Reddit reviews Parker 1950375 Quink Ink Bottle, Black, 57 ml

Waterman Intense Black seems to be the best fit for your requirements. It's a nice black ink, and dries quickly.

Parker Quink is an option like you mentioned But I've used Quink in a fine nib and it wasn't grey but it was a light black. In a medium or bigger nib it should be a medium black.

I hope this helps.

Lefty here - I use a fountain pen regularly. Try changing your ink to Parker's Quink Permanent, I don't smudge or smear as it's dry before my hand gets to the ink.

I think pretty much the entire J Herbin line is available with Prime shipping for ~13$, including Ambre de Birmanie and several blues: Eclat de Saphir, Diablo Menthe, and Bleu Nuit. They also have a couple other blues that you might like.
As for black, Quink is pretty good(and very inexpensive) but I find that it does better in F+ nibs. They also have a Blue-Black but it, unlike its black counterpart, isn't available with Prime shipping as far as I can see.

Yes and No.

Yes, if you want to try out a lot of colors as well as trying the pens, it can be a good deal. To that point, have a look at https://www.amazon.com/Thorntons-Office-Supplies-Disposable-Fountain/dp/B01E68AKTC which appear to be the same as the Pilot Varsity, but in more colors and different cap design. This is a great introduction to fountain pens and the wonderful variation of ink colors as well as note taking in color.

No, if you don't intend to run a lot of colors, go with a cheaper pen like the Pilot Metropolitan or Jinhao 992 https://www.amazon.com/JINHAO-992-Fountain-Pen-Translucent/dp/B06XYFK681 and a bottle of ink https://www.amazon.com/PARKER-QUINK-Ink-Bottle-Black/dp/B004YK4VHA or https://www.amazon.com/Bulletproof-EEL-Noodlers-Fountain-Ink-Black/dp/B000WIUNOI and go to it. Small investment overall.

A final option for pen and ink would be one of the larger bottles of Noodler's with a pen in the box, something like https://www.amazon.com/Noodlers-Ink-Heart-Darkness-19808/dp/B0015VB4EE would give you a pen and ink, and you would be able to give it a go.

So pick your poison and have fun. I think the Thorton's 10-pack is a great introduction, it is an introduction with a lot of great colors and no mess, but you should choose what you think is your best introduction.

Before starting, you should settle on a nib width that you are going to use. A lot of time people choose Medium because they think it's middle of the road and they often leave unsatisfied because it isn't. The line width you get from normal writing utensils tends to be more of a Fine on a fountain pen. I find it hard to get good handwriting with a medium nib whereas a fine is a lot easier.

Now at £10 here are some options:

• Pilot Varsity: Ready to use pen made by Pilot. I've never seen anyone complain about the way it writes, and it already comes with in inside it. You also get your choice of nib Cons? It's a disposable pen and isn't that pretty
  
• Platinum Preppy: Very similar but actually takes cartridges. You can choose your nib. I think you'll have to buy the cartridges separately.
  
• Baoer 801: Fine nibbed Chinese knockoff pen. Mine writes very well. Comes with fine nib. You'll probably want bottled ink. Section scratches easily but at the price I don't mind.
  
• Baoer 388: Very popular Chinese Sonnet knockoff. Mine writes very well. You'll probably want to use bottled ink with this one. Medium nib only.
  
  There are plenty of other Chinese pens out there, and you could go search them and find one you like too. I'm partial to Baoer pens: for me they have written better than any other Chinese pen. A lot of people recommend Jinhao pens, but their nibs run wide and they dry out a lot quicker when left sitting.
  
  As for bottled ink, I would suggest it for the Chinese pens because they come with the converter that is used to fill from the bottle. The inks I would recommend for you are:
  
  
• Parker Quink Black - my go-to black when it comes to inking any pen up.
  
• Waterman Serenity Blue - good generic blue. maybe a little light.
  
• Waterman Mysterious Blue - A darker, off blue
  
• Any freaking Waterman ink, I've heard good things from them. Tender purple? go get it. I suggest Waterman inks because they are cheap in the UK and very fountain pen friendly.

A <F> nib will be less likely to bleed through because it puts down less ink. Although a Pilot <M> isn't really that wide. Also, the smaller your handwriting, the better you'd be with a <F> nib. On the flip side, broader nibs can make a person's sloppy handwriting look a little better, too.

Shin-Ryoku is a great ink but if you are just looking for value some Parker Quink (not the washable version) will probably be 1/2 the cost and work just as well for note-taking and general use. It's not as exciting but it's good solid ink for just about anything:

Black - https://www.amazon.com.mx/Parker-Super-Repuesto-permanente-botella/dp/B004YK4VHA/ref=sr_1_1?

Blue- https://www.amazon.com.mx/Parker-Quink-57ml-Bottle-Permanent/dp/B000J61TIM/ref=sr_1_2?

You might even consider just getting some Namiki ink cartridges to start out. Cheaper and it won't lock you in as long so you can get a little more variety until you really decide what you like

https://www.amazon.com.mx/Pilot-Fountain-Cartridge-Cartridges-69101/dp/B004IKTKQI/ref=sr_1_1?

LOL, I went to Amazon Mexico and about crapped when I saw that the Shin-Ryoku was over $400/bottle.......

Oh, Pesos...... oh, OK.

I think imma get this as my first ink. Cheap and practical I think.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004YK4VHA/ref=pd_aw_vtph_229_bs_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=0WGX61C7CR1A5RQQRJ97

My suggestion is to get:

Pilot Metropolitan, you can also get a fine tip if you want that.

