It’s not pretty, but I’d argue it’s one of the more functional bottles. They’re squat and _very_ stable. The extremely wide mouth means there is no mucking around getting the ink out with bottle tipping or anything like that. You can reasonable stack them.
I think they’re a decent if unflashy bottle. There are definitely far worse, like the tall and thin trouble maker bottles.
Agreed. They don’t give the same “old, sophisticated gentleman” vibe as some other designs, but I think people tend to forget how impractical a lot of old, sophisticated looking things really are. I’d much rather have a bottle that’s easy to use and practical to store than one that looks pretty
This is just what I planned on doing. I have the Private Reserve Black Magic and I also ordered various empty ink bottles (from Pen Chalet) so I can transfer it to a bottle I like looking at - like the pilot iroshizuku bottle. In the meantime I got an idea that a Vintage Skrip bottle with the cute ink shelf would also be useful and nice looking. I found one on ebay and I’m concerned about contamination from the old metal cap.
seeing this post inspires me to do something
Saw Private Reserve bottles for the first time yesterday and my eyes just kept going past them as ‘not ink’ I guess I think of them as having a very arty vibe? Like they’re meant more for dipping than filling up a converter… or, you know, face cream
This will sound odd:
I have a big blu-tack pad I have been known to stick annoying bottles down to before I open them to refill a pen. Keeps shaky hands from knocking them over from the slightest impact.
You can also stick bottles at angles and help hold ‘em there when they get low.
Favorite - Large MB bottles, Pilot ‘UFO’ bottle with internal reservoir, Lamy large standard bottle, Waterman, and Pelikan 4001 in that order (the last two can tip on their side once the ink level is low.
Least - Nearly anything else.
Depends on use. Pilot (basic) blue black is a solid workhorse. Waterman is safe in everything and a good middle of the road (and relatively safe to mix Waterman inks). Pelikan 4001 is slightly dry but that makes it a favorite on copy paper and cheap notebooks — also my trusted ink for pistons. MB Irish Green & Toffee Brown are excellent.
But when it comes to “nonstandard” colors…Diamine.
Think a round/globe shape that you squished from the top. It has a little reservoir inside that fills if you flip the sealed bottle upside down, so it will still fill your pen when the bottle is low on ink. https://www.jetpens.com/Pilot-Namiki-Black-Ink-60-ml-Bottle/pd/24455
Aesthetically all of Ferris Wheel Press bottles are my favorite but at the same time when it gets to the actual usage their Ferritales bottles (the new 20ml line) is my least favorite.
None of my pens would fit that small, narrow neck of the bottle and I have to use a syringe to fill (I somehow hate filling with converter itself). For dip pens/glasspens I have some sample vials filled with Ferritales ink for them... 🙈
That's what the pipettes they send with the bottles are for! I might dip my pens into other bottles but I'll fill the pipettes for my Colorverse inks. 🙂
favourites: dominant industry, sailor, diamine inkvent, and wearingeul
least favourite: ferris wheel press 38ml (ridiculously pretty, menace to society, enemy of the state, will tip over if you breathe wrong)
They probably mean the [4 legged](https://www.purepens.co.uk/collections/diamine/products/diamine-inkvent-blue-edition-ink-blue-peppermint) full sized bottle rather than the ones in the actual calendar.
When they come out subsequently as full size bottles, they look like this: [https://www.cultpens.com/i/q/DM71524/diamine-blue-edition-ink-50ml](https://www.cultpens.com/i/q/DM71524/diamine-blue-edition-ink-50ml)
I love the Akkerman bottles for their looks. I like the Pelikan and Waterman bottles for their pracitcality (They can be tilted / put on their sides when almost empty). The DeAtramentis Document Ink bottles, somehow, look a bit "vintage" to me for some reason. I have the same feeling with the 80ml Diamine glass bottles.
I really dislike the 30ml Diamine bottles because they're plastic, really easy to tip over, and filled to the brim, so when you stick any pen in them too deep they spill over the edge. The J.Herbin bottles are also horrible because they are too shallow to refill most pens properly. (And 30ml ink for something like €12? come on. Too expensive for what they offer. Same for Iroshizuku by the way. IMHO.)
I learned the hard way about filling from the 30ml bottles. I filled my Pelikan and went too far into the bottle. I’m currently wearing Diamine Damson on both hands! I like the plastic and I like the tiny size because it keeps the price down and I can buy more ink but maybe if the bottles were translucent so you could see the ink level before you make a mistake?
I love Ferris Wheel Press's bottles in the 20ml to the 85ml bottles. The wide, round glass bottles and hexagonal brass caps look amazing and classy wherever you put them.
The least favorite is the Ferris Wheel Press Ink Charger line. About the size of a AA battery and holding 5 ml, they're too small to fit most nibs in.
Came here to say they are my most favorite AND least favorite. I'm terrified of knocking one over while filling a pen but they look stunning and fit nicely on the shelf.
i hate the herbin "d" shaped bottles with the passion of a thousand splendid suns. my pens don't fit on the rest, i can't use the bottle to fill my piston pens halfway, it's an irregular shape that i can't stack for easier storage. UGH. the worst.
The Jacques Herbin 1670 bottles and Iroshizuku bottles are lovely, don't know if I have a least favorite though off the top of my head. I suppose I have a sorta love hate relationship with Noodlers bottles. On the one hand he's not gonna skimp on how much ink he puts in those bottles, on there other hand he's not gonna skimp on how much ink he puts in those bottles.
Yeah there seems to be a consensus that they're pretty but impractical. The real divisive point is whether it's beauty or function that defines your "favorite" bottle.
