My 10 Favorite Orange Inks

We’ve been tackling my top ten inks in each color category and today it’s time to have a go at orange inks! So let’s take a look!

Pilot Iroshizuku Yu-yake is so smooth and pretty. I love the color.

Pilot Iroshizuku Fuyu-gaki is my favorite red-orange.

Robert Oster Peach is my favorite Robert Oster orange ink.

Diamine Gerbera is such a gorgeous color!

Diamine Peach Haze is such a good peach color!

Sailor Ink Studio 173 has the best shading I’ve ever seen in an orange ink.

J Herbin Essentials Orange Soleil is so smooth and lovely.

Sailor Jentle Apricot is one of the first inks I ever bought and I still use it today.

Papier Plume Sazerac is my favorite springy orange.

J Herbin Cornaline d’Egypte is my favorite orange shimmer ink.

What’s your favorite orange ink? Let me know in the comments below!

My 10 Favorite Grey Inks

We’ve been tackling my top ten inks in each color category and today it’s time to have a go at grey inks! So let’s take a look!

Pilot Iroshizuku Fuyu-syogun is so smooth and pretty. I love the cool-tone.

Pilot Iroshizuku Kiri-same is like Fuyu-syogun but warmer.

Diamine Moon Dust is my favorite grey shimmer. It’s just pretty.

Sailor Manyo Hinoki has gorgeous shading: from green to grey to purple.

Sailor Ink Studio 224 has similar shading to Hinoki but it leans a bit more toward purple.

Diamine Earl Grey is a fabulous purpley-grey. It reminds me of elephants.

Montblanc Oyster Grey is a good medium grey.

Monteverde Smoke Noir reminds me of graphite.

Rohrer & Klingner Thea is my favorite water-resistant grey.

Diamine Silver Fox is gorgeous and well-behaved.

What’s your favorite grey ink? Let me know in the comments below!

My 10 Favorite Teal Inks

Last month we looked at my 10 favorite purple inks so today it’s time to take a look at my 10 favorite teal inks, in no particular order. There are so many good teal inks out there that it’s hard to narrow them down to ten, especially because it’s my favorite color!

Robert Oster Marine is a fabulous medium teal.

Diamine Marine is the first ink I ever bought, and is still one of my favorites!

Robert Oster Sooty Shearwater was dedicated to the founder of Galen Leather, and is a gorgeous teal.

I love how dark and interesting Robert Oster Deep Sea is.

Sailor Yama-dori is smooth and wonderful.

I’m not a huge fan of shimmer inks but Diamine Peacock Flare is gorgeous!

Diamine Soft Mint is a perfect spring teal.

J Herbin Emerald of Chivor is one of the most popular inks, and for good reason.

Robert Oster Monsoon Sky is from the Arizona collection.

Diamine Spearmint Diva is another pretty teal shimmer ink.

What’s your favorite teal ink? Let me know in the comments below!

My 10 Favorite Purple Inks

Last month we looked at my 10 favorite yellow inks so today it’s time to take a look at my 10 favorite purple inks, in no particular order. There are so many good purple inks out there that it’s hard to narrow them down to ten.

Sailor Manyo Fuji has fabulous shading, but it is very dry.

Colorverse Pillars of Creation has some gorgeous green sheen.

Sailor Manyo Nekoyanagi is another good purple shader.

Diamine Music Handel is gorgeous and has some lovely shading.

Monteverde Blueberry Muffin is a great purple for fall.

Pilot Iroshizuku Ajisai is a lovely blue-violet.

Pilot Iroshizuku Yama-budo is so pretty and bright.

Monteverde Amethyst is a lovely medium purple.

Platinum Lavender Black has some awesome shading and I love watching the color change.

J Herbin 1798 Amethyste de L’Oural is such a pretty purple with silver shimmer.

What’s your favorite purple ink? Let me know in the comments below!

My 10 Favorite Yellow Inks

I decided it would be fun to tackle some of my favorite inks based on color so today let’s take a look at my ten favorite yellow inks, in no particular order. Yellow inks can be so hard! Some are too light to be readable and some are rather fluorescent, it’s hard to find the good ones.

Robert Oster Gold Antiqua is a dark gold with shading. I love using this ink in the winter months.

