My Top 5 Favorite Inks! 

I’m so glad you mentioned Ancient Copper. That ink looks BEAUTIFUL in bouncy nibs. The shading is some of the best out there.

Extremely cool! I love all of those inks, amazing to see examples of all of them!

Was waiting for this video to drop! I enjoy your content so much!

I love your content! Giving me History Channel mixed with Mr Rogers vibes ❣️✨

Love your choices! I was so tickled to see J Herbin's Perle Noire receive "favorite" status as it is my go-to black ink and I think so underrated. It's an beautiful black that can be dressed to the nines but with a bit of softness that makes it perfect for casual writing as well.

Beautiful choices. I feel that the ink is the life blood of the fountain pen. So many good inks to pick from.

Very nice list. I'm glad you mentioned Diamine's Ancient Copper.

I am currently running Oxblood in my Twsbi Eco and I love it. My son says it's looks like blood in a syringe lol

Appreciate you taking the time to discuss your favorite inks. My Kon-Peki blue is stuck in shipping hell, hopefully will arrive before Christmas.

8:50 - love the discovery on this brown ink by J. Herbin! Thanks! It is now in my own collection of favorite inks and I just love it. I don’t own any TWSBI’s but use the ink in my Levenger Classic Writer pen with medium nib. Easy to clean and flows beautifully onto the paper.

That was fun, and will make me review my own ink collection to see what looks exciting. I get in color “moods” so my favorites vary over time.

Great list. Definitely picked up some new flavors I want to try. I'm already a fan of iroshizuku's yama budo. Really fantastic. Thanks.

I love the Yama-budo. It is a beautiful purple-red ink. Living in Japan and very familiar to the Yamabudo, I can confirm that the color is perfect. For green, I love the Platinum forest black and sailor Blue as my blue ink. both have beautiful shading on the right paper. there are a few inks you introduced I will certainly give a try.

I so agree with a lot of your choices here - my favourite blue will always be Tsuki Yo. Nothing can take that from my #1 spot. I love Kon Peki and Pilot Blue. Writer's Blood has been in my Nakaya Dorsal Fin v2 (Heki-tamenuri) for 2 years and I'm only just getting to the last bits of that ink. Montblanc Irish Green looks incredible out of my MB 149 as the nib is wetter and looks good for it. Again, this ink was in this pen for a lot of years. Ancient Copper is a recent addition to my collection and yeah, wow, what a superb colour range this ink has depending upon the flow of the nib and width of lines. This is going in my Brass Sport next with its broad nib. Should look amazing out of that. Thx 👍🏻😄

Great video! I have had my eye in yama budo for some time now 🧐😅 Platinum Carbon black has been my go to black and I keep a pen inked up with it at all times. Especially since I enjoy watercoloring and it’s waterproof. KWZ Turquoise is an incredible sheening ink. Platinum Lavender Black has become a favorite of mine with nice shading especially in my twsbi stub. Robert Oster African Gold and Rohrer and klingners Alt Goldgrun are always staples in my collection as well!

Interesting topic, which certainly requires attention, the proper functioning of your fountain pen also partly depends on the type of ink you use. That's why it's good to know which inks flow best. I'm curious about my newly ordered ink bottle, it's one from Sailor Studio 841. And I'm definitely going to try the Diamine Oxblood, it does indeed fit well with my 823. Thanks for quoting this Hemingway Jones.

Great video, I just went and bought the black and blue inks, looking forward to getting them into the 146 and Heritage 1912. Very tempted by the Heritage Egyptomania and am seriously considering it.

Kon-peki is my favorite ink too. That it looks good on both white and cream paper is a huge bonus.

It's curious. Blue ink, to me, says Bic ball point. I've avoided blues since I started with fountain pens. I guess it's something I should work on getting over. Kon-peki is probably a good place to start.