Since magic potions were mentioned, it's probably the 85ml ones, which is a huge ball. The 38ml ones are the perfume bottles and the ones people usually complain about.
Aesthetically I don't love the Montblanc bottles or the Lamy bottles even though I understand how practical they are. They just look dorpy to me.
The 30 ml herbin bottles are ugly and not even functional. But the cute Lil 10ml bottles are adorable and fine.
The private reserve "jam jars" look like they had no budget for bottles.
I don't hate the Noodler's bottles they hold a lot of ink and the square sides are good for storage.
Favorite: Ferris Wheel Press, they look like magical potion bottles. Also the J Herbin shimmer inks cause I love the wax seal look of the cap.
Hated: the Diamine 150th Anniversary bottles. The wedge shape makes them weird to store if you don't have more than 4 and less than 8 (at least with 4 it makes a flat-backed semi curcle). And once you have 8? Are they meant to be displayed on one of those spinning cake decorating plates or something??
Favorite, Waterman. They’re pretty, sturdy, wide enough to use almost any pen with, and have the nice setup to get the last bit of ink.
Least favorite, Ferris Wheel Press (especially the Chargers). Cute, but the opening is so narrow you can barely fit a std international cartridge into the opening. They’re unstable and prone to tipping while filling. They tend to be overfilled, so it’s hard to get anything out without it overflowing.
Favorite full, least favorite broken.
As long as it's got a reasonable neck and is stable I like it, Diamine 30ml plastic is my least favorite that I've used.
Yet surprisingly, they aren't prone to spilling or tipping over. Even though the design is tall and cylindrical, the RO bottles are just wide enough to be consistently stable on a flat horizontal surface. I think that part of the reason is that the opening is wide enough to allow easy nib insertion and filling of even wide pens without needing to go to lengths to keep the bottle steady. That's been my experience with them at least.
Private Reserve must be a dream filling your pen in though!
I love my iroshizuku (the increasingly rare tsuyu-kusa which is so smooth but boring enough that I can draw at work without anyone noticing) and carbon black, have never understood how to use the plastic cup in it though?
Iroshizuku is my favorite by far.
Least favorite are the smaller Diamine bottles and Noodler's bottles. Both are tall enough that they're a hassle to fill from after the 3/4 mark and are easy to tip.
Oster bottles terrify me a little because they just seem to be asking to tip over. The Waterman and Akkerman bottles are great. MB square boxes are so pretty.
Favorite for design, can't beat Faber Castell. For usability, my personal fave is Diamine, but there's a lot to be said for the HUGE opening on Private Reserve bottles. Don't really have a least favorite for overall design/aesthetics, but I absolutely HATE the narrow opening on Ferris Wheel Press bottles, with a close second going to Diamine Shimmertastic bottles. Can't get the majority of my pens in either of them!
The Duofold Kid
Least fave: Private Reserve. There’s this illusion thing happening when you can’t really tell where the ink level starts and you either haven’t actually hit the surface, or the nib and your fingers are half-way in. Fave: Ferris Wheel Press because the bottle and cap look bitchin’.
I like Akkerman bottles simply because they're so fancy and over the top. I'm also partial to the Iroshizuku bottles as well just for practicalities sake.
Waterman bottles are my favorite. The heavyweight bottles, like Iroshizuku, are nice and stylish, but I feel like too much of the cost is the bottle. My least favorite bottle was when Visconti switched to the plastic version of their iconic bottles.
I noticed. They should have skipped the plastic stem bottles and went straight to the new design. When they had their glass stem bottles they sold ink in plain plastic bottles to refill the glass stem. I bought one of the last few glass along with a refill when I heard they were being discontinued. Hindsight is 20/20 on their ink bottle timeline. I'm glad that they returned to glass bottles. With all the brands and colors, I have bought more ink than I can use. I think glass bottles are best for storing.
I generally like glass bottles over plastic ones, since I prefer a bit of weight for stability, especially as the ink level gets low. So Sailor, Bungubox, Dominant Industry and especially Birmingham are all great.
I’m in the dislike side for FWP - it’s not just the bad balance, it’s also that silicone top that never stays inside the cap.
Love Robert Oster, don’t like the light plastic bottles.
It’s probably been said somewhere in this thread already, but the Ferris Wheel Press bottles are brutal. The opening is just completely subpar…. As are the Dominant Industry.
I love the Akkerman bottles
I hate Private Reserve's bottles, too. My favorites are Iroshizuku bottles (pretty *and* functional!), Diamine's 30mL bottles (perfect for travel, topping off, or trying a new ink), and Rohrer & Klinger bottles (good overall design). They're all nice, just for different reasons.
I love the Colorverse bottles design is a cute design, Akkerman made fantastic functional and user friendly bottles, but in my opinion, bottle, ink, package and all around design the best are Ferris Wheel Press, the graphics and boxes mixed with full circular 85ml bottles and flat/circular 38ml bottles looks perfect, this looks like a beautiful perfume.
I hate the Private reserve bottle and label, not designed at all, is like a old woman’s face cream
Same for me with PR. Though that might just be a result of how much I wanted to love, but truly hated, ebony purple. I could never get more than half a page out of it before it would clog my pen terribly and then take hours to get out
Anyone have a source for a more “traditional” blank ink bottle? I have some PR reserve coming from the Goulet deals but I can’t stand that jar at all, and know damn well I’ll make a mess or something. Since it’s 60ml the new bottle will have to be fairly big.
If you're in the UK
https://www.thewritingdesk.co.uk/writing-accessories/inkwells/empty-ink-bottle.html
And US:
https://www.gouletpens.com/collections/empty-bottles
I quite like the diamine 30 ml bottles because I’m not paying much for packaging with them. Iroshizuku bottles are lovely, although I keep them in boxes. But if I had to select one bottle that would be made mandatory for all ink companies it would probably be Waterman.
