Inky T O D - Color Swatches - Blue/black - Please Post Your Pictures And Tell Us Your Thoughts

[A Smug Dill]

I wonder if this ink is the answer to fountain pens whose caps fail to seal effectively against ink evaporation?

 

I neglected to check whether all the swatch cards have dried, before gathering them in a pile to remove them from the table — after one whole week! — and got a bit of a surprise:

 

[lgsoltek]

4 minutes ago, A Smug Dill said:

I wonder if this ink is the answer to fountain pens whose caps fail to seal effectively against ink evaporation?

 

I neglected to check whether all the swatch cards have dried, before gathering them in a pile to remove them from the table — after one whole week! — and got a bit of a surprise:

 

Many Noodler's inks do that. I've had some splashes still not dried after two MONTHS in a hot and dry room.

[Dip n Scratch]

I started with R&K Salix, which seemed too thin, so I moved to Pelikan 4001 Blue/Black. I tried Hero 232 and I have just received my fourth bottle of it.

For everyday writing it is ideal. Works reasonably with papers that are prone to show-through, (are you paying attention Moleskine).

Pure iron-gall is more a grey/black, so is off-topic in this thread as well as being unfriendly to your favourite fountain pen.

 

[ErrantSmudge]

TWSBI IG Blue-Black.  To be honest, this one was very underwhelming.  Despite being an IG ink it looks like like one of the run-of-the-mill BBs like Quink or Waterman.

 

 

[ErrantSmudge]

Robert Oster Thunderstorm.  This is a blue-black that is an almost-black,  kind of a blue-dark grey.  Out of my Lamy 2000 it writes as a soft-black with blue tones.  After about 2 years of sampling inks in my Lamy 2000 I've found my ink to devote to the pen.

 

 

[Tas]

14 minutes ago, ErrantSmudge said:

TWSBI IG Blue-Black.  To be honest, this one was very underwhelming.  Despite being an IG ink it looks like like one of the run-of-the-mill BBs like Quink or Waterman.

 

It's been off and on my list. Now it's off again. Thank you.
 

11 minutes ago, ErrantSmudge said:

Robert Oster Thunderstorm.  This is a blue-black that is an almost-black,  kind of a blue-dark grey.  Out of my Lamy 2000 it writes as a soft-black with blue tones.  After about 2 years of sampling inks in my Lamy 2000 I've found my ink to devote to the pen.

 

 

 

Ha! One come off the list . . .  another goes on. Thank you. 🥰

[ErrantSmudge]

Platinum Blue-Black.  At the San Francisco Pen Show this past weekend, one of the vendors had a bin of customer return pens, sold "as-is".  In the bin was a Platinum Curidas at a very good price.  The EF nib was bent out of alignment with the feed to the point it would no longer write but that was easily fixed. The pen was also missing its converter.  So I inserted this cartridge of blue-black (at least I think it's blue-black) that was originally packaged with one of my Prefountes.  Dry time is quick but I think it is because of the EF nib.

 

 

[The Mustard]

7 hours ago, ErrantSmudge said:

Robert Oster Thunderstorm.  This is a blue-black that is an almost-black,  kind of a blue-dark grey.  Out of my Lamy 2000 it writes as a soft-black with blue tones.  After about 2 years of sampling inks in my Lamy 2000 I've found my ink to devote to the pen.

 

 

I’m with @Tas, I like Robert Oster inks and I wasn’t previously aware of Thunderstorm but I’m a new fan based on this sample. I’m not buying any new inks for a couple of years but I am making a list for when I feel I can justify returning to do so and this is the latest addition to it. 

[Tas]

5 hours ago, The Mustard said:

I’m with @Tas, I like Robert Oster inks and I wasn’t previously aware of Thunderstorm but I’m a new fan based on this sample. I’m not buying any new inks for a couple of years but I am making a list for when I feel I can justify returning to do so and this is the latest addition to it. 

I respect that.
I vowed something similar for this year, no new inks unless a bottle runs out. So far so good.

(Sadly I broke my "no pens" vow with a too good to be missed offer on a Kaweco Elegance)

[The Mustard]

I thought I was getting there with pens as well @Tas but seeing the MB Pirelli collaboration this evening has thrown me in to a tailspin of weakening resolve, the other Great Masters pens are superb and I suspect that this rubber iteration will be the same.

 

must not weaken. 
 

must not weaken.

[Tas]

10 hours ago, The Mustard said:

I thought I was getting there with pens as well @Tas but seeing the MB Pirelli collaboration this evening has thrown me in to a tailspin of weakening resolve, the other Great Masters pens are superb and I suspect that this rubber iteration will be the same.

 

must not weaken. 
 

must not weaken.

 

Me: Be strong 💪🏼

 . . .  Also me: Life is short 😇
 

[The Mustard]

Yes, the second maxim tends to win out on most occasions! @Tas

[PithyProlix]

[A Smug Dill]

@PithyProlix That Platinum Blue-Black doesn’t look right… 

[IlikeInksandIcannotlie]

My cartridge of Platinum BB did have a faint greenish-light blue colour on the page once dry, out of a fairly dry platinum preppy. It was not so green-grey as I see your image is.

Also, Jinhao Deep Blue looks similar to the swatch of Platinum BB Errantsmudge posted above.

[Dip n Scratch]

The cartridge in the vintage Platinum seems like the modern Schaeffer Bl/Blk.

I found the Schaeffer ink to be darker than Parker blue/black, which is not saying much. The Parker blue/black would serve as a green better than any version of blue.

Rohrer & Klinger 'Salix' v Pelikan 4001 bl/blk v Hero 232.

 

If you don't like the  idea of a iron-gall ink then look at Diamine Oxford Blue or Herbin Bleu des Profondeurs.

 

Is 'Summer Storm' and 'Thunderstorm' the same ink? I looked at the Robert Oster listing at The Writing Desk. I think I have quite enough bl/blk variations for now....

[essayfaire]

[essayfaire]

Just now, essayfaire said:

I wrote Diplomat, but I believe it is Diamine.  Whoops.

[tzinc]

I am fascinated by the Blue-Blacks. It seems there are two basic categories those that are more Blue (& Black) and those that are more Black (& Blue).  Then there are another whole other set of variations coming out of the different Blue-Black inks: Grey, Teal, Green, even Red.

 

The idea of a mixture of two colours like blue and black is very cool. I read somewhere it was considered as proof of an actual signed document as opposed to a copy. It certainly is something that seems very much associated only with fountain pens and the way they write.

[Sholom]

My understanding is that at least some of the original blue-blacks were not just very dark blues but definitely fell into the teal-black category. Noodlers Air Corps Blue-Black, which many people see as almost green-black, is supposed to be based on a bottle of Carter's Blue-Black from the 1940s that Nathan found dried up which he reconstituted. To me, very dark blues like Oxford Blue are wonderful, but not blue-black.