The Perfect 3 Fountain Pen Ink Collection! Is This It!? 

What I love about Chou kuro is that it is totally waterproof. Sometimes my hands are a bit damp from washing a dish and I end up smearing in my bullet journal. Not so with Chou kuro

Platinum Carbon Ink is (in)famous for retaining shine and gloss when dry. This does make it appear less dark than Chou Kuro, but if you like shiny glossy blacks you might be willing to trade ultimate darkness for some shine.

I'm slowly reducing my collection of fountain pen ink by focusing on just a few bottles at a time. And I'm allowing myself to discover favorites. So far I'm sure of Iroshizuku Fuyu-syogun as my grey and, of course, Parker Quink Washable Blue as my blue. Black is a question, but I'm leaning in the direction of Parker, Lamy, or Pelikan. Good choice on basic ink colors: those are the classics. Black for writing, red for highlighting, and blue for a less stark alternative to black. Of course, I could never imagine living with just 3 inks, even though I spent several decades with just 1 ink!

Pilot Carbon Black, Diamine Sherwood Green and Diamine Oxblood. I'd sacrifice the blue, because I rarely use blues but go more for greens, reds and browns instead. For the black I go with carbon black because I also draw with my fountain pens and use them along with watercolour paints, so my black has to be waterproof.

I wish more Ink makers would bottle their ink in Sulekha ink esque bottles, I really like their aesthetic.

My three would be Platinum Chou Kuro, Taccia Sabimidori, and Birmingham Streetcar. I ignored black inks for the longest time because I could never find what I wanted in a black. A ink that is permanent, but more importantly; uber black, I wanted a ink that was a pure dark black all the time, no glossiness, no shading, not matte, just pure black, and Chou Kuro finally met my standards and I love writing with it. Pure blue is just too hard, there are so many options, Sabimidori is more teal than blue, but super unique and is such a pleasure to watch dry as you write. Lastly I went with an orange instead of red, I love some of my red inks, but orange is my favorite color and when you find an orange ink that works well, it is some of the most fun I have with fountain pens. Streetcar has been that orange for me. As far as red, my favorite red for years has been Diamine Red Dragon, but when I tried the new Wearingeul Captain Hook, it instantly became my favorite red. If you haven't tried it for yourself yet, I strongly recommend doing so, based on your comments on Oxblood, I think you would really enjoy it.

Agree with you 100% on the Oxblood! As an artist who occasionally uses water soluble inks for art I’d be so hard pressed to give up my rainbow of inks and narrow it down to just three. I’d need seven, lol why? Black waterproof, plus three cool primaries and three warm primaries so I could get my mixology on and get those browns, grays, shady tones and obscene shades for art. But, for writing, I’d go with red, blue and brown as well. I can work with that and if I miss a purple, I can mix red and blue.

And here I thought he was going to pick a red, yellow and blue so he could have any color he wanted with a little mixing.😀

A nice permanent black that is glossy is Octopus Write & Draw Black Elephant. A permanent rich dark red is Noodler’s Red black or Noodler’s Hawthorne’s Scarlet (better than Oxblood), and my favorite blue is Noodler’s Liberty’s Elysium. My favorite 3 inks are Sailor Nano Sei-Boku and lovely blue black, Pilot Iroshizuku Shin-ryoku forest green, and Noodler’s Hwathorne’s Scarlet. Another classy video, HJ. It really had me putting on my thinking cap.

You might like J Herbins Shogun. It’s wet and saturated like perle noir, but it has this insane sophisticated shimmer which is gold and bronze. It’s insane, and it never clogs my pen. I love it

As a black ink enthusiast, try out Ferris Wheel Press Roaring Patina Black for a black ink that fits the Roaring 20s with a dazzling shimmer. My current favorite blue is Diamine Rushbrooke Blue, which is an Herbin Eclat de Sapphir with more shading. For sepia/brown, it is currently Noodler's #41, an Eternal ink that resists water & fading, and dries vividly.

