Blacks? What's The Big Deal

[Zpenguy]

So I have been getting into different colors and just loving it but I need a good black. My only problem is I don't really understand what makes one black better than another. Help me please

[SujiCorp12345]

It depends on your preference. Do you want something waterproof? Something with shading? A very saturated black? Wet ink? Dry ink? There are a bunch of options.

 

Some blacks I like are:

 

Aurora Black (very wet, free flowing ink)

 

Noodler's Black (waterproof)

 

Take-sumi (this is less formal of a black since there is some shading (goes from gray to black), so it's not as saturated as you might want it to be)

[doggonecarl]

If you are just starting out on the exploration of black inks, it's good to start with the standards: Sheaffer Skrip, Lamy, Waterman, Pelikan, and Parker.

 

But if I had to cut my collection of black inks down to one (I have around 15), I'd pick Noodler's Black.

[Ambrose Bierce]

black is like every other ink. There are differing saturation, shading, flow, and almost every other variable. Many people just mistake black for being black. If you want a true, dark, and saturated black you should look at Aurora black or Noodlers X-Feather. I can't help with blacks with other properties because they do not appeal to me, but those two are nice.

[inkstainedruth]

Another fairly nice black if you want a fairly saturated black is Noodler's Old Manhattan, which is a Fountain Pen Hospital exclusive -- it's listed on the box as being "eternal" which I think means it's fairly UV resistant.

Iroshihzuku Take-sumi surprised me a bit -- it goes down sort of velvety off-black (as in, I mean it *really* looked sort of like velvet or velveteen ribbon), but when I looked at some writing I did with it weeks later is blacker than I remembered it being.

But admittedly, I'm with you, Zpenguy -- I don't have much use for black ink. I'd rather have something a little more subtle, like a blue black or purple black, or something that that's a bit sneaky like Noodler's El Lawrence (which is sort of grayish/brownish/greenish, but dark enough to pass for black, and permanent enough for me to feel comfortable signing checks with it).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Last Knight]

Another fairly nice black if you want a fairly saturated black is Noodler's Old Manhattan, which is a Fountain Pen Hospital exclusive -- it's listed on the box as being "eternal" which I think means it's fairly UV resistant.

I've quite literally just ordered this one. I hope it's as good as everyone reports! I believe "Eternal" is just a hair less than "bulletproof" - ie, it should be fairly waterproof, age and light resistant.

 

On the subject of blacks, my current go-to black ink is Noodler's Heart of Darkness; very strong, friendly with most types of paper and from most of my pens, but despite the name it's not quite as black as I'd like.

[dan in montreal]

My vote goes to Noodler's Black. It's black-black, it's bulletproof and it's well behaved.

 

A close second is Herbin Perle noire, an ink that performs well in every pen I own. It's also pretty dark.

 

This is all so subjective and personal...

 

I like Waterman Black and Parker Black, but I like them as near-black inks - they are dark gray, contrary to Noodler's and Herbin. I mostly use them to darken inks of the same brands.

[Arkanabar]

I really like Noodler's Borealis Black, perhaps their blackest and most saturated black. It's not waterproof, but other than that, I have no complaints. Heart of Darkness requires a bit of dilution to prevent smudging. We've been diluting it too much (around 2:1 with water), and it winds up desaturated. We're going to try to get it a bit more concentrated.

[Wheatflower]

Heart of Darkness requires a bit of dilution to prevent smudging. We've been diluting it too much (around 2:1 with water), and it winds up desaturated. We're going to try to get it a bit more concentrated.

I've been using Heart of Darkness in my purse-pen for writing checks for more than a year now. I dilute it 4:1, and haven't noticed any smudging issues in writing checks or taking notes in my purse-notebook. It still looks quite black to me.

[Last Knight]

I really like Noodler's Borealis Black, perhaps their blackest and most saturated black. It's not waterproof, but other than that, I have no complaints. Heart of Darkness requires a bit of dilution to prevent smudging. We've been diluting it too much (around 2:1 with water), and it winds up desaturated. We're going to try to get it a bit more concentrated.

I've been using Heart of Darkness in my purse-pen for writing checks for more than a year now. I dilute it 4:1, and haven't noticed any smudging issues in writing checks or taking notes in my purse-notebook. It still looks quite black to me.

...I have diluted it not at all, and never had an issue with smudging. What kind of pens are y'all using?

[Kataphract]

Lots of considerations wil go into what black is right for you.

 

Density/Opacity: can't be at the heart of darkness if you see the paper showing through.

Neutral: true black won't be color shifted, but perhaps you like one that leans ever so slightly to blue, or purple, or....

Sheen: glossy when dry, or matte, or somewhere in between?

Feathering: nice crisp edges or does it can of spread a little after your write, making everything a little fuzzy?

Drying time: are you inking your paper, or just your hand at a later time?

Erasure: something an artist will be concerned with rather than a writer, but if you are inking over pencils, the ink needs to stand up to an eraser going getting rid of stray pencil lines.

Flow: too wet and it dumps more ink on your page than you want, or too dry and it skips.

Smearing: it may be dry, but that doesn't mean you can't smear it even months later (usually more a concern for flex writing that dumps a thick amount of ink).

Waterproof: fountain pen ink manufacturers have a funny definition of "waterproof" that might satisfy someone writing a check, but completely (bleep) off an artist. I would never, ever call Noodler's Black waterproof, for example.