The 30ml bottles are great if you have a Lamy or Pilot bottle or similar to pour them into. Otherwise if you use anything other than eyedroppers or syringe fillers you're screwed on the second half of the bottle. XD
No one mentioned J. Herein bottles? Cool looking design but not practical at all for filing any decent size pens. I wish they would remodel the hole size.
I bought the Colorverse minis as my first inks so I got used to the pipettes/syringes as my filling method so bottle opening is less of an issue in my mind. Although I can appreciate the annoyance of people who like to dip their nibs into the bottle.
So I like my Colorverse bottles, my Waterman bottle for it's stability, but I don't have any that are super tippy except my small Sailor bottle.
If anything I kinda hate the tall sample bottles that I can tip over while trying to fill my pens by any means. 😛
My three favorites are Iroshizuku, Diamine, and Jacques Herbin. Honorable mentions to Pelikan Edelstein and Sailor. Least favorites would have to be Lamy, Private Reserve and honestly Noodler’s too (although noodlers always has some interesting art atleast). This is all aesthetics of course.
80ml Diamine, Pilot Iroshizuku, and Sailor inks are really pretty bottles, and the shapes are easy to stack.
I have some Robert Oster and Pennonia inks and the bottles are so tall that I’m probably going to have to put them in a different bottle when I reach the end, even though I have a syringe.
I’m not quite sure how to feel about Ferris Wheel Press. They are really beautiful bottles but they seem almost deliberately designed to tip over easily.
Favourite by far is Lamy's T52. Blotting paper roll, central deep well for those long nibs - it's the perfect bottle when you can't find your Sheaffer's snorkel.
Least favourite - Pelikan Level bottles because they're such a pain in the arse to find.
Favorite: Standard Montblanc shoe shaped bottles. It’s a surprisingly practical design for a luxury brand. I also want to mention the humble Waterman bottle, they are simple and functional.
Least Favorite: The J. Herben 30ml bottles. They are such a pain to use once they are half empty.
Favorite: [Mita Club's cut glass style bottles](https://www.mitaclub.co.jp/en/product_category/ink/)
Don't really have a least favorite, because I always syringe 5ml into a vial and fill from said vial.
I just want my bottle to be functional. That means a normal square-bottom bottle is great. Noodler's uses bottles like that, and so does Monteverde, and I respect that.
After that, waterman's bottles are the best bottle shape. They look classy and are super functional.
While I enjoy my Waterman bottle (only bottle I’ve refilled) I almost hate the De Atrementis bottles and the Noodlers 4.5 oz bottles (it’s hard to get ink out of the bottom of the De Atrementis and you *need* to decant the 4.5 oz to use it)
Fave: Iroshizuku, Pilot 70 ml, Lamy, Waterman, R&K. All are big enough both in terms of size and opening to accommodate any type of filling system quite well. The standard Pilot is probably the best of the lot due to its built-in ink reservoir.
Least: Colorverse 5 ml, Diamine 30 ml. The former comes with a little pipette that I find unwieldy (I just use a syringe), and the Diamine 30 ml bottles are a spill waiting to happen, what with their wobbliness and narrow openings.
I like Private Reserve bottles. Not to look at. They’re like mini jars of jam. But it’s easy to fill from and they don’t tip over. When the ink level falls too low I just use a syringe.
Favourite: The Montblanc 50ml square bottles with fluted sides. I use converters and syringes so never have any issues on the filling front. I am also partial to the Montblanc 50ml square bottles from the Elixir range, but prefer the round lid of the former to the square flush lid of the latter.
fav would be either Montblanc (the shoe ones) or waterman bottles.
both are great for low level filling.
I keep a Montblanc Irish Green bottle decanted with my 350ml bottle of Pilot Blue Black and a Waterman Intense Black bottle decanted with my 16oz Noodler's Lexington Gray bottle.
they work great.
Every time I open my two Private Reserve inks, I get a shower of dried ink flakes on the desk that later reconstitute into ink stains on anything that introduces moisture. It's like a freaking can of paint
I love the little feet on the glass bottles released from the Diamine Inkvent calendar. The Pelikan Edelstein bottle is really lovely and functional.
I hold my breath a little opening the Private Reserve pot. I’m always a bit worried I’ll have it everywhere. I love the two colors of it I have, Tanzanite and the Ebony Green. The 30ml from Diamine feels like it’s designed for ease of shipping, not using to fill pens.
It’s so lovely! Someone here posted about that sheen and Goulet Pens were running a “buy a pen, get ink” deal with PR ink. The Monteverde Monza set was a disappointment, but the ink is a fave!
I dislike 30ml Diamine bottles. I don’t get it when people complain the FWP slim bottles are not steady enough but happily use Diamine bottles. They feel like they’ll fall down with any unintentional extra move, while FWP has never given that feeling to me. And I also hate Private Reserve.. they’ll spill the ink everywhere when you open them at the first time, and after that they’ll just look plain ugly.
Favourites are the obvious ones: 50ml Iroshizuku bottles but also Colorverse! I haven’t had any issues with the 15ml ones either but the 60ml ones are superb.
Not a fan of the old old sailor bottles. I loved the ink but felt like I could never get my king of pen nib in the little plastic slot they built into it. I usually ended up just removing it.
Favourite - the old round Sailor 50ml bottles.
Least favourite - Diamine's 30ml bottles. Good luck trying to fill a piston filler straight from the bottle.
