What’s in my Fountain Pen Ink Journal?

I talked about my ink journal last time – primarily, what it is and its purpose. I’ve also included a few snippets of my journal but here – I want to share more about the contents of my ink journal and what my thoughts are about some of these inks.

To date, I have 11 ink bottles and four ink samples. I decided to only include bottled ink in the journal because they hold more value and memory compared to the samples.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means if you use the link(s) to purchase the item(s) below, I will receive commission for advertising on my site (at no additional cost to you!).

Herbin Poussiere de Lune

This ink, in my opinion, is a nice shade of purple/violet. It’s great for everyday writing because it’s a nice neutral color especially if you don’t want to use blues and blacks for the most part. I own a 10ml bottle and it’s about to run out because I’ve been using this ink for more than 6 months now.

Lamy Turquoise

The Lamy Turquoise, also known as the Pacific Blue, is a great ink. I love the color and this might be one of my favorites. This ink has a nice pink sheen especially when you dump it on a really nice paper (like a Midori MD). When writing on a Leuchtturm1917, you can see how nicely the color shades. The only problem that it didn’t write well when inked in one of my flex nib fountain pens. Apparently, the Lamy Turquoise is a “dry” ink and that might have caused the pen to not write well.

I also bought this as a cartridge because I really did NOT know any better!

Read more about wet/dry inks: Top 10 Wet and Dry Inks

Read more about ink cartridges and bottles: FOUNTAIN PEN INK: BOTTLES VS. CARTRIDGES

Sailor Ink Studio 760

When I was buying Sailor inks, I didn’t know how difficult they were to come across. I saw a wall of Sailor Ink Studio inks in a store and gravitated towards it. I like the Ink Studio bottles because were simple and were only 20ml (at approx ~$13 – that’s expensive!). I’ve only seen a few reviews of the Ink Studio line too so I’m glad that I was able to snag a few bottles of these too.

See ALL 100 of the Sailor Ink Studio line here: Sailor Ink Studio Overview (100 inks)

Platinum Carbon Black

I’ve talked about the Platinum Carbon Black in my Best Fountain Pens and Inks for Dot Grid Journals post. I didn’t want to purchase a black ink because…well, you can get that anywhere but this ink is waterproof which is rare for fountain pen inks. The permanence is actually what makes this a good ink for Bullet Journaling.

Herbin Vert de Gris

Another ink color that I tried to stay away from, albeit my favorite, is blue. I already owned a Lamy Turquoise but it was not subtle enough for daily writing so I looked for a blue ink that was out of the ordinary like a blue black or a blue-ish gray. The Vert de Gris is a nice color. It’s gray-ish blue with a hint of teal? 🤷🏻‍♀️

Check out some reviews from Mountain of Ink and Goulet Pens.

Sailor Ink Studio 264

Another Ink Studio ink! After realizing how expensive Sailor inks actually were, I didn’t want to buy another one of these but they really have great ink and ink selections that I just couldn’t resist. I believe around this time, I had just bought the Bluegreen Lamy Al-star and wanted to buy a matching ink. I couldn’t find the perfect color to match at that time so I snagged a bottle of Sailor. This is an okay ink for me. It’s too light when used on a fine and medium nib but it’s alright on a flex nib pen.

Colorverse Miss Baker

Colorverse inks received a lot of hype in fountain pen network so I decided to try one for myself. Colorverse typically sells their inks in sets. Presentation and bottles are gorgeous. And they are space themed. They’re at a premium price so I had to choose something different. Although I regret not taking the Hayabusa set, this was still a good buy.

Check out Goulet Pens’ The 5 Hottest Inks of 2018

Colorverse Able

This might be another one of the strange colored inks that I own (like the Herbin Vert de Gris). It’s like a dark sage green color and kind of stands out from some of the green inks out there but also a green that not everyone will particularly like. It write light and I disliked it at first but it has been one of my favorite inks to journal with right now.

Monteverde Napa Burgundy

I’m not really fond of red fountain pen inks just because I always associate red with school. I would have never thought of buying a red ink for myself but if it comes free, then why not? This isn’t one of those bright stop sign reds but it’s a nice burgundy that really looks like red wine. I’ve inked this in my Parker 45 because I wanted to have a more lubricated ink (Monteverde has their Ink Treatment Formula technology)

Read more on ITF: INK BRAND PROFILE: NEW MONTEVERDE INKS

Sailor Shikiori Yukiakari

As much I wanted to buy a 50ml bottle of the Lamy Turquoise, I didn’t because my Conklin Duraflex was not writing well with it. Dry inks are just a deal breaker for me, no matter how beautiful the bottle is nor how nice the shading is. I stumbled upon the Shikiori and it’s pretty close to the turquoise, just a bit lighter.

Jacques Herbin Amethyste de L’oural

I’ve been wanting to own a Jacques Herbin ink because the bottles are just so darn pretty. I mean that bottle is just beautiful. Another thing to note about this ink is shimmer – it has small glitter-like particles that add that extra character to your writing.

Want to know more about shading, sheen, and shimmer? Watch Brian Goulet’s Q&A here.