Blue fountain pen ink. The original, exotic alternative to the officially-used black, and a colour that offers almost unlimited choice in terms of hues, shades, sheens and shines.
Many people enjoy using a blue ink as their primary writing colour thanks to its adaptability; it’s formal and legible, yet also vibrant and reflective of personality. But what is the best option for you? Here, we’ll take a look at five of our most popular blue fountain pen inks.
1. Diamine x Niche Pens: Alexandrite
Our best-selling ink - a 2019 collaborative effort alongside Diamine – is Alexandrite. Celebrating our 15th anniversary in 2019, the ink owes its name to the commemorative gemstone, which is loved for its almost chameleonic colour-changing properties, exuding a deep teal in daylight while graduating to a rich red at dusk.
Diamine x Niche Pens Alexandrite recreates that almost to a tee, with its bold yet mellow navy-blue offset eye-catchingly by sheens of maroon and purple. While naturally more apparent in swatch sample, the sheening remains clear in dried writing, making it an eye-catching yet smart blue to use in day-to-day writing. Not only that… you can also choose a shimmering variant to spice things up even more.
Discover Diamine x Niche Pens Alexandrite >
2. Troublemaker Inks: Milky Ocean
Another Blue-Purple entry, Troublemaker’s Milky Ocean sits firmly at the paler end of the spectrum but counteracts this softer element with an even more vibrant and contrasting purple shade. The seamless transition conjures up images of the milky way and assures the ink’s place atop the ‘blue with flair’ category.
When used for writing, the blend of blue and purple flows seamlessly to present a lavender tone more than pleasant on the eye. It’s one of our favourites and comes handmade from a small studio maker of fountain pen inks from the Philippines. Without doubt, a gem to uncover!
Discover Troublemaker Inks Milky Ocean >
3. Diamine: Marine
The UK’s most popular independent fountain pen ink manufacturer, producing inks on Merseyside since 1864, Diamine’s Marine is the best-selling of their blues here at Pure Pens. Paying (perhaps incidental?) homage to their home city’s marine heritage, this edition is unashamed in its fresh teal-turquoise tones.
Suitable for use in all fountain pen types, it is a particularly easy ink to use and features a natural shade from blue to green, that can be identified no matter the size of nib you use. Similar to Milky Ocean, it sits at the vibrant end of the blue range but is equally comfortable being utilised in day-to-day writing.
4. Lamy: T53 Crystal Amazonite
The first of our top 10 to feature a big-hitter fountain pen brand, Lamy’s TF53 Crystal Amazonite ink sits somewhere in between Marine and Alexandrite. It has a gentle mid-blue – teal base, with subtle green shades and the added bonus of purple-red sheens when pooled. You may not see this so easily when used in writing, however this is more than compensated for by the ink’s consistent and rich finish, making it perfect for multiple uses.
A household brand, Lamy are well renowned for the high-quality materials they use. Presented in an attractive premium glass jar, this is the case for all of the Lamy T53 Crystal inks. If you’ve yet to delve into the line, this is probably a good place to start.
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5. KWZ: Walk Over Vistula
We can’t lie. Over the last few years, we’ve really grown a soft spot for Poland’s KWZ. Handmade by Chemistry student Konrad Zurawski and his wife Agnieszka, KWZ Ink is some of the highest quality ink you’ll encounter. Walk over Vistula is – in our opinion – the jewel in their crown. Bridging bright turquoise to dark blue, the ink features a unique black sheen.
The feathering you’ll encounter is minimal on high-quality paper, and its darker shades make it perfect for longer form writing. It’s even got hints of a vanilla aroma…
Discover KWZ Walk over Vistula >
Some very honourable mentions
- Noodler’s: Monkey Hanger Blue
- Pure Pens: Celtic Sea
- Sailor: Manyo
- Waterman: Serenity Blue
- Robert Oster: Fire & Ice
We really could go on forever. Blue provides the perfect stage for all varieties of colour to come through in sheens and shades. Get in touch and let us know your favourite ink or go-to brand – we’d love to find out!