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Post by ginny on Dec 30, 2020 17:39:57 GMT
I have bought lots of samples from Pure Pens in the past as you can buy them by brand. It seems that I really like Organic Studios colours but that is not an easy brand to buy in Europe. I prefer to buy from mainland Europe rather than UK shops the last while (and post Brexit) as shipping is normally better value and at least I am paying in euros. Other than that I just try to go by colour on the website or via recommendations. I never buy ink from US shops as the shipping and the customs and handling charges are not worth it. I reckon I'll stay away from US shops for the same reason. I have found a pretty good online shop here in Germany that I might give a try, they have all sorts of fountain pens as well as ink... I have cast a covetous eye on some Diamine ink (Ancient Copper in particular) there - might get that some time in the new year...
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Post by eefa on Dec 31, 2020 18:49:53 GMT
I have bought lots of samples from Pure Pens in the past as you can buy them by brand. It seems that I really like Organic Studios colours but that is not an easy brand to buy in Europe. I prefer to buy from mainland Europe rather than UK shops the last while (and post Brexit) as shipping is normally better value and at least I am paying in euros. Other than that I just try to go by colour on the website or via recommendations. I never buy ink from US shops as the shipping and the customs and handling charges are not worth it. I reckon I'll stay away from US shops for the same reason. I have found a pretty good online shop here in Germany that I might give a try, they have all sorts of fountain pens as well as ink... I have cast a covetous eye on some Diamine ink (Ancient Copper in particular) there - might get that some time in the new year... i got a virtual gift card for Christmas so seriously considering adding to my ink stash. Was sorting my inks today so it’s easier for me to see what shades I do and don’t have. Suspect I could be ordering a few over the weekend
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Post by distractedmom on Dec 31, 2020 19:03:43 GMT
I reckon I'll stay away from US shops for the same reason. I have found a pretty good online shop here in Germany that I might give a try, they have all sorts of fountain pens as well as ink... I have cast a covetous eye on some Diamine ink (Ancient Copper in particular) there - might get that some time in the new year... i got a virtual gift card for Christmas so seriously considering adding to my ink stash. Was sorting my inks today so it’s easier for me to see what shades I do and don’t have. Suspect I could be ordering a few over the weekend That’s smart! I just order willy-nilly and then end up with 5 bottles of very similar colors. I used to do the same thing with nail polish.
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Post by Lupine on Jan 1, 2021 20:22:06 GMT
Love this ink discussion. My method for choosing a new ink is that I keep a journal with a section called "Inks Liked." I write down the name of an ink I see online or in a letter that strikes me in some way. For example, I'm super interested in Robert Oster's No Fixed Address, because I don't have any pinks at all and I like the idea that it's in some way charitable. Cons: It's $25 plus shipping and I don't NEED a pink ink, I've never bought a shimmer and am afraid of it not washing out cleanly, and I've never seen it in person . . . so I keep not buying it. I'm just gathering information. (Any opinions on that one for me from this group?)
I just gather and gather information from here and there and suddenly I buy a sample or buy the bottle. A very hit or miss approach. Side note, I recently created one of those ink pages on a single piece of paper where I colored in a little square and wrote a few words with each color that I own in a full bottle and guess what? I own very similar colors. Purple, Green, Black, Red . . . they all kinda look a lot a like. I guess I have "type," so that was an interesting experiment.
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Post by Lupine on Jan 1, 2021 20:35:18 GMT
ginny, did you say you might buy Diamine Ancient Copper? The thread replies got too complex for me to be sure it was you. But I found this guy who reviews inks and I watched him review Ancient Copper and Oxblood, two very popular colors. I bought Ancient Copper a while ago and have always wondered if I shouldn't have bought Oxblood because Ancient Copper is actually a red-brown, but Oxblood is a a dark red and I wanted a dark red. I learned that Ancient Copper dries much faster, and I am happy for that because I have problems smudging wet ink. It also washes out of the pen very well, and that's important to me. www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_D4BDOelb0I like this guy's reviews even though he's sometimes so tedious he bores himself.
