Favorite Not Quite Black Inks

[UDog]

Noodler's Zhivago and Dark Matter. Both close enough to a true black to pass on work documents, but each has not-quite-black character that's obvious if you know it's there.

 

Right on both counts.

[Lou Erickson]

Vintage Parker V-Mail ink - black. Except when it's grey and shady as all get out. Surprisingly interesting ink.

[inkstainedruth]

Vintage Parker V-Mail ink - black. Except when it's grey and shady as all get out. Surprisingly interesting ink.

I found a bottle of this awhile back, and it's not black -- it's more blue-black when it dries. It does seem to be pretty water resistant/waterproof though.... And it is an interesting color. I didn't recommend it initially because, as a vintage ink, it's not going to be as easily available.

I'm now wondering whether the bottle I got was empty and rehydrated....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[carlos.q]

Sailor Shigure is a very dark and lubricated purple that will look almost black in fine nibs.

[BobR]

Noodler's 5 O'Clock Shadow, which is a Badger and Blade exclusive available at Westcoastshaving, is similar to Zhivago, but may be even darker, and with a hint of gray. The paper used has an appreciable effect on the visibility of the green. It has wonderful flow properties and is "near bulletproof", which is my experience as well. Here is a link:

 

http://www.westcoastshaving.com/Badger-Blade-5-OClock-Shadow-Ink-by-Noodlers-Ink_p_1178.html

[Sailor Kenshin]

De Atramentis Black-Brown...also has wonderful writing properties.

[BobR]

Another one that comes to mind is Sheaffer Blue Black (modern formulation). It's definitely on the black side of blue-black, but the grayish-blue tone does appear. No complaints with performance.

[jmccarty3]

Just to be thorough--don't hate me, because this ink is very expensive--Louis Vuitton's Bleu Sibylline is almost black, with just a hint of blue and an even smaller hint of green, especially with broader nibs. This ink is very saturated, although it will shade some. Haven't tried it yet with narrower nibs.

[aardvarkbark]

FPN Starry Night (when it's shipping again)

[perfaddict]

...

 

[Frank C]

I love all these not-quite-black inks. I believe that you have the top ones. I also like the Cult Pens Deep Dark inks made by Diamine. You can still tell the underlying color, but they are dark.

[A144]

So I needed a permanent ink to sign some professional documents recently and not liking black ink, I decided to finally ink up my sample of Zhivago.

 

Now I don't really like a lot of almost black inks like this but I have kind of fallen in love with Zhivago. It's black unless you look closely at it, and I know it's green. Also it has been really well behaved, even on the cheapest copy paper.

 

I will be getting a bottle.