Black ink for vintage pens?

[dankdan63]

Howdy- been a while since I posted but I do lurk from time to time.

Anyway- I have a question. I'm coming up on the end of a bottle of Quink Black. I've been using that in vintage pens with sacs.

So what's a good black for vintage pens? The rule of thumb I've picked up is, look for inks from the old companies and they're usually pretty safe.

I used a bottle of Waterman's black but didn't care for it. Too grey. The Quink is ok, but not the darkest black out there.

I'm looking for a black ink that's as dark as possible. I have a bottle of Platinum Carbon Black which I won't use in vintage pens. I have the Faber Castell Midnight Black which is a nice ink but I think it's also a pigment ink so that would put that out of the running.

I have a bottle of Perl Noir (JHerbin is about as old a company as they get I think- not sure how new the recipe is for Perl Noir). That's probably my favorite looking black when I don't need to use a permanent black.

So what's a dark black ink that's safe for vintage pens?

thanks,

dan

[Jon Szanto]

As a rule I don't think blacks are particularly sac-hostile. The worst you might find is a permanent black that tends to clog the feed or something. I like Perle Noir though if it has been in the pen a while it seems to get a bit smeary and long-to-dry. If I was you, I'd give a try to Aurora Black, which is my favorite non-waterproof black. For waterproof, I like Sailor Kiwa-guro. That Aurora is really a nice ink.

[stub]

I have used Herbin Perl Noir quite a bit in the past w/o issue. I like that ink almost as much as Aurora black.

I also have used a lot of Aurora Black, which if you use it in a Parker 51 doesn't even stain the sac despite being a rich dark lubricated Black. & those sacs stain if you just look at them wrong. Great for dry pens with and pens fine points. Lots of pop and great flow. Sometimes too much.

I generally don't care for Lamy ink, but was given a bottle of Lamy Black and I have a couple pens that are just too wet for the Aurora and have found that Lamy black is really not bad at all. So I have a freshly restored snorkel that is running that now. I guess I'll find out if it is safe for vintage pens but my guess is that it is.

I would also imagine that the Pelikan Black and Mont Blanc black are safe, and the normal green box Faber-Castell Black (which I think might just be repackaged Pelian anyway) should be fine too.

Waterman, as you note, also likely good, but like you I also don't care for it.

I like Pilot Iroshizuku Take Sumi but would not run that in a vintage pen. For one, it is one of the harder black inks to clear out of a pen. & I have had bad luck with Iroshizuku and pens that have sacs and metal sac protectors (Sheaffer pneumatic pens).

[grainweevil]

I would consider Perle Noire pretty safe, but might go for Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black simply because vintage pens often run wet, and a slightly drier ink might suit better. But it depends on your pens, of course.

[dankdan63]

Thanks for the replies. The Aurora ink is good, I used a bottle up a while back. My memory of it is that it gushed out of pens. I use the Staples Bagasse paper at work and I just remember thinking, "This looks blobby on the paper" and it seemed to make the lines from even fine and extra fine points broader.

Pelikan Brilliant Black? A couple years ago I had a bottle of Cross black ink. Is that the same ink?

Are Lamy inks considered safe? I have a bottle of Lamy Blue Black which I like but haven't used in a pen with a sac. Does that clean out easily?

Thanks again,

dan

[AzJon]

Aurora is a well lubricated ink and may not work terribly well on low-quality papers.

Pelikan and Cross black are not the same ink.

Pelikan is a dryer ink, but may or may not feather on your paper.

Lamy should have no issue in a sac.

Overall, if you're really concerned, grab some paper from work and do a large order of different ink samples listed here and try them out on that paper first either in a different pen or with a dip pen (a glass pen is nice for this) and assess how it reacts to your specific paper. If one works, consider trying it out in your pen before buying a bottle.

[dfo]

Yes Lamy inks are safe for pen sacks.

[FredRydr]

I use Aurora black in my vintage EF flex pens.

Fred