Platinum Carbon Black Ink

[Signum1]

Ink fans,

 

Here is the Carbon Black Ink from Platinum. Doug, I would like to hear your thoughts on this ink when you have the opportunity to sample the Carbon Black Ink from Platinum.

 

Ink Review

 

http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/6528/scannedimageusd.jpg

 

 

Water Test

 

Test consists of placing the below sample under running tap water for a minute and soaking for 30 minutes. The result is the dried writing sample.

 

http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/9798/scannedimage2e.jpg

[Goodwhiskers]

Thanks for the review and images! Platinum Carbon performs well for me on the bad paper at work with very faint and tolerable show-through on crossed-over points and punctuation, but the pen I use it in is a desk set (inexpensive "Platinum Carbon" (wider feed) desk set pen, untipped XF nib, and the ink is in Platinum cartridges), and the podium that serves as my desk there isn't suitable for a desk set. I'll keep the pen and its ink on my desk at home.

[stevo]

Stellar review as always! This ink looks like it wants to stay on the paper for a long time. Did you notice a lot of particulate? Or was it similar to HOD in that respect?

 

Cheers

Stevo

[Signum1]

Goodwhiskers: You're welcome.

 

 

Stevo:

 

I didn't notice any grainy particles with the Platinum Carbon ink. Both the Platinum Carbon and the Sailor Nano have a shine when the paper is reflected from a light source. The Heart of Darkness (HoD) does not have that shine feature. To answer your question, HoD never carried carbon particles in its formula: at least that was my understanding.

 

On a different note, different nibs will produce different shades of darkness for the HoD from my observations. I believe this has something to do with the tines on the nib. A wet nib will create a darker shades in the HoD. A dry nib will produce a lighter shades in the HoD.

[GeeTee]

Always a pleasure to see you reviews...love your handwriting

[HenryLouis]

Great review. I always like reading your italic script.

 

The main advantage of Platinum's carbon black over the Sailor Kiwa-Guro is that it's only $13 from John Mottishaw's site. I think at Phidon pens, the Platinum Pigmented ink is $30, so it evens out (assuming the price of the Kiwa-Guro is in the high 20's.

 

That being said, after hearing that the Sailor Kiwa-Guro is smoother, I'll make sure Brian puts a bottle with my order of my Edison Huron in two months (have to wait until my birthday and abstaining from various frivolities until I can afford the gold nib on this pen, which is more of an investment :roflmho:

 

Just curious, how smooth is the writing experience Noodler's Heart of Darkness compared to Sailor Kiwa-Guro? (going for an ink shopping frenzy soon, and one of these two is what I need. Heck, I may end up buying both!).

 

Henry

[HDoug]

I always enjoy seeing your reviews -- great presentation of useful information! I haven't loaded a pen with Carbon Black yet, and hope to do so soon. I haven't been using black inks much and perhaps it is a time to get "back to black." Kiwa Guro is currently in service in a Lamy ALL-Star with a sharpish self-ground italic and behaving very well. Maybe I'll swap the ink with Carbon Black and compare the difference. Since I write in a journal, I'll at least be able to compare the inks when used in the same pen under the same writing conditions. Well, I'll be able to compare the look of the inks, at least.

 

I will report back when I do that. Again thanks.

 

Doug

[bluemagister]

Great review! I can really see the difference in the HoD and it's helped me decide to try a bottle in my Waterman Phileas.

 

I've been using the Platinum Carbon Desk Pen with the Carbon Ink cartridges for about 9 months, now, and it's hands-down my favorite. I keep it upright and use it before bed to jot things down in a dark black that will outlast anything. I prefer the cheaper desk pen and cartridges (I bought a large supply in Japan) and I pair this pen with a nice Miquelrius notebook to write down things of importance.

 

I can't say enough good things about this ink, but I will add that this pen comes in a package (1 pen, 1 spare cartridge) and I plan on giving several of them to friends because if someone LIKES the idea of a fountain pen but doesn't want the hassle of maintaining one, this is a perfect pen for trying out the smoothness of a fountain.

 

Love this ink tons and tons!

[jonro]

I just tried Platinum Carbon Black in a new Edison Herald and I'm disappointed in this ink. It's grayish compared to Noodler's or Aurora Black and it seems to dry in the nib within an hour to turn the pen into a hard starter. Maybe I'll try it in a different pen, but maybe not. Sailor's Nano Black is hands down a better ink, but reflects with a grayish sheen in direct light. If it weren't for that, it would probably be my favorite black ink.

[Signum1]

Jonro,

 

You failed to stated the paper quality you used. Secondly, you likely have a dry nib because you are seeing "grayish" in the Platinum Carbon Black. There are a few other ink reviews regarding the Platinum Carbon Black, so you should be able to determine on the balance of probabilities the range of shade this ink provides.