Currently my favourite three are . . . 1. Diamine Earl Grey mixed with just a little Herbin's Olive Verte to make a lovely green tinted grey. 2. Diamine Pumpkin mixed half and half with Diamine Yellow to a give the most delightfully shading ink that perfectly matches the mix of yellow and orange in my Arizona Ahab. The more the nib flexes the more orange it gets. When the nib isn't flexing its a really nice yellow. 3. And last but not least.... Diamine Celadon Cat, which is such a beautiful ink i wouldn't dream of mixing it with anything.

MontBlanc Midnight Blue. MontBlanc Irish Green and Pilot Iroshizuku KuJaku. These should be the three I would love to be with

For drawing, I find myself using these three regularly. All are waterproof and lightfast: De Atramentis Artist Ink Yellow De Atramentis Artist Ink Violet Noodler's Lexington Gray The first two are just my twisted aesthetic. Lexington is not so harsh as a black, but can be built up to one as needed.

My top three inks changes with the seasons. However, Herbin Cacao du Bresil, Iroshizuku Yama-Budo, and Diamine Oxford Blue are among my favorites.

Noodler’s Liberty’s Elyseum. Preferably diluted to an azure heavenly sky color. Semi permanent, so you won’t lose your notes or sketches. Rohrer&Klingner Sketch Ink Lotte. Black, water resistant, easy flowing. A bit dry when undiluted, so my dilution gives a dark grey that’s resistant to subsequent water coloring. Noodler’s X-feather for chisel tip calligraphy on any quality of paper. Very black.

Aaah, I was about to say J Herbin black ink is & you said it. 😊❤ thank you for this wonderful video.

As a fountain pen and ink neophyte, I was pleasantly surprised and a bit shocked your three selections matched mine exactly! Thank you for validating my choices!

Great video once again! All very solid and classic choices too. My ink collection got a bit out of control, so I've been on a "no ink" buy for the last year or so as I try to slog through the inks I already have. While doing that I naturally came to the conclusion that some inks once used up will not be replaced and others will be replenished instantly. I've also thought of standardizing on certain types of colors, for example having only one or two blacks in the collection (say one permanent and one standard black) or maybe settling for just a few shades of blue inks (a true blue, a cerulean or teal, and a blue black). I'm not sure I can quite narrow it down to three inks, but i'd probably go with 1. Platinum Carbon Black, 2. Iroshizuku Kon Peki, and 3. Diamine Oxford Blue. Just missing out on the top three are: Diamine Blue Velvet and Diamine Writer's Blood (I prefer Writer's Blood to Oxblood; every time I use it I think of Hemingway's quote that "There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down (at a typewriter) and bleed"). Writer's Blood pairs great with a MontBlanc 146 too, I get Dracula vibes when I use that pen/ink combination haha.

This is a dangerous channel, I have two inks in my cart now. I want to try both J Herbin inks that you showed in this episode - I was meaning to do it for the longest time. One thing I realize now is black doesn't have to be blackest black. It needs to have some character, maybe some warm undertones, thats where I'm leaning. I have not found red that I like, yet. Favorite blue is Pilot Iroshizuku Tsuki-yo. And favorite black is Platinum Carbon ink. And third is Pilot Iroshizuku Murasaki-shikibu, but Eclat De Saphir looks enticing, a perfect blend of blue and purple.

Love this list. Mine would be -a cheap red ink (im a teacher, so marking in red means quantity over quality) - platinum carbon black (water-resistant for use with watercolour) - iroshuzuku konpeki blue

I like the Oxblood, but haven't really used it (other than trying it in stores). I used to use a Shaeffer brown that was really a kind of reddish brown, which I used for grading papers. I moved to Diamine Ancient Copper for that purpose and have used that for a long time. I'm currently using a Sailor Texas brown, which I really, really like. Looks like a theme there... So I'll also say I used some blue I had from Kaweco (in cartridges), and I did enjoy that. I think I'll give the Oxblood a try at some point. Thank you!

