EFNIR: Cross Black

[LizEF]

Extra Fine Nib Ink Review: Cross Black

This is review #261 in my series. Here's the YouTube video:

https://youtu.be/FhY7m29rKRQ

Post-recording notes: Cleaning was super quick and easy. If you want a black ink that's quick to clean from the pen, this is it. When cleaning, you can see that there's some purple in the ink. The slide was yawn-inducing. It's not as black as the swatch in the video makes it seem.

NOTE: Apparently these cartridges are rather evaporation-friendly. It was quite low, so I added some distilled water. Darkness, flow, and lubrication results may not be entirely accurate.

Zoomed in photo (Shading is exaggerated. Text is a little paler than reality.)
https://fpgeeks.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=81606&d=1701180710

Screenshot
https://fpgeeks.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=81607&d=1701180717

Scan of Completed Review
https://fpgeeks.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=81608&d=1701180725

Absorbent Paper Close-up (top is puzzle paper like thick newsprint, bottom is old 20lb copy paper)
https://fpgeeks.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=81609&d=1701180731

Line width (One of the lines used for dry time. Magnification is 100x. The grid is 100x100µm. The scale is 330µm, with eleven divisions of 30µm each. The line width for this ink is roughly 312µm. With 261 inks measured, the average line width is 296µm.)
https://fpgeeks.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=81610&d=1701180738

Previous Review: Noodler's Akhmatova (https://fpgeeks.com/forum/showthread.php/41101-EFNIR-Noodler-s-Akhmatova).

Images also available on Instagram: @zilxodarap (https://www.instagram.com/zilxodarap/).

Want to influence the inky sequence? Take the "next ink" poll. (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSchNWvcBM_EFW9Gzi6gcATuA2ZWvQXps_hzaU6aBP-DQ0pWGQ/viewform)

View a list of my inks, complete with review results in a google sheet (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FZFywY7XQn07uOzayBBPMXNBOO0FlaYz3IfalIYBpy0/edit?usp=sharing).

Need to catch up on The Adventures of Quin and Makhabesh? Find the whole story here. (http://www.lizmcguireonline.com/fountain-pen-related/32-the-adventures-of-quin-and-makhabesh)

Hope you enjoy. Comments appreciated!

[Yazeh]

Another excellent review @LizEf, with such a dramatic climax and such pathos! Bravo for the story, a fitting colour for the dark night of the soul! :thumb:
It's funny how the ink looks darker than Perle Noire but in writing it has the yellowish tinge of most blacks.

I had a chuckle reading the "evaporation friendly" line :)
I'm not so sure of Blake's quote. Can we forgive our enemies but not our friends? Food for thought!

Thanks for making this Tuesday so exhilarating :hail::hail::hail:

[LizEF]

Another excellent review @LizEf, with such a dramatic climax and such pathos! Bravo for the story, a fitting colour for the dark night of the soul! :thumb:

:) Thank you!


It's funny how the ink looks darker than Perle Noire but in writing it has the yellowish tinge of most blacks.

Inks are funny creatures. I remember this ink looking very black (though my notes say the swatch in the video is misleading), but it could also shade a little... (And yeah, what's with yellow dye in black ink - that's just weird. Maybe it helps stabilize the pH or something.)


I had a chuckle reading the "evaporation friendly" line :)

:)


I'm not so sure of Blake's quote. Can we forgive our enemies but not our friends? Food for thought!

Hard comparison to make - we love and trust friends, so their betrayal would hurt far more than whatever an enemy does (since we expect harm from an enemy), but then it's hard to compare because a friend's hurtful acts are unlikely to be of the same sort as an enemy's... Still, it seemed to fit. We may need some forgiveness between friends...


Thanks for making this Tuesday so exhilarating :hail::hail::hail:

:D You're most welcome!

[mizgeorge]

Ha! For once I'm ready and know it's Tuesday.

Thank you as always for a good review. Despite my now being on tenterhooks about the fate of our beloved little snek, it's a good thing it was such an exciting episode, because the ink would probably have sent me to sleep on its own...

I'm going to be wishing the week away now!

[LizEF]

Ha! For once I'm ready and know it's Tuesday.

:)


Thank you as always for a good review.

:) You're very welcome!


Despite my now being on tenterhooks about the fate of our beloved little snek, it's a good thing it was such an exciting episode, because the ink would probably have sent me to sleep on its own...

I'm going to be wishing the week away now!

:D Thank you! (I had to go look up tenterhooks - good phrase!) This time of year, the days always go by too quickly. Next week will be here before you can say, "Holiday shopping!"

[Sailor Kenshin]

Ready? Hardly. Yeah, one of 'those' Tuesdays. But hooray! EFNIR Day!

Of your comparison inks, I have Lamy, Pelikan, Waterman, and JH (plus Quink, two Monteverde, Osmiroid, Pilot, Montblanc, and various NoNami carts), so I'm unlikely to spring for another black. Yet I love watching these!

Oh, no! Let us hope those are not the groans of misery arising from Essri's friends.

Thanks so much, Liz, for giving us the Tuesday Treat.

[LizEF]

Ready? Hardly. Yeah, one of 'those' Tuesdays. But hooray! EFNIR Day!

:)


Of your comparison inks, I have Lamy, Pelikan, Waterman, and JH (plus Quink, two Monteverde, Osmiroid, Pilot, Montblanc, and various NoNami carts), so I'm unlikely to spring for another black. Yet I love watching these!

The absence of temptation to obtain can make ink reviews more enjoyable for what they are - no pressure, just plain information. :)


Oh, no! Let us hope those are not the groans of misery arising from Essri's friends.

:D


Thanks so much, Liz, for giving us the Tuesday Treat.

You're most welcome! :)