Seeking A Reverential, Magnificent, Peacockish, Bloodcurdling, Formidable Black Ink

[nweissma]

i have five choices thus far recommended: Platinum Carbon Black; Pelikan Fount India; Sailor Nano Black; Pilot Iroshizuko Take-Sumi; Noodler's Manhattan Black.

 

using online comparisons appears to me to be Sisyphean labor. so then what kind of answers am i seeking? - i can only answer that i'll know it when i see it.

 

It's important that it not harm my vintage Parker 51 ... and herein lies one of the rubs because some members posit that a named ink harms and others ragefully refute the claim.

 

 

 

Does FPN have a beginner's glossary. bulletproof; wet/dry nib; ... ?

[dasXFnib]

Of the 5 blacks you've chosen.....I use the Sailor and Pilot....the Nano in my Pilot Elite E95S, and the Iroshizuko in my Pilot Custom Original...

Both pens have 14k EF nibs...

Neither of these inks should harm a Parker 51, as both are water-based, IIRC......

Both inks are a bit more costly than some others, as I'm sure you already know....and, of course, cost alone does NOT equal a "quality" product!!

These two inks work for me....more than that I cannot elaborate....but they should work well in the Parker...

The "wetness/feathering" factor will vary, depending on the nib size and paper type used.....

Good Luck!

 

Always try to get the dibs....on fountain pens with EFnibs!!

[Intellidepth]

Bulletproof is a form of water resistance plus other things, but not fully waterproof. As in, a page splattered or doused in water will cause some ink will run but will leave behind sufficient residue to be readable. Wet/dry nib or ink is something you figure out after having had a few different types of inks through several types of pens. Some inks seem to write more smoothly than others, some pens seem to perform slightly better with different inks. A bit preferential unless you have a nib/feed out on the edge that ends up 'needing' a wet or dry ink to work. (Eg Dry and skipping nib needing a wet ink, or a nib that lays down too much ink on paper needing a dryer one. The paper you regularly use also comes into play as a factor here - how absorbent or non-absorbent the paper is. Perhaps let us know the types of paper you'll be using this pen on mostly eg copy paper at work or Rhodia/Clairfontaine in a journal etc.)

 

Take sumi is not waterproof, neither is Noodler's Old Manhattan.

Take sumi is your peacockish black out of those listed. I really enjoy writing with Iroshizuku inks, lovely feel, gorgeous colours, but I don't address envelopes with them.

None of them fit your bloodcurdling requirement (presumably red-toned black - my interpretation).

Bloodcurdling (reddish) and peacockish (turquoise-yellowish to make a peacock blue-green) are mutually exclusive - it would turn into brown black with both these requirements .

Edited October 16, 2015 by Intellidepth

[dcwaites]

i have five choices thus far recommended: Platinum Carbon Black; Pelikan Fount India; Sailor Nano Black; Pilot Iroshizuko Take-Sumi; Noodler's Manhattan Black.

 

using online comparisons appears to me to be Sisyphean labor. so then what kind of answers am i seeking? - i can only answer that i'll know it when i see it.

 

It's important that it not harm my vintage Parker 51 ... and herein lies one of the rubs because some members posit that a named ink harms and others ragefully refute the claim.

 

 

 

Does FPN have a beginner's glossary. bulletproof; wet/dry nib; ... ?

 

First, very little will harm your Parker 51, other than possibly stain the collector (which you can't see anyway). The only hassle is cleaning out the pen to change inks. But that is a function of the truly brilliant design of the collector. It has far more, and far finer, fins than any other type of pen.

 

Second, the Carbon Blacks (Platinum, Pelikan, Sailor) are truly black (in a quantum sense) but don't look as black as some other inks like Noodler's Heart of Darkness.

 

It also depends on your paper. The Carbon inks will work better on poorer papers as they don't tend to feather or bleed. If you were going to use any of the above, I would recommend the Sailor, but it is more expensive than the others. I found the Pelikan Fount India a bit more troublesome than the others, tending to dry out in the nib a bit more.

 

There are many, many, many blacks. Aurora Black regularly gets a mention as the non-permanent black ink to die for.

 

So, of the Permanent Blacks, I would recommend Noodler's Heart of Darkness (it is a thicker, richer, more lustrous black than standard Noodler's Black, but will bleed more) and Sailor Kiwaguro Nano Carbon black (perfectly behaved ink, but not as glossy black).

 

If your pen is reasonably wet, then standard Noodler's Black will be fine. My Parker 51 is a bit dry, so desires wetter inks like Heart of Darkness for Black or Private Reserve American Blue for Blue.

 

Of the Non Permanent Blacks, I would recommend Aurora Black (simply on other people's say so, as I haven't tried it) or Diamine Onyx Black, which I have tried.

 

Others will have their own recommendations. Look through the Ink Reviews section, balance up all the competing/conflicting opinions and then finally buy the ink that appeals most. Then another, and another, etc., etc., etc.

[pen2paper]

Aurora Black.

Not bullet proof, but it's the one for me.

[perfaddict]

Montblanc Permanent Black.

 

With good cleaning methods, there is no way it would hurt a 51, or any pen for that matter.

[jmccarty3]

Sailor Nano Black is a beautiful silky black that dries with a matte finish. If you find it too dry in your 51, add a couple of drops of dish soap to the bottle. Great for addressing envelopes, permanent records (the kind you threaten kids with, i.e., "This is going in your permanent record!").

[BobR]

Aurora Black.

Not bullet proof, but it's the one for me.

 

But it does have very good water resistance, as I discovered a couple of days ago. It's solid enough for addressing envelopes, and that sort of thing where moisture is a threat. And I fully agree, it's black (and smooth) enough.