EFNIR: Waterman Intense Black

[LizEF]

Extra Fine Nib Ink Review: Waterman Intense Black

This is review #160 in my series.  Here's the YouTube video:

Post-recording notes: I was having problems getting the paper to lie flat, hence the smudging you see in the zoom. Not the ink's fault.  Also, there was a strange constant noise outside that makes the audio track sound funny.  Cleaning was quick and easy.  The color is basic black, perhaps slightly cool.  I found this to be very pleasant to use, both in my review pen, and in my Waterman Laureat.  "An Ink Guy" on YouTube agrees with me that this ink is to the wet side, despite some folks saying it's a bit dry - I think perhaps they're reacting to the average lubrication, or they're just used to even wetter inks...

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 (top is puzzle paper like thick newsprint, bottom is old 20lb copy paper):

Images also available on Instagram: @zilxodarap

Previous Review: Robert Oster Graphite.

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

Need to catch up on The Adventures of Quin and Makhabesh?  Find the whole story here.

Hope you enjoy.  Comments appreciated!

[InesF]

Thank you @LizEF for the new-to-me ink introduction and, can't tell it often enough, for your adventurous story snippet!

 

Among my almost complete collection of Waterman inks, of which almost all are well behaved, only this Black is missing.

When my bottle of Aurora Black is empty, the next Black may be from Waterman.

 

I'm not sure if I missed a sequel of the story - I can't remember from where these Burgers came. Are they a magical product?

[LizEF]

3 minutes ago, InesF said:

Thank you @LizEF for the new-to-me ink introduction and, can't tell it often enough, for your adventurous story snippet!

You're very welcome!

 

4 minutes ago, InesF said:

Among my almost complete collection of Waterman inks, of which almost all are well behaved, only this Black is missing.

When my bottle of Aurora Black is empty, the next Black may be from Waterman.

I kind of liked it - for a black ink (which I never use).  My Waterman Laureat (which was purchased in Vienna, BTW) loved it.   My brother has a bottle of this (that I got to play with ink mixing and gave up on because it has yellow dye in it).  It wasn't black enough for him, so he uses Heart of Darkness and I guess this sits on a shelf somewhere.

 

6 minutes ago, InesF said:

I'm not sure if I missed a sequel of the story - I can't remember from where these Burgers came. Are they a magical product?

Quin had them hiding in his pack - clearly magically preserved!  Catch up here: Find the whole story here.

[mizgeorge]

Thanks as always @LizEF - I think this is a black that often gets overlooked as a basic, safe, inexpensive ink in favour of the much drier (IMO) Pelikan 4001. 

 

I use black only very occasionally, and tend to have a couple of pens dedicated to specific black inks, but this is one I always have on hand as a test ink and for the times when I just need a quick fill, often for someone else in the house or for using on rubbish paper. 

[LizEF]

6 minutes ago, mizgeorge said:

Thanks as always @LizEF - I think this is a black that often gets overlooked as a basic, safe, inexpensive ink in favour of the much drier (IMO) Pelikan 4001. 

You're welcome!  I think Waterman in general is often overlooked - probably because they've got such a small number of colors, that never change (except when reformulated), and aren't really hyped by the company, as far as I can tell.

 

9 minutes ago, mizgeorge said:

I use black only very occasionally, and tend to have a couple of pens dedicated to specific black inks, but this is one I always have on hand as a test ink and for the times when I just need a quick fill, often for someone else in the house or for using on rubbish paper. 

I'd say this is a good one for folks who don't like black ink.  I really enjoyed this one.  If I were going to get black inks, they'd probably be this and Sailor Jentle Black, and maybe Platinum Carbon Black for a permanent one.  But it's unlikely I'll buy any of them.  (Though maybe I'll steal my bottle of Intense Black back from my brother... )

[Sailor Kenshin]

Thanks again for another fun review.  Of your comparison inks, I have the Pilot and Sailor, and a bottle of Waterman Black from back when it was just Plain Ol' Black.

 

The ink looks squidgy and wet in your Prera.  My bottle isn't quite that black, and I think it shades a bit.  And doesn't lay down quite so thick a line, and even looks almost dark gray.  Interesting contrast.

 

Gratitude for the reviews.   😊❤️👍🏻

 

And those are some tough goats!

[KLscribbler]

A lovely review of my Ink Of Shame!

 

I call it that because the first bottle of ink I ever bought for myself (way back in teenage schoolboy times) was this one. I soon learned two things: 1. I really dislike writing with black ink, and 2. my teachers at the time had a very liberal notion of what was acceptable as a "blue" ink for schoolwork.

 

From that point onwards I did my homework in Pelikan 4001 Turquoise, and that bottle of Waterman Black from all those years ago... still sits mostly-full in my drawer. (Oh, this should probably count as an endorsement of sorts: a used bottle of this ink can definitely last for decades without succumbing to SITB! )

 

Very well-behaved though. The one use I have for it is as a test ink, in newly-acquired pens. And somehow, it always tends to look darker in very fine nibs than in broader ones. It tends to run rather grey in nibs Western Medium and broader.

[chromantic]

I'd always heard this wasn't the blackest black but it looks pretty intense, especially in the close-ups.

[LizEF]

1 hour ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Thanks again for another fun review.

You're very welcome!

 

1 hour ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

The ink looks squidgy and wet in your Prera.  My bottle isn't quite that black, and I think it shades a bit.  And doesn't lay down quite so thick a line, and even looks almost dark gray.  Interesting contrast.

