The Diamine inks are quickly becoming my favorite, good lord!! they make some incredible stuff. Wow

A van with a little tow along second van, obviously...

I think if I took the time that you have to concentrate on which inks I enjoy most, I would never complete my task, give up and just buy more ink. LOL It's nice to watch someone's decisiveness.

The De Atramentis lids sound like they are made of bakelite. I am a big fan of that early 20th century plastic. Old black telephones or light switches were made of it back then in Germany. 🙂

I totally get the love of the bottle tops. All of the ASMR vibes are really important in the whole process of this hobby. Totally understand.

De Atramentis lids are amazing. Ferris wheel press lids are super heavy and satisfying as well!

I absolutely love the title and gist of this video! I’m new to fountain pens and inks but I’m also on a bit of a minimalist journey and I really only want a handful of favorite inks and pens-like no more than maybe 6! This is a great video with even a nice tip for how to see clearly what you are choosing and doubling up on! I definitely see a bit of a fall theme in your current choices! I wonder what this would look like in spring!

Regarding the ink: Some of it comes in containers that are inconvenient to use; the bottles are too tall or too light, and tend to be easily upset. Bottles with a broad base are best. When I empty a glass bottle with a broad cap (small diameter tops require more effort to remove, especially if there is dried ink between the cap and its bottle), I save it and use it to receive ink from unsuitable bottles. I have found that Noodlers and Aurora ink bottles are easiest to upset because they are tall and have small bases. For me, Private Reserve bottles are an excellent choice.

Great & impressive collection.

I used to be a gel pen enthusiast and I noticed that green was often left out of a package of pens. Your video and people's comments strengthen my theory that green may be the most difficult color ink to manufacture.

One thing you might want to try with your Noodlers inks is diluting them. Nathan is obsessed with value so he puts a ton of dye in them. You can get about a bottle and a half of ink depending on the color by diluting it. My bottle of Cactus Fruit would take upwards of 45 minutes to dry on the page but even then it would still smudge. I diluted it in a sample vial down to 80% which took care of the feathering and dry time while not really changing the color at all.

You have come so far with your channel. Love coming across these earlier vlogs. I would add to the list of why I pick an ink is to compliment my card/stationary.

Yes, finally! Amazing collection, great gorgeous choices for the van, by the way not surprised of your van color choices based on your inked videos and recent reviews:) surprised Robert from Diamine didn’t make the cut, but love all the honesty and refreshing perspective. Thanks again for the brightening my day, stay safe out there and keep feeding your soul:)

I love that you approach this from the standpoint of enjoyment first, rather than filling presumed needs (e.g. I need a good black, and a solid blue...)

Great choice. Love your desk.

Hello, I came across you on the Appelboom channel and enjoyed your presentation. I have since found your videos very informative and helpful, especially the one on 'van' inks (great to see my country get an honorable mention with Black Swans in Australian Roses, such a lovely poetic name). I'm a little shy in a pen shop, so rely on online for information. I think you, along with Goulet Pens, will fit the bill very nicely, investing the hobby with genuine love. Thank you.

Just wanted to say, “Hi!” New subscriber here. I was watching journal videos and KZfaq pointed me in your direction. I’ve been a writer since I was little, but only within the last year (I’m in my 30s now) have I discovered the world of pens and different paper styles. I want to try fountain pens, but looking at your ink collection, it looks like I may be falling down an expensive, addicting rabbit hole. Haha

A few months ago I actually relocated abroad for a more or less long season and had to decide what pens and inks to haul with me. From 100+ bottles of ink, I took Iroshizuku Kon-Peki and Birmingham Waterfront Dusk (I regret this one because it is so bleedtrhough-y), and a couple of dozen pens (out of 100+ too). The pens were easier since they are easier to pack and carry. The inks I just had to take whatever. If I had the chance, I would have brought at least Diamine Pumpkin, Red Dragon, Majestic Blue, Skull and Roses, and De Atramentis Royal Blue.