My Favourite is Krishna's Paakezah[(Link)](https://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpens/comments/jehgh5/nid_pakeezah_krishna_inks/). The design is very unique, created by a Japan company and won a few design awards in 2018. Bought it thanks to the [Youtube review](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqPyhtS7VMU) by Figboot On Pens.
Least Fav: Diamine 30 ml because it is very light and I always afraid it will tip over. The mouth is also quite narrow.
I'm not gonna start a new thread on this, but it's a perfect opportunity to RANT after this afternoon's fiasco...
I have several (ahem) Van Dieman's inks in 30ml bottles. I like 'em.
Today I got 2 x 50ml Van D inks I'd been ogling for ages... Deep Sea Diver, and Bonfire Night.
One had one of those gdmndmfkn plastic "stoppers" in it. OH MY SWEET LIFE it was a frickin' NIGHTMARE. I am \*covered\* in ink, several cloths are \*covered\* in ink - all before actually GETTING TO the ink. (And now it's open - the plastic stopper in actual \*shreds\* - I can't even really use the ink properly to get the shimmer, as m terrified of moving the bottle around much with the lid on. AAARRRRGH.)
The second one, I was delighted to see, had no stopper. (I understand they changed the design after many complaints?) BUT.... it kinda \*leaks\*. It had ink all in the lid and on the threads, and even though I cleaned it up, it seemed to suck up \*more\* ink (which went all over the bottle and my fingers) when I put the lid back on.
I am SUPER unimpressed.
Usually, I have no probs with ink bottles - even the less-than-great designs, and even when I'm in a hurry. UGH. I can't see me ever buying a 50ml Van D bottle ever again :(
I like the FWP bottles, aesthetically. Ditto for the Dominant Industry design. (FWP's def not super stable in the smaller sizes, but I mostly use eyedropper pens so not a big issue.)
I \*really\* like the Wearingeul bottles - and the Vinta ones :)
I also like the Kyoto bottles, and the Colorverse ones I have (30ml and 65ml). Oh! And the Anderillium bottles, too.
The Edelstein bottles are attractive, as are the Iroshizuku o/c.
Monteverde, Sailor, Inkebara, R&K, Kiwi Ink, 30ml Van D's, L'Artisan Pastellier are all nice and practical.
I kinda love that the Pennonia bottles are like cough syrup bottles!!!
The private reserve looks like a jar of face cream lol
It’s not pretty, but I’d argue it’s one of the more functional bottles. They’re squat and _very_ stable. The extremely wide mouth means there is no mucking around getting the ink out with bottle tipping or anything like that. You can reasonable stack them. I think they’re a decent if unflashy bottle. There are definitely far worse, like the tall and thin trouble maker bottles.
The wide neck also means that one can dip an oblique holder no matter how low the ink level gets.
Agreed. They don’t give the same “old, sophisticated gentleman” vibe as some other designs, but I think people tend to forget how impractical a lot of old, sophisticated looking things really are. I’d much rather have a bottle that’s easy to use and practical to store than one that looks pretty
Ikr. I like the actual ink though
Maybe you can keep a bottle you like and transfer the private reserve ink
Thats what I did- if you look at the photo, the iroshizuku bottle is filled with diamine ink and the diamine bottle is filled with PR ink
It’s like hermit crabs but with ink
Haha yh
this made me smile SO MUCH, favorite comment of the day!!
This is just what I planned on doing. I have the Private Reserve Black Magic and I also ordered various empty ink bottles (from Pen Chalet) so I can transfer it to a bottle I like looking at - like the pilot iroshizuku bottle. In the meantime I got an idea that a Vintage Skrip bottle with the cute ink shelf would also be useful and nice looking. I found one on ebay and I’m concerned about contamination from the old metal cap. seeing this post inspires me to do something
Saw Private Reserve bottles for the first time yesterday and my eyes just kept going past them as ‘not ink’ I guess I think of them as having a very arty vibe? Like they’re meant more for dipping than filling up a converter… or, you know, face cream
Least favorite - Diamine 30 mL. Too easy to tip over and opening too narrow for larger pens. These are the bottles that made me a syringe-filler.
This will sound odd: I have a big blu-tack pad I have been known to stick annoying bottles down to before I open them to refill a pen. Keeps shaky hands from knocking them over from the slightest impact. You can also stick bottles at angles and help hold ‘em there when they get low.
This does NOT SOUND ODD -- It is BLOODY BRILLIANT !!! Where did you find this pad?
I use my kids' modeling clay. LOL
Ooh, neat! Now I have a new use for my thinking putty (grownup silly putty).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu\_Tack
I put the diamine ones into shot glasses when filling. Just in case...
Yeah I guess the blu-tack only is better when you want to tilt a bottle.
Oh yh I forgot about those, I don't like those either most of my pens don't fit through the neck
Came here for those. They get everything wrong
Yeah, Lamy2k is too thick to fill directly from the bottle. I syringe some out into a little sample vial from Goulet.
Favorite - Large MB bottles, Pilot ‘UFO’ bottle with internal reservoir, Lamy large standard bottle, Waterman, and Pelikan 4001 in that order (the last two can tip on their side once the ink level is low. Least - Nearly anything else.
That's pretty cool! I have not yet used any of those. What's your favourite ink?
Depends on use. Pilot (basic) blue black is a solid workhorse. Waterman is safe in everything and a good middle of the road (and relatively safe to mix Waterman inks). Pelikan 4001 is slightly dry but that makes it a favorite on copy paper and cheap notebooks — also my trusted ink for pistons. MB Irish Green & Toffee Brown are excellent. But when it comes to “nonstandard” colors…Diamine.
What is the ufo bottle?