Damn, I'd have guessed Kon-Peki for blue ink because of how lubricated and buttery it makes every pen feel. The other two I guessed without even giving it a thought 😊. Lot's of love and support Hemmingway, keep up the good work!

Another fun video, Tim! I have ordered a lot of ink recently, but I am yet to even swatch them all. So, as hard as choosing 3 inks is to do, I'll choose 3 from those I've used regularly. You introduced me to Diamine Oxblood, so that's one ink that I do love. #Two is Parker Quink Black ink, of which I have two bottles. #Three is Herbin Bleu Pervenche.

Always love your video. Didn’t expect the Sulekha was coming.

I would probably go with: 1) Blue - likely Pilot Iroshizuku Ama-iro, 2) brown - maaaaaybe Lennon Tool Bar Cat General?, and 3) a teal, it's a draw between Sailor Manyo Koke (reads blue enough that I would not hesitate to use it at work) and Diamine Blue Peppermint.

Almost as difficult to limit myself to 3 food choices. Blue, turquoise, and orange are my favorites for work and journaling. Iroshizuku ama-iro, Diamine turquoise, and J. Herbin Orange Soleil. Blue and orange being complimentary colors really stand out on a page of notes. I think I will ink up some black as I have not used in a fountain pen for several years. I use my Retro 51 roller ball when I need black for work signatures(rarely). Thanks for the video!

Oxblood is my favorite. It just writes so good and looks so good. I remember learning of it on this channel. For black, i use platinum carbon black, same reason it is waterproof but flows well and writes well. I am a back yard astonomer as well and often take notes when looking up. With dew and moist night conditions need waterproof. I have not found a blue yet. The search is still on but i just keep using oxblood. But i did recently find a brown i love. Noodlers walnut. It looks very much like ancient written text. It feels good and flows good.

I only use four colours: black, blue, teal and rosey red, with a bit of variety within the teal and blue. No compromise here as I 've developed a colour codification in jotting down notes, then carefully re-writing them when necessary. The codification has to do with subject matter, rosey red being for my diary and highlights in notes, teal for essays on colour, blue being the most rational of all, restricted to copious notes from books, and black for anything concerning the Greco-Roman theatre.

Great video. So many great colours, so little time!

Diamine Ancient Copper for sure. Just a perfect complex color that shades like crazy. I put in virtually everything. Then J. Herbin Violette Pensee. It's my spring color. Always bright and fresh. Finally Sailor Ink Studio 970. Super wet complex green-yellow that shades nicely.

Another good one. Thanks!

Texas Black Bat, Oxblood and Shin Kai which changes color from light to dark blue.

Great Vid. Love your choice of inks. My current blue is kon-peki iroshizuku. Love your blue. Gonna have to try that.

Another interesting video, thanks. And could hardly resist picking my own three. I have dozens of inks, but the ones that I always come back to are purples, oranges and blues. Choosing among the purples is difficult, but my workhorse pen, the Pilot Custom 823, is always inked up with Pilot Iroshizuku Murasaki-shikibu, a juicy, berry purple. The orange would have to be another Iroshizuku, the vibrant, mood-lifting Fuyu Gaki. As for blues, either the bright, summer sky Asa Gao (Iroshizuku again) or Diamine Cornflower. But on reflection, I could probably even do without blue and might pick the more unusual Iroshizuku Yama Budo, which to be honest I use more than I do blues. Interesting - despite having lots of Diamine, Herbin, Montblanc, Waterman and Robert Oster inks, I've just realized that it's the Iroshizuku inks I always come back to. By the way, if you like deep blacks - the only kind worth using in my opinion - have you tried Aurora Black? It's the deepest black I have ever found, and has excellent flow.

Absolutely solid choices, there, HJ!

I use Noodler’s “Dark Matter” Black (Im a Science and History Geek) for my Notebook. I may move to Noodler’s “Lexington Gray”. I use Noodler’s “Air-Corp” Blue Black for my Signing Pen; Blue enough to stand out from a Photo Copy, Black enough to count as “Black”. I used to use Lamy “Teal” for my Work Notebook because it worked with my former Employer’s Livery. I like Diamine “Oxblood” for my Welsh related writing.

