Montblanc Midnight Blue (Non-Iron Gall Formula)

[chris.hale]

Thanks for the comparison. I have two bottles of the old Midnight Blue, after that it looks like it's time to give Salix a try...

[Ytland]

Thanks for the comparison. I have two bottles of the old Midnight Blue, after that it looks like it's time to give Salix a try...

 

 

Salix is quite disappointing in comparison and no replacement... It's quite unsaturated, pale, and lacks gravitas compared to MBMB. It's also somewhat less lubricated.

 

I find that Sailor Jentle Blue Black, although not ferro-gallic, is quite close in terms of colour and behaviour. It's slightly wetter, not as permanent and tends to bleed a little easier. On run of the mill copy paper it still performs admirably.

 

EDITed Rephrased to take into accound Pterodactylus' wise words!

Edited October 10, 2013 by Ytland

[Pterodactylus]

http://imageshack.us/a/img708/411/pycs.jpg

(Noodler´s Ahab EMF ..... Rohrer & Klingner Salix)

(Pelikan 140 - OF ..... Montblanc Midnight Blue)

(Pelikan P10 - M ..... P.W. Akkerman Oranje Boven)

[Ytland]

http://imageshack.us/a/img708/411/pycs.jpg

 

(Noodler´s Ahab EMF ..... Rohrer & Klingner Salix)

(Pelikan 140 - OF ..... Montblanc Midnight Blue)

(Pelikan P10 - M ..... P.W. Akkerman Oranje Boven)

 

What wonderful handwriting!

 

I should perhaps clarify, I mean pale in comparison to MBMB (figuratively and literally )

 

I'm interested to know how you got it to look so nice in your own pen... I never get that kind of saturation from Salix.

 

Thanks for taking the trouble to ink up to set the record straight!

 

Jack

[irishteamer]

Thanks Bigeddie! Great review. Looking forward to finding the old style. Blue/Black is the only colour I use.

[Pterodactylus]

http://imageshack.us/a/img6/1945/0mje.jpg

(Pelikan 140 - OF ..... Montblanc Midnight Blue (iron gall))

[speculator]

I had tried MB Midnight Blue, as cartridges, and was very disappointed with the charcoal-grey look to it.

 

On the other hand, I've found MB Royal Blue (both in bottled and cartridge form) to be fabulous: saturated and bright (and it shows very well on eggshell-colored paper).

[david6]

It's very disappointing that Mont Blanc have chosen to stop production of the Midnight Blue ink and re issue a different ink under the same name. Midnight Blue seems to have been a popular ink for users so it would seem to be a case of 'never mind what you the customer wants - this is what we the manufacturer are going to give you"

 

I have only recently found Midnight Blue and it just seemed to be the perfect ink for me. Oh well, I have managed to get hold of a few bottles of Midnight Blue so I will keep going with that for as long as it lasts.

[oronet commander]

I've got a bottle of the new MB today and it`s indeed very greyish

[tinta]

Thanks Bigeddie for your thorough review.

I first heard about a replacement ink from one of Sandy1's replies on this Forum.

A friend up here in Canada confirmed that Montblanc has removed the IG component from the current Midnight Blue.

After seeing your comparison of the two Midnights, I won't be heading down to the Toronto Boutique for the new version.

I'll just use my old MB stock sparingly & work away at my huge bottle Akkerman #10, as an alternative.

[amberleadavis]

Great review and thank you for the in depth analysis.

[Scribe_Not]

Thanks for the review and the images of the boxes!

And pleased to discover, I indeed have a spanking new bottle of the Original Formulation that I picked up in April.

 

(I just read that again. Kinda like a "Back too the Future" moment. HA!)

 

Who knew?

[Sham69]

i bought a bottle from the montblanc boutique in sydney however it must have been old stock as it is indeed the iron gall formula having the permanent for documents writing on the box, it certainly is similar to the old lamy blue black iron gall the way it gets darker so i guess i have one of the old ones!

[shudaizi]

I just picked up a bottle of the Old IG at Fountain Pen Hospital (NYC) yesterday. Was glad that they still had some. After trying it, I wish I had purchased more than one bottle -- very nice. Thanks to the OP for making it picture-clear which box is which!

[mrchan]

The new is a sorry replacement for the old.

I have to give my thanks to you for taking the bullet and confirming my suspicions that a new and unremarkable ink has been produced.

 

In total agreement with both statements.

 

Hi all,

 

I picked up a bottle of the reformulated Midnight Blue yesterday, below are some photos and some first thoughts. [/font][/size]

 

Thanks for that detailed review Eddie, I've tried this ink and am sorely disappointed in the colour, which I find too light and less shading than the older one and doesn't darken as beautifully..It's positives are that it is a little wetter than the older one which I found to not work as well in thinner nib pens due to its dryness..but no, I won't be getting this one, stocked up on a couple of older bottles for future usage..disappointed with the replacement of my all-time favourite Blue-black!

[OldGreyGuy]

I was in Brisbane today and I was able to pickup another bottle of the old formula at The Pen Shoppe. Just deferring the decision on what to use when I run out of Iron Gall MB Midnight Blue

[alv_23]

It's difficult to get the old formula?

 

I want to try it and if I like it i will buy some bottles to use it daily.

 

The ne formula looks more grey than blue-black, I don't like it much, but the old (from wha i've seen from photos) it could be one of my favourite inks...

[georges zaslavsky]

very dark blue color thanks for sharing

[SUNIL GARG]

Yes, unscrewing the bottle means applying several times more pressure than normal.

But I love the shade. And none of my pen gave me any trouble whatsoever in this

great ink. Perhaps, Mont Blanc should explain why they have withdrawn the older

version. Why not market both!

[alv_23]

I think they have withdrawn the old version because IG inks create some troubles in some FP's as I have read.