EFNIR: Kaweco Midnight Blue

[LizEF]

Extra Fine Nib Ink Review: Kaweco Midnight Blue

This is review #65 in my series.  Here's the YouTube video:

 

Post-recording notes: Color is a little more blue, a little less black, than what the images show on my screen.  Easy cleaning with plain water.

And here is a screen of the final result, for those not interested in the video:

Scan of Completed Review:

Zoomed in photo:

Absorbent Paper Closeup (puzzle paper like thick newsprint):

Screenshots also available on Instagram: @zilxodarap

Previous Review: Robert Oster Blue Sea.

Want to influence the inky sequence?  Take the "next ink" poll.

Hope you enjoy.  Comments appreciated!

[Dimy]

Thanks for review.

So its blue black with inclination towards blue spectrum over black from what I read, quite nice but I have 2 bottles of such ink to finish....will take at least 4 months before new blue-black-ish ink.

 

Now on side note, night is indeed very fascinating and some of the wonders of nature are best seen there, not even leaving earth yet. For me who is a night owl, I wholeheartedly appreciate night in more ways then one....plus the calm.

[LizEF]

35 minutes ago, Dimy said:

Thanks for review.

So its blue black with inclination towards blue spectrum over black from what I read, quite nice but I have 2 bottles of such ink to finish....will take at least 4 months before new blue-black-ish ink.

You're very welcome!

Yes, leans more blue than the images show.  And I understand your dilemma - so many inks, so little time.   I think this one would be really good for taming a wet pen.  And, as mentioned, I really like it in my Nemosine Singularity - which would probably burp with a wet ink.

 

37 minutes ago, Dimy said:

Now on side note, night is indeed very fascinating and some of the wonders of nature are best seen there, not even leaving earth yet. For me who is a night owl, I wholeheartedly appreciate night in more ways then one....plus the calm.

Calm - this is why I like the early morning hours - really early, like 4am - everyone else is asleep and I have the world to myself.   Glad you're enjoying with wonders of the night.

[yazeh]

This is really elegant colour. Classy I might add

So, this is why Quintus had such a shock, so early in the morning, or so late at night

O love early mornings myself, best time to write and create without hindrance.....

 

Thanks for this review, much appreciated....I might even give it try....

[Sailor Kenshin]

Thanks for the review.  Color is nice, but properties (slow dry time, nix for this southpaw...yet feathery and low lubrication) rule this out for me....all important info, though!

 

I have an ink-dump (Who-Cares Blue, 2nd Edition) that's close to the color but writes slinky and dries fast.  😉

[LizEF]

2 hours ago, yazeh said:

This is really elegant colour. Classy I might add

So, this is why Quintus had such a shock, so early in the morning, or so late at night

O love early mornings myself, best time to write and create without hindrance.....

 

Thanks for this review, much appreciated....I might even give it try....

You're very welcome!

I thought you only used water-resistant inks.  Am I remembering wrong?  Or are you suffering from "can't get enough blue-blacks disease"?

[LizEF]

6 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Thanks for the review.  Color is nice, but properties (slow dry time, nix for this southpaw...yet feathery and low lubrication) rule this out for me....all important info, though!

 

I have an ink-dump (Who-Cares Blue, 2nd Edition) that's close to the color but writes slinky and dries fast.  😉

 

We'll, I'm suspicious of my dry times in this video - I don't think they're consistent with what I was getting during regular use.  Perhaps my feed was really saturated.  Not sure.  But if you already have an ink that works for you, not much point in getting another of similar color (until it runs low, or you can't resist, or something).

[yazeh]

1 minute ago, LizEF said:

You're very welcome!

I thought you only used water-resistant inks.  Am I remembering wrong?  Or are you suffering from "can't get enough blue-blacks disease"?

You're right, I use mostly water resistant inks. 

 But I'm human.... I have a box of sample sitting there, somewhere.....

I might for for one those dark iron gall blue blacks...   😊

 

[LizEF]

1 hour ago, yazeh said:

You're right, I use mostly water resistant inks. 

 But I'm human.... I have a box of sample sitting there, somewhere.....

I might for for one those dark iron gall blue blacks...   😊

 

[TheDutchGuy]

Love this ink! The other Kaweco inks don’t inspire me, but this one does. It’s a great ink for a pen like the Pilot Justus 95, I use it in both the F and the M. The ink really “listens” to the adjustable nib and produces wonderful variations in colour and saturation.