I love the three you chose, but of the three I adore Diamine’s Ox Blood! I first tried it because of you, Mr. Hemingway Jones! 😊

Hmmm ok this might take some thought.... If I had to narrow it down to three.... I would have a Green, a Brown and purple ink! Ok that was easier than I thought. For green, I'd say I would pick Sailor Tokiwamatsu. For Brown, I'd pick Platinum Brun Sepia and for purple I'd choose Kobe Hydrangea. Yep there you have it! I like this idea. I have way too many inks in my stash. You are right- it takes no time at all for it to get out of hand storage wise.

This is the first video of yours I’ve watched and I subscribed and look forward to watching more! I’m newish to the fountain pen hobby, so I’m still diving in and figuring out what I like and don’t like for pens and inks. However, even early on, I’ve already found some inks that I just don’t want to be without. First up is Iroshizuku tsuki-yo. If I could only choose one ink instead of three, it’d be this one. There’s so much depth to the color. Kind of blue/black but with enough teal mixed in to distinguish itself from that crowded color family. There’s enough shading to keep it interesting but not so much as to detract from the words I’m writing. That tiny little hint of red sheen when you lay down a slightly wetter line adds a nice accent - again contributing to one’s written words without overpowering them and lessening their impact. It doesn’t matter how many times I write with tsuki-yo; I can’t wait until I get it out again. The second would probably be a fairly recent discovery but one I keep reaching for as much as possible. I picked up a few bottles of Nahvalur ink when I bought a couple of their pens and Dark Forest has just blown me away at how lovely it is. A mysterious, deep green/black with stunning shading that just makes my writing come to life. Before I got this ink, I probably would have been with you and gone with a black, a blue(ish) and a red ink for my top three. Now I can’t imagine not having this green as one of my go-to inks so it’s made me completely change what I value in my “top three” and black/blue/red aren’t as important as they once were! Finally, I’m going to have to include Emerald of Chivor. While I have plenty of over-the-top inks that can be used to make a statement, none do so as elegantly as Emerald of Chivor. What an absolutely perfect mix of beautiful base color, complimentary sheen and tasteful amount of shimmer. I like to show off my pens and inks to my non-fountain pen friends and they usually just smile and nod at the harmless display of idiosyncratic craziness. Almost without fail, though, they all go ga-ga over Emerald of Chivor. It’s just an ink that draws people in and makes them say “oooo!” Just a delightful way to add some elegance and visual interest to writings of note. Maybe the list will change as I go deeper down the rabbit hole but those are my top three so far!

I'd view FP ink choices analogous to female jazz vocalists. You can have Sarah Vaughan, who had the widest vocal range, so it would be like Brian Goulet with a whole ink library. Then, you would have Ella Fitzgerald, who had songbooks of compositions, so it would be like a Diamine Inkvent calendar repertoire of inks. Then there is Billie Holiday, with the most expressive & less than octave range to work with. It would likely be Peter Draws with his black ink. As for me, the classical trifecta of black, blue & sepia

That Oxblood looks quite radical on your lively Pelikan. Hope we never to select only 3 inks, although it is good to put some limits on an ink hoard.

My three would comprise a Blue-black, a Burgundy, and a Green. Something like: 1) Montblanc Midnight Blue (or KWZ Warsaw Dreaming), 2) Diamine Writer's Blood (would happily pick Oxblood also), 3) Montblanc Irish Green (or Diamine Green-Black). See, I can't even list three colours without doubling my choices with my alternates!

