I've got a pen that writes too wet. What are some “dry” fountain pen inks?
TL;DR: Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black is a classic choice — cheap, well-behaved, and notably dry compared to most modern inks.
Sometimes you’ll have a pen that’s a wet writer…a bit too wet. Thankfully there are inks out there which are “drier” — they’re still liquid, but they “flow” less well, due to surface tension and other factors. Ink wetness/dryness is a bit subjective and depends on ALL factors like ink, paper, pen, and environment, but many fountain pen users agree on a few that lean dry compared to others.
If you’re looking for inks that are known to run on the drier side so they can help tame a “gusher” pen, here are some well-known dry inks:
• Pelikan 4001 series (especially Blue-Black, Brilliant Black, and Royal Blue / Königsblau)
• Pilot (Blue, Blue-Black, Red) - NOT their Iroshizuku line, which is incredibly wet (well-lubricated)
• Rohrer & Klingner inks like Blau Permanent, Scalix, and Scabiosa.
• Many Jacques Herbin inks (many of them are gentle and on the dry side; e.g. Perle Noire, Bleu Nuit)
• Parker Quink (classic line, especially Blue-Black)
• Lamy Blue (and some of their standard colors — fairly well-behaved and not too wet)
Inks usually considered wet (to avoid in extremely wet-writing pens):
• Almost all Pilot Iroshizuku inks
• Waterman Serenity Blue
• Diamine inks (varies, but many are fairly lubricated)
• Sailor Jentle inks (smooth and well-lubricated)
Sources / Citations
This is based on my own experience, but I checked to make sure it was backed up by the most scientific analysis of inks I’ve come across. It’s discussed in:
this spreadsheet (contains raw test data on a huge number of inks)
(along with spending way too much time on reddit’s r/fountainpens and picking this up through osmosis)