Hi Alicia, I just love your honest and positive attitude about life. You are such a inspiration & the way you think about matters when you ramble are great ❤️❤️👍👍👏👏. Since I can only just black inks at work, I try to find near black (eg Monteverde Black Ash,Noodlers Lexington Gray, ) black inks with different undertones (eg Oster Black Violet = it actually dark Violet even though it look black from Afar ; Noodlers Zhivago = really dark brown /motor oil black.) Keep up the great videos/vlogs work. ❤️❤️ Love listening to voice along with the giggles, it's so calming & soothing. 😍😍 Be safe and well. Take care of yourself

Oh my goodness! You have so many inks! I'm jealous. I see some of my own collection hanging out on your desk. Iroshizuku, Sailor and De Atrementis are my personal faves :)

I agree, there is no satisfaction in opening or closing a plastic ink bottle with a soft plastic cap. I like the feel and sound of a hardened plastic bottle top turning onto a coarse glass threaded ink bottle. How weird is that? I like your choice of inks, many of which I haven't seen before. Great fun to soak a cotton bud and colour in those square boxes. Brings out the magic of those gorgeous inks.

Such a lovely video, I love watching and listening to all your talks of pens, papers and inks... so relaxing! Talking about inks, have you ever tried the J. Herbin non shimmering ones? I have their Autumn set of mini-bottles and I love each and every colour in that! They really are some of my favourites together with the iroshizuku!

That was excellent, A-D....it was as if I were watching myself in many respects; the one group of inks I will not use anymore, are the Noodler's - I find them wishy-washy, & expensive for what they are. As you assert, their range is enormous, but I (too) cannot reconcile with the inconsistent colouration & shading. In terms of seasons, mine has to be Autumn (I'm a Fall guy) - no other season holds the variety of hues & tonal rendition that suit my palette; Winter - a complete monochromal contrast to the former, is my second most enjoyed time of the year. True, the other two seasons have their merits, but they pale into insignificance against the first pair. Looking at your collection of bottles, De Atramentis is my all time go-to range, followed swiftly by the Pelikan inks; Diamine is my third (& the one brand I possess most of) - I do not find them particularly irksome to clean out of my pens, but perhaps that's just me. I saw you using a 400 (NN ?) Tortoiseshell, there - I have that model, myself....in fact, entirely too many vintage scribes - but I love them all. If I had to choose a selection of fountain pens to take with me to live in a limited space, ninety percent would be vintage models from the '30's '40's & '50's - no question !! Thank you for the 'extreme scenario' presentation - do take care & stay safe, Andrew :)

Please keep the videos coming. I enjoy them. :)

love this collection!

So true, Noodler's inks are hit or miss. I have the color Army Green and I love the color but it doesn't dry, ever! So it smudges everywhere. 😆

I liked your table too with your collection 😅😂

This video is really awesome! I too love "Stone Road" that ink was in an Ink Flight sample & I really love it & surprised I don't javeva bottle of it! Black Swan in Australian Roses is one of my favorites too!!! I agree - caps do matter on the bottles! My most impressive cap is on the 1 bottle of Ferris Wheel Press ink that I have - it's heavy & amazingly shaped!!! And the sound is very satisfying! ✒🌞

I want to love Noodler's inks too. Some are great, walnut, apache sunset, cactusxeel fruit. Perfection! Bottles are great and... generously filled and i like Nathan Tardiff. But i ran into problematic inks by Noodlers and now i am cautious. Polar green was worst in feathering... i switched notebpoks though so maybe they behave better on the different (thicker) paper. Right now i am loving the Robert Osters. I tried not to go for the Khaki. Yes i blame you! It looked too good in your ink choosing video. Funny enough it took me forever this month to pick my set of inks and pens for the month so i felt a lot better seeing i am not the only one who is a bit special in this aspect.

Beautiful color selections.

the Kon Peki is on my hit list!

My 3 favorite Diamine.. your two, plus Majestic Blue.. my favorite bottle and great inks.. Akkerman

I loved this video so much! Going to buy some of your recommendations 🙂

Great video. I love❤️❤️ your desk!

Nice selection!

For a van situation in Canada, I would bring my Noodler's Raven Black, and Polar Blue, Diamine Oxford Blue, and Havasu Turquoise. Definitely consider a Polar Ink on those cold months in a van.

Very nice video. Thank you. RS. Canada

Awesome inks

Ohh i feel you on the plastic cap sound...diamine 30ml bottles have similar lids

While I’m not looking to streamline yet, I have been thinking of what pens I would carry on the road. Most would be some degree of flex, but you always need a contract or receipt signing pen, which presently mine is a 1.1stub with no flex. I have one red that I have been using (now discontinued) for 25 years. Luckily I bought this last bottle before they went out of business. So I’ll be looking for a new red soon. I prefer blues, I’m trying out about 2 doz samples now. Perhaps it’s my old eyes, but I can see the richer colors more easily than the muted, translucent colors. Noodler’s Apache Sunset, Black Swan Australian Rose are 2 of my favorite non-blue inks.