Also, to the topic and question, I know for sure my favorite three. I like ox and writer’s blood but Red Dragon is my favorite red and no 1 on my list. No 2 is Bay State Blue.. Yeah, I have to put it in a devoted pen but when I write with it, it’s worth all the trouble and drama. It’s beautiful. No 3 was a shock though. I don’t like purple very much as a color but ever since I started using Private Reserve Purple Mojo, I can’t stop using it. I have it in my daily gushing Eco and I can’t get enough, like Van Gogh and yellow. It wasn’t my plan but here we are.

All Noodler's bulletproof inks for me: My dark ink: El Lawrence Brown: Kiowa Pecan Purple: Socrates The 3 ink rule would mean some very good inks being confiscated.

I agree, Black, Blue and Red are my “Go To” colors as well. I couldn’t do much without Noodler’s Heart of Darkness. Its flat, dark black appearance appeals to me. My Blue would be Noodler’s Revolution Blue. It’s a nice, mid range blue. My red was Diamine Oxblood. But it’s not waterproof and I live in fear of a spill ruining my journal. So right now I’m using Noodler’s Tsvetayak. It’s a little darker than a mid range red, but not much. I would like to find a bulletproof red ink that’s closer to Diamine Oxblood. But I haven’t seen one that’s close enough yet.

Diamine Oxblood is my grail fountain pen ink! Btw, great video as usual.

Hi HJ! I remember you saying in a few videos that you think people often clean their pens too often even when switching colors of ink and I was wondering if you could make a video on how often you clean your pens and how you switch colors of ink without cleaning, especially with piston fillers. Love the channel and keep up the exceptional work!

Blue, Green, Red: If you put a gun on my head, I would select Kon Peki, Tokiwa Matsu, and Oxblood. A second list would be Horizon Blue, GVFC Moss Green, and Writer's Blood. But I need more colours.

I also love different shades & colours. As for my favorites, I’d say: 1. Aji sai iroshizuku (Blue) 2. Montblanc royal blue 3. India red ink (Faber Castell) 4. Namiki Black ink 5. Ama-iro iroshizuku (Turquoise-blue) 🌸🌈🌸

Interesting choices.

Hello Hemingway! During your Tuesday show, I picked my three inks, and they are not TOO different from yours. My Black would have to be Parker Quink. The second ink would be a Blue/Black, probably Quink again. The third WAS Oxblood. LOVE,, LOVE, LOVE that ink! That was the first color that was not Parker Quink Black that I ever bought! Have at least two pens loaded with it. So, I guess great minds do (almost) think alike! Thanks for the enjoyable exercise in ink selection!

I guessed it! Those nearly make up my ink trinity except if I could only do one blue, I go with Midnight Blue.

Enjoyed the video HJ! No surprises there :) BTW the Majohn P139 is out, looks so cool!

One of my inks would be black for sure the iroshizuku take sumi being my favorite right now

Mine are black, pink, and turquoise all from Thorton’s.

I tend to have pretty basic tastes, so I only have a total of 15-20 inks, all of which I really like. I am trying not to buy more until I finish some. Still, it would be hard for me to say I would only use 3, but I think I could limit myself to 5. My top three would be Diamine Earl Grey, which with a wet M, B, or 1.1 can stand in for black. My blue would be the same as yours, JH Eclat de Saphir, and my red would be Diamine Red Dragon. The two colors that would round out my 5 would be Diamine Sherwood Green and, currently at least, sbrebrown from Appleboom.

My favourite colours usually come in trios as well, but trios keep changing according to the mood I am in. At the moment trio comprises de Atramentis Giacomo Puccini Aubergine colour, Pilot Black and Diamine “The Embers”. Dear Hemingway, thank you very much for sharing and another great content.

Sulekha is my favorite too :) pls do a video on your Indian Pen and Ink collections ;)

For me, it's immediately Diamine Onyx Black & Writers Blood; Waterman Serenity Blue. Always in the rotation.

Thanks, HJ. I only have 3 inks not counting cartridges that came with my pens that I purchased. Lamy Blue/Black that I really like; Diamine Polar Glow, a Blue ink that I love; and Diamine Oxblood that I also love. I'm not sure what colors are okay for legal papers and such. I do know that when I was a truckdriver, we could only use black ink when filling out our paper logbooks.

