Favorite black ink?

[Pterodactylus]

You are welcome

True, when you shake it, first you will have a lot of bubbles (foam) in the bottle, but they burst again, faster if you help with the nib, fastest if you wipe them away with a paper towel. (Or avoid them by stirring instead of shaking as you said).

[FredRydr]

While we're on the subject, my favorite two black fountain pen inks (Aurora and Perle Noir) are quite wet. Any recommendation for a very opaque black that's dry?

[stub]

While we're on the subject, my favorite two black fountain pen inks (Aurora and Perle Noir) are quite wet. Any recommendation for a very opaque black that's dry?

There is none that I know of that is both as opaque as those two and also drier but again, that is what I use Lamy Black for. If you look at the chromatography you will see that it is not nearly as loaded with dye as Aurora but in my expeirience it is a well behaved black with normal flow and normal dry time and it doesn't look grey but genuinely is black. Black hole black? no but solidly black enough for me. & I liked it better than MB, Pelkan or Waterman when looking for an affordable black that dries better and flows less than Aurora for use in vintage pens. I suppose Sailor and Pilot Black should have been looked at too.

Edit to add: Nurebairo - Kyo No Oto (forgot about this ink)
bone dry. Black as night.

[dfo]

I know that the OP already found an ink, but I still think that this thread is useful. I second stub's like of Lamy Black. It is a solid ink and under the radar for some reason. I also use Noodler's Texas Black Bat when I know that I will be writing on cheap paper and need a permanent ink.

[FredRydr]

I decided to run Anderson's ink comparison page on their black inks which juxtaposes up to five swatches: http://www.andersonpens.com/Ink-Comp...ool-s/2529.htm I don't want to buy more than one more bottle! My brain hurts.

[KKay]

I have Aurora Black, Sailor-Kiwa guro, and Noodler's-Bad Black Moccasin. I do not regret having any of these 3. I also loved J. Herbin-Perle Noire. The only reason I got the BBM is because I needed something permanent for writing checks. I can leave Aurora Black in for a good while, with no issues. The other two have 7-9 days in a pen, and that is it. I usually go for 7-8 days. Although I love the Aurora Black, I don't find the writing experience any better than the BBM. I know that is a shock to some people. Maybe I was lucky and got a good bottle, I don't know. It is harder to clean out, but it is very smooth, and permanent. I am leading towards more water resistant to waterproof inks. I also have Noodler's Zhivago. Mine looks black most of the time, and it is very dark and smooth. I've had no issues with that ink at all.

[Spideysgirl]

I prefer De Atrimentis Archival black. It seems blacker than Aurora black.

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[FredRydr]

I prefer De Atrimentis Archival black. It seems blacker than Aurora black.

How's its flow? How long does it take to dry?

[Spideysgirl]

I prefer De Atrimentis Archival black. It seems blacker than Aurora black.

How's its flow? How long does it take to dry?

It flows very nicely. I've never counted how long it takes to dry so I can't tell you an exact time. But it does dry quickly.

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[FredRydr]

....But it does dry quickly.

That's faster than Aurora.

[inklord]

kyo no oto nureba-iro
that's black

If you want a super black for the eternities: Abraxas Iron Gall Black (dip pen only!) looks grey when it hits the paper, the turns darker, and darker, and darker yet.

[Wile E Coyote]

Sailor Kiwa-Guro is always worth considering.

I concur with the Kiwa-Guro recommendation for a good black. Platinum pigment black is also a good choice.

Except the OP wanted to avoid pigment inks.

[Sammyo]

I have a new favourite black ink ... but it is only available in one shop in Japan (luckily close to me)... but I heard it may end up for purchase on Rakuten soon!!!

It is a store exclusive ink made by "Kuretake" for the shop "Anata Burando" (Your Brand).
The ink is called "Ryu Nou" (Dragon's brain... your guess is as good as mine!) and has been formulated to be a fountain pen friendly Sumi ink.
Sumi ink is the ground carbon ink traditionally used in Shodo, and they are only suitable for brushes and dip pens.
It has a very distinctive (and beautiful) smell, kind of like a perfumed charcoal, and this ink smells the same.
It is a DEEP black which was some silver/violet/purple sheen around the edges... and the bottle!!! oh my the bottle!!!
This is a wet, highly lubricating ink that makes the nib of any pen I've put it in feel amazing.

I will try to post some pics in the ink review threads this weekend.

[MarkInLondon]

I haven't found the Perle Noire very black at all. It is decidedly grey with green tones with a medium nib. It might be very black in a fine nib on vellum paper though.