A Pilot Con-50

And finally, some Parker Quink.

I'd probably use the converters because they are less prone to leaking, and you can always get new ink in case you want another color.

A 2oz bottle of ink will likely last you around 9 months if you are writing a fair bit daily and don't spill any, though I've managed to go through one in 3 months, due to writing a novel.

If you want blue ink too, you can get some Blue Quink

Lamy also makes some great ink for cheap in Blue, Black and Turquoise

I have a green for you! Here's a good green, and here's a good black.

I'm using this with both pens: http://www.amazon.com/Parker-Permanent-Refill-2-ounce-S0037460/dp/B004YK4VHA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1453337590&sr=8-1&keywords=Parker+quink+ink

Eu recomendo absolutamente a Pilot G-2. Ergonomia perfeita, muito durável, a tinta gel escreve com perfeição e não borra (e sou canhoto, então sofro muito com isto) e por deslizar tão suave permite escrever bem mais rápido. Nos EUA custam muito barato e ainda tem refil que custa menos da metade do preço da caneta. A ponta favorita minha é a de 0,7mm, que é fina o suficiente para escrever em espaços miúdos mas grossa o suficiente para uma sensação agradável de escrita.

Eu também gosto da Pentel EnerGel que tem um visual mais elegante e uma construção mais sofisticada. A sua tinta seca ainda mais rápido que a da Pilot, que mesmo nos momentos em que estava copiando frenéticamente minhas aulas em medicina, não havia um borrão sequer no papel. A seleção de cores também é melhor e eu gosto mais do tom de vermelho dela que o da Pilot, assim como ela é uma das poucas em gel que tem cor verde. Porém ela é mais cara e não tem refil.

Fora estas, eu uso muito canetas de pena, sendo a Lamy Joy um bom custo-benefício, por sua construção extremamente robusta e uma pena que apesar de não adaptável, escreve bem em diversos ângulos. Só a empunhadura dela é menos confortável que as canetas antes mencionadas.

Se não agradar a empunhadura da alemã Lamy, então recomendo as clássicas Parker, sendo o modelo Parker IM ou sua versão mais sofisticada Parker IM Premium bom custo-benefício. Além da mesma robustez da Lamy, sua pena também oferece excelente escrita em diversos ângulos e a empunhadura é bem mais agradável, apesar da caneta em si ser um pouco mais pesada (o que pode cansar em sessões muito longas de escrita).

E quando já estiver apaixonado por canetas de bico de pena, então recomendo totalmente as canetas suíças Caran d'Ache e Mont Blanc. As clássicas Mont Blanc Meisterstück, com acabamento em resina e pena de ouro adaptável, além de sempre elegantes escrevem de forma confortável. Mas a Mont Blanc StarWalker Doué é uma obra prima. Apesar de um pouco pesada, sua construção é magnífica e sua pena é perfeita, a melhor que usei até hoje.

A Caran d'Ache usa praticamente a mesma pena em todas as canetas, mudando apenas o design delas. Mas o estilo é muito interessante, algo barroco e a construção é sólida. A Caran d'Ache Madison é para mim um dos modelos mais interessantes, com desenho clássico e bom conforto em escrita.

E quando for comprar refil de tinta para as penas, a Parker Quink é o melhor custo-benefício disparado, com a Lamy também uma boa opção no exterior (no Brasil é absurdamente cara e rara). Agora a melhor tinta disparado é a Pilot Iroshizuku, com um tom de preto impressionante e que seca mais rápido que a Quink.

I would recommend finding a cheap pen to play around with at first. If you have a Staples nearby, they might have some Cross fountain pens for sale for about $20. I bought one just to see how it writes and compare it to other higher priced ones. You could also get something online. Just perusing Amazon, these caught my eye:

https://www.amazon.com/Piston-Fountain-Plated-Transparent-Colors/dp/B07G281XVQ Four different piston-filler style pens for $20. Gives you the opportunity to abuse the one of your lease favorite color to see what kind of force it takes to spring tines (ruining the pen by bending the nib) and see how generally robust pens are.

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https://www.amazon.com/Jinhao-Ancient-Playing-Fountain-Jewelry/dp/B00JBYXA94 Something a little more gaudy, if that's what you want.

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https://www.amazon.com/Handcrafted-Collection-Converter-Journaling-Calligraphy/dp/B07H2BY8YN Something a little more simple and professional looking.

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You're also going to want some inks. My Staples also sells black Parker "Quink" which is suitable for fountain pens. This comes in a bottle like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Parker-1950375-Quink-Bottle-Black/dp/B004YK4VHA and is only for pens which the body itself acts as an ink reservoir or the pen uses "Cartridge Converters".

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Other pens are mainly meant for "Cartridges" which are small disposable ink tubes like these: https://www.amazon.com/Refillable-Cartridges-International-Calligraphy-Rollerball/dp/B07D43QR17 Luckily, most of these are interchangeable between pens. However, that's mostly just for the low-end pens. Higher end pens use different interface sizes and require their own brand cartridges. For this reason, I much prefer pens which either fill their own bodies with ink or use converters which are not thrown out. I rather dislike the disposable plastic bits of cartridges.

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All in all, I'd save up $100 to start the hobby. Spend $50 on a pen or two and some ink to start. Figure out what you like and what you don't like and use the other $50 to find another pen that fits better into what your preferences are. Different pens are going to have different ways of writing. Some will be highly flexible at the nib and their line width will vary a lot, others will be very stiff and not have any change in line width versus writing pressure.