[DwarvenChef]

Outstanding review While I have a sample of HoD and tried it in a few pens I was never much a fan of it. I think I enjoy the two carbon based blacks, Sailor and Platinum's, is the extras these inks bring to the page. I like the sheen on the paper, the look that it's not just a flat dye in the page. While I don't tend to enjoy blacks because they are boring, these little extras that carbon blacks bring really grab me. I have a bottle of both inks and would replace both should they run out... or even before if I thought I may have to stock up on them Mmmm...

[professionaldilettante]

I just tried Platinum Carbon Black in a new Edison Herald and I'm disappointed in this ink. It's grayish compared to Noodler's or Aurora Black and it seems to dry in the nib within an hour to turn the pen into a hard starter. Maybe I'll try it in a different pen, but maybe not. Sailor's Nano Black is hands down a better ink, but reflects with a grayish sheen in direct light. If it weren't for that, it would probably be my favorite black ink.

Sometimes these inks have a short dry time, and I find that i can add at least 1/4 of it's volume of water to improve it's open time in a pen. I would think that your pen is dirty or stingy on ink, more dirty though, cause I don't think Brian would let an unsatisfactory nib out of his shop.

[tenney]

Thanks for the review. I'd love to hear about any impact on the pen.... e.g. need to flush it often, or what happens if you don't use the pen (while its inked) for X days, etc.

[Kira]

Thanks for the review. I'd love to hear about any impact on the pen.... e.g. need to flush it often, or what happens if you don't use the pen (while its inked) for X days, etc.

 

I'd like to know this too.

 

An added bonus for anyone who's tried all three would be a comparison of how high maintenance each of Platinum Carbon, Sailor Nano and Noodler's Heart of Darkness are ('how often you need to flush it out, what happens if you don't use the pen (while its inked) for X days, etc.').

 

Plus do you need to modify your fountain pen to use these inks? I read on Noodler's website (http://noodlersink.com/adjusting-nibs/) that they recommend having a thin paper sized gap between the tines on your nib, whereas on the Parker Frontiers I normally use there is no visible gap. I am hesitant to modify pens that work perfectly fine...

Edited September 9, 2012 by Kira

[requiescat]

I use this ink with a fude nib frankenpen (Hero M86 calligraphy nib fitted to a Noodler's flex pen demonstrator body) to sketch/ink drawings with, and like it a lot, but it's definitely high-maintenance. It starts to clog up after three or so days of not being used. Fortunately (?) inking vast black areas uses up the ink quickly, and needing to use the pen frequently is an incentive to sketch more often.

[nweissma]

Ink fans,

 

Here is the Carbon Black Ink from Platinum. Doug, I would like to hear your thoughts on this ink when you have the opportunity to sample the Carbon Black Ink from Platinum.

 

Ink Review

 

http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/6528/scannedimageusd.jpg

 

 

Water Test

 

Test consists of placing the below sample under running tap water for a minute and soaking for 30 minutes. The result is the dried writing sample.

 

http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/9798/scannedimage2e.jpg

 

Ink fans,

 

Here is the Carbon Black Ink from Platinum. Doug, I would like to hear your thoughts on this ink when you have the opportunity to sample the Carbon Black Ink from Platinum.

 

Ink Review

 

http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/6528/scannedimageusd.jpg

 

 

Water Test

 

Test consists of placing the below sample under running tap water for a minute and soaking for 30 minutes. The result is the dried writing sample.

 

http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/9798/scannedimage2e.jpg

A few noob questions: What is a 'wet' nib and a 'dry' nib? I'm looking for an inspiring, distinguished flat black for a vintage Parker 51; has anyone had experience with http://www.jetpens.com/search?q=Pilot+Iroshizuku+Ink+-+50+ml+-+Take-sumi+Bamboo+Charcoal+%28Black%29&v=2 (this is not a sum ink, despite its name. Sumi ink contains particles and therefore cannot be used for fp's) versus Platinum Carbon Black (which appears to require more maintenance than I'm inclined to invest) versus Pelikan Fount India?

[steelblue]

nweissma a wet nib is simply one that has a wetter ink flow onto the paper and dry being the opposite or a more 'stingy' flow. The Take-sumi ink you are considering is the primary ink I use and it is outstanding. Very safe to use in pens and it is the ink I reach for with difficult pens or when a nib is having issues with other inks. I have left Take-sumi in pens for many months with no problems. I don't have enough experience with Carbon Black to compare but Kiwa Guro for me (using Japanese fine nibs) is not significantly better to justify the cost for regular use. A broader nib might be a different story...

Take-sumi has a nice classic black presence on paper that is not starkly black but definitely not anemic either.

Edited October 21, 2015 by Steelblue