Robert Oster Heart of Gold is the perfect gold shimmer ink. I love using it on holiday cards.

Bungubox Ebizu Gold is perfect for the winter or spring, it’s a great neutral gold.

Franklin-Christoph Honeycomb is right in-between yellow and brown depending on what paper you use it on.

KWZ Honey has gorgeous shading. It really is the color of honey.

Robert Oster Yellow Sunset is bright while still being readable.

KWZ Old Gold is the color of tarnished gold.

Colorverse Adobe makes me think of desert sands.

Robert Oster Yellow Sunrise is bright and cheerful.

Private Reserve Buttercup is a fabulous spring yellow.

What’s your favorite yellow ink? Let me know in the comments below!

Holiday 2020 Inks

Yesterday we covered my current favorites and an inky gift guide, today let’s talk about inks that are great for the coming holidays!

These metallic inks are perfect for any holiday from Thanksgiving to New Year’s. No matter what the occasion, these inks always add the “wow” factor.

• Platinum Carbon Black

• Robert Oster Gold Antiqua

• Robert Oster African Gold

• KWZ Old Gold

• Bungubox Ebisu Gold

• Robert Oster Heart of Gold

• Nemosine Coalsack Nebula

• Monteverde Smoke Noir

• Colorverse Anti-matter

• Pilot Iroshizuku Kiri-same

• Diamine Grey

• Diamine Snow Storm

While our Thanksgiving is going to look very different this year, I still reach for specific inks each November (this one is KWZ Honey).

Browns and reds are my favorites this season, especially those with fabulous shading like Colorverse String and Taccia Tuchi Golden Wheat.

• Colorverse String

• Taccia Tuchi Golden Wheat

• Robert Oster Caffe Crema

• Monteverde Scotch Brown

• Robert Oster Toffee

• Monteverde Pumpkin Cake

• Diamine Oxblood

• Robert Oster Astorquiza Rot

• Diamine Mulled Wine

• Diamine Burgundy Royale

• Robert Oster Maroon 1789

You can’t go wrong with oranges and yellows in November.

• Diamine Autumn Oak

• Kobe Arima Amber

• KWZ Butterscotch

• Robert Oster Terracotta

• Montblanc Red Fox

• Monteverde Fireopal

• Kobe Taisanji Yellow

• Robert Oster Honey Bee

• Jacques Herbin Ambre de Baltique

• Franklin Christoph Honeycomb

• KWZ Honey

Christmas is my favorite holiday! There are so many great Christmas greens and reds that I couldn’t limit myself to just a few.

Dark green inks are perfect for Christmas.

• Taccia Midori Green

• Robert Oster River of Fire

• Robert Oster Spearmint

• Montblanc Irish Green

• Robert Oster Peppermint

• Diamine Woodland Green

• Diamine Holly

• Pilot Iroshizuku Shin-ryoku

• Robert Oster Evergreen

• Robert Oster Emerald

• Diamine Ultra Green

• Diamine Sherwood Green

Not only do I love the dark greens for Christmas, but there’s always room for some lighter brighter greens and of course some shimmer inks as well.

• Robert Oster Peppermint Candy

• Diamine Golden Ivy

• Diamine Magical Forest

• Diamine Golden Oasis

• Robert Oster Fizzy Lime

• Robert Oster Ryde Green

• Blackstone Lemur Lime

• Diamine Kelly Green

I have a love/hate relationship with red inks. I’m always on the lookout for my perfect red, so far the closest I’ve found is Sailor Jentle Irori, but it’s still a bit too bright for me.

• Diamine Matador

• KWZ Maple Red

• Sailor Jentle Irori

• J Herbin Rouge Grenat

• Monteverde Cherry Danish

• Robert Oster Red Candy

• Diamine Firestorm Red

• Diamine Crimson

• Monteverde Love

• Diamine Red Dragon

• Diamine Noel

• Robert Oster Clay Red

• Robert Oster Blood Rose

• Robert Oster Red Gold

I posted my favorite Christmas inks last year, and had a lot of requests to include Hanukkah inks this year.

I wanted to include a range from black to silver even though I know the traditional colors are only blue and white. White inks are almost impossible in fountain pens (yes, I know some actually exist I just haven’t tried them yet).