You must try J.Herbin "Lie de The", a beatiful brown... One of my favourites inks. Greetings from Madrid

Black is my favourite colour and i like the platinum carbon black, aurora black and also the Sheaffer black is great. Lovely list of your favourite inks. For me Diamine, iroshizuku and KWZ are the brand's i can blind buy as none of the inks from them have ever disappointed me so far. My problem is i cannot come up with a list like yours. My favourite ink keeps changing pretty frequently, 😂

I will definitely try some of these. Thanks!

I do enjoy using Kon-Peki and I also like Ice Rink by Birmingham Pens. Thank foe showing your ink samples and how you used them in different fountain pens. Take care.

Great selection of inks HJ! I’d say the Kon Peki is my number one blue ink, followed by Robert Oster Fire and Ice. For the reddish inks my fav is Diamine Syrah. On a practical note for your vintage pens, Waterman Serenity Blue is both beautiful and safe for vintage pens.

Thanks for the video. Very entertaining! Have you ever tried Robert Oster African Gold and Noodler's Ink Nightshade? They are among my favourite inks. The former is a golden yellow that reminds of sand dunes. The latter is a sort of rusty burgundy. Both quite original colours.

I do believe you have mentioned all of my go to inks...lol. Ancient Copper #1. However, just recently purchased Montblanc Brothers Grimm green ink and I am in love!! The only problem with being in love with this new green is that it is not permanent...so sad. Thank you for sharing.

A while ago I fell in love with the inks of Octopus Fluids and I must say, I still do! I love Karibik(green), Pinie (brown), Flieder (lilac), Orchidee (red/pink), Brilliant Rot (a VERY vibrant red color with a subtle light gold sheen). Very exciting are Dragon (petrol with green sheen), and Medusa (purple with green sheen). I really like Sabimidori by Taccia.

I am not usually one for shimmer inks, but I tried a sample of Robert Oster Grün Gilt in my Kaweco Brass Sport and it is such a perfect match that I think I need to buy a bottle. It is also really trouble-free and the shimmer stays in suspension for a long time, so it doesn't need constant agitation. And it doesn't skimp on the sparkle!

Love that ink catalog, brother!

The only black I use is Platinum Carbon Black. I love how deep it is, and how I can watercolour right over it knowing that it just won't budge. As much as I love my regular inks, I really appreciate my collection of permanent and documental inks. But of them all, PCB is the most well- behaved and reliable.

Ohh yes, Diamine Ancient Copper, one of my top three favourites! I always come back to it when I have to fill a pen even if I have over 50 other inks to choose from, there is just something so classy and revarding w that ink. My otger two favourites are Pelocans_ Olivine, that one I hoard, I am so worried it will go out of production, and Aquamarine. Pelikan inks just work so well, especially in vintage pens. I have to take out my Herbin cocoa again and try it since you recommend it! Thanks for such a nice video, Happy New Year from Sweden!

Can I just say that layering your samples over the manual typewriter pages is just delicious!

So many beautiful inks to try.

Great, informative video! Thank you for the detailed information!

Great video @Hemingway Jones

Great video! Another ink to consider from diamine is Writer's Blood, it makes a nice trio with oxblood and ancient copper. For red-purple inks, monteverde syrah is really nice. It doesn't take the recognition it truly deserves, probably because it is eclipsed in popularity by California Teal, but Monteverde Horizon Blue is amazing, with just a hint of red sheene.

I loved the video. I keep my inks in an IKEA cart too. I have the cutting board lids to keep them protected since I don’t keep the boxes. I have the taller ink bottles in a different tier since they’re too tall for the lid to sit right. My TWSBI VAC 700 is inked with Yamabudo! I think we have the same taste in inks. You were also who turned me onto Pen Realm. 😊👍🏽

Oxblood and Ancient Copper - my two all time favorites. For black I like Aurora.

I only have 150 bottles of ink so I haven’t tried as many as I would like to. My top inks: 1. Noodlers Roller Eel Black 2. Pelikan Blue black 3. Platinum Classic Forest Black 4. Noodlers Red Black 5. Sailor Souboku 6. Noodlers Blue Black These inks have never let me down and have the permanency my work requires.

