Favorite Black Ink?

[katerchen]

Another +1 for Kiwa-Guro. I've been using that at work exclusively for the last year or so.

[ink-syringe]

For drier pens (modern Pilot. Sailor) Aurora Black. Dark, wet, but loaded with dye, humectants, and surfactants so if you have a pen with a bad cap seal it will get a little gummy as it loses water. Poor dry times, so lefties beware.

 

For wetter pens than can't handle the flow Aurora provides Lamy Black. Not quite as wet, not quite as black, but still very very good.

 

Honorable mention: J. Herbin Perle Noire, plain old Pilot Black (I used many bottles of this in the 80s and 90s w/o a single issue, not easily available here now sadly).

 

 

[torstar]

Thanks all. I received my bottle of Aurora black ink today. Very pleased with the ink. Having to wrestle with the interior plastic cap/seal not so much...

 

It's a crummy bottle, worse than it used to be.

 

I do not understand why top brands insist on lousy bottles unless they want us to throw out the bottle with 2/3 of the ink still inside and buy another bottle.

[bluebellrose]

 

It's a crummy bottle, worse than it used to be.

 

I do not understand why top brands insist on lousy bottles unless they want us to throw out the bottle with 2/3 of the ink still inside and buy another bottle.

syringe!

[chromantic]

I do not understand why top brands insist on lousy bottles unless they want us to throw out the bottle with 2/3 of the ink still inside and buy another bottle.

 

Actually, they'd love for you to do that.

 

syringe!

 

Syringe is fine for refilling cartridges but what about piston-fillers? Pelikans, with their screw-out nibs, could be syringe-filled in a pinch if you've a steady hand and nerves of steel.

 

Using a syringe to decant into a sample vial is a good alternative, the 5 ml size should accommodate most pens.

 

Lamy could make a fortune selling empty bottles for people to decant other brands into but doing so (while making a profit on them) would likely only confirm that ink bottles cost more than the ink inside them, which they'd probably be loath to admit.

[ink-syringe]

I always have Aurora on hand. When the bottle gets low. I leave it and open a new bottle & when that new bottle is a few ML down I syringe the leftovers from the old bottle into the new or just fill my snorkel from it or syringe fill carts. I know some purist cringe and combining the last few MLs of ink from any older bottle into the new one but honestly, it is the easiest thing. I have also decanted. I have a whole bottle of Aurora in an old Waterman bottle someplace around here.

[IndigoBOB]

 

Actually, they'd love for you to do that.

 

 

Syringe is fine for refilling cartridges but what about piston-fillers? Pelikans, with their screw-out nibs, could be syringe-filled in a pinch if you've a steady hand and nerves of steel.

 

Using a syringe to decant into a sample vial is a good alternative, the 5 ml size should accommodate most pens.

 

Lamy could make a fortune selling empty bottles for people to decant other brands into but doing so (while making a profit on them) would likely only confirm that ink bottles cost more than the ink inside them, which they'd probably be loath to admit.

 

 

I decant the remainder of a low bottle into a Sample Vial as well if I have to.

[torstar]

I sometimes syringe, hasn't been a fave the last few months.

 

Usually I have an empty and clean WONDERFUL user-friendly ink bottle from MB or PR or an old Sheaffer with the plastic reservoir still in it.

 

And decant it from Aurora or Noodlers.

 

Filling the bottom 2/3 is like I'm playing the board game Operation from the 1970s instead I get ink on me instead of the buzzer going off.

Edited December 15, 2017 by torstar

[Arkanabar]

I use transfer pipettes and sample vials for all pen filling (including the eyedroppers). I also dilute a fair number of my inks.

[bugsydog55]

I find myself with a disturbing number of black inks but no Aurora or Perle Noir. Just to toss out a couple of suggestions that don't get a lot of mention, I like Kohinoor black-has a bit of red in it but is a seriously nice and efficient black that can be found rather inexpensively on Ebay. And as an everyday type of black, you really can't go wrong with Levenger Raven Black. Of course HOD is awful hard to beat.

[Arkanabar]

I dunno about Raven Black, Bugsy; I was given a bottle a good while back, and as I recall, it feathered quite a bit -- similar to Borealis Black, come to think.

[TinyHound]

I only have tried 1 black ink so far, and it made me fall in love with black all over again. The ink in question being kiwa guro. I love the blackness without any brown or green undertone. It really satisfies my needs for a black black for my drawings.

 

I would have attached an image but i cant figure out how to resize them on my phone. Maybe in the future. Im such a newbie

Edited December 27, 2017 by TinyHound

[Gudi]

Graf von Faber-Castell carbon black is my go to black ink.

My vote goes to GvFC Carbon Black too. Its not dark gray and very well behaved.

[IndigoBOB]

I will say, I just ordered some Noodler's Black Eel. I've heard a lot of good things about it and wanted to try it out in my drier writing pens.

 

I still prefer the color of Hear of Darkness, though the flow can be a little dry in my Lamy Vista EF (my EDC). I sometimes prefer the feel of Sailor Kiwa-guro but it can be a little to dry for me if my pen is a drier writer. Hence the motivation for Black Eel.

 

I do have another bottle of Noodler's Black on the way, an all around great ink, ol' dependable.

 

Aurora Black is always a great flowing ink of mine and I have it loaded up in my Lamy Vista-EF, but I find if I'm using black, I want something that is more water resistant since I feel there is an abundance of options out there for black inks. I'm always worried about my sloppy side spilling coffee on my notes or myself getting caught in the rain with my Nanami Cafe notebook which is always on me tucked away in my coat pocket.

 

I really do love black ink. I found that after going through all the colors I like, which is fun, that I prefer a more formal ink, though I dare say not boring. Inks are fun, but when it comes down to it for me, I am fully satisfied with a descent black ink that provides a great writing experience... and maybe Kung Te-Cheng .