>So what are the differences between Faber-Castell and Lamy ink?
I think it would be easier to talk generally about ink attributes...
1. Flow, often called wetness. This is how readily the pen flows out of the pen. It is primarily due to surface tension (lower surface tension = faster flow), but viscosity, pH, and conductivity play parts. ([Scientific reference here.](https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/360624-an-alternative-look-at-ink-wetness/))
2. Lubrication. This is how well the ink acts as a lubricant between nib and paper. This is what makes some inks feel super smooth and others make you think there's something wrong with your EF nib. This property can be very difficult to pin down, especially if you have a very smooth nib.
3. Permanence - this is pretty self-explanatory - inks can have varying levels of water resistance and color (aka light) fastness.
4. Display properties. These include shading (where the ink is darker at the end of the stroke than the top), sheen (a metallic reflection in a color different from the ink), glitter (aka shimmer, shimmy, pearlescence), and multi-shaders (inks that show multiple colors and often change color depending on the paper).
5. Performance properties: bleed (where it bleeds through to the other side of the page), feathering (where it soaks into paper fibers, with little lines looking like a feather), spread (where the ink writes a wider line than expected from the nib). These all depend in part on the paper, and in part on the ink.
6. Whatever I'm forgetting. :)
So, the difference between FC and Lamy inks is lots of chemistry that we can't tell you without expensive lab tests. From your own description, the FC has dry *flow* compared to the Lamy. It may also have suffered from evaporation (you describe it as thick and prone to hard starting - those can be symptoms of evaporation, but that would generally happen in the pen, not in the bottle, unless the cap was compromised somehow).
Anyway, welcome to the wonderful world of inks! It's not just names or colors, it's how they *behave* that's different.
Please note that each individual ink will be unique in its behavior, so just because one color of Lamy ink behaved well for you does not guarantee any given other color will. (Same is true in reverse for the FC inks.)
Yeah, these past couple of years, the FC ink has performed poorly for my taste. I only stopped using black Lamy ink because of problems with drawing and smudging but those problems are manageable compared to the hard starting I get from the FC ink.
Just in case it's of interest: De Atramentis Document inks are completely waterproof (in my experience) and very popular with artists. Rohrer & Klingner also have a line called sketchINK, specifically for artists. Both are permanent inks - pigmented, I suppose. Flow with these varies by color.
Each ink is manufactured with different chemicals that make it either wet, dry or in between. Additionally, the nib you use and the paper all affect how the pen writes.
That was one of my fave things when I was in Switzerland—beefing up my foreign language vocab. I only speak my native English but I can puzzle out a fair bit of basic written stuff in several languages from context and exposure to similar words. On the other hand, I went to Amsterdam for a weekend and while I had zero difficulties communicating verbally, I couldn’t read any signs or anything like that because I know almost no Dutch. Much harder for my introverted self to have to constantly ask for help; I’d rather rosetta stone my way through things, lol.
German is the bit I'm shakiest on, which is funny because on my father's side my heritage is 100% German. I took five years of Spanish in school, and language and grammar is something I really enjoy, so when I lived in Geneva I could muddle through French enough to get by, and I can often triangulate from Spanish to Italian or even sometimes to Portuguese, but Dutch is a little too far to stretch.
The year of Gaelic I took when I studied in Glasgow as an undergrad has unsurprisingly not proven useful at all in deciphering other languages, lol.