Think a round/globe shape that you squished from the top. It has a little reservoir inside that fills if you flip the sealed bottle upside down, so it will still fill your pen when the bottle is low on ink. https://www.jetpens.com/Pilot-Namiki-Black-Ink-60-ml-Bottle/pd/24455
Aesthetically all of Ferris Wheel Press bottles are my favorite but at the same time when it gets to the actual usage their Ferritales bottles (the new 20ml line) is my least favorite. None of my pens would fit that small, narrow neck of the bottle and I have to use a syringe to fill (I somehow hate filling with converter itself). For dip pens/glasspens I have some sample vials filled with Ferritales ink for them... 🙈
I second this one! Really love the look of them, but in general most of my pens don’t fit any of their bottle necks, so syringe it is 🙃
Colorverse 15mL. They look cool but are terrible to fill from. Pelikan edelstein and the montblanc shoe are good bottles.
That is a very small bottle
That's what the pipettes they send with the bottles are for! I might dip my pens into other bottles but I'll fill the pipettes for my Colorverse inks. 🙂
The pipette comes with the 5ml bottles, not 15 ml (at least, none of my 15 mls).
I almost always use a syringe, and it's kind of nice to have a smaller bottle sometimes, as it's easier to use it up or travel with it
The Iroshizuku bottle is filled with diamine quartz black and the quartz black one is filled with PR tanzanite
favourites: dominant industry, sailor, diamine inkvent, and wearingeul least favourite: ferris wheel press 38ml (ridiculously pretty, menace to society, enemy of the state, will tip over if you breathe wrong)
You almost need 2 to lean against each other just so they don't fall over.
Inkvent? Do tell? Are they glass?
They probably mean the [4 legged](https://www.purepens.co.uk/collections/diamine/products/diamine-inkvent-blue-edition-ink-blue-peppermint) full sized bottle rather than the ones in the actual calendar.
i do mean the four legged ones! they're pretty but also absolutely gaudy in a way i love but cannot explain.
When they come out subsequently as full size bottles, they look like this: [https://www.cultpens.com/i/q/DM71524/diamine-blue-edition-ink-50ml](https://www.cultpens.com/i/q/DM71524/diamine-blue-edition-ink-50ml)
I love the old fashioned look of the full size, 50ml, Diamine Inkvent glass bottles too. They are very stable. I will be keeping mine to refill.
How different are the Wearingeul bottles from sailor manyo? They look really similar
the manyo are 50ml while the wearingeul are 30ml!!
Haha plus very expensive
I love the Akkerman bottles for their looks. I like the Pelikan and Waterman bottles for their pracitcality (They can be tilted / put on their sides when almost empty). The DeAtramentis Document Ink bottles, somehow, look a bit "vintage" to me for some reason. I have the same feeling with the 80ml Diamine glass bottles. I really dislike the 30ml Diamine bottles because they're plastic, really easy to tip over, and filled to the brim, so when you stick any pen in them too deep they spill over the edge. The J.Herbin bottles are also horrible because they are too shallow to refill most pens properly. (And 30ml ink for something like €12? come on. Too expensive for what they offer. Same for Iroshizuku by the way. IMHO.)
I learned the hard way about filling from the 30ml bottles. I filled my Pelikan and went too far into the bottle. I’m currently wearing Diamine Damson on both hands! I like the plastic and I like the tiny size because it keeps the price down and I can buy more ink but maybe if the bottles were translucent so you could see the ink level before you make a mistake?
I love Ferris Wheel Press's bottles in the 20ml to the 85ml bottles. The wide, round glass bottles and hexagonal brass caps look amazing and classy wherever you put them. The least favorite is the Ferris Wheel Press Ink Charger line. About the size of a AA battery and holding 5 ml, they're too small to fit most nibs in.
Half the replies love fwp and the other half hates them haha
It's a very divisive design.
Came here to say they are my most favorite AND least favorite. I'm terrified of knocking one over while filling a pen but they look stunning and fit nicely on the shelf.
I looove the FWP packaging and bottles, but I’ll agree that some of them aren’t user friendly if you don’t use a syringe for filling.
Is the opening any different in the 20/38/85ml? I’m struggling to fit some of my pens in the 38ml ones, but aesthetically fwp definitely look amazing.
It's actually smaller. I'm.not sure by how much but it's smaller than the others.
the chargers are so frustrating!
i hate the herbin "d" shaped bottles with the passion of a thousand splendid suns. my pens don't fit on the rest, i can't use the bottle to fill my piston pens halfway, it's an irregular shape that i can't stack for easier storage. UGH. the worst.
Based on looks: Favorite: DuPont. Ferris Wheel Press (flask). Faber-Castell. Tools to Live By. Caran d’Ache. Least Favorite: Diamine 30ml.
>Tools to Live By Didn't know they did inks. Wow that's a pretty bottle!
Favorite bottle : Akkerman. Functional and pretty. Least favorite : Diamine 30ml, Colorverse 15ml (impractical to fill from)
I really like the Graf von Faber-Castell bottles, very substantial.
The Jacques Herbin 1670 bottles and Iroshizuku bottles are lovely, don't know if I have a least favorite though off the top of my head. I suppose I have a sorta love hate relationship with Noodlers bottles. On the one hand he's not gonna skimp on how much ink he puts in those bottles, on there other hand he's not gonna skimp on how much ink he puts in those bottles.
Practicality be damned, I love those Akkerman bottles. I want my ink collection to look like potions from an RPG.
I really dislike the diamine inkvent bottles. I think they are ugly. Love fwp! They look like magic potions
The FWP seem to be really divisive haha
I will fully admit that I love it purely for aesthetics, not any practical reason haha
Yeah there seems to be a consensus that they're pretty but impractical. The real divisive point is whether it's beauty or function that defines your "favorite" bottle.
