Fountain Pen Ink Recommendations

E

evilsmirker

Contributor
Hello, folks.

Any suggestions from where to buy a nice Indian-based budget ink? Krishna and Sulekha seem to be the most recommended. Had ordered the latter from an online store in Calcutta, but they told me that stock was hard to come by and shipped me stuff from a new brand called Koliketa instead. It isn't too bad and feels better than the Parker Quint I was using earlier.

Any leads on Krishna and Sulekha inks? Or any other suggestions which you've tried and liked?
 
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If you want to try a cheap and good budget brand for FP washable ink please try BRIL inks.

Here is a review of their Royal Blue ink from an enthusiast blog https://mehandiratta.wordpress.com/2015/06/22/ink-review-bril-royal-blue/

I have used them personally in lieu of Parker Quink and Pilot inks. They are cheap, work satisfactorily and do not damage the pens. I was recommended this brand by an old gentleman who owns an ink pen shop in my city and replaced the nibs of a few Wality/Airmail FP's I owned in college. Since the brand is south based - availability is suspect across the country, but should be available online.

Penhouse sells them across the country and they have it in stock. A 60ml bottle (plastic now) retails for Rs. 30/- only.


Bril even has their own website now! You can order one in each colour variant to test.

 
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All varieties and variants of fountain pens are better than ball/roller pens. The art of penmanship has gone down of late and handwritten letters are now a rarity! We were made to use fountain pens in school when I was in school and the love for fountain pens has stayed with me. Then I went down the rabbit hole of mechanical pencils for drawing in college and got in my fair share of rotring's, staedtler's and pentel graphgears.

Some of us belong to an era when telegrams, post cards and inland letters were in vogue :)
 
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If you are looking for a swadesi ink, this is what I would recommend. Slightly expensive, but really good. I like the feel and the quick dry nature of the ink.

IMG-20250403.jpg
PS: This is definitely not budget ink. I bought it in a store in Kolkata.
 
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sporkydork said:
Penhouse sells them across the country and they have it in stock. A 60ml bottle (plastic now) retails for Rs. 30/- only.
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I have one of those and can recommend. Probably an old batch because the bottle I have is made of glass.
sporkydork said:
Some of us belong to an era when telegrams, post cards and inland letters were in vogue
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Sarkari babus are keeping the art of letter writing alive for the common man. Other than writing letters (at govt offices & banks) to get things done, post college I don't remember the last time I had to hand write a full page.


ResizedImage_2025-06-14_20-03-51_1.jpeg
 
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mysticrainman said:
Here I thought I was an exception at TE with my starter platinum preppy :P
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I have the same one! I love it- feels like an upgrade over the Parker ones I previously used.
I do fondly remember a nice, thick and heavy parker I used to use earlier though- used to cost around 500-600, I think. Can't remember what it was called.

soulweaver said:
If you are looking for a swadesi ink, this is what I would recommend. Slightly expensive, but really good. I like the feel and the quick dry nature of the ink.


PS: This is definitely not budget ink. I bought it in a store in Kolkata.
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This is what I was trying to get! Could you let me know the name of the shop?


My father was reminiscing about Bril Royal Blue just yesterday - might pick a bottle or two up for him.

I'm currently using inks from Koliketa (https://www.koliketa.com/categories/fountain-pen-ink). It feels smoother than the Parker ink I used earlier, although I'm not entirely sold on it being a scented ink.
 
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