Aurora Blue Black

[visvamitra]

Aurora inks come in three basic colors: blue, blue black and black. The bottle holds 45 ml of ink. Inks can be also bought in cartridges.

For many years Aurora wasn't interested in expanding their color range. They seemed to think that Blue and Black are able to fully satisfy fountain pen afficionados needs. The market changed, hundreds of new colors were created, new ink makers appeared and Aurora teem decided to make a bold move and offer new exciting color, unlike any other on the market * - blue black. It's a breakthrough moment in Aurora history. Who knows, maybe they'll dare to offer green or red soon?

While I'm not biggest fan of blue blacks, I tend to use them from time to time. Kyonooto Aonibi is one of my favorite inks ever but it's not classic blue black. I was interested in trying new Aurora ink (on the other hand I'm interested in trying any new ink). I bought a bottle and used it for few weeks in four pens. The results are good.

To put it shortly - it's an excellent fountain pen ink. You may not enjoy the color but the behavior and smoothness are first class.

The color is saturated and quite deep, the ink flows nicely and lubricates the nib in a satisfying way. level of saturation is satisfying but not crazily intense or overwhelming. There's some shading - I guess that in a right pen it can be quite intense. I haven't observed any feathering even on Moleskine (a synonyme of crappy paper). Some bleedthrough was experienced only on Moleskine (crappy paper).

Drying time is reasonable (10-15 secs on Rhodia and alikes).

Additionally it's fairly water resistant ink. Well done Aurora! I hope that you'll offer some new colors.

Drops of ink on kitchen towel

Color ID

Color range

Discovery 70 mgsm copy paper, Wing Sung 698, fine nib

(The quote comes from Josiah Bancroft's excellent book Arm of the Sphinx. Highly recommended)

Oxford Optic 90 mgsm, Visconti Homo Sapiens, medium nib

Leuchtturm1917, Visconti Homo Sapiens, medium nib

Leuchtturm1917, Wing Sung 698, medium nib

Water resistance

Mini-comparison

* I'm pretty sure everyone knows I'm joking, but just to be sure - it was irony

[liston]

I bought a bottle of this,but I'm not taken by it.

[tgoto]

Thank you for the review.

Always enjoy your reviews!

[visvamitra]

Thanks

[lgsoltek]

Tas!

[Martinsroom]

I enjoy this colour and it's behaviour when writing although it has dried out and stopped working in a few pens which normally behave very well inc. Lamy 2000 and Pilot Custom 74. Anyone else with this issue?

[pepsiplease69]

I enjoy this colour and it's behaviour when writing although it has dried out and stopped working in a few pens which normally behave very well inc. Lamy 2000 and Pilot Custom 74. Anyone else with this issue?

Dry out was a persistent problem with this ink in my lamy 2000. You're not alone.

 

Now I'm trying it out in my Noodlers Konrad with Bock 1.5 nib. I'm going to try to use it for longer writing sessions while taking the dryout issue as a given.

[lapis]

* I'm pretty sure everyone knows I'm joking, but just to be sure - it was irony

 

That's a good one! As said earlier, IMO this b-b is rather boring, although the behaviour is top-notch.

[lapis]

I enjoy this colour and it's behaviour when writing although it has dried out and stopped working in a few pens which normally behave very well inc. Lamy 2000 and Pilot Custom 74. Anyone else with this issue?

Sort of a repeat of my last post (4 min ago here): I find its behaviour impeccable. Ignition problems add on immediately to worst behaviour in general but I've not yet seen that here with this ink in any pen.

[ShortRound131]

Thank you for another great review!

[inkstainedruth]

Hmm. This looks a lot like some other blue-blacks I already have, But the hint of red sheen makes it a bit interesting, so it would be a "maybe" ink for me to try.

Thanks for the review.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

ETA: Plus I'm happy that it doesn't appear to lean teal, the way a lot of blue-black inks do (I have enough of those).

Edited July 30, 2017 by inkstainedruth

[Chrissy]

Thanks for the review. I haven't had the opportunity to try this yet, but I'm not a great fan of this colour.

[migo984]

I have a bottle of this back home in the UK, bought from Kirit. I really like its shading & vintage style. It worked well in my Waterman W5 & Pelikans. Can't wait to get to try it with my James Finnis Serendipity pen - I think it'll be a very good match.

[Tas]

Tas!

 

Ha!

 

I've see-sawed on buying this having seen a good few reviews here but will refrain until I see it in person. Far too many Blue Blacks here at home to add new ones willy nilly

 

PS. Saving my money to buy up the entire stock of SK Tundra Green :wub: :wub:

 

Excellent review again visvamitra

Edited July 30, 2017 by Tas

[KellyMcJ]

I really like the look of this but am put off by the reports of hard starting. I guess the best thing is to get a sample and see how it behaves in my favorite pen!

[migo984]

Ha!

I've see-sawed on buying this having seen a good few reviews here but will refrain until I see it in person. Far too many Blue Blacks here at home to add new ones willy nilly

PS. Saving my money to buy up the entire stock of SK Tundra Green :wub: :wub:

 

Excellent review again visvamitra

Tas - you can have my bottle of SK Tundra Green. Remind me when I get back to the UK later in the year :-)

[Tas]

Tas - you can have my bottle of SK Tundra Green. Remind me when I get back to the UK later in the year :-)

 

Woo hoo !

 

I have would love to exchange it for something though as you have already given me Salamander and helped ferry inks across the globe for me. (Blue Upon The Plains, Raven & Kobe 46)

Could I offer you a sketch, or another bottle perhaps ?

 

London Pen show?

 

[The Good Captain]

A great review and a colour that is dear to my heart. Perhaps a little dry but all that is pen/paper dependant anyway.

[KKay]

I really like this ink. I have had NO hard starting issues with this ink in several different pens. It is smooth and well behaved. It has shading, and it works well in an XF nib too.

[praxim]

I prefer blue or black to blue-black. Waterman's tinge on the colour is the only one I use. Aurora's effort will not have me rushing to add another, much as I consider Aurora's blue and black to be staple inks.