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Post by ginny on Jan 1, 2021 21:31:00 GMT
Thanks, Lupine, yes, that was me who talked about Ancient Copper. I have seen the sample and think it looks quite lovely. I don't want a dark red at the moment as I have that ink made of wine that's dark red (and a pain in the behind because it clogs up my fountain pen although it's supposed to be very fine quality - duh!) and want to finish that before I get another dark red some time. I'll check out that review over the next few days - thanks for the link!
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Post by Catida on Jan 2, 2021 8:54:50 GMT
ginny and eefa, do you know an online-shop based in Europe that sells ink samples?
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Post by eefa on Jan 2, 2021 10:43:31 GMT
ginny and eefa , do you know an online-shop based in Europe that sells ink samples? Hi Catida the only one that I'm aware of doing samples is PurePens in the UK. Definitely recommend them. If you go www.purepens.co.uk/collections/ink-samples then down the left hand side there'll be groupings of ink samples by brand. I don't know of anywhere in mainland Europe unfortunately.
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Post by ginny on Jan 2, 2021 16:01:57 GMT
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Post by eefa on Jan 2, 2021 18:40:36 GMT
distractedmom I keep a notebook with a page for each pen and then I keep note of what ink is in each one noting the inking up and end dates. At the back of this notebook is grouped my inks by colour with swabs for each; it was a huge help when i was sketching new inks to buy yesterday! For anyone interested I find the mountainofink.com blog great for shade comparisons as well.
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Post by Mia on Jan 3, 2021 2:50:43 GMT
I've been lucky to visit The Writing Desk and have bought samples from them, my last time was in March. They did the samples on demand then... Hopefully when things are more normal, they'll start doing them again.
The Diamine inks are cheap enough for 30ml I didn't bother with samples. One Diamine ink I bought I didn't like, so gave it away (I was writing letters in a cafe, and the waiter was a TWSBI user, so on my next visit, gave it to him), and it didn't feel like wasted money.
The two fountain pen forums I have visited do have reviews of inks. Although a couple of my recent ink purchases have been chosen without seeing a review.
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Post by stompie on Jan 3, 2021 17:44:48 GMT
Ancient Copper is one of my favourite inks however, I am particular about which pen I use it in as it builds up a lot of crud around the nib if you not careful. I imagine if you use it a lot then all should be okay but with me some pens stand for weeks before I use them again.
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Post by distractedmom on Jan 3, 2021 20:32:26 GMT
Ancient Copper is one of my favourite inks however, I am particular about which pen I use it in as it builds up a lot of crud around the nib if you not careful. I imagine if you use it a lot then all should be okay but with me some pens stand for weeks before I use them again. I am also guilty of allowing my pens to sit around a bit. I have too many inked up, but I like to have my options!
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Post by ginny on Jan 3, 2021 21:50:32 GMT
Ancient Copper is one of my favourite inks however, I am particular about which pen I use it in as it builds up a lot of crud around the nib if you not careful. I imagine if you use it a lot then all should be okay but with me some pens stand for weeks before I use them again. Thanks for that valuable piece of advice! I will keep it in mind!
I currently have 8 pens inked up, and although I use some more than others, they haven't acted up on me so far. The infamous wine ink that I have mentioned frequently recently is different, though - I'd say it's a bit huffish if you don't use it frequently. I have just cleaned the pen I had inked it with and will give myself a break from it for a while...
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Post by eefa on Jan 9, 2021 16:31:44 GMT
I have 5 pens currently inked. I think it's important to have a selection of colours available when writing a letter I ordered 5 bottles from Appelboom last week though one is out of stock (I do wish their website could reflect actual stock levels, this happens to be alot with them especially when the replacement colour that I chose was also out of stock). Looking forward to their arrival
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