Top 5 Most Used Fountain Pen Inks: Five Reliable Bottles Worth Rotating

Introduction

Most ink lists rank favorites. This one is different: it is a countdown of the fountain pen inks that actually got used the most over a full year of writing. That distinction matters, because heavy rotation says something a one-off review cannot. An ink that keeps getting re-inked has to be reliable, pleasant, and practical enough to survive everyday use. Some of these are stunning showpieces, one is here mostly because of a bottle-emptying challenge, and all of them offer something worth knowing before you buy.

How This List Was Put Together

The ranking reflects pure usage over a single year, not overall preference. Swatches were drawn on Tomoe River 68 GSM paper, an old stock batch, so a bit of sheen may appear on some samples that would not always show in regular writing. Pricing context where it exists comes from the source experience: several of these inks are affordable, with one brand noted around eleven to twelve dollars on Amazon.

Number Five: Rohrer & Klingner Castanian Braun

This limited edition brown was the year’s fifth most used ink, and it kept earning its place. Rohrer & Klingner releases a limited edition color each year, and Castanian Braun was the 2019 edition, sold in small recyclable tubes rather than the standard bottle. It is no longer available, which is the main catch, though the brand’s regular inks remain affordable and widely available.

The color is a lovely reddish chestnut or hazelnut brown that goes down fairly wet. Shading is modest and there is no notable sheen in normal writing, but it is a unique shade, solid and interesting enough to keep coming back to. Brown fans who stumble across a bottle should not hesitate.

Number Four: Diamine Oxblood

Diamine Oxblood is a favorite among many, and it shows. Roughly a third of the 30 milliliter bottle was used over the year, which is substantial for a dark red that competes with more conventional blues. If a reddish shade is on the menu, this is the one that gets reached for first.

Part of the appeal is how it compares to similar inks. Oxblood leans more toward a true dark red with brownish undertones, while Diamine’s Rider’s Blood skews pinker and more magenta. That makes Oxblood the more versatile pick: not too bright, usable for business, notes, or journaling, and different enough from standard blues to stay interesting. It is super wet, super saturated, and has never caused a problem.

A True Blue Black Worth Reaching For

Diamine Prussian Blue took the number three spot, with another bottle drained to about the same level as Oxblood. When a blue black is needed, this is the default choice, and the swatch shows why: it is a true blue black with a grey tone running through it, not a dark blue masquerading as one.

The shading is gorgeous, and there is just enough interest in the color to set it apart from other blue blacks, even beloved ones. It works as a businessy everyday ink while still being interesting enough to show off to friends. As with all Diamine inks, it is super reliable.

A Brown That Actually Stands Out

Diamine Tobacco Sunburst came in at number two, and it is unambiguously the favorite brown in the collection. It comes from Diamine’s guitar series, alongside colors like Pelham Blue, Cherry Sunburst, and Honey Burst, and it deserves more awareness than it gets. If brown is usually not your thing, this is the brown to try anyway.

To the eye it is a yellowy brown with a green tinge, which feels evocative of its tobacco namesake: a green plant that oxidizes as it dries. It is a super shader, moving from darker brown to almost yellow as it dries, and the ink genuinely comes alive on the page. There is no sheen to speak of, but the shading more than compensates.

Number One: Monteverde Sapphire

The most used ink of the year is Monteverde Sapphire, though for an unusual reason. In 2021, the goal was to empty a bottle of ink by keeping two chosen inks permanently in rotation, one pen inked with each, plus a third pen for seasonal variety. Two smaller bottles were emptied. For 2022, the same challenge was applied to an ink that was pretty but not a favorite, and Monteverde Sapphire was the target.

More than half the bottle was used in the first part of the year, always inked in a pen, before interest faded and the project stalled. The ink itself is a gorgeous, vivid, very deep blue, seemingly aiming for that classic Parker Penman sapphire look, with a bronze-ish sheen at the edges that occasionally appears in writing. It is very wet.

The main catch: it smears. Not as catastrophically as heavy sheeners like Organic Studio Nitrogen, but on nearly every paper tested except highly absorbent copy paper, a stray touch can smear a word or two. If you hate smearing, that alone may rule it out. If you don’t mind occasional smears or use absorbent paper, it is a solid alternative to a basic blue.

Buying Advice

For most buyers, Diamine is the safest starting point: Oxblood, Prussian Blue, and Tobacco Sunburst are all affordable, reliable, and distinctive in their own categories. Rohrer & Klingner Castanian Braun is worth grabbing if you can find a bottle, though limited edition stock is long gone. Monteverde Sapphire suits anyone chasing a vivid, deep blue who can tolerate its smearing habit, especially on absorbent paper.

Conclusion

Heavy use is the best endorsement an ink can get. A reddish chestnut brown that keeps drawing you back, a business-friendly dark red, a blue black with exceptional shading, a brown that transforms as it dries, and a vivid sapphire emptied out of sheer determination: five bottles, five distinct personalities, and a good shortlist for anyone looking to expand an ink rotation.