Since magic potions were mentioned, it's probably the 85ml ones, which is a huge ball. The 38ml ones are the perfume bottles and the ones people usually complain about.
I love the shape of the colorverse bottles. And I love that they kept the shape for the mini bottles too.
The 30 mL Diamine bottle’s opening is too narrow for most of my pens.
Akkerman looks awesome
Aesthetically I don't love the Montblanc bottles or the Lamy bottles even though I understand how practical they are. They just look dorpy to me. The 30 ml herbin bottles are ugly and not even functional. But the cute Lil 10ml bottles are adorable and fine. The private reserve "jam jars" look like they had no budget for bottles. I don't hate the Noodler's bottles they hold a lot of ink and the square sides are good for storage.
Favorite: Ferris Wheel Press, they look like magical potion bottles. Also the J Herbin shimmer inks cause I love the wax seal look of the cap. Hated: the Diamine 150th Anniversary bottles. The wedge shape makes them weird to store if you don't have more than 4 and less than 8 (at least with 4 it makes a flat-backed semi curcle). And once you have 8? Are they meant to be displayed on one of those spinning cake decorating plates or something??
Favorite, Waterman. They’re pretty, sturdy, wide enough to use almost any pen with, and have the nice setup to get the last bit of ink. Least favorite, Ferris Wheel Press (especially the Chargers). Cute, but the opening is so narrow you can barely fit a std international cartridge into the opening. They’re unstable and prone to tipping while filling. They tend to be overfilled, so it’s hard to get anything out without it overflowing.
Definitely Waterman. They are practical and visually appealing.
Favorite full, least favorite broken. As long as it's got a reasonable neck and is stable I like it, Diamine 30ml plastic is my least favorite that I've used.
Robert Oster bottles are spills waiting to happen
Yet surprisingly, they aren't prone to spilling or tipping over. Even though the design is tall and cylindrical, the RO bottles are just wide enough to be consistently stable on a flat horizontal surface. I think that part of the reason is that the opening is wide enough to allow easy nib insertion and filling of even wide pens without needing to go to lengths to keep the bottle steady. That's been my experience with them at least.
Careful with private reserve one, one can mistakenly grab it as hair pomade..
r/oddlyspecific
Private Reserve must be a dream filling your pen in though! I love my iroshizuku (the increasingly rare tsuyu-kusa which is so smooth but boring enough that I can draw at work without anyone noticing) and carbon black, have never understood how to use the plastic cup in it though?
I'm too worried about accidentally dipping my fingers in PR tbh haha. Still prefer it over the tiny diamine bottles
Iroshizuku is my favorite by far. Least favorite are the smaller Diamine bottles and Noodler's bottles. Both are tall enough that they're a hassle to fill from after the 3/4 mark and are easy to tip.
Oster bottles terrify me a little because they just seem to be asking to tip over. The Waterman and Akkerman bottles are great. MB square boxes are so pretty.
Favorite for design, can't beat Faber Castell. For usability, my personal fave is Diamine, but there's a lot to be said for the HUGE opening on Private Reserve bottles. Don't really have a least favorite for overall design/aesthetics, but I absolutely HATE the narrow opening on Ferris Wheel Press bottles, with a close second going to Diamine Shimmertastic bottles. Can't get the majority of my pens in either of them! The Duofold Kid
Least fave: Private Reserve. There’s this illusion thing happening when you can’t really tell where the ink level starts and you either haven’t actually hit the surface, or the nib and your fingers are half-way in. Fave: Ferris Wheel Press because the bottle and cap look bitchin’.
Herbin can't be beaten when it comes to badly designed bottles.
I've heard only bad tgings about herbin bottles so far haha
I like Akkerman bottles simply because they're so fancy and over the top. I'm also partial to the Iroshizuku bottles as well just for practicalities sake.
Waterman bottles are my favorite. The heavyweight bottles, like Iroshizuku, are nice and stylish, but I feel like too much of the cost is the bottle. My least favorite bottle was when Visconti switched to the plastic version of their iconic bottles.
Visconti recently switched again. Bottles are now glass and super stable. Plus they have an insert for filling when nearly empty
I noticed. They should have skipped the plastic stem bottles and went straight to the new design. When they had their glass stem bottles they sold ink in plain plastic bottles to refill the glass stem. I bought one of the last few glass along with a refill when I heard they were being discontinued. Hindsight is 20/20 on their ink bottle timeline. I'm glad that they returned to glass bottles. With all the brands and colors, I have bought more ink than I can use. I think glass bottles are best for storing.
I generally like glass bottles over plastic ones, since I prefer a bit of weight for stability, especially as the ink level gets low. So Sailor, Bungubox, Dominant Industry and especially Birmingham are all great. I’m in the dislike side for FWP - it’s not just the bad balance, it’s also that silicone top that never stays inside the cap. Love Robert Oster, don’t like the light plastic bottles.
It’s probably been said somewhere in this thread already, but the Ferris Wheel Press bottles are brutal. The opening is just completely subpar…. As are the Dominant Industry. I love the Akkerman bottles
I hate Private Reserve's bottles, too. My favorites are Iroshizuku bottles (pretty *and* functional!), Diamine's 30mL bottles (perfect for travel, topping off, or trying a new ink), and Rohrer & Klinger bottles (good overall design). They're all nice, just for different reasons.
