Diamine Ink Bottle Sargasso Seaaa

I would not use any other make!

Eigentlich ein schönes sattes Blau, aber leider stinkt die Tinte nach verschimmeltem Leder. Der Schreibgenuss wird durch diese olfaktorische Belästigung nachhaltig getrübt. Daher nicht zu verwenden. Sehr schade!

This ink is phenomenal. Very well lubricated, spreads nicely, and settles into a beautiful two-tone effect in the heavier strokes. An absolute pleasure to write with. Tested using an ultra-flex nib with no railroading, pooling, or flow issues. The ink keeps up with the nib even under heavy flex and lays down smoothly. It actually has a very similar feel on paper to higher-end inks like Émeraude de Chivor, but at roughly half the price point. Highly recommended. 5 stars.

Damson Purple I didn't like this color at first. When I put swatches of it next to my other colors, it didn't seem very interesting. Too grey, and not very purplish. But then I started writing with it. To my surprize this neutral purple has a personality all its own - subtle yet appealing, and somehow it feels just right. It is not too dark, but dark enuf that it looks almost black until you put it next to a real black, and it has a nice sheen when you look at it at certain angles. I was going to mix it with something else to make it stand out in my collection, but now I'm afraid to ruin perfection. I enjoy writing with it; the color has a soothing affect as it lays down. It's Diamine. I have used a few other brands but Diamine I like, and all my pens are adjusted for it. I like to blend colors, so keeping to one brand is good for compatibility; some brands don't mix. Now all my inks are Diamine, except a few, which are Monteverde, which mixes well with Diamine without coagulating or precipitating. Sometimes, I add a few drops of NOW Vegetable Glycerin to the ink bottle to lubricate the nib, or a single drop (diluted 30 to 1) of Golden Artist Colors Inc. Wetting Aid surfactant. This has to be done being very careful not to overdo it. It helps when a pen isn't used for awhile and the ink begins to dry out, which even a good quality ink like Diamine will do eventually. But every week or so I'll run the nib under a warm water faucet to flush most of the dried ink, then blot it dry with toilet paper. Takes two minutes and usually fixes problems without having to take it apart.

Amazing ink with an amazingly dark and beautiful blue color. It is a joy to write with.

As others have stated, this ink is very saturated and has a vibrant but dark blue color. It flows well, and because it is so saturated, I wouldn't say it shades really at all. It performs/behaves well, especially on good paper (Rhodia, Tomoe), but also fairly well on the cheap paper in a Top Flight composition book. If evaluating the color alone, this is a great ink worth checking out. The only hangup I have about the ink is that it smells weird. It's like a strong chemical musty smell, enough that I was wondering if it could possibly be contaminated with mold (a known but rare problem with fountain pen ink!). After some further research, other users have reported the smell for this ink as well, which on the whole is very rare for Diamine inks. I have a sensitive sense of smell, and can usually smell subtle things from inks (Sailor Manyo inks are kind of scented) and this is by far the smelliest ink I have ever used. It's not a dealbreaker for me, though. You can definitely smell it when filling your pen and have the bottle open, and you can smell it on your nib if you deliberately tried. I could kind of smell it when writing, but the smell went away on the paper after the ink dried. So at least if you're writing letters I don't think you'll be sending someone pages of stink. The smell really might bother some people though. If you want a nice saturated and vibrant ink, Diamine Majestic Blue is nice, and it has a sheen to it (but that makes it a little bit harder to clean out of your pen).