4 Best Brown Fountain Pen Inks (That You Need to Try)

Are you searching for the best brown fountain pen ink that looks like it belongs in old journals and manuscripts? Well, in that case: Here’s a list of the 4 best brown fountain pen inks!

This post contains affiliate links, but all opinions are my own.

Criteria for ink evaluation

When evaluating fountain pen inks I look at a few different things, such as how reliable the ink is, the shade of color, if the bottles are functional, and so on. Down below are some of the criteria I evaluate inks on.

1. The quality of ink. It needs to look and perform the same every time it’s used.
2. The shade of brown. It needs to have a nice shade of brown that doesn’t look too dirty.
3. The package and bottle can’t be difficult to use.
4. A reasonable price.
5. Fun features. Such as shading (= the ink varies in lighter and darker shades when dried), sheen and shimmer.

The list of top 4 best brown fountain pen inks

Here’s the list of the best brown fountain pen inks I’ve used:

1. Lie de Thé by J.Herbin
2. Golden Brown by Diamine
3. Raw Sienna by Diamine
4. Macassar by Diamine

I have linked to full-on ink reviews on each piece, and to sites where I got the images from. So check them out if you want to see more details of the inks.

1. Lie de Thé by J.Herbin

Brand: J.Herbin
Color: Brown color leaning towards yellow and paler compared to other inks.
Price: Around $11.66
Ink characteristics: Slight shading.

See full ink review at andersonpens >

Lie de The by J.Herbin is one of the most famous inks that resembles traditional calligraphy ink such as walnut ink. It resembles the shade of coffee or tea. It also comes in a quite nice glass bottle.

2. Golden Brown by Diamine

Brand: Diamine
Color: Brown-yellow color. Lighter than the other ones. Reminds me of sepia color.
Price: Around $9 for the small bottles.
Ink characteristics: Visible shading.

Full ink review by andersonpens >

Diamine inks are super affordable, especially the small bottles. That’s great when you want to try out a lot of different inks.

The Golden Brown ink by Diamine is very soft, but more brown than their “Sepia” ink. It’s still very yellow though, which some people may not enjoy that much. But it has a playful feel to it, and looks engaging.

3. Raw Sienna by Diamine

Brand: Diamine
Color: Richer and darker brown. Reddish in hue.
Price: Around $9 for the small bottles.
Ink characteristics: –

See full ink reviews by andersonpens.com > and mountainofink.com >

Raw Sienna by Diamine definitely looks more professional and serious compared to the Golden Brown (Nr 3 on the lis). It’s darker and has a red hue to it.

4. Macassar by Diamine

Brand: Diamine
Color: Dark rich brown color. A serious tone.
Price: Around $9 for the small bottles.
Ink characteristics: –

See full ink review at mountainofink.com >

Macassar by Diamine is the darkest one on the list. It’s just as affordable as the other Diamine ink.

This one is more of a “pure” brown shade. It doesn’t visibly learn towards neither yellow nor red. This is usually my go-to ink for journal entries because it doesn’t look too happy, but neutral.

Interested in reading more?

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• Best teal fountain pen inks
• Ink Recommendation: Iroshizuku, Tsuki-yo
• 5 Cheap demonstrator fountain pens