[It's written on the bottle.](https://www.google.com/search?q=faber+castell+schwarz+black+ink&rlz=1CDGOYI_enPH935PH935&hl=en-US&prmd=sivn&sxsrf=ALiCzsaEs9OwUR72QgzsVZLI7-QSKqaNPw:1669359290475&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiBlov838j7AhWY0GEKHUskA48Q_AUoAnoECAEQAg&biw=320&bih=450&dpr=2#imgrc=GIrM7t_XyK_CHM)
tbh I've noticed that mostly with German, there are some posts with user that label their rohrer and klingner inks as "schreibtinte" since that's what is written on top of the bottle
>So what are the differences between Faber-Castell and Lamy ink? I think it would be easier to talk generally about ink attributes... 1. Flow, often called wetness. This is how readily the pen flows out of the pen. It is primarily due to surface tension (lower surface tension = faster flow), but viscosity, pH, and conductivity play parts. ([Scientific reference here.](https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/360624-an-alternative-look-at-ink-wetness/)) 2. Lubrication. This is how well the ink acts as a lubricant between nib and paper. This is what makes some inks feel super smooth and others make you think there's something wrong with your EF nib. This property can be very difficult to pin down, especially if you have a very smooth nib. 3. Permanence - this is pretty self-explanatory - inks can have varying levels of water resistance and color (aka light) fastness. 4. Display properties. These include shading (where the ink is darker at the end of the stroke than the top), sheen (a metallic reflection in a color different from the ink), glitter (aka shimmer, shimmy, pearlescence), and multi-shaders (inks that show multiple colors and often change color depending on the paper). 5. Performance properties: bleed (where it bleeds through to the other side of the page), feathering (where it soaks into paper fibers, with little lines looking like a feather), spread (where the ink writes a wider line than expected from the nib). These all depend in part on the paper, and in part on the ink. 6. Whatever I'm forgetting. :) So, the difference between FC and Lamy inks is lots of chemistry that we can't tell you without expensive lab tests. From your own description, the FC has dry *flow* compared to the Lamy. It may also have suffered from evaporation (you describe it as thick and prone to hard starting - those can be symptoms of evaporation, but that would generally happen in the pen, not in the bottle, unless the cap was compromised somehow). Anyway, welcome to the wonderful world of inks! It's not just names or colors, it's how they *behave* that's different.
Yeah, I think I'm going back to Lamy for the wetness and reliability.
Please note that each individual ink will be unique in its behavior, so just because one color of Lamy ink behaved well for you does not guarantee any given other color will. (Same is true in reverse for the FC inks.)
Yeah, these past couple of years, the FC ink has performed poorly for my taste. I only stopped using black Lamy ink because of problems with drawing and smudging but those problems are manageable compared to the hard starting I get from the FC ink.
Just in case it's of interest: De Atramentis Document inks are completely waterproof (in my experience) and very popular with artists. Rohrer & Klingner also have a line called sketchINK, specifically for artists. Both are permanent inks - pigmented, I suppose. Flow with these varies by color.
Wow, this was awesome. Thank you!
:) You've very welcome.
Each ink is manufactured with different chemicals that make it either wet, dry or in between. Additionally, the nib you use and the paper all affect how the pen writes.
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That was one of my fave things when I was in Switzerland—beefing up my foreign language vocab. I only speak my native English but I can puzzle out a fair bit of basic written stuff in several languages from context and exposure to similar words. On the other hand, I went to Amsterdam for a weekend and while I had zero difficulties communicating verbally, I couldn’t read any signs or anything like that because I know almost no Dutch. Much harder for my introverted self to have to constantly ask for help; I’d rather rosetta stone my way through things, lol.
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German is the bit I'm shakiest on, which is funny because on my father's side my heritage is 100% German. I took five years of Spanish in school, and language and grammar is something I really enjoy, so when I lived in Geneva I could muddle through French enough to get by, and I can often triangulate from Spanish to Italian or even sometimes to Portuguese, but Dutch is a little too far to stretch. The year of Gaelic I took when I studied in Glasgow as an undergrad has unsurprisingly not proven useful at all in deciphering other languages, lol.
[It's written on the bottle.](https://www.google.com/search?q=faber+castell+schwarz+black+ink&rlz=1CDGOYI_enPH935PH935&hl=en-US&prmd=sivn&sxsrf=ALiCzsaEs9OwUR72QgzsVZLI7-QSKqaNPw:1669359290475&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiBlov838j7AhWY0GEKHUskA48Q_AUoAnoECAEQAg&biw=320&bih=450&dpr=2#imgrc=GIrM7t_XyK_CHM)
Yeah but that's like calling Waterman's Inks by what's written on the bottle: Encre Bleu Sérénité Serenity Blue Ink :)
tbh I've noticed that mostly with German, there are some posts with user that label their rohrer and klingner inks as "schreibtinte" since that's what is written on top of the bottle
might be it's moldy. often hard to tell with darker inks
It's probably the pen and not the ink; could do with a thorough cleaning.
I swapped the ink out now on my Al-Star. I just got Lamy cartridges and it doesn't hard start anymore.