Try the new platinum Chou Kuro for the best black I have used. Especially since I really don’t like black inks. Gorgeous black and a wet ink.

Have you tried pilot iroshizuku yama guri in your custom 823? I love this ink, it’s a very dark brown and is a great alternative to black. My favourite sapphire blue is Diamine Sapphire blue. My absolute favourite blue though is Robert Oster Blue Water Ice. It’s a slightly greener shade than Kon Peki but has good shading which makes it more interesting to write with.

I personally don't like writing in navy ink because it reminds me of being at school! I'm new to this but the first colours I bought were an Ancient Copper and Oxblood double-pack and then I tried Writer's Blood and preferred it to the Oxblood when used side by side. I also use the Ancient Copper in my Kaweco Brass Sport (such a perfect match) and I bought a TWSBI Eco just so I could use it to try out new colours. I've noticed that I like writing with inks that look old such as sepia and browns - It's just so fun! All my gel and ballpoint pens use black ink and I've noted your Perle Noire recommendation.

Thanks for this! Great list.

Love your choices, especially oxblood and ancient copper. My top 5 most used this year were (in no real order)… Diamine red dragon and delamere, PenBBS 85 and 232 (apparently the ugliest colour in the world), and Pilot iroshizuku yama-budo.

Hemingway. I’ve just bought Herbin Perle Noire. I love Herbin! Cacao du Brasil.

Awesome choices. I never tried Herbin inks. However, I will now that I’ve watched your video.

From EF to 1.1, I love Ancient Copper!

I'm using a sample of ancient copper right now, I'll probably buy a bottle of it. I like Kon -Peki too, but it's pretty close to Waterman's Inspired Blue, and I already have a bottle of that. My favorite green is De Atramentis Jane Austen. Two of my favorites come from Noodler's, Black Swan in Australian Roses, and La Couleur Royale. My next ink order will include a bottle of Organics Studio Aldous Huxley. Thank you for another enjoyable video.

Great to see krishna inks from India. Thanks for sharing these inks

Just joined with our corporate account, too. We really like your channel and style. Thank you!

In the spirit of birmingham tesla coil , or that moonview ink, you should try Organics Studio Nitrogen. It's sooooo saturated it's not even blue anymore in a very wet pen, it's all sheen...! You might even want to only use this in pens that you would use the shimmer stuff. There's a risk of gunking up a feed with that ink. It also take a very long time to dry... But, really, it's kind of worth it. Would not use that every day at all, but it's quite the effect!

I loved your presentation of each ink on the page! What paper was that? Your ink assortment is nice, maybe one day you can present the entire Ikea rack of inks!

Even though I love fountain pens I haven't been so much into inks, but my favorites are Pelikan Edelstein Onyx, Pelikan 4001 turquoise, 4001 dark green and Visconti royal blue. I also have to try Pelikan Edelstein Apatite (it is like turquoise). I recently have discovered your chanell and it made me fall in love with pens again. Thanks to you I practice journaling almost every day where I can enjoy my beloved Pelikan M400, that's my dirty pleasure 🙂

My top 5: Pelikan Smoky Quartz; Noodlers Apache Sunset; Diamine Aurora Borealis and Oxblood; J. Herbin Liè de The... Thanks for sharing.

I will be trying the Ancient Copper soon. Thank you.

For me, best sheening ink is Organics Studio Walden Pond. Really amazing colour from blue to redish sheen.

I like flashy colors for inks, so I would say my favorite inks are Private Reserve Black Cherry, Diamine Aurora Borealis, Robert Oster's Havasu and Monsoon sky (Pen Chalet exclusives), and, of course J. Herbin Emaraude de Chivor! The only blue inks I have lean green (turquoise, teal.) I generally only use black ink if I'm using a cartridge in the pen, which is not often!

