Waterman Nostalgia Fountain Pen Ink - 50 ml Bottle - Absolute Brown

This is a superb, "old school" ink with a lovely hue: warm without being too reddish, vibrant without turning loud or showy. In my opinion, it is one of the best browns one can find at any price.
It is neither particularly water resistant nor fade proof, but then fountain pen inks of this classic type never pretended to be. It does, as many inks do, become more "permanent' as it cures on the paper: things written a year ago don't wash out as much as those only a week or so old. If you are writing your will, signing a legal document, or penning a manuscript, might I suggest something like Sailor Nano Ultra Black? For everything else, especially if you like brown, this is a lovely, beautifully made and affordable ink. Highly recommended.

Along with the other reviewers of this ink I have only praise. I have tried to find all the documentation I can from the company about their inks and have come up with a few different documents. Not a single note in any of them about how their inks are water proof or fade resistant. They do not make those claims about the ink they produce. I bring this to your attention becasue another reviewer docked a star for those issues or lack thereof with this ink. But I think it is of the utmost importance to review a product based on the intentions of which it is designed. Knowing that the company intended on making ink resembling the techniques of times past and therefore getting a much nicer product and far more pleasurable writing experience than many of the modern inks that claim to last a million years with out fading and can last through a white water rafting trip. Anyway, my point is this product is everything it claims to be and even more. I do believe it to be as close to a perfect brown as I have found in any fountain pen ink (which is a lot of different brands I have tried). For less than $9 and a 50ml bottle this is a steal. Five stars all the way.

I was thinking of also writing IMO after all my points of interest in my review. But I realized that I am writing a review of a product which inherently states my opinion. There should never be anything other than my opinion in a review I write (other than facts or other opinions to compare yours to). Am I the only one who finds it strange that many times reviewers will let us know IITO with the cleaver IMO or better yet IMHO. I mean they should really save all of that energy from typing the few letters, they were already saving so much by not typing the full words, thank god... Just sayin!

I must be feeling extra cantankerous tonight. Sorry if I have offended anyone with my silly joking around. And please realize the review part of my ranting is the important part and I was completely serious with the comments I wrote in that regard.

I have been using this ink with my Lamy Safari pen for several weeks now, and I am very pleased with the color. It's a a very solid dark brown. It's not so dark as to be mistaken for black, but it's not so light as to scream, "She's writing with a non-standard office color pen!"

I don't know if it's the pen or the ink because this I have only used it in one pen, but the ink flows wet and smooth. However, it's not so wet as to create a lot of feathering. It does not blob, either. That being said, it is fountain pen ink. It does not dry the instant it hits the paper. It doesn't take too long to dry, though. As long as I don't immediately run my hand over the writing, I'm fine.

I use this both at the office and at home. The color looks good on my work papers, and it is delightful to journal with because the color isn't hot pink or purple (both are ink colors I enjoy) so it doesn't scream out and detract from my writing. Instead it allows me to feel special.

This has become my new staple brown ink! A lovely colour with great flow and some nice shading. It is a bit more on the dry side in comparison to some inks IMO. The only thing it does lack, is water resistance and permanence, which is why I am giving only four stars. If water resistance is not important to you, this is a five star ink at a great price!

This is a good "basic brown", perhaps more interesting for calligraphy than for daily use, but quite functional all around.

Although I generally prefer inks that just pop off the page at me, I intend to keep a bottle of this around as my default brown. Sometimes you just want brown, right?