I love your ink collections! Thanks for the feedback on the Noodles. Those are my next wanna buy inks after i had a bad run with the J.Herbin’s (inconsistent, 2/5 passed) bleeds and feathers badly on Rhodia webnote, Leuchtturm but passed on Tomoe, Apica, Midori, Milligram. Any Noodlers that doesn’t feather as much to recommend? I didn’t get Robert Oysters due to the bottles, as much as I wish to support Australia, I’m clumsy, and would definitely spill the bottles in no time. Love my Iroshizuku, non of them bleed and the ink well at the bottle of the bottle could proof useful when i get to my last drop. Their inks are very gentle and if i haven’t use the pen for a while, just a drop of water at the nib would start the ink flowing again. No hard rinses and soaking. I love the crisp sound you made with the bottle cap. :) That’s why i love cleaning the bottle necks and putting the caps back on.

I really appreciate your videos and you journaling videos, could I make a request? Please if you could make a video (s) on cursive writing? Like how did you learn how to write cursive, you looks so relax when doing it...me, not so much [tense up lol]--Anyway thanks for your videos you are very inspiring 👍

If pen and ink are only your hobby, moving into a van situation wouldn’t be too bad, comparing to me. Ink collection is my newest hobby, I spin yarn, presses wool, l knit and crochet 🧶, die wool, I draw and watercolour. My art staff, reference books, a spinning wheel, spindles, etc. are impossible to be packed away neatly. So I’m sticking around with my very understanding husband forever. By the way, I love your ink collection. ❤️

Thank you for another lovely video! I'm getting started on fountain pens and I'm looking for a good black ink to use in diaries, bullet journals and maybe - just maybe - with drawings as a fineliner. Which black ink would you recommend? I heard that waterproof inks are somewhat tricky to clean or they might not be suitable for fountain pens, so if there is a good option, I'd love to hear a recommendation! Thanks again!

Fun video! Thanks

Organic Studio Nitrogen. Sheen galore.

Diamine inks are my favorite ones as well

This was a fun idea. My must 6 haves would be Black Swan, R&K Alt Goldgrun, Diamine Ochre, R Oster Orange Rumble and Marrone Mustard, and J Herbin Lie de The.

Yay :) not the only one with GAS (gear acquisition syndrome)

All those beautiful inks are impermanent if water hits it. Worry? Love J Herbin and Diamine’s Skull & Roses. But for decades I only used MontBlanc’s West German Black after getting a MB 149. 😊

I love many inks from Noodler's, but I think most don't knw that a LOT of Noodler's inks are designed to be cut with distilled water. They're over saturated and over lubricated for just this reason. Forest Green is one I love, but it needs to have about twenty-five percent distilled water added to actually make it the right shade. It's best to do this in vials, of course, rather than the entire bottle. Some Noodler's inks can be cut by nearly fifty percent before that shade even changes. This gives you a lot more ink for your money, and from my experience, takes away the problems some have with feathering, ghosting, etc. I'd keep mostly simple, safe inks. Waterman Tender Purple, Harmonious Green, and Absolute Brown would start the list. Maybe my favorite ink right now is Private Reserve Plum. Two others that would have to come along are Diamine Monaco Red, and Noodler's Cactus Eel. I'd also take along a bottle of Noodler's Heart of Darkness, just for those times when an ink that's one hundred percent bulletproof in every way might be needed. Honorable mentions that would come along if I could find room would be Noodler's Black Swan in Australian Roses, Private Reserve Orange Crush, and Private Reserve Arabian Rose. These are all inks I feel I can write pretty much anything with, be it a journal, a private letter, or a business letter. And, for me, they also cover all four seasons of the year. I'd have a much tougher time deciding which fountain pens to keep.

Rambling about ink is the best! I have a bunch of Noodlers ink but I need to spend more time getting to know them. There are several Monteverde and Colorverse inks I really like. I haven’t used much Robert zoster but I would really like to. Are you careful about which inks you put in your vintage pens? I’ve heard different things.

I'd take basic black and a brown, (likely in cartridges), Diamine Writers Blood, Diamine Twilight, and Monteverde Jade Nior at a minimum. I'd probably take some Noodlers 54th MA, and Lexington Gray, as well. (I shake all my inks before loading) I don't use Bright colors for My correspondence. The only blue I like is the Diamine Twilight, as from a wet nib it appears black at first and second glance. I despise "ballpoint"/"business" blues. Question: Do you shake ALL your inks before loading in a pen, or just the sparkle inks? I've found Noodlers inks are better behaved when shaken before loading, and nib down/up a few times before writing after the pen has sat for a while.