Thanks for this great overview. My favourite blue is the humble Pelikan 4001 "blue-black".As for blacks, I am still looking for the perfect one - so far I like Lamy Crystal Ink "Obsidian" and of course J.Herbin "Perle de Noir". My No.1brown ink is Montblanc "Toffee Brown". Red? Maybe Diamine "Oxblood"? But that (as with all the others) depends on the pen. I have not found my favourite green yet. My No.1 orange ink is Montblanc "Manganese Orange". I do not use shimmering inks very often. But there is one which is absolutely outstanding, and it is: Pelikan Edelstein "Golden Beryl". This is liquid gold and it performs perfectly.

Thank you sir

I love many of the J.Herbin colors, I like the adorable packaging of their cartridges, it was one of my early forays into colors when I lived in the UK. Unfortunately, I find a number of their inks just too dry. I've not tried an ink lubricant with them like white lightening but might.

I must admit I tend to gravitate away from black inks preferring a wider variety of colours, if I have to use black for work I really like colour verse Sunspot, it's a decent black ink and I love the bottle itself 😊

Of all of the ones you mentioned...oxblood is the only one I own..it is a fantastic red for a vintage feel....the ones I have in my pens are (diamine winter spice-in my brass sport) (diamine black ivy, or noodlers purple martin-in my black stonewashed sport) (and in my vintage pens-pilot iroshizuku take sumi) (diamine purple pazzazz-in my narwal)

I’m a fan of noodler’s black. And it is pretty water-fast too, so ok for documuments

At the moment I'm trying Sepia Schwartz (Octopus fluids) as non boring black ink. It has a really nice shade of brown to it. Especially recommended for liquorish addicts like me.

The Krishna Moonview captivated me! Lisa

When I saw Diamine "Oxblood" I had to think of my De Atramentis "Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir)". This ink is real red wine and I really like this shade so far. I haven't tried other colors for a long time. But every now and then I have to switch to other colors. Maybe I'll try iroshizuku "kon-peki" now.

Thanks you so much for such lovely and comprehensive array of information on this topic. I really going to follow up on some of your recommendations ( the Diplomat Moss comes to mind as I am always looking for a lovely green ink) but I wanted to ask you what is , in your opinion a “more” red ink…..I love the Diamine Oxblood to pieces but I al looking for something that has a little bit less brown and it doesn’t look pinkish or orange. Thanks so much in advance and really enjoyed your video! Greetings from Arizona and a happy New Year to you and your family.🎉

Krishna! I love their bright blue. Sailor has a great ink called Akebi--It is beautiful and well behaved. Insane shimmer???? Phoenix Feng!!!!

Herbin Bleu Pervenche was my first bottle of ink and I have avoided black but will try the Perle Noire. I love Diamine Oxblood in my Kaweco Sport with a stub nib and Kon-Peki in my TWSBI Mini. I also liked Diamine Chocolate Brown. Yama-Budo is on my list to try. And I feel like one of the few people who doesn’t like Herbin’s Emerald of Chivor.

Organic Studios Nitrogen is the best sheener I've found. J Herbin Leaf Green is just brilliant as greens go, very well behaved.

Great video. Thanks. My go to blue is Waterman Serendipity but when my finance fairy allows I'm looking to buy Kon-peki. As to sheening inks I 1st bought Organics Studio Nitrogen then many of the author series. I own no shimmer inks. I also enjoy another ink maker close to home, Masschusetts' Nathan Tardiff's inks for there permanence. Heart of Darkness for black, but most recently his El Lawrence, it wrote so smoothly for me.

Many of us who use vintage fountain pens prefer Sheaffer's Skrip. I use their washable formulations from 1939-1949, blue, black, emerald green and brown, and if you are lucky enough you might locate a bottle of "Persian Rose", "Peacock Blue", or "Melon Red". Great inks that have held up very nicely. And yep, they wash out from shirts nicely as well (believe me I know).

Diamine Oxblood is my EDI. People always comment on it. Great choice!

I am a user of blue inks, and only blue ink. I have 5 blue inks made by 5 different manufacturers. OK, I have one bottle of Pelikan 4001 Black ink which I havent used since about 2003!!!:):):) I grew up learning to use fountain pens in Catholic school back in India, and we were allowed to use only blue ink. Somehow, I still find myself drawn to use blue inks, I have never had any desire to use many of the different hues of inks that are available to me in the marketplace today. Thanks for the wonderful video.