I think this might be the whole EF thing - it's fine enough that the ink flows well enough to be black.  My brother thought it wasn't black enough (I think at the time he was using a fine nib).  And you can see shading in the swatch - which was made by dripping a tiny bit of ink on with a pipette and then smearing it around - so it's not the blackest black...

 

1 hour ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Gratitude for the reviews.   😊❤️👍🏻

 

And those are some tough goats!

With pleasure.  Yeah, those are little trouble-makers for sure.

[LizEF]

1 hour ago, KLscribbler said:

A lovely review of my Ink Of Shame!

Thank you!

 

1 hour ago, KLscribbler said:

I call it that because the first bottle of ink I ever bought for myself (way back in teenage schoolboy times) was this one. I soon learned two things: 1. I really dislike writing with black ink, and 2. my teachers at the time had a very liberal notion of what was acceptable as a "blue" ink for schoolwork.

 

From that point onwards I did my homework in Pelikan 4001 Turquoise, and that bottle of Waterman Black from all those years ago... still sits mostly-full in my drawer. (Oh, this should probably count as an endorsement of sorts: a used bottle of this ink can definitely last for decades without succumbing to SITB! )

Great story.

 

1 hour ago, KLscribbler said:

somehow, it always tends to look darker in very fine nibs than in broader ones. It tends to run rather grey in nibs Western Medium and broader.

Yes, that seems to be the common knowledge.  Perhaps it's still black in a very wet pen - if I remember, when I visit my brother, I'll fill my TWSBI Go with it - that's a broad, but very wet.

[LizEF]

49 minutes ago, chromantic said:

I'd always heard this wasn't the blackest black but it looks pretty intense, especially in the close-ups.

Yes.  It appears to be a good black for Japanese EF nibs.

[arcfide]

Yay! This is one of my favorite blacks because of its very cool leaning nature. It even starts looking a little blue black in heavy swatches. I think that gives it a little extra character on the page (which some people don't like i their black inks). 

[LizEF]

41 minutes ago, arcfide said:

Yay! This is one of my favorite blacks because of its very cool leaning nature. It even starts looking a little blue black in heavy swatches. I think that gives it a little extra character on the page (which some people don't like i their black inks). 

I agree that it's a cool black rather than a warm black, but it never really looked blue-black to me, just black and grey.  Of course, the swatch card is the only place where I ever put a heavy application, so....  Regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed the ink, and didn't really mind that it was black, which is saying something.

[arcfide]

5 hours ago, LizEF said:

it never really looked blue-black to me

 

It takes a lot of ink:

 

Ink Review #441: Waterman Intense Black — Mountain of Ink

[LizEF]

1 hour ago, arcfide said:

It takes a lot of ink:

 

Ink Review #441: Waterman Intense Black — Mountain of Ink

Oh my.  Yes, that's a lot of ink!  I had one poor little SI short cartridge...   I wonder how blue it is in real life vs just with all the lighting for the cameras...  Thanks for the link!

[arcfide]

3 hours ago, LizEF said:

I wonder how blue it is in real life vs just with all the lighting for the cameras...

 

In my own testing, it's very distinctive and visible in average lighting conditions if applied heavily. In writing, the main effect is to calm and cool the ink ton on the page even in cases when there is more sheen or on various colors of paper. In inks like Sailor Black, which sheens pretty readily, the sheen can overwhelm the base color at times, and cause the black to be a much warmer looking ink, whereas I don't get this effect with Waterman Black, even if I get sheen from the paper and amount of ink on the page. 

[LizEF]

6 hours ago, arcfide said:

In my own testing, it's very distinctive and visible in average lighting conditions if applied heavily. In writing, the main effect is to calm and cool the ink ton on the page even in cases when there is more sheen or on various colors of paper. In inks like Sailor Black, which sheens pretty readily, the sheen can overwhelm the base color at times, and cause the black to be a much warmer looking ink, whereas I don't get this effect with Waterman Black, even if I get sheen from the paper and amount of ink on the page. 

Thanks for this.  Hard to imagine me ever seeing this in real life, given my nib size preferences, but it's neat to read about it.  Maybe if my brother gives up the bottle I gave him, I'll try it in my TWSBI Go, which has a wet broad nib...

[arcfide]

5 hours ago, LizEF said:

Thanks for this.  Hard to imagine me ever seeing this in real life, given my nib size preferences, but it's neat to read about it.  Maybe if my brother gives up the bottle I gave him, I'll try it in my TWSBI Go, which has a wet broad nib...

 

I have the same feelings when I see some people doing great work with EF nibs. Many of those inks are too dry (in the surface tension sense) to pool up and give a good concentration of ink with the broad pens that I use, so the EF users get these deep, clean lines that I can only admire enviously from afar, while the same ink in my very broad pens tends to write pale and dry (though usually with significant shading). 

[LizEF]

1 hour ago, arcfide said:

I have the same feelings when I see some people doing great work with EF nibs. Many of those inks are too dry (in the surface tension sense) to pool up and give a good concentration of ink with the broad pens that I use, so the EF users get these deep, clean lines that I can only admire enviously from afar, while the same ink in my very broad pens tends to write pale and dry (though usually with significant shading). 

Ha!   I never thought about the reverse, but I see what you mean.  Well, I'll enjoy the finer side for you, and you can enjoy the broader side for me, and we'll meet in the middle now and then to discuss our experiences.

[Uncial]

You seem to have got a darkness to this I've never managed. I've always thought of it as 'not so intense charcoal grey'.