de Atramentis ink

You might have noticed in a recent post (Brazen Head) that I was using a blue-grey ink instead of my usual black. Well, I've made the big step over to waterproof ink! I bought a fresh Lamy Safari (about €25 in the Pen Corner), but they don't stock waterproof ink, as these can block your fountain pen. Not good if you've got a Mont Blanc, clearly, but for €25, I'm prepared to take the risk.

So I had to buy waterproof ink online. I chose the De Atramentis range of inks as it was a favourite of one of the urban sketchers I follow, Liz Steel I think. I had trouble tracking it down. None of the Irish or British shops I normally order from had it. Nor Amazon. Or if they had, they didn't ship that item to Ireland. But then, I just went to the De Atramentis website and ordered it direct (from Germany) and it came promptly by post. German efficiency. You have to love it.

And it's a lovely ink - smooth flow, gorgeous colour. And so far, it hasn't blocked my fountain pen. And I'm not even a daily sketcher! One thing to note is that because the flow is so good, the line is slightly thicker than you would normally get with a standard Lamy cartridge. I'm using a fine nib and the result is more like a medium one. But that's ok with me. And, most importantly, once it's on the page, it stays on the page, even if you apply a watercolour wash a few minutes later. Looking forward to trying it out more on my next sketching outing!