I like dark matter because I like writing with a facsimile of the ink used in the Manhattan project. Perle noir sounds right up my alley.

Very nice selections

Everyone loves Kon Peki but my fav is tsuki-yo, I know, controversial, hahah!! It performs amazing in all my pens, regardless of if they have gold or steel nibs. Wearinguel ink is hard to get in Canada, but I cannot wait to get my hands on the For Whom the Bell Tolls

I ordered the Diamine Oxblood after watching your video! Has not arrived yet.

Kon Peki is a good pick. It's a nice, fairly benign (it's slightly alkaline, but I don't think it matters anywhere) ink that also has good (for inks) lightfastness. I don't know so much about your other inks. I suppose my "favorite" "blue" ink would have to be '54'th Massachusetts', though it's more like a blueblack and I don't really like the color. The other properties are just so outstanding. I also use a lot of other blue inks though. The blue color I like best is Akkerman Akkerman Blauw. It's not lightfast though. Tsuyu Kusa is slightly duller but otherwise comes close. When I worked, I used 'Empire Red' as my red ink. It's a somewhat weak ink, rather dull red color, like Chinese Vermilion, and has a slight, only slight, tendency to be gunky. It's cellulose reactive and thus easily writes on any paper, even transparent drafting paper, completely water proof, smudge proof and extremely lightfast. Retired, I can now dial back on my demands on inks, and my favorite red ink now is Pelikan Edelstein Garnet. It's benign, lightfast and the red color is dialed down in a way I find very attractive. Unfortunately, it's one of those special edition inks and I only have one bottle. - Oh well, there will be many other red inks. Black. I think Noodler's Black is the worlds best black ink. But even of permanent inks there are alternatives. I also use 'Heart of Darkness' because it's blacker, though it feathers a bit more and is slightly harder to flush out of a pen. Platinum Carbon, only for art and other extreme applications. Impossible to completely clean out of a pen again, so you only use it in one cheap pen, and wash out soon enough between uses. Benign black inks, I rely on Rohrer & Klingner Leipzig Schwartz. Brown, J. Herbin 'Lie de The'. I don't, and probably never will, use shimmer or sheen inks. If I want to have a lot of maintenance work with a pen, I'll probably fill it with 'Luxury Blue', lovely blue color for a super permanent ink, but pretty hopeless in terms of gunk and flow.

My first HJ video and I really enjoyed it. If you haven't already done so, please consider trying Diamine Aurora Borealis, which is a beautiful deep dark black green and is my current favourite ink. I just can't stop writing with it. Seasons greetings!

Bro Diamine Oxblood is literally my daily work ink, I work in a hospital and I wanted my ink to stand out from black and blue but be dark enough to photo copy well. I absolutely love Oxblood!

Black is one of my favorite things to write with, totally underrated in a sea of sheen, shading and shimmer (shading I like, sheen sometimes, shimmer absolutely not, hate those things). Aurora black is my favorite, Perle Noir and Noodler’s Black close seconds, and when not complete blacks, I also use a lot of blackish stuff: Robert Oster Thunderstorm is a super dark blue black, so is KWZ Warsaw Dreaming and Rohrer & Klingner Leipziger Schwartz (more of a black with a blue undertone), and then there are black inks that sheen wonderfully, Dominant Industry Base Black is one of them, black with black sheen even if that sounds contradictory.

My favourite is definitely writers blood, but I was very torn between that and dragons blood (I have both, of course - who doesn't???) I did, however, treat myself today by ordering a bottle of pelikan edelstein apatite which has been on my "want but can't justify the price" list for absolutely ages. It is midwinter, after all.

I know this is an old video, but I'm sort of going through your back catalogue randomly. If you don't have a bottle of Diamine Macassar, I strongly encourage you to buy one. I have a feeling it'll be perfect for your aesthetic. It's the most perfect antique brown I've ever seen. And I'm not a fan of brown inks -- or wasn't before I found this stuff.