• Sailor Kiwa-guro

• Sailor Nano Souboku

• Robert Oster Tokyo Blue Denim

• Sailor’s Sailor

• Robert Oster Blue Water Ice

• Colorverse Horizon

• Diamine Moon Dust

• Pilot Iroshizuku Fuyu-syogun

• Diamine Silver Fox

What are your favorite holiday inks? Let me know in the comments below!

Disclaimer: all photos and opinions are my own. There are no affiliate links on this page, and this post is not sponsored in any way.

1300 Inks!

We’ve passed 1300 inks so it’s time for another favorites post! Since we are so close to the holidays I decided to make this not only my current favorites but also a gift guide of sorts, based on ink properties.

This year has been really difficult, especially for small retailers. When you are doing your holiday shopping please remember to support small businesses! I did a blog post awhile back about my favorite small businesses and another post about custom pen makers if you are looking for more pen people to support.

Water-resistant Inks:

Water-resistant inks are perfect for the journaler who wants their writing to last, the klutzy friend who always spills their coffee or the artist who loves to mix fountain pens and watercolors.

• Sailor Sei-boku

• Rohrer & Klingner Salix

• Sailor Souboku

• Platinum Carbon Black

• Monteverde Documental Black

Copy Paper Inks:

These inks perform well on cheap paper so these inks are perfect for the penny pincher friend who doesn’t want to buy nice paper, the office-dweller who doesn’t get to pick their paper or the student stuck with school papers.

• Rohrer & Klingner Salix

• Rohrer & Klingner Alt-goldgrun

• Lamy Benitoite

• Sailor Kiwa-guro

• Bungubox Ebisu Gold

Wet Inks:

Wet inks are great for the writer who loves big juicy broad nibs or the calligrapher who uses flex and stub nibs.

• Platinum Carbon Black

• Rohrer & Klingner Verdigris

• Pilot Iroshizuku Shin-kai

• KWZ Butterscotch

• Monteverde Ocean Noir

Dry Inks:

Dry inks are great when you have a nib that’s too wet and needs a little taming.

• Robert Oster Bishop to King

• Platinum Lavender Black

• Kyo-iro 01 Stone Road of Gion

• Diamine Citrus Ice

Iron Gall Inks:

Iron Gall inks are great for the archive journaler, artist or historian.

• Platinum Lavender Black

• Rohrer & Klingner Salix

• KWZ Iron Gall Gummiberry

Non-shading Inks:

Non-shading inks are great for the office-dweller when shading isn’t appropriate, the boring friend who wants their writing to look like “normal” or the perfectionist who hates variation.

• Platinum Carbon Black

• Aurora Black

• Diamine Oxford Blue

• Sailor Jentle Shigure

• Pilot Iroshizuku Take-sumi

Shading Inks:

Shading inks are a great gift for 99% of pen users, especially when they are as pretty as these ones!

• Sailor’s Sailor

• Taccia Tuchi Golden Wheat

• Robert Oster Tokyo Blue Denim

• Colorverse String

• Colorverse Saturn V

Crazy Shading Inks:

Dual shaders, chromo shaders, multi shaders-whatever you call them, they are fabulous for the artist in your life. They are rather pale in writing so I stick to broad and flex nibs to see the gorgeous shading.

• Sailor Ink Studio 123

• Sailor Manyo Nekoyanagi

• Sailor Ink Studio 150

• Troublemaker Abalone

• Sailor Manyo Haha

Sheeny Inks:

While I love a good sheeny ink, I hate ones that smear. I tend to stay in the medium to high sheeners, where Sailor and Colorverse perform well.

• Sailor Jentle Yama-dori

• Sailor Jentle Irori

• Colorverse Andromeda

• Blackstone Barrier Reef Blue

• Colorverse Gravity Wave

Shimmer Inks:

Shimmer inks are great for those in your life that want a bit of sparkle and shine in their writing.

• Robert Oster Heart of Gold

• Robert Oster Rose Gilt Tynte

• J Herbin 1670 Emerald of Chivor

• Diamine Winter Miracle

• Nemosine Coalsack Nebula

So now that we’ve covered the first 1300 inks, on to the next ones! What’s your number one ink to penable a friend? Let me know in the comments below!

Disclaimer: All photos and opinions are my own. This post does not contain affiliate links and is not sponsored in any way.