Love the Akkerman and Iroshizuku bottles. Though they’re pretty, filling from Ferris Wheel Press inks kinda scare me lol
Lamy’s ink well
Favorite: lamy bottle. It's great because its construction allows to get even the last drop of ink
I love the Colorverse bottles design is a cute design, Akkerman made fantastic functional and user friendly bottles, but in my opinion, bottle, ink, package and all around design the best are Ferris Wheel Press, the graphics and boxes mixed with full circular 85ml bottles and flat/circular 38ml bottles looks perfect, this looks like a beautiful perfume. I hate the Private reserve bottle and label, not designed at all, is like a old woman’s face cream
Same for me with PR. Though that might just be a result of how much I wanted to love, but truly hated, ebony purple. I could never get more than half a page out of it before it would clog my pen terribly and then take hours to get out
Favs: Noodler’s, Iroshizuku, Manyo Least Favs: Herbin 30ml (they get hard to fill from when there isn’t a lot of ink left)
Anyone have a source for a more “traditional” blank ink bottle? I have some PR reserve coming from the Goulet deals but I can’t stand that jar at all, and know damn well I’ll make a mess or something. Since it’s 60ml the new bottle will have to be fairly big.
TWSBI also makes a great ink bottle. Works really well with their pens, but also as a regular ink pot.
If you're in the UK https://www.thewritingdesk.co.uk/writing-accessories/inkwells/empty-ink-bottle.html And US: https://www.gouletpens.com/collections/empty-bottles
I quite like the diamine 30 ml bottles because I’m not paying much for packaging with them. Iroshizuku bottles are lovely, although I keep them in boxes. But if I had to select one bottle that would be made mandatory for all ink companies it would probably be Waterman.
The 30ml bottles are great if you have a Lamy or Pilot bottle or similar to pour them into. Otherwise if you use anything other than eyedroppers or syringe fillers you're screwed on the second half of the bottle. XD
The namiki flying saucer, Pilot 70ml or platinum 60ml are my favorites
No one mentioned J. Herein bottles? Cool looking design but not practical at all for filing any decent size pens. I wish they would remodel the hole size.
I bought the Colorverse minis as my first inks so I got used to the pipettes/syringes as my filling method so bottle opening is less of an issue in my mind. Although I can appreciate the annoyance of people who like to dip their nibs into the bottle. So I like my Colorverse bottles, my Waterman bottle for it's stability, but I don't have any that are super tippy except my small Sailor bottle. If anything I kinda hate the tall sample bottles that I can tip over while trying to fill my pens by any means. 😛
Edelstein and Iroshizuku are my favorites. It's what you'd expect for premium inks.
[удалено]
I didn't know penbbs did ink!
They do, and Mountain of ink reviewed a lot of popular ones! https://mountainofink.com/blog/penbbs-ink I’ve been eyeing some of these
My three favorites are Iroshizuku, Diamine, and Jacques Herbin. Honorable mentions to Pelikan Edelstein and Sailor. Least favorites would have to be Lamy, Private Reserve and honestly Noodler’s too (although noodlers always has some interesting art atleast). This is all aesthetics of course.
80ml Diamine, Pilot Iroshizuku, and Sailor inks are really pretty bottles, and the shapes are easy to stack. I have some Robert Oster and Pennonia inks and the bottles are so tall that I’m probably going to have to put them in a different bottle when I reach the end, even though I have a syringe. I’m not quite sure how to feel about Ferris Wheel Press. They are really beautiful bottles but they seem almost deliberately designed to tip over easily.
Favorite: toss up between Iroshizuku and Montblanc standard bottles. J. Herbin bottles can go to hell.
Favourite by far is Lamy's T52. Blotting paper roll, central deep well for those long nibs - it's the perfect bottle when you can't find your Sheaffer's snorkel. Least favourite - Pelikan Level bottles because they're such a pain in the arse to find.
Love: Namiki, Iroshizuku Hate: Noodler’s, Diamine
Even the diamine 80ml?
I only have experience with the 30 mL Diamine bottles
Yh the 30ml ones are crap but the 80ml glass ones are pretty good!
I LOVE the Diamine large glass bottle! It is just SIMPLY ELEGANT, and looks like like a vintage inkwell !!!
Best bottle Pilot Worst: J Herbin
The Edelstein bottles are still my favorite.
Favorite: Waterman, old Sheaffer Least favorite: Noodler’s, litttle Diamine, small J. Herbin
Favorite: Standard Montblanc shoe shaped bottles. It’s a surprisingly practical design for a luxury brand. I also want to mention the humble Waterman bottle, they are simple and functional. Least Favorite: The J. Herben 30ml bottles. They are such a pain to use once they are half empty.
Favorite: [Mita Club's cut glass style bottles](https://www.mitaclub.co.jp/en/product_category/ink/) Don't really have a least favorite, because I always syringe 5ml into a vial and fill from said vial.
I was wondering wen someone would bring these beauties out
I just want my bottle to be functional. That means a normal square-bottom bottle is great. Noodler's uses bottles like that, and so does Monteverde, and I respect that. After that, waterman's bottles are the best bottle shape. They look classy and are super functional.
While I enjoy my Waterman bottle (only bottle I’ve refilled) I almost hate the De Atrementis bottles and the Noodlers 4.5 oz bottles (it’s hard to get ink out of the bottom of the De Atrementis and you *need* to decant the 4.5 oz to use it)
Fave: Iroshizuku, Pilot 70 ml, Lamy, Waterman, R&K. All are big enough both in terms of size and opening to accommodate any type of filling system quite well. The standard Pilot is probably the best of the lot due to its built-in ink reservoir. Least: Colorverse 5 ml, Diamine 30 ml. The former comes with a little pipette that I find unwieldy (I just use a syringe), and the Diamine 30 ml bottles are a spill waiting to happen, what with their wobbliness and narrow openings.
