Octopus Write and Draw Ink - Black Elephant

[yazeh]

This is a very well behaved waterproof black ink. The more I used it the more I enjoyed it. It’s well lubricated, well behaved and a lovely shiny black.

If you’re looking for a waterproof black ink this could fit the bill. 

Octopus has a host of warnings and does not recommend you using it in your favorite shiny fountain pen. And recommends a well-sealed pen, which is a no brainer. 

They also suggest that the shelf life of their ink is two years, which is a bit surprising. 

This  ink is ISO 12757-2 and DIN ISO 14145-2 and it's vegan in case you want to drink it

 

Here is the list of complete line up:

https://www.octopus-office.de/shop/en/creative-inks/write-draw-ink/?p=1

 

Let's start with the chroma:

 

Writing Samples:

There was a hint ghosting and bleed through with the B nib

Photo:

Comparison:

Watertest:

Nothing came off. Impressive. 

and finally an artwork:

I sketched this from a black and white photo. 

 

 

 

· Pens used: Pilot Kakuno Ef,/Stub, Kaweco Sport (EF/F/M/B/), Osmiroid with a copper plate nib

· What I liked: Almost everything. It’s an understated black that grew on me. 

· What I did not like: Nothing much. 

· What some might not like: There’s a list of warnings, not to be used in expensive pens.

· Shading: No. 

· Ghosting: Only with B nib on Hammermill paper. 

· Bleed through: Same as above.

· Flow Rate: Nice and wet.

· Lubrication: Excellent. 

· Nib Dry-out: No. 

· Start-up: No.

· Saturation: Saturated

· Shading Potential: Dismal. 

· Sheen: No. 

· Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: No.

· Nib Creep / “Crud”: Not noticed. 

· Staining (pen): No.

· Clogging: No. 

· Cleaning: Relatively easy

· Water resistance: Excellent

· Availability: 50 ml

 

Please don't hesitate to share your experience, writing samples or any other comments. The more the merrier  

 

 

 

[LizEF]

54 minutes ago, yazeh said:

Octopus has a host of warnings and does not recommend you using it in your favorite shiny fountain pen. And recommends a well-sealed pen, which is a no brainer. 

Ah, but do they warn that it causes cancer in California?

 

Thank you, @yazeh, for another detailed review and the continuing revelation of this ink line!   A well-behaved and shiny waterproof ink is a bit of a rarity, so I'm sure users of black ink will welcome it.  Meanwhile, I love the drawings.  The elephant, kitty, mousey triangle is fun and the elephant on the savanna is fabulous. 

[Sailor Kenshin]

I love the drawings, too, @yazeh!  
 

What a blakityblack ink.  My first thought on reading about its properties was, Nope, not gonna, no way.

 

But then it might be useful in a cheep, dedicated pen.  For line drawings, with added watercolor washes.  Hmmmm….

[yazeh]

3 hours ago, LizEF said:

