Ink
Your have so many choices.
I have experiences the change from few to many option with fountain pen ink. Options changed from " do you want blue, black, blue-black or red", to what now seems to be endless options. There are so many colours. The choice of colour is one of the advantages of writing with a fountain pen. Over the years there has been significant changes in the composition of fountain pen ink. In the gold-age of fountain pens, back in the 1920s/30s fountain pen ink was iron-gall-based. It contained iron salts and tannic acid. This may the ink permanent, but also high in acid level and the ink could corrode, overtime, the metal parts of pens. The inks of the past used materials such as plant resin and egg albumin as stabillizers where today, dye-based inis use synthetic stablizers such as polyvinylo chloride and polyvinyl acetate to enhance the flow and shelve life of the ink.
As a starting point, you do not have to buy the same brand of ink as the brand of your pen. That is not to say there could be an advange of linking the two. Some pen manufactures say their ink is made to specifications the best utilize the characteristic of their ink feed mechanisms. I have found there will be cases where a particular brand of ink will not work as well in certain pens. If the ink flows "drier" (has lower viscosity)and the pen feed and nib is also "drier" then that will be a bad combination.
What is the best ink? It really is a matter of your personal preference. For every writer who prefers a dark deep colour, there is another who prefers a lighter tone of ink and one that will show shade variations, or, to my shock, inks that have a shimmer!
Can you use old ink? Well how old? Vintage inks can be used, and writing will tend to have good shading. But, use caution. If you open a botle of ink and see mould - through it out. Do not use it in your pen. What is harder to judge is whether the old ink has had evaporation so that the ink is much thicker and then may clog your pen.. The smell of the ink may not be the factor on the question to use or not. Waterman ink, even in my lifetime, used to have a "famous smell". I remember it very well. Today, that classic odour is gone.
While I can not answer the "what is best ink" question, I am pleased to share my views of the inks I have used.
Fountain pen ink is a balanced combination of water (the fluid), dyes/pigments (the colour), additives (such as chemicals to stop things growing in the ink), and chemicals to control viscosity or flow of the ink. Basically, stablizers work to prevent dyes and pigments from clumping in the fluid.
Today, most fountain pen inks are dye-based or pigment-based to create the final colours. A fountain pen operates on the principle of capillary action. Flow is important. Pigment-based ink has tiny solid particles in the ink. With pigment ink, the pigments are in the liquid that flows through the fine channels of the feed - the part of the pen that sits beneath the nib. The feed has small channels that allow air to flow up into the ink chamber (no air and a vaccum would hold the ink in the pen) and channels that allow the ink to flow to the nib. There can be a problem if particles clog the narrow ink channels in the feed. This does not mean you can not used inks with pigments, but establish a practice to wash out pigment-based inks on a regular schedule. At this point if you ask... why would anyone use pigment-based inks? They have better resistance to fading.
Fountain pen ink is water based so make sure to only buy ink labeled - for fountain pens. There are other inks that are great for dip pens but the ink is never drawn into the pen. Avoid art or Indian inks.
Viscosity is the term for a fluid's resistance to flow. A higher viscosity level for an ink means the ink will flow more slowly and a lower viscosity level means the inks flows more quickly and that couldsthe flow of ink. Don't pick up your bottle of ink to find its viscosity level noted. You find that through using the ink. In addition to the ink, the feed, nib and paper all have a play in the performance of fountain pen ink.
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Aspects of Ink
Generally there are a handfull of characteristics of fountain pen ink.
The saturation of the colour of in the ink comes from the density of the dye or pigment in the ink. This is one of the personal characteristics that is a big determiner as to what inks you will like or not. Highly saturated inks are darker, more vibrant in colour and make take longer to dry on the paper.
The viscosity, or flow of ink, is described above. While as a first thought you may think that everyone wants the fastest flowing ink as possible, that is not the case. For some writing, the strokes made with the nib may be small and detailed, and a ink that flows a bit slower be better suited to the writing need.
The shading of ink is often noted as a plus, or minus. This is the variation in the density of the colour in a single stoke of the nib. Good shading ink is described as ink where there is a range of tones in a single stroke. Your personal preference will come in. I do not like high-shading ink. While shading looks great with one or two words, it is more difficult to read when you look a full page of writing.
You will also hear about sheen, and some inks are labeled as "high sheen ink". The sheen occurs as the ink dries. It is usully a different colour, sub-colour of the ink, and is a result of particles of ink/compounds in ink dyes are not absorbed into the paper. I do not like sheen, but I seem to be in a smaller club than those who do.
Dry time is often reported in ink reviews. It is the time it takes for the ink to dry on the paper. So not only is the ink a factor, but also is the paper and humidity etc.
Water-proofeness is how the paper resists water once it has dried. You can buy inks that specifically say "Permanent". As a basic refernce, water-based fountain pen inks are not waterproof.
Resistance to light is the degree to which the ink with fade over time.
Known Good Inks
othing is that simple but generally the brands of ink that are most often written about as being inks with good performance and considered safe for pens include:
Waterman - my go to basic ink. If you have a pen and you are questioning its writing performance. Flush out the pen with water and fill it up with Waterman Serenity Blue.
Pilot Iroshizuku - a high quality ink made in Japan that is known for its vibrant colours, smooth flow and reasonable drying time.
Pelikan Edelstein - the high-end ink made by Pelikan and a good range of colours.
Rohrer & Klingner - a German line of inks with solkid performance and a good range of colours.
J Herbin - from France, one of the oldest ink companies, a offering a wide range of colours. You will have to get over the shallow shape of the small bottles. The larger the pen nib, the more difficult time you will have using this ink.
Diamine - a long established British ink company, wide range of colours and good quality ink.
Aurora - Italian made inks with good colour and performance. For many, Aurora Black is a defining ink that that colour.
Lamy - solid performance and a range of colours to consider. I like the classic old large bottles that included a strip of blotting paper.
SCRIBO - excellent quality inks, in a limited but beautiful range of colours stored in a stunning, well designed, stackable ink bottle. That is only a short list there are more great inks to use.
Leonardo - their inks are made by Diamine, and share the good qualities of that brand.
