This is a good idea. I am using only one brand of ink here in India- "Bril" - for the last 60 years- I have had no trouble at all! - no clogging, no drying in the pen, no mould formation , no difficult -to- remove stains, no nothing! I don't fancy the many foreign brands, because they are unconscionably costly. Parker Quink has been around here for long- but its Royal Blue is hopeless- it fades on paper after some time. Even this brand is costly here. Now, I have inks of 8 basic colours , and make my own combinations, and make new colours. Since they are all of the same brand, this poses no problems. [ Some recent makers of inks have come up with more or new colours, but I do not know how good the are , so I am testing them.] Only, I cannot get the exact same combination again since I keep no notes. It is here your idea of Ink Journal is so helpful. Thank you.
With only one type of ink, you definitely don't need an ink journal! I have a friend in India who sent me some Camlin ink and it's really nice. Have you used it before?
@@FountainPenLove Yes., I have used Camlin before. I have been using fountain pens since 1955/56. Here in India , we had mainly regional brands in the 50s/60s. In the South, I used "Iris" and "Krishnaveni" inks in the late fifties and early 60s. Around 1964, Iris brand changed into the "Bril'" . I have been using this ink since then. Camlin was a brand then mainly confined to the West. I used that ink when I was in Bombay(now Mumbai) and Ahmedabad in the 70s and 80s. Yes, it was good. The brand "Sulekha" was famous in the East - Calcutta ( now Kolkata) .And I had it brought from friends from there. It too was good. It had a 'nationalist' halo around it as many national leaders engaged in the freedom struggle used that ink and it became a well-known brand- though not easily available elsewhere. While in Delhi, I used Parker Quink ( as other brands were not readily available). For some years, Parker had local collaboration and promoted a local brand called "Chelpark". I had used that ink also. Recently, with the arrival of online shopping one brand - " Daytone" has become widely available. At present, it has the largest range-with 15 colours- and is available in two varieties- ordinary and superior. I am experimenting with it. The latest addition to the list is a new Chennai (old Madras) brand called- "penhouse.in". But Bril ink has been good to my pens and it has been my long standing darling. The idea of an ink journal for me is mainly to record the many combinations of colours that I make. I do not keep detailed notes, so it becomes difficult to get that exact shade again. I think a journal will enable me to record the particulars and make it again!
Thank you!!! I watched your video and got inspired enough to create my own ink journal. I thought it would take forever, but went through all my bottles and samples in a day. I can't believe I did not do this before!!! Such a nice, visual way to see what you already have - and appreciate it, instead of permanently wishing to have new things.
Rhodia notebook just arrived to make my own fountain pen & ink journal. Thanks John for showing some examples. Perhaps to order a new ink too ... Diamine Autumn Oak :-)
Thanks John. I've got a conundrum after watching this. I really need/want to make an ink journal so I have a nice overview of my ever expanding ink collection. Now that Tomoe River is being discontinued, I don't want to "waste" any of my precious TR notebooks on making an ink journal. But if make the journal with any other paper, it won't display the inks in all their glory. Decisions, decisions. First worlds problems, really. :)
That is a bit of a conundrum, but I have a suggestion. If I were starting an ink journal right now, I'd make it on paper that I will likely be using for the majority of the time. This way, you'll know how the ink will look when you use it. It's definitely a first world problem, but also something that's good to think about before diving in. Hopefully you come up with a solution that works for you!
@@FountainPenLove Thanks John. I actually decided to go with Tomoe River after all. I did a test on 52 gsm, since that is the paper I use the most, but I got too much bleed-through on the swatches, so I ended up using a 68 gsm notebook. It really brings out the best in my inks, so I'm happy I chose that notebook in the end.