Just came across this video. I don't know if anyone's already mentioned them, but Diamine Aurora Borealis and Autumn Oak are both fantastic for teal and orange, which got short shrift here 🙂. An alternative to Oxblood is Troublemaker Basilica Red. It starts rather bright red but dries to a darker brick red, and is very well behaved. I've had it in a clear eyedropper and in the barrel it looks exactly like blood (and I know blood from working in a hospital lab).

The problem with black, is that most of the time, black is either unremarkable, of if it is, it is a very dark grey... My perfect black, that is also water resistant (nice to address envelopes, and make sure that whatever happens water-wise, the paper will be destroyed before the ink) is De Atramentis Document Black. I do love Perle Noire, I think it is darker than the standard Parker Black. I have used Waterman black cartridges *years and years ago*

My favorite blue to date is Colorverse Cat after that is J Herbin Eclat de Safir.

Black: Aurora, but the Sailor and Platinum pigmented blacks are great. Blue: Penman Saphire, but that hasn't been available for over 20 years. Some reasonable replacements are Private Reserve DC Supershow Blue, Diamine Majestic blue, Scribe Indigo. Red: Oxbood is good, I agree. Sheener: Organics Studio Walden Pond, Vinta Sandugo, Diamine/Cult Pens Robert, Philip, Christine and Maurine, Birmingham Pen Co Emerald Fusion (unusual dark green that sheens bright emerald green). Shimmer: Emerald of Chivor, Von Dieman's Underwater Bioluminescence. Other: Yama-Budo is great. Teals: Pilot Iroshizuju Ku-Jaku, Bermingham Pen Co. Herron. MultiShaders: Sailor 123, Troublemaker Sea Glass and Moon River, and others. Weird goes down one color, dries another: the new Sailor Yurameku, 2nd series inks, Vinta Armada

I’m a shimmer and shading girl.

Great review! I’m a user of rollerballs that allow for the use of fountain pen inks. Any of these you mentioned that should be avoided in non fountain pen pens?

I usually dispise blue inks, but I have a weakness for KWZ Sheen Machine, and the Arctic Blast in Diamines green inkvent calendar. Kiwi ink experiments with shimmer and sheen.

I recently bought an unopened bottle of Pelikan Edelstein Topaz for €7 and fell in love with the colour of it, if the seller had more I would have immediately bought a few more bottles. I just hope I can find some more from somewhere else at that price as I simply refuse to pay over €20 for a bottle of ink no matter how good it is.

Have you had the chance to try New York by Robert Oster? My favourite Red to date :)

I'll never understand the fascination people have with Iroshizuku Kon-Peki. I MUCH prefer Asa-Gao. It's more rich, shades better, and flows just as well in difficult pens. I'm 100% on-board with your opinion of J. Herbin inks though. They make delightful inks, all across their line. And also Diamine Oxblood is perhaps the "Perfect Red Ink". It's deep and concentrated, legible, and works with many papers. Your assessment of the perfect synergy of TWSBI pens with stub nibs and shimmer inks is also 100% spot-on. Especially the J. Herbin 1670 line of shimmer inks. They can be persnickity in certain pens, but when they work, they are beautiful. When it comes to sheening inks, I think you sort of dropped the ball though. How could you not include Organic Studio's "Nitrogen", or the Robert Oster sheening inks like "Lake of Fire".

I’ve a dozen Krishna inks, but no Moon View2 yet.. This is going to be my next Krishna then !

Robert Oster Citrus Green is my favorite green.

your hair is perfect how much did that haircut cost and where did you get it?

Hi. I find diamine blue velvet and vistonti blue the best blue inks.

Green: Sailor Tokiwa-matsu ❤

when you mentioned that you prefer shimmer inks in pen that can be disassembled like TWSBI, is the Eco also included? Asking this because I don't have any TWSBI yet, I've ordered an Eco with stub nib but it's still on the way.