I've only got 5 inks, but my perfect 3 ink collection would be: Iroshizuku Kon Peki, Diamine Oxlblood and J. Herbin Vert Atlantide.

Noodler's Baystate Blue, Polar Black, Socrates. Alternative is Waterman Serenity Blue, Tender Purple, Noodler's Bad Black Moccasin.

Platinum Chou Kuro, Jacques Herbin Rouge Hematite, Jacques Herbin Emeraude de Chivor. I tend to use KWZ Sheen Machine 2 more than the Emeraude de Chivor, but if I'm limited I'll take the one with the shimmer and just not shake it before using if I don't want the shimmer.

Great ink picks! I would have to choose 4 inks...lol. 1. Diamine Ancient Copper. 2. J Herbin Rouge Grenat as my red. 3. Mont Blanc Robert Louis Stevenson Brown. 4. Noodlers Heart of Darkness Black.

Pilot Iroshizuku Asa-gao, Montblanc Irish Green and J. Herbin Lie de Thé. Of these, I use Asa-gao most often. I really love this deep and saturated blue. In geneneral, I prefer saturated colors over light ones, and most inks I use are from the Iroshizuku line. When it comes to red(isch) colors, my favorite is also from Diamine - not Oxblood, but Communication Breakdown 😊 Regarding blacks, I‘m out - for me, black ink looks incredibly boring on paper, so I don‘t own a single black ink 😂

Thanks for sharing. It IS hard to simplify when you have lots of choices. I find Platinum’s Carbon Black gives me a glisten when dry. For my others, I’m going thru them one bottle at a time until empty, using in my Morning Pages and Journal. You could pass inks on to a friend or acquaintance who shares in the f.p. experience - that could recruit them into Our World!

Platinum Carbon Black, Sailor Manyo Haha, Colorverse Horsehead Nebula

Rohrer and Klingner Alt-Goldgrun is a beautiful shaded bright olive green. I just received it though so I may be a little in the spring of love on that one. Herbin's Terre d'ombre is one of my favorite browns. And I fell in love with Celadon Cat from Diamine. But all the other 999,988,999 in my ink tub are also my favorites.

Hello Hemingway, I agree with you on two of the three, both in the color and the brand, I would only change the blue one for 'bleu das proffondeurs', the most beautiful black blue of all the ones I have tried. Greetings from Madrid 

Diamine Ancient Copper, Diamine Oxford Blue and Diamine Classic Green (a beautiful olive colour). Have you tried Diamine Onyx Black? It´s a black with black sheen so to me it looks wet when it has dried. A recent favorite is Diamine Salamander, a murky green/brown. Love it.

That’s a great top 3! i would also have chosen a black, blue, and red. I think a perfect collection could be rounded out by a fourth ink, maybe a moonview or Tesla coil…

I could at least guess 2 of your three choices. I almost posted my guesses then came back after I watched. I think they are great choices. I haven’t used much black. I am going to start using black in my OMAS 360. Its celluloid just feels like it needs to be paired with a black ink.

I actually already only use five inks. Even over a year into the hobby and with over a dozen pens stretching all the way from Jinhao to Pelikan, I've used to the same five inks the whole time and honestly don't see myself changing. They're all from Diamine, just because their options were so vast, and I chose each by picking the five colors that I wanted represented (blue, green, red, purple, brown) and buying three samples of each color to pick my favorite. The current list is Oxford Blue, Sherwood Green, Oxblood, Monboddo's Hat, and Chocolate Brown. If I *had to* pick three, I'd keep the blue, green, and red. Typically if I need black and/or permanent, I use a ballpoint.

Interesting, I don't own a single black ink. My picks would be Waterman tender purple for how well-behaved it is, pilot iroshizuku asa gao as a daily driver, and iroshizuku Yama budo for when I need something bright.

