INK REVIEWS
Waterman

Black, Florida Blue, Red, Purple, Green, Blue-Black,
South Sea Blue, Brown, Rose
Waterman produces their own ink at their factory
in Nantes, France. They use a basic base ink for all colours and then add
tints.
Over the past years, in talking with various pen
stores, Waterman Blue consistently comes out as one of the most recommended
inks for all pens. In fact, when someone tells me they are having problems
with a pen writing smoothly I typically suggest trying Waterman Florida Blue
-- the response is usually "it is like a new pen".
I try a extensive number of inks and I consistently come back to Waterman Ink as one of the best inks around. It dries within a good time and is not prone to smudging.
While Herbin inks are known for their scents, Waterman
inks for a number of years were known to have a scent of their own! That was because they included phenol in their formula as a means of stopping mould from growing in the ink. They have in the past few years replaced the phenol with another chemical that does the same trick, so it is only if you have one of the old bottles that you will be able to appreciate what used to be a very distinctive "Waterman aroma".

Havana Brown - nice tone,
no longer available in cartridges throughout North America, but the bottles
are everywhere. A very rich dark brown. This is the benchmark for brown
inks. When people compare browns, Waterman Havana Brown is usually the
colour the is the reference points. Browns are either reddish or yellowish
as compared to this one. I use this often when I go through my brown
stages. When you go back years later and look at notes written this colour
they look good. If you want to try a brown ink this is one I recommend.

Green -
a great green - a bit of a blue tinge to it. Good flow. Works well in
many different pens. I would consider this one of the greens with the
most colour to it. An Ink of Choice

Florida Blue has good colour
density and flow. Works well in just about every pen. This is one of
the most basic blue inks around. Judging from comments on Internet discussion
boards, its very well accepted although some refer to this colour as boring.
If pushed so that I could only take
one bottle of ink with me... dread that day... it would be this one,
Florida Blue. The all round best blue ink - an Ink
of Choice.

Blue-Black is an interesting colour.
I use this quite often when I am traveling and have to depend more on
cartridges. The Florida Blue cartridges sometimes don't seem right to
me and the Blue Back in the cartridges have a blue-black-grey tone.
I have gone back over old notes made
years ago and the Blue Black still looks pretty good although there is colour variance between the various bottles. I should note that I am talking about trip Journals written over a twenty year time span. Maybe that has to be expected, but greater consistency of colour would be helpful. I would call it
one of those basic colours you should have on hand. An Ink
of Choice.

Black is pretty good, although there
is a "gray" look to the ink. It has been referred to as the
least-saturated of the inks and a grey-black with a hint of blue.
The ink has very good flow. The colour tones produced can given your writing a personality, as the line is darker where
the nib has moved across the paper more slowly. (Thanks: R. Womer).
This is not a waterproof ink.

Purple flows well and has a nice rich look.
I still prefer the Pelikan purple as a brighter, sharper colour but I
use this ink on a regular basis. One of my most popular selections and
the second best purple around. An Ink
of Choice.

South-Sea Blue is somewhat light. The Turquoise
by Lamy has richer tones. This is a good performing ink in a variety of pens and I find myself coming back to this when when I want something a little brighter to write with.

Red -
Boy, here is a colour with a wide range of colour quality. Some bottles
I have bought are a nice red. Others have a orange-red washed out look.
When you get the right dye lot the colour is great but there sure is
a lot of variances to my buying history with this colour.
Rose - I have only seen the Rose colour
in France, and it is only available in cartridges, NOT in bottles. Patte Rosebank wrote and describes the ink as a nice cool rose-pink (in finer or "dry" nibs) to a wonderfully rich magenta (in broader or "wet" nibs). Thanks Patte.