PR Midnight Blues / Hero 616 Jumbo

[Bobby G]

Although I am a newbie, I thought that I would post my recent experience using PR Midnight Blues in a Hero 616 Jumbo.

 

First, I inked the 616 with PR Black Cherry. The lines were very fine and neither wet or dry, which is what I was looking for. However, Black Cherry is permanently inked in my Hero 100, which to me is an ideal combination. I really don't need two pens with the same ink.

 

Trying to find another ink for my 616 led me to try Parker Black Quink. This worked okay, but it was a little too 'wet' for my liking. Not being totally satisfied with this combo, I thought that maybe a dark blue would be nice. After looking at color samples and reviews, I found PR Midnight Blues to be the best candidate.

 

One thing that I quickly noticed after inking the 616 with Midnight Blues, was the incredible amount of nib creep that seemed to be going on. With the 616 having a hooded nib, I really couldn't see the ink on the nib. I did see, however, droplets of ink all over my desk every time I used the pen. It looked like someone sprayed ink from a misting bottle. I never had this problem with Black Cherry, or Quink. It seemed like I was continuously blotting up ink. The lines were a beautiful dark blue, although wet like the Quink.

 

I ended up inking the 616 with the Quink again, and I have yet to see more of the ink droplets on my desk.

 

I really love the color of PR Midnight Blues, but its performance in my Hero 616 Jumbo was unacceptable.

 

I hope that Midnight Blues will work with my Sonnet. I will have to try this combination after I get the pen back from Janesville. (The slit in the fine nib, which was exchanged for the original medium nib, was not spaced correctly.)

 

Bobby G.

 

[pmsalty]

Bobby,

Sorry to here that you are having problems with PR Midnight Blues in your 616. I use it in my Hero 156 without any problems. My Hero did not like any Noodler's but PR flows great.

PMS

[NYLegMan]

Very strange... If you hadn't tried other inks I would say that the nib was at fault.

I've used Noodler's Blue/Black and Midnight Blue (one of my favorites) with no problems in Pelikans, Montegrappa, Pilot VP.

If you'd like a really rich Black, try Aurora. Very smooth "lubricity" and dense. My current plaything is PR Ebony Green... depending on the width of the nib it is either a very dark green or an almost black with a tinge of green.

 

Good Luck!

Edited February 10, 2009 by NYLegMan

[jmw19]

I had a similar problem with Midnight Blues in a Lamy 2000. I solved it by diluting the ink 1:1 with water. It still wrote the same, with maybe a little more shading, but didn't creep nearly as much. I think the super-saturated inks require more detergent to flow properly and stay in solution, and this can cause nib creep, especially in hooded pens.

 

You can try different dilutions if the 1:1 doesn't write smoothly - the 616 nib is pretty fine, and mine definitely showcases the lubricity or lack thereof in whatever inks it's loaded with.