Great topic! I'd also go with a black, a blue, and a red. Sailor Kiwaguro (Ultra Black, pigmented). Honestly, I could also do Platinum Carbon Black. Flip a coin. Diamine 150th Anniversary Blue Velvet. My perfect blend of a saturated blue that's just the right tone and darkness for my taste. Behaves great, too. Diamine Writer's Blood. Just love the stuff. Ask me again tomorrow, I'll give you a different list lol

My top three - my _essential_ three - are grey, green and blue. The grey is Iroshizuku fuyu-syogun; the blue is Akkerman Delft’s Blue; the green is Rohrer and Klingner Deep Forest Pine. The green, unfortunately, was a limited edition and I’m down to my last 70 mL or so. I’ll have to reassess what’s essential when it’s gone. I do use black and red, and I wouldn’t be happy to be without them, but for the purpose of this exercise, I’ll pretend that they aren’t essential. In fact, they’re only less essential than the grey, green and blue the way that my liver and skin are less essential than my brain, heart and lungs; I could live without them for a short period of time, whereas the loss of brain, heart or lungs would be immediately fatal, but my life would be short and miserable. So I’m glad this is only a thought experiment.

Love your list. Actual ox blood was historically used to dye leather, fabric and paint. That may be why it reminds you of a by-gone era. One of my top reds too.

I really like Diamine Marine ink, J. Herbin Cafe des Iles, and Iroshizuku Momiji. Soft, tranquil colors. For shimmer, I like Vinta Lakambini.

My 3 are Aurora Black, Pilot iroshizuki Asa Gao, this one is tough choosing between purple and green. My favorite purple is diamine Imperial Purple or Iroshizuki Shin ryoku

Hello HJ. Another brilliant video that makes one dig down and think. To me, black ink is a necessary given so I won't include Montblanc Mystery black ink as one of my three. The others would be Waterman's Tender Purple because that is the color of kings and royalty. Edelstein Olivine because of it's earthen beauty. And last would be Edelstein Sapphire because you need a blue ink to be grounded. This was a fun and entertaining video. Keep them coming my friend.

I'm only sure about one ink color that I could stick with for life and that's Teranishi Melancholic Blue.

Currently mine are Private Reserve Ultra Black, Noodler’s Liberty Elysium Blue, and Noodler’s Rattler Red

I do the same ink swatch and writing sample of each color I get so I have a reference to go back to with a new pen. My top 3 right now is 1. Diamine Prussian Blue. I'd be lost without this ink haha. 2. Noodler's Dark Matter Black. and 3. Is a tie between Bungubox Piano Mahogany and Robert Oster Old Book Smell. They have a Diamine Oxblood vibe to them in that they are a moody maroon color. Old Book Smell does what I wished Oxblood did. The darker shading in it is wonderfully welcome. A runner up is the Montblanc Glacier Blue I just got and Robert Oster Evening Sapphire. Both inks are close, but Diamine Prussian Blue wins overall. I also adore Noodler's 54th Massachusetts, but it doesn't do well on even good papers unless it's in a super dry extra fine or super dry fine nib. Great Video Hemingway!

That video was a great deal of fun! I read the comments, and enjoyed everyone's choices, too. I started using fountain pens because my favorite burgundy gel pen went extinct. I haven't found a replacement burgundy that feels right yet. But just today, I put the 31 inks I have in bottles (plus a generous sample of Yama-Budo) in a bracket, and I'm going to make them fight it out! I figure I'll swatch and compare them with sample paragraphs two at a time, and advance the one I like best. I expect to have a lot of fun! And eventually, I'll have a top three from that set, at least. Until then, I do find myself wanting to test every pen with Pilot Iroshizuku Shin-Ryoku. It flows so well and behaves so well, and its green is very beautiful to my eyes.

Try using Rotring Drawing Ink in a dip pen or Rotring Isograph. It is blacker than any fountain pen ink and it dries shiny because it contains shellac. It’s also 100% waterproof. Just DO NOT put it in a fountain pen unless you never want to use that pen again.

