Review - Waterman - Blue-black

[corniche]

Greetings all,

 

This review is for my all-time favorite ink- Waterman Blue-Black. I consider this ink the quintessential, standard, apex and epitome of blue-black. I realize beauty is in the eye of the beholder; I also realize many of you have tried this ink and found it wanting- the most oft-heard criticism is the tealish hue it takes on when completely dry. However, I say, (as does Richard Binder), that this is the very aspect that identifies a “true” blue-black ink. That said, all of this falderal is moot, because what really matters is your own preference- you either like it or you don’t; I’m just one of the ones who like… love it.

 

Waterman’s blue-black has excellent flow in every pen I’ve ever put it in- the only pen that ever challenged it was a Pilot 78G, (which have a rep as dry writers). As far as lubrication, shading and feathering; it depends on the pen and paper; however, overall, it is very well behaved and shades beautifully. The saturation varies, it changes from dark to light, depending on the pen or the paper; sometimes it changes with the same pen on the same paper, (observe the variances on my review form- all marks were made with the same pen).

 

The price quoted reflects one bottle of Waterman blue-black, purchased from the FPH and shipped within the Cont'l. U.S. If you have any questions or suggestions, please lmk.

 

All the best,

Sean

Edited December 1, 2010 by S. P. Colfer

[Penman222]

Waterman BB is all I will use in my Vac (see my avatar). Great stuff.

[Brian C]

I've had a bottle of the stuff sitting around gathering dust until I got my first real flexi nib. Now I get it and love it.

[tnmike1]

wandering a bit off topic: I bought a vintage bottle on ebay recently dating from the early '50s. Can't say enough good about this original, vintage blue-black. Shading is awesome, no creep, great flow through Lamys and a Pelikan 200 series. Still don't want to try it in a truly expensive pen, but for everyday use, it's fantastic. O and as waterproof as Legal Lapis. And it stays blue-black, tending toward a blue and steel gray. Just in love with this stuff

[corniche]

wandering a bit off topic: I bought a vintage bottle on ebay recently dating from the early '50s. Can't say enough good about this original, vintage blue-black. Shading is awesome, no creep, great flow through Lamys and a Pelikan 200 series. Still don't want to try it in a truly expensive pen, but for everyday use, it's fantastic. O and as waterproof as Legal Lapis. And it stays blue-black, tending toward a blue and steel gray. Just in love with this stuff

 

Hello Mike,

 

I know just what you mean! I have a quart bottle of Waterman's blue-black from the early '50s that I save for special occaisions. Hey! I ought to do a review for the vintage Waterman's Blue-Black! Any interest in that idea???

 

All the best,

 

Sean

Edited December 2, 2010 by S. P. Colfer

[Mr Ink]

Nice ink. Just a little surprised to learn that it has such a low pH (your review says 3.0).

[corniche]

Hello Mr. Ink,

 

Yes, its sad but true; Waterman inks, (among others), tend to be on the acidic side of the pH scale. Waterman, Parker, Diamine, Pelikan, Rotring, Lamy… are known to have low pH ratings in some, many or all of their inks. Waterman has some of the worst readings, if I remember right, their purple ink is 2.1 or 2.2; none of the colors go above 3.1 or 3.2.

 

Sometimes I wonder if I should continue using Watermans blue-black- but it is such a beautiful color in person, I cant help myself. Some inks that are known to be pH neutral are J. Herbin, Private Reserve, Everflo, most of the Noodlers and Im missing one or two other brands that my memory wont bring up. If youre interested in ink pH, check out Richard Binders site and Chemysts thread on the subject, (Ill try to find the link to the latter when I'm not so tired), or if you have any specific questions, just lmk and Ill try to answer them.

 

All the best,

 

Sean

Edited December 2, 2010 by S. P. Colfer

[tnmike1]

wandering a bit off topic: I bought a vintage bottle on ebay recently dating from the early '50s. Can't say enough good about this original, vintage blue-black. Shading is awesome, no creep, great flow through Lamys and a Pelikan 200 series. Still don't want to try it in a truly expensive pen, but for everyday use, it's fantastic. O and as waterproof as Legal Lapis. And it stays blue-black, tending toward a blue and steel gray. Just in love with this stuff

 

Hello Mike,

 

I know just what you mean! I have a quart bottle of Waterman's blue-black from the early '50s that I save for special occaisions. Hey! I ought to do a review for the vintage Waterman's Blue-Black! Any interest in that idea???