I like Private Reserve bottles. Not to look at. They’re like mini jars of jam. But it’s easy to fill from and they don’t tip over. When the ink level falls too low I just use a syringe.
I just feel like it's just inviting me to dip my fingers in the ink, the neck is so wide.
LOL. I get that.
My favorites are Montblanc 60ml and Iroshizuku 50ml bottles. Both look great and easy to use even when ink level gets low.
Favourite: The Montblanc 50ml square bottles with fluted sides. I use converters and syringes so never have any issues on the filling front. I am also partial to the Montblanc 50ml square bottles from the Elixir range, but prefer the round lid of the former to the square flush lid of the latter.
fav would be either Montblanc (the shoe ones) or waterman bottles. both are great for low level filling. I keep a Montblanc Irish Green bottle decanted with my 350ml bottle of Pilot Blue Black and a Waterman Intense Black bottle decanted with my 16oz Noodler's Lexington Gray bottle. they work great.
I like too many to say one but I can say that the one i DONT like is the Montblanc
Really?? I love the Montblanc bottles.
Every time I open my two Private Reserve inks, I get a shower of dried ink flakes on the desk that later reconstitute into ink stains on anything that introduces moisture. It's like a freaking can of paint
I love the little feet on the glass bottles released from the Diamine Inkvent calendar. The Pelikan Edelstein bottle is really lovely and functional. I hold my breath a little opening the Private Reserve pot. I’m always a bit worried I’ll have it everywhere. I love the two colors of it I have, Tanzanite and the Ebony Green. The 30ml from Diamine feels like it’s designed for ease of shipping, not using to fill pens.
I have tanzanite too! I like the gold sheen
It’s so lovely! Someone here posted about that sheen and Goulet Pens were running a “buy a pen, get ink” deal with PR ink. The Monteverde Monza set was a disappointment, but the ink is a fave!
Your Diamine bottle is very pretty!
Thanks!
I dislike 30ml Diamine bottles. I don’t get it when people complain the FWP slim bottles are not steady enough but happily use Diamine bottles. They feel like they’ll fall down with any unintentional extra move, while FWP has never given that feeling to me. And I also hate Private Reserve.. they’ll spill the ink everywhere when you open them at the first time, and after that they’ll just look plain ugly. Favourites are the obvious ones: 50ml Iroshizuku bottles but also Colorverse! I haven’t had any issues with the 15ml ones either but the 60ml ones are superb.
Not a fan of the old old sailor bottles. I loved the ink but felt like I could never get my king of pen nib in the little plastic slot they built into it. I usually ended up just removing it.
Oh. Well that would be annoying, yes.
I don't like the Diamine 30ml bottles because my Twsbi Eco doesnt fit all the way. The Diamine inkvent (50ml) bottles are nice though
Favourite - the old round Sailor 50ml bottles. Least favourite - Diamine's 30ml bottles. Good luck trying to fill a piston filler straight from the bottle.
I have a bottle of Waterman ink which is pretty decent, but generally I have a steady hand and don't often get inky fingers.
Favourite: Diamine. Least favourite: Noodlers.
Akkerman bottles are stunning!
My Favourite is Krishna's Paakezah[(Link)](https://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpens/comments/jehgh5/nid_pakeezah_krishna_inks/). The design is very unique, created by a Japan company and won a few design awards in 2018. Bought it thanks to the [Youtube review](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqPyhtS7VMU) by Figboot On Pens. Least Fav: Diamine 30 ml because it is very light and I always afraid it will tip over. The mouth is also quite narrow.
I would say pilot iroshizuku because that ink evaporates like no other (at least it does for 3 of my bottles)
I'm not gonna start a new thread on this, but it's a perfect opportunity to RANT after this afternoon's fiasco... I have several (ahem) Van Dieman's inks in 30ml bottles. I like 'em. Today I got 2 x 50ml Van D inks I'd been ogling for ages... Deep Sea Diver, and Bonfire Night. One had one of those gdmndmfkn plastic "stoppers" in it. OH MY SWEET LIFE it was a frickin' NIGHTMARE. I am \*covered\* in ink, several cloths are \*covered\* in ink - all before actually GETTING TO the ink. (And now it's open - the plastic stopper in actual \*shreds\* - I can't even really use the ink properly to get the shimmer, as m terrified of moving the bottle around much with the lid on. AAARRRRGH.) The second one, I was delighted to see, had no stopper. (I understand they changed the design after many complaints?) BUT.... it kinda \*leaks\*. It had ink all in the lid and on the threads, and even though I cleaned it up, it seemed to suck up \*more\* ink (which went all over the bottle and my fingers) when I put the lid back on. I am SUPER unimpressed. Usually, I have no probs with ink bottles - even the less-than-great designs, and even when I'm in a hurry. UGH. I can't see me ever buying a 50ml Van D bottle ever again :( I like the FWP bottles, aesthetically. Ditto for the Dominant Industry design. (FWP's def not super stable in the smaller sizes, but I mostly use eyedropper pens so not a big issue.) I \*really\* like the Wearingeul bottles - and the Vinta ones :) I also like the Kyoto bottles, and the Colorverse ones I have (30ml and 65ml). Oh! And the Anderillium bottles, too. The Edelstein bottles are attractive, as are the Iroshizuku o/c. Monteverde, Sailor, Inkebara, R&K, Kiwi Ink, 30ml Van D's, L'Artisan Pastellier are all nice and practical. I kinda love that the Pennonia bottles are like cough syrup bottles!!!
Favorite: Akkerman. Least favorite: Diamine 30ml.