My copy of The Magic of Handwriting arrived today (got the German edition for 15 Euros) - what a beautiful book! You have such great bookshelves, it would be great to see a library tour on the channel, or some of your favourite books. All the best, Matthew.

Pilot Black Namiki, Waterman Serenity Blue, and Diamine Sherwood Green

Platinum CHOU KURO (very black ink) leaves a shine when dry. Give Chou Kuro a try. The only con is the price!!!

My wife is a high school Physics teacher, so I bought her a Platinum Preppy so she would have a cheap and reliable red pen for her grading. I eyedroppered the pen with an o-ring and some silicone grease before filling it with our favorite red grading ink I have found so far, the aptly named Noodler's Widowmaker.

I don’t actually have a black ink, but if I had to pick from the ones I have, it’s eclat de saphir, de atramentis Jane Austen green, and guitar inks classy burgundy.

1) ST Dupont Violet 2) ST Dupont Violet 3) ST Dupont Violet Jokes aside, i love ST Dupont Violet because of flow, color and gold sheen on Midori paper. Pair it with my MB149 Calligraphy. Just wow! I would say J. Herbin Bleu des Profondeurs as my 2nd choice. Just a deep and dark navy. Just the right shade for my MB 149 O3B nib. I just don't have a 3rd favorite. Some come close like J. Herbin Gris de Houle, MB Corn Poppy Red MB Pop Pink but it's not in my top3. Maybe my future bottle of Eclat de Saphir will be!

Great video,you will love the Brandon video.

Blue - 54th Massachusetts, Noodler's Green - Sherwood Green, Diamine Black - Carbon Black, Platinum

My three would be Montblanc Cinnamon Scented ink, Platinum Lavender Black, and my signature color iroshizuku Asa-Gao (blue). Great video HJ.

I have a third as much ink as you, HJ, and not a single bottle of black (although I'm thinking of getting one for mixing purposes). If I had to choose one single ink to keep, it would probably be Diamine Marine. #2 would be Writer's Blood. #3 would be either a warm brown (Ancient Copper or Noodler's Pecan?) or a muted green (Diamine Classic Green or Robert Oster Crocodile?). Ask me tomorrow and I'll tell you something different!

It is so difficult to find inks that I would not tamper with. The only inks I did not modify are Herbin Cafe des Iles, Noodler's Antietam, Birmingham Locomotive, platinum Chou Kuro and KWZ Honey. I have such a hard time finding a red that I will like the way it comes. I am mixing Noodler's Tsvetaeva with Diamine Oxblood to get a shade of red I like, ...and I really love it but I have to mix it to the right proportion. I end up using that mixture every single day to write the date on my work journal where I keep track of ,,,who's gonna pay for my work, and that is actually filled with he locomotive. Herbin, cafe des iles is used in my architect pen for all the comments.

What a mental exercise! I love my colours but if I HAD to choose... black is a staple I use it literally everyday but of the two black inks I've tried I'm not sure I am overy passionate about either so I would make do with Diamine Wroter's blood in leau of black. Maybe..moving on..the included blue cartage that come with most pens have spoiled blues for me I find them uninteresting and tend to stay away from them, so I would rather have a purple! My favourite is Colorverse delicious sleep. Last choice is the hardest.. there's so many colors I have to omit. Today I would choose PenBBS Matcha Ice. It is my newest ink so it may be the wrong choice but I'm really feeling it and it's a perfect spring colour soo yea.. my three choices lol.

I'm not certain of my top three, but I am certain of my number one ink; and that is my Montblanc Midnight Blue. It's not waterproof, but it has good water resistance and cleans up nicely with distilled water. It also has great "mulling properties." By that I mean it has the ability to stay wet and ready to write, even after long pauses with the nib uncapped.

I very seldom use black so would pick two blues from the Iroshizuku range : kon-peki and shin -kai. Oxblood is my favourite red but would prefer to keep PW Akkerman SBRE Brown (also made by Diamine I think ) as a brown/red. As always really enjoy the video.