Safe: I love my Pelikan Drawing Ink A because it satisfies so many of the above. Oh, there are deeper darker blacks, but so many of the above it is great at (no caveats whatsoever on the once dry this stuff is absolutely waterproof and won't bleed even during a transfusion). But for heaven's sake, never use it in a fountain pen, because it will probably permanently destroy the pen.

[Letterman]

J. Herbin's Perle Noire is a pronounced black ink. I rubbed a wet cotton swab over it until the paper started to disintegrate and could still clearly read the writing. So it's not superficial and it doesn't just rub off. It's nice to have something other than Noodlers and Diamine in my collection. It's a good ink for general use.

 

Aurora black has a good reputation. I don't own this one but want to get a bottle of it soon. From what I've read it behaves well and looks great but is not at all permanent. I get the impression from reading about inks here on FPN that permanent inks are usually duller and not as well behaved while less permanent inks behave better and have more vibrancy.

 

I think Aurora black would be good for writing letters but not to address the envelopes. Aurora black would probably be good for writing in a journal. It would be a good ink to keep in the ink well on your desk. Perle Noire on the other hand, is a good everyday carry ink in my opinion. The trick of course is not to get them mixed up when you flush and fill your pens with ink.

[janeblundellart]

I am enjoying De Atramentis Document Black as it is fast drying and completely waterproof - I'm an artist and use it to sketch in a number of fountain pens that I can immediately paint over. Nice solid black colour, 'clean' in the pens. I've had no issues with flow.

[Tas]

I am enjoying De Atramentis Document Black as it is fast drying and completely waterproof - I'm an artist and use it to sketch in a number of fountain pens that I can immediately paint over. Nice solid black colour, 'clean' in the pens. I've had no issues with flow.

 

I totally agree. This Document Black has nudged into the lead as my favourite water resistant black.

 

Zpenguy, you might want to have a look here for some help:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/281635-inky-t-o-d-color-swatches-black-please-post-your-pictures-and-tell-us-your-thoughts/?p=3226165

 

and

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/268632-the-color-of-12-blacks/?p=3025548

[ink-syringe]

Lots of good off the shelf blacks. I liked Perle Noir and Noodlers Black. But my last 3 bottles of black have been Aurora and i am not looking to change that. It is easy to find and affordable here and turns out I like it best of all. I love it when the thing you think is going to be exotic, hard to find and expensive actually turns out to be one of the cheaper options and available at every bookstore and pen shop in town. My kingdom for a bottle of Visconti Blue but Aurora is super easy to find, is black enough, and has great flow and lubrication.

[Icywolfe]

My top 2 best black inks:

 

Takesumi - It is a general purpose ink that just flows in any pen. Though it does have some shading so it adds some style to your words.

 

Platinum Carbon Black - Once it hits paper the ink is stuck. It dries quick. It doesn't bleed. It doesn't feather. It's a pure dark and matte black. Sure cleaning might be hard but it's still on the normal cleaning side. Bonus is that on a fine nibbed pen its still black unlike some blacks that turn a gray.

[jmccarty3]

I really like Take-sumi as well. I don't think anyone has mentioned Sailor Nano Black: goes down like velvet, although it may be dry in some pens. Supposed to be waterproof, but I haven't tested it. Major downside is the cost: from many vendors, it's more expensive than Iroshizuku.

[claudewick]

Until now I only used Sheaffer Skrip, Aurora and Parker Quink. My favourite is Aurora, followed by Skrip. But I'll try to find a bottle of Noodlers's and the Perle Noir to try.

 

Cheers

[Arkanabar]

...I have diluted it not at all, and never had an issue with smudging. What kind of pens are y'all using?

I think the HoD only went undiluted into an Ahab. I'll talk to my coworker, and ask him if he's ever had any sort of flow problems with the pen when he was using samples, to get an idea of how wet it is.

[graystranger]

I have used Noodler's Black for many years, well behaved, highly saturated, works well on low quality papers that other inks feather and bleed through badly. It is also waterproof and permanent once it has chemically set on cellulose fibers (may take an hour or two to fully bond). I have used it in pens from EF to B nibs and never had a flow or hard start problem (unless a pen has sat for a long time). Easy to clean out of pens.

 

I find that Noodler's Bad Black Moccasin to be very similar in behavior, but dries a bit faster than Black.

 

I also love Platinum Carbon Black, it is also totally waterproof, but behaves differently. It tends to dry on the surface of paper and will work well on papers that are not very absorbent. I've even written on smooth metal, glass and plastic with Platinum Carbon Black and when dry does it not wipe off easily. Takes a long time to dry on these surfaces though.

 

I used Noodler's Borealis Black in an EF Lamy for several years with good success, however when I used it in broader nibs or wetter pens it would bleed through papers that Noodler's Black and the others above did not.

 

In a pen with a cap that seals well, I have not had to clean Platinum Carbon Black out at all. Put it in my Platinum Cool on October 27 and have not cleaned the pen since. Starts writing immediately, no flow or start issues. That is over 60 days, and the convention is to flush pens using Carbon Black weekly. Just depends on the pen whether you have to or not.

 

My recommendation is to start with Noodler's Black, you cannot go wrong with this waterproof fraud resistant ink. I will always have this ink in my arsenal.