Inks of many colors

Doodling notebook and a few inks.

I love ink, fountain pens and color. Luckily, I get to use all three in my work. That's my doodling notebook on the left. At night, I write with all fourteen of my fountain pens on Clairefontaine paper in a Levenger notebook. I just write nonsense, happy to be playing with a pen. I doodle, journalize and generally live-blog my life. Add a little music and I'm a happy guy.

Writing with a fountain pen calms me. When I first pick up the pen, my hand is shaky from clicking and typing all day. But as I write I become entranced by the act of printing. Each letter is a tiny artwork; it's more like drawing than writing. Within a few lines, my hand is rock steady and when I'm done with the 14th pen, I feel I've had a very nice time.

I have over 50 bottles of ink, a color for every mood. It's a simple matter to switch the ink in a fountain pen: just dump one and load another. The real game involves matching the right ink to the right pen. You may find that an ink that worked very well in your Sailor pen, looks fuzzy and unclear or doesn't flow well in your Parker pen. It's like you're using a different ink. Fountain-pen writing is all about matching ink to pen. If things don't go well with an ink in one pen, try it in another or perhaps in a pen with a different nib size.

As for the inks, I'm partial to Noodler's and Diamine inks. J. Herbin also has some lovely colors (and a few duds, at least in my pens) and I like the Private Reserve brand. (Their Orange Crush is fun.) But in one area, there's no competition -- Aurora Black is the only black, always darker than you expect, free-flowing and a pleasure to use. And an Aurora-inked pen never seems to dry out. So black is covered.

I adore one of the J. Herbin inks: Violette Pensee. It's the exact same color as old mimeograph "ink". If you're old enough to remember this precursor to photocopying, you'll recall that the print was a bright, lovely shade of lavender. And of course you had to sniff the paper -- it had a heady, wonderful smell that seemed capable of getting you high. If you're old enough, when you first use Violette Pensee ink you won't be able to stop yourself from sniffing the paper. Alas, the scent you expect is not there, but the ink is exactly the same shade.

I also have a love affair going on with Noodler's Blue. Its shading (the change from dark to light evident in the stroke of some inks) ranges from turquoise to a pleasant, medium-dark blue. It's my favorite blue with the exception of Baystate Blue, another Noodler's color. It's the most vibrant shade of blue you've ever seen but it stains everything it touches. Since it behaves so badly, it's not practical to use. Goes right through the paper, too. Did I forget to mention that? But what a color!

There are some great greens, too. Lierre Sauvage, another J. Herbin ink, is a particular favorite. It's a bright medium-green, a sort of shamrock color, though darker and more forceful. It's greener than green has a right to be and it cheers me every time I write with it. I also like Noodler's Gruene Cactus, which is a lighter and brighter green than Lierre Sauvage.

And why not perk things up with an orange ink? Diamine Pumpkin is a fun orange ink with lovely shading. It's a bit browner than a straight orange. And if you want straight orange, you can't do better than Diamine Orange. It's a very orange orange.

I could go on and on about the inks I love but this have to do for now. As for links to the inks, since stores are in and out of stock all the time, it's best to just Google the ink name. I buy them from anyone who has them. You'll also find a bunch of my ink reviews on Amazon, if that's interesting.

Ink makes me happy. Writing with fountain pens makes me happy. What about you? I figure if you got this far in my post, you're probably a stationery addict just like me. Hey, there are worse things to be. Got a favorite ink or pen? Tell me about it.  

Stationery freaks of the world, unite!