Black Stump Black - Blackstone

[visvamitra]

Some time ago Kevin from Justwrite Pen Company offered few australian made pens for reviews. Sadly I haven't qualified to review the pen but Kevin was generous enough to send me samples of Blackstone inks as a consolation prize As some of you know I enjoy testing new inks. So once they arrived from Australia I've filled my pens with them and started experimenting.

It seems Blackstone inks are a product of FPN - their origin can be traced back to 2013 when some of ink-testers (Amberlea minions) started discussng powdered inks. Soon after many of us had a chance to review / try the original SuSeMai powdered inks. The powders are gone but in the meantime they evolved into Blackstone ink concentrates and recently the line called Colours of Australia was created (based on those concentrates).

For instance the line consistes of five excellent inks.

http://imageshack.com/a/img908/3973/1AxQE2.jpg

1. Barrier Reef Blue
2. Black Stump Black
3. Daintree Green
4. Sydney Harbour Blue
5. Uluru Red

The only thing they lack is water resistance which is none. For me it's not that important but I know there are people who expect their inks to be water resistant. If that's you you need to seek for your grail ink elsewhere. The colors however are stunning. Kevin - I hope we'll see some nice bron and dark purple soon

I'll review them in alphabetical order.

Black Stump Black is black with purple accents. I dislike it.

Drops of ink on kitchen towel

Color ID

Tomoe River, Kaweco Classic Sport, broad nib

Leuchtturm1917, Kaweco Classic Sport, broad nib

Oxford, Hero 5028, stub 1,9

Edited December 16, 2015 by visvamitra

[pepsiplease69]

I got my hands on a sample of this ink as well.

 

I was pretty excited to finally find the black ink with a red sheen as I originally thought this was.

 

It turns out this was a pretty standard black ink. No sheen.

[amberleadavis]

Thanks for the review!

 

Pepsi, I think it's the concentrates that sheen.

[Jamerelbe]

In my pens (so far) this ink had a slight brownish to tinge to it. Not my favourite black ink (I prefer pitch black!), but I don't mind it - and I like the fact that it kind of lives up to its name (a slight 'woodiness'?). Ie is that just my overactive imagination?

[J85909266]

No sir. I don't like it.

[pepsiplease69]

I had hard-start issues with this ink in my Dollar pen.

 

When I used Pelikan Edelstein Onyx afterwards in the same pen and on the same paper, it has no starting issues.

 

And mind you, I was a good little boy, thoroughly cleaning out the feed for obstructions in both cases.

 

But maybe I've reset the feed more properly the next go when I had the Edelstein in there. That's always a possiblity which I cannot now prove.

 

I'm still willing to give it a try with the concentrate, is that available anywere?

[Jamerelbe]

No sir. I don't like it.

 

Definitely not my favourite black ink - I have a very big bottle of Noodler's X-Feather that ticks the boxes far better in terms of inky blackness and permanence. But I don't mind it - and so far I've found it reasonably well-behaved.

[DrDebG]

Great review as always. Not my color though.

[dcwaites]

This is not a black, black, blacketty black, as Ethernautrix would say. It is a black with character. It literally reminds me of a burnt-out black stump left over after a bushfire, with all the colours of grey through to black that you get with charcoal.

[Jamerelbe]

This is not a black, black, blacketty black, as Ethernautrix would say. It is a black with character. It literally reminds me of a burnt-out black stump left over after a bushfire, with all the colours of grey through to black that you get with charcoal.

 

Thanks @dcwaites, that's what I was trying to get at in an earlier comment. It's not my favourite black, largely *because* it's not black, black, blackity black... but I still *like* it quite a bit because the ink's colour lines up with the name. It's "Black stump black", as in, burned-over-tree-stump black. So it's in my collection, and in one of my pens at present, even though it's not the kind of ultra-black I'd normally use.

[rudyhou]

i like this tone of black, more matted dark grey instead of pitch black. this is an ink color i would use on regular basis.