 

All the best,

 

Sean

 

I think an updated review would be wonderful. These bottles, and Skrip too, are available alot on Ebay, most being sold as NOS in never-opened bottles in perfect-condition boxes. Also have a bottle of Skrip Blue Black that I also love, but that is more blue than gray. Still both are wonderful shaders.BTW almost also bought a bottle of Waterman SOuth Sea Blue advertised as permanent but at $35 for the bottle I hesitated. Still, these vintage bottles are still out there so a review of the Waterman's would be great

[argonavis]

I have a "charcoal grey" Carene, which has a midnight bluish hue, and this is the ink it uses.

It's just one of those perfect combinations of pen and ink color.

[corniche]

wandering a bit off topic: I bought a vintage bottle on ebay recently dating from the early '50s. Can't say enough good about this original, vintage blue-black. Shading is awesome, no creep, great flow through Lamys and a Pelikan 200 series. Still don't want to try it in a truly expensive pen, but for everyday use, it's fantastic. O and as waterproof as Legal Lapis. And it stays blue-black, tending toward a blue and steel gray. Just in love with this stuff

 

Hello Mike,

 

I know just what you mean! I have a quart bottle of Waterman's blue-black from the early '50s that I save for special occaisions. Hey! I ought to do a review for the vintage Waterman's Blue-Black! Any interest in that idea???

 

All the best,

 

Sean

 

I think an updated review would be wonderful. These bottles, and Skrip too, are available alot on Ebay, most being sold as NOS in never-opened bottles in perfect-condition boxes. Also have a bottle of Skrip Blue Black that I also love, but that is more blue than gray. Still both are wonderful shaders.BTW almost also bought a bottle of Waterman SOuth Sea Blue advertised as permanent but at $35 for the bottle I hesitated. Still, these vintage bottles are still out there so a review of the Waterman's would be great

 

Hello Mike,

 

OK, I'll do it. I have the boxed bottle in clear view; I'll get started on it in the next day or two.

 

All the best,

 

Sean

Edited December 3, 2010 by S. P. Colfer

[corniche]

I have a "charcoal grey" Carene, which has a midnight bluish hue, and this is the ink it uses.

It's just one of those perfect combinations of pen and ink color.

 

Hello Argonavis,

 

I've never been one to match my pens and inks; I just buy what looks good to me and use whatever I'm in the mood for at the time. That said; however, the combination you describe sounds very nice- I can really picture that in my mind.

 

All the best,

 

Sean

[corniche]

Hello Mr. Ink,

 

Yes, it’s sad but true; Waterman inks, (among others), tend to be on the acidic side of the pH scale. Waterman, Parker, Diamine, Pelikan, Rotring, Lamy… are known to have low pH ratings in some, many or all of their inks. Waterman has some of the worst readings, if I remember right, their purple ink is 2.1 or 2.2; none of the colors go above 3.1 or 3.2.

 

Sometimes I wonder if I should continue using Waterman’s blue-black- but it is such a beautiful color in person, I can’t help myself. Some inks that are known to be pH neutral are J. Herbin, Private Reserve, Everflo, most of the Noodlers and I’m missing one or two other brands that my memory won’t bring up. If you’re interested in ink pH, check out Richard Binder’s site and Chemyst’s thread on the subject, (I’ll try to find the link to the latter when I'm not so tired), or if you have any specific questions, just lmk and I’ll try to answer them.

 

All the best,

 

Sean

 

Hello Mr. Ink, again,

 

I did several searches and couldn't find Chemyst's thread on pH in ink. However, I will say this much, now that I am more awake: I believe using Waterman inks is perfectly fine provided you use the pen(s) on a regular basis, keep them stored in a vertical position and flush them out real good every couple of refills. BTW, I was wrong; Waterman has a couple of neutral inks.

 

Waterman pH:

 

Violet, (purple): 2.7

Black: 2.9

Green: 2.9

Blue-Black: 3.0

South Seas Blue: 3.1

Florida Blue: 3.6

Havana Brown: 7.0

Red: 7.9

 

Complete list for Waterman ink pH data was taken from Greg Clark's Ink Sampler, (c. 2007, final edition).

 

 

Hope this helps,

 

Sean

[mbSailor]

Nice review, thanks. I bought this ink 2 years ago and I used it rarely. Recently I bought some Hero 616 and I filled the teal one by this ink. The match is perfect and now I like it. I agree, when you use this ink is like to use two different colours at the same time, a dark blue when it is wet and teal when it is dried. That's a plus: When you are writing the current line is dark blue while the line above it is turning towards teal and two line above are definitely teal... funny.

[Bo Bo Olson]

I defiantly got to run some good paper past that ink. I'd tried 8 nibs on two run of the mill copy type paper back in the when, and did not get a tone I liked.

 

I like the tone you got.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Sean,

I like the parts of your form that state the cost of the ink....expensive from my view where it costs in Germany @ € 6.95. (@$10.00)

 

The cost of the paper is a good info bit too.