Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I'm a fairly serious penmaker who almost exclusively uses fountain pens, so you can imagine that I'm pretty picky about what I write with. Waterman is the best general all-around ink I've ever used, and probably the closest thing to a truly universal ink there is. It's not the ultimate greatest in every pen, but on the other hand it's hard to find a pen that doesn't like it and writes at least pretty well with it. It's an extremely polite and very well behaved ink, with a smooth, well-lubricated and moderately wet flow, yet very little feather or bleed on poor quality papers with most nibs. Because of its frustration-free properties and moderate price, it's what I recommend for fountain pen newbies to learn their pen with before moving on other inks. It only comes in a few colors, unlike brands like Diamine, Pilot and Noodler's that come in seemingly hundreds, but every color is rich and opaque, and looks good on paper. Because of the monochrome opacity, it lacks the shading and shimmer of some boutique inks, but that naturally also increases its legibility. I absolutely love Serenity Blue, and it's my most-used ink in my most-used pen for everyday writing. Absolute Brown and Harmonious Green are great monotony-breakers, and will cheer up boring note-taking or homework! If you want a true black ink instead of a dark blue-black, Intense Black is insanely black, even more than Sailor Kiwa Guro Nano Black, another true black that's likewise an excellent ink. A note here: it won't clog your pen anything like some of the boutique pigmented true blacks (especially Noodler's), but if you know you're gonna store your pen for an extended period without use, empty and flush it first. If inks were cars, you could liken Waterman's to a Toyota Camry or Honda Accord. It might not be fast, flashy, fancy or luxurious, but it'll start every time you turn the key and get you from Point A to Point B in a fuss-free manner. There's good reason this stuff is universally considered a classic by fountain pen aficionados all over the world. It just works.