see ourselves and how others see us is so different many times. At least we all stand out by using fountain pens, though.
That is a very good point. It would be super interesting if anyone actually picks up on it. Thanks so much for watching. It means a lot. Noodler’s makes some great inks. I hope the economy gets better before you run out of ink. All the best!
I am a mission specific Tri-Color kind of guy.. Fun Content...
I would consider Diamine Imperial Purple to be my signature ink, I use it for most documents at work. Do you have any recommendations for different purples?
Honestly Simon, Diamine Imperial Purple is my favorite. It’s a perfect darkish purple. Love it! You have chosen wisely.
The HERBIN poussière de lune is marvelous ☺️ JF
Light: Kaweco Summer Purple. Dark: Noodler's La Reine Mauve.
I love Diamine Scribble Purple. It’s a beautiful dark purple that can pass for black on a fine wet nib, yet gives this amazing dark golden sheen in more generous applications💜
@@rogeliogarcia-cavazos3715 that sounds awesome. I use Imperial Purple. I’ll have to try this.
For me, these inks are Pelikan Edelstein Olivine or J. Herbin Lie de thé, what do you think?? Regards from Madrid
I love J Herbin. Thank have less experience with Edlestein. The J Herbin Sapphire is amazing. All the best.
Interesting question, a signature ink. But isn't handwrting unique enough to one person. Personally I'm quite borring with my inks, I prefer blue inks cause it's easier to clean out of the pen.
I love Blue Ink. It's always nice to have a color signifier.
Waterman Serenity Blue for me: Works on nearly every paper, shades decently, cleans easily, and works in every pen from A to Z. Flashy? No. Reliable? Yes.
That is a beautiful color! You have chosen well.
I have been using Montblanc swan illusion plume, but I might change it... seems is not available any more :-(
I hate when they do that. So disappointing.
I like Mandalay Maroon and Bay State Blue. For "official" signatures, I use Bad Black Moccasin (for safety).
I‘m really enjoying MontBlanc Homer Greek Blue in Pelikan 405 with a gold „B“ nib.
I don’t know Homer Greek Blue, but I love the sound of it, especially since the color blue is never mentioned in the Iliad or Odyssey. I am going to look for that one. Thank you so much for introducing me to it. Stop be again soon. All the best.
Shouldn't a signature ink be with good water resistance as well? For security and archive purposes? It is the reason I would never use Diamine inks for signatures: they just wash away completely from paper with water.
It certainly can be, if you sing your name a lot. It’s signature in the sense that it signifies you. Think of it as the ink equivalent of a signature smell (perfume/cologne). I’m in banking and I sign my name multiple times a day but never with a pen anymore. Always electronic. It really depends on how you live. All the best.
I tend to want my signature ink to have some permanent qualities, and particularly to inks that have some water resistance (or at least are legible after wet) so I've been leaning to some Noodlers inks for this. I like Air-Corp Blue Black a lot (it is more a green black). If I need a blue, I lean to Noodlers X-Feather blue. These are harder than average to clean, so I tend to put keep them in less costly pens that are just for this purpose.
All great choices! I stay away from permanent inks because I am messy. You are right of course that if you sign a check or a legal doc that you do not have control of, permanent ink is the only way to go.
For permanent or water resistant inks,have u tried Noodler's Baystate Blue or Midway Blue? The BB has been my signature ink past 5 years & in my line of work,water resistance is important. The ordinary Pilot Blue,Blue Black & Black inks are very underrated water resistant inks ! Cheap,easily available & it does the job !
Before I retired my signature ink was Private Reserve Tanzanite.
That is top shelf! Well done!