Lamy Blue Ink Review

There is no such thing as the perfect blue ink. Some blue inks come pretty close to perfection, but you'll have a need or a desire to try others. It comes with the territory.

I was recently on a crusade to find a favorite blue ink for my fountain pens. I was naive enough to believe that I could settle on just one ink. Now I know better. I ordered many samples from Goulet Pens and had an absolute blast trying them all out. It didn't take long before I realized that I wouldn't be able to settle, and I might be better off just owning all of them. That makes sense, right?

It was through this blue ink voyage that I realized I had never even tried a particular blue ink of which I had several cartridges lying around. Lamy fountain pens generally come with a blue cartridge, but I had never once tried one. I guess I thought it was a "freebie" and it wouldn't be worth trying. When I got around to trying it, I was very pleased to be so wrong.

There's nothing particularly special about this blue, but it's a very steadfast and dependable ink. It won't turn heads and garner complements. It's well-behaved and predictable. In my mind, I think of it as my default, professional blue. And while that might sound boring, it's also a very high complement. Each ink has a purpose, and this one fills a very specific need.

I bought a bottle of Lamy Blue from JetPens on a whim. I was intrigued by the bottle and the tape attached to the bottom, and I knew I didn't want another bottle of black ink, so blue it was!

The bottle is larger than I expected. 50 ml is the same size as my Iroshizuku ink, but the Lamy bottle is larger in order to accommodate the roll of tape on the base. As you'd expect, the bottle works great for filling pens. What more can I say? What I find interesting is the blotter tape. This is extremely handy for cleaning up a pen after filling it. The tape has two sides: an absorbent side and a water-proof side. The absorbent side does an excellent job of soaking up any ink droplets on the pen, while the water-proof side prevents the ink from soaking through to your fingers. You can clean up the pen without staining your fingers!

I've found myself reaching for this tape when I fill pens with other inks, just because it makes the clean-up so much easier than using a tissue or paper towel. I can never manage to fill a pen without getting some ink on my fingers, but maybe I'm just clumsy.

Overall, this is a great everyday ink and the blotter tape is a very useful bonus.

Rohrer & Klingner Scabiosa Review

I don't ever think I have seen a picture of Rohrer & Klingner Scabiosa that accurately reflects what it looks like in person, the above picture included. That is why it took me so long to get on the bandwagon quite honestly. It never looked like a good fit. A sample vial from my friend Thomas changed all of that.

From the very first time I inked it up I was hooked. I talk a lot about products that get everything "just right" and Scabiosa is one of them. The color - a dusty purple with hints of brown and grey - is just right. The amount of shading is just right. The dry time is just right. The ease of cleaning, even for an iron gall ink, is just right.

I like blue black fountain pen inks because they look classic - even historic - on the page. Scabiosa gives that same look. It stands out from the crowd while remaining professional enough to use in any situation. I have been keeping my TWSBI Mini 1.5 mm stub nib inked with it recently as my letter writing pen (this is also the pen used for this review). What a wonderful combination!

I owe everyone a Top 5 fountain pen inks list, which I promise I will get to very soon. Look for Rohrer & Klingner Scabiosa to rank highly when it comes out.

(JetPens is an advertiser on The Pen Addict and I received this product at no charge.)

Pelikan Edelstein Onyx Ink Review

I feel completely normal owning every blue ink variation on the planet, but have little to no interest in black inks. Why is that?

The obvious answer is that there is very little variation in black inks besides dry time and lubrication. I'd say that's true, but if I'm being completely honest I'd say they are just boring. Give me one good black ink and I'm set for life.

As my fountain pen friends know all too well, finding that one good ink is the challenge. Is Pelikan Edelstein Onyx "The One"?

I nearly eliminated this ink right out of the gate because of the hints of brown and purple I saw when inking up my TWSBI Mini 1.5 mm stub for the first time. The one thing I want out of my black ink more than anything is darkness - it needs to be pitch black. It came out on the page nice and dark but dried with more grey than I like to see.

That bears the question: What is the deepest, darkest black ink currently on the market? Noodler's Borealis Black gets my vote, along with the amazingly similar Aurora Black (bottle purchased, review pending). Not only are those two inks darker than Onyx, they cost about half as much. The only plus on the Onyx side of the ledger is dry time - it's probably half that of Borealis and Aurora.

If there is another black that you think is darker than Borealis I would love to hear it in the comments.