Black is black...sometimes.

[Sailor Kenshin]

I'm not particularly a black ink aficionado. Ok, I'm familiar with Lamy Black in carts. It's black. It works in my red Lamy Safari with a Fine nib. As I say, it's black. So, too, with Platinum black carts and the Preppy .03 and .02. They write black.

I recall buying my first bottle of used (beg pardon, 'previously owned') Montblanc ink on fleabay. Yay! I thought; I'm significant now! I own an ink bottle shaped like a shoe!

It was black. It wrote black. And so on and so forth, until I had acquired a couple more bottles of black ink, all of which wrote...black.

But then something interesting happened. Seeing a review of PR Velvet Black, and being impressed with the brilliant corona produced by dropping it on a paper towel, I did my own paper towel chroma with four bottled blacks, and the results were not what I expected. The Levenger Raven Black was...black.

The others were a surprise, and far more colorful. Now I wonder...is the Montblanc even a black? It sure writes like one. Waterman and Quink seemed very close in color components, but in daylight, and not scannage, Quink's corona was slightly more intense orange. Still, I don't think any of them were as much of a rainbow as the PR Velvet!


https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1492/24954404802_d84a17592b_z.jpg

[Crazyorange]

I would have never guessed.....yellow hues. [emoji848]. Thanks for posting.

[Silverbreeze]

I'm not particularly a black ink aficionado. Ok, I'm familiar with Lamy Black in carts. It's black. It works in my red Lamy Safari with a Fine nib. As I say, it's black. So, too, with Platinum black carts and the Preppy .03 and .02. They write black.

I recall buying my first bottle of used (beg pardon, 'previously owned') Montblanc ink on fleabay. Yay! I thought; I'm significant now! I own an ink bottle shaped like a shoe!

It was black. It wrote black. And so on and so forth, until I had acquired a couple more bottles of black ink, all of which wrote...black.

But then something interesting happened. Seeing a review of PR Velvet Black, and being impressed with the brilliant corona produced by dropping it on a paper towel, I did my own paper towel chroma with four bottled blacks, and the results were not what I expected. The Levenger Raven Black was...black.

The others were a surprise, and far more colorful. Now I wonder...is the Montblanc even a black? It sure writes like one. Waterman and Quink seemed very close in color components, but in daylight, and not scannage, Quink's corona was slightly more intense orange. Still, I don't think any of them were as much of a rainbow as the PR Velvet!


https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1492/24954404802_d84a17592b_z.jpg

Solar eclipse?????

[migo984]

SK - I like your picture of the black inks. I'm really getting into black inks. I've seen more variation in shades, tones and hues, in just a few different bottles, than practically any other colour group. But the variations are less obvious. It's fascinating.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Solar eclipse?????

Great name for a black ink!

[migo984]

SK - I like your pics. I'm really getting into black inks. I've seen more variation in shades, tones and hues, in just a few different bottles, than practically any other colour group. But the variations are less obvious. It's fascinating.

[SeminarianMike]

hmmm very interesting! Was the paper towel wet or damp at all?

[Paddler]

Some of the older Quink black versions have reds and blues in them.

I used to do the paper chromatography trick on the ink that would wash out of a flea market pen. Sherlock Holmes would have been proud of me.

[Sailor Kenshin]

hmmm very interesting! Was the paper towel wet or damp at all?


I start with a dry towel, drop on the ink, then drop on clean water.

[ethernautrix]

And that is why Levenger Raven was my black of choice before I got my first bottle of Noodler's Black. I still have around 20 or so L. Raven cartridges. (Back then, used them in the Montblanc StarWalker that hasn't seen much use since the fpn-encouraged binge-Nakaya-purge over the past several years.)

[Biber]

Yep, not all blacks are created equal. A great thing to remember when mixing inks. A decidedly neutral black is a good thing.

[Jeph]

That is very interesting. Do you have any Aurora Black to do also? Or I guess that I could do it but there would be less control of the results.

[Sailor Kenshin]

That is very interesting. Do you have any Aurora Black to do also? Or I guess that I could do it but there would be less control of the results.

I HAD Aurora Black. ;)

Got a sample of JH Perle Noir floating around. And a black Preppy. Am I gonna hafta load up a Safari with Lamy Black now, too?

[ethernautrix]

I found that Aurora Black turned my pens into gushers, which meant nibs writing in wider lines than expected. J. Herbin Perle Noir, however, was a lovely black ink. I liked it very much, but I liked that Noodler's Black was water-impervious. From what I remember, though, JHPN seemed almost silky going from nib to paper and was very, very black.

[penwash]

You may have discovered another way to showcase ink.

[migo984]

You may have discovered another way to showcase ink.

Do you mean the paper towel chroma pics? It's already quite common to include these in ink reviews. Or did I misunderstand your post, for which, apologies. :)

[penwash]

You may have discovered another way to showcase ink.

Do you mean the paper towel chroma pics? It's already quite common to include these in ink reviews. Or did I misunderstand your post, for which, apologies. :)

No, you didn't misunderstand at all, I'm just showing my newness to the fountain pen world :)

[stub]

Aurora has poiple in it.

"Interesting" that the Parker and the Waterman are the same.

heh.

[Video11]

We had similar results at our "Black Friday" theme meeting back in November. The Black Quink was remarkable with it's yellow component, the Noodler's Black didn't take to chromatography at all, but the Aurora remains my favourite black. Still hard to believe we had a 2 - 3 hour meeting about black ink. <Shrug>

Cheers,

Rick


The ink table:
23332

Top Row: Noodlers Black, Osmiroid Free Flowing Black (not for fountain pens), Lamy Black, Sheaffer Skrip Black, Pelikan Edelstein Onyx, Noodler's Heart of Darkness.
Centre Row: Waterman Black (vintage bottle) Aurora Black, Faber Castell Black, Toucan Black.
Bottom Row: Unknown, Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black, Noodler's Dark Matter, Parker Quink Black.
23330

23331

[Chrissy]

The Parker chroma is amazing. I also have a bottle of J. Herbin Perle Noir, although I'm not much of a black ink user.
There are so many colours out there that I prefer to black, and life is so short. :)

[stub]

Yeah, just think of how much better all that Asian calligraphy would be if it were all done in bright colors. heh.

Talk about a missed opportunity.

</wink>


The Parker chroma is amazing. I also have a bottle of J. Herbin Perle Noir, although I'm not much of a black ink user.
There are so many colours out there that I prefer to black, and life is so short. :)

[Chrissy]

Yeah, just think of how much better all that Asian calligraphy would be if it were all done in bright colors. heh.

Talk about a missed opportunity.

<wink>

Yes, that's fair enough for those who write Asian calligraphy and therefore have to use black ink.

However, sadly I can't even write calligraphy, so I'm happy to go for lot's of colour. ;)

[Sailor Kenshin]

Oooo...Pelikan is Brown/Orange!

[jvlgato]

Really interesting! Thanks for this, Sailor Kenshin and Video11!

I agree other colors are fun for pleasure writing. But I like black also, plus I do a fair amount of official document writing and signing, and for that, I like a really strong black. My current favorite is the Aurora, though I'd love to find a bulletproof ink that is as black as the Aurora.

[bluesea]

Really interesting! Thanks for this, Sailor Kenshin and Video11!

I agree other colors are fun for pleasure writing. But I like black also, plus I do a fair amount of official document writing and signing, and for that, I like a really strong black. My current favorite is the Aurora, though I'd love to find a bulletproof ink that is as black as the Aurora.




With the f/ef pens I'm using Platinum Carbon Black and Sailor Kiwa-guro give nothing away to Aurora Black.