 

There’s more. This is one of a relatively small number of inks that I know of that actually reflects the true width of a nib. There is no spread whatsoever once the ink is on the page (FP-friendly paper of course). I recently switched from iroshizuku to Midnight Blue in a pen with a Japanese F nib and two things happened: the line edges became crispier, sharper and the line width was reduced by about 40%. Same pen, same nib, same paper, same person writing, same pressure.

 

An ink that does that has my attention 😁!

[LizEF]

4 hours ago, TheDutchGuy said:

Love this ink! The other Kaweco inks don’t inspire me, but this one does. It’s a great ink for a pen like the Pilot Justus 95, I use it in both the F and the M. The ink really “listens” to the adjustable nib and produces wonderful variations in colour and saturation.

 

There’s more. This is one of a relatively small number of inks that I know of that actually reflects the true width of a nib. There is no spread whatsoever once the ink is on the page (FP-friendly paper of course). I recently switched from iroshizuku to Midnight Blue in a pen with a Japanese F nib and two things happened: the line edges became crispier, sharper and the line width was reduced by about 40%. Same pen, same nib, same paper, same person writing, same pressure.

 

An ink that does that has my attention 😁!

  Thanks for adding your experience with the ink!  I have noticed that there are a few inks that write like you describe - I call it writing "crisp" lines - lines that don't spread out at all.  And I like that too - but it is rare, as you say.

 

It's also nice to know that this works well with the Justus nib - folks who like to flex a bit will appreciate that.

[TheDutchGuy]

Got Kaweco’s new bottle type today. Two interesting things. First, you get an extra 20mL for the same price (and the bottle is filled to the brim). Nice, but then again Kaweco’s price per mL was very high with the old 30mL bottle. Second, they confusingly changed the blue-ish label to a purple-ish one. I was worried that they might have changed the ink, but thankfully it is the same outstanding ink as always.

 

 

 

^—Please excuse the Dutch. The top row is the old 30mL bottle in a Justus 95F on the wet setting. The bottom row is a Pro Gear Slim MF from the new 50mL bottle. This pen is both wider and less wet, revealing more shading. The photo was taken in direct sunlight on coated Oxford 90 g/m² paper.

 

Did I mention that I love this ink?

 

[LizEF]

5 minutes ago, TheDutchGuy said:

Kaweco’s new bottle type

Is that a metal lid?  The kind with few threads that easily mis-threads?  Doesn't look like the sort of cap that provides a nice air-tight seal.  Please tell me it performs better than it looks.

[TheDutchGuy]

12 minutes ago, LizEF said:

Is that a metal lid?  The kind with few threads that easily mis-threads?  Doesn't look like the sort of cap that provides a nice air-tight seal.  Please tell me it performs better than it looks.

 

It’s metal. And it has just a few threads. It’s a two-step close. When you rotate it, the resistance increases as you’d expect and then suddenly it sort of pops and you have to keep tightening it. It seems to be a secure cap, but the bottle type is new and only time will tell. I find the bottle less pleasing to the eye than the old one, but more practical in use and without the super-annoying paper strip across the cap.

[LizEF]

10 minutes ago, TheDutchGuy said:

It’s metal. And it has just a few threads. It’s a two-step close. When you rotate it, the resistance increases as you’d expect and then suddenly it sort of pops and you have to keep tightening it. It seems to be a secure cap, but the bottle type is new and only time will tell. I find the bottle less pleasing to the eye than the old one, but more practical in use and without the super-annoying paper strip across the cap.

Thanks!  Looking forward to hearing how it goes long-term.  I guess that it arrived without leaking is a good sign.

[LizEF]

Here's the line width measurement. The line is one of those used for dry time.  Magnification is 100x.  The grid is 100x100µm.  The scale is 330µm, with eleven divisions of 30µm each.  The line width for this ink is roughly 240µm.

 

[TheDutchGuy]

That pic is like modern art!

 

I’m still quite fond of this ink. It’s such a pleasure to use.

[LizEF]

7 hours ago, TheDutchGuy said:

That pic is like modern art!

And very holey!    I'm finding the Kaweco inks make very thin lines - I forget whether the others are as holey.