DeAtramentis Indigo is an ink I always keep on hand, usually in one of my little TWSBI ink wells. So reliable. Is that R&K Alt Goldgrun in the unmentioned bottle?

OMG your a legend !!...Thank you from the bottom of my heart for doing this video, i fractured my foot in two places, broke the ankle and a bone on the side of my foot, 2 days ago and sprained my hand while walking my dog. Pot hole one me a trip to hospital :(..This so cheered me up i guess id really be pushing the friendship Mate, if i asked for a follow up video - if you were to move into a van which fountain pens would you take, cheapest to most expensive :) I promise after this i shall sit quietly in the corner and demand no more :) :) :)

Hey Alicia, since ink choices for you are mood based, when you ink up a pen, do you write it empty? Put the ink back in the bottle if your mood changes? Just discard the ink? Or not fully ink up pens to avoid the previous questions? Haha!

OH MY! you handle your virus very well. I'm beginning to venture out of the primary colour system. Id like to venture out into some thing different.... Red, Blue, Teal, and Green.... are my stick tos ..... Im trying to go wild like Orange (Smirk with confidence).

Quick questions: 1) are you concerned about archival or waterproof ink for your journals? I know in your journal video you said you write for yourself only, but Im just curious? 2) what are your top recommendations for archival/ waterproof inks?

OMG. Yesterday I *finally* got up the nerve to realign the tines on my blue stripe Pelikan M400, which was I think the third fountain pen I ever bought, back in about 1996-7. At some point in the last 10 years I inadvertently let it dry out with a full fill of ink, and when I finally opened the pen, the nib was askew on the feed. Since then I haven't been able to use the pen because it wouldn't write properly. I realigned the nib with the feed, but it was super scratchy and the ink flow was really bad. My bravery was rewarded - I fixed the pen and it writes beautifully again! I immediately inked it up with Diamine Denim. And then I inked my my Edison Nouveau Premiere (2016 winter edition, made of black and blue "wood grain" ebonite) with De Atramentis Indigo Blue, which is my favorite dark blue ink. With both of these bottles, I really enjoyed opening and closing them because of how satisfying it is to handle the caps. (My Diamine Denim ink is in one of the bottles with a black cap.) Anyway, I came here to say...I think those caps are made of Bakelite, which is an early plastic, historically speaking.

Thank you! I have the Pilot Chiku-rin and it's faint and a constant disappointment! I use it in a TWSBI ECO and I feel like I have to push so hard to get a decent line. I love the Kon-peki but that green might only be good for watercolour. Seeing your review makes me realize it's not just me! Thanks for that. I'm currently on a quest for a good black. What's our favourite?

Are you thinning out your inks ( selling surplus partials) ?

I love Noodler's but I'm scared to put them in my vintage pens. Does anyone know if they are safe for vintage pen use? A quick google and the opinions are all over the place regarding safeness to your vintage pens. I have other inks for sure, but I'd love to use my Noodler's inks in my vintage pens if possible.

Fun!

❤️

I have Chartreuse in a pen wright now, lovely colour but it´s little hard to read.

Heloe, could you please tell me the name of the ink, 10:00 min, in the right upper corner. Thank you....!

ink hoard! 😍

How do you have so much money to spend on Fountain pens and inks? If you could set aside all this money for the future, you could retire. How do you stop yourself from over spending? How do you manage your fountain pen hobby finiancially. How do you know when to buy a pen and when to get rid of one. How do you budget, do you have a max amount per pen or a max amount overall? Please make a video on that.

Also...since I follow you on here and on insta I'm noticing that there really isn't any disposable items/plastic. Are you low waste? Can you talk about that if you are? I have been making lots of changes in that area.

3 questions to everybody: - Which one is your favourite very dark green (green/black) ink? - Which one is your favourite very dark blue (blue/black) ink? - Which one is your favourite very dark teal (teal/black) ink? 🤔

Excuse me mam, could you spare some ink for a fellow American? The more colored inks I use the more I come back to black. Love the Diamine inks too much though.

wow ...when it comes to inks we all all hoarders.... why is that ? :))

Inxploration

Interested in vanlife?

I was not excited about Robert Oster's bottles but I found that he put a lot of thought into the material he has chosen. In case you're curious too here's the link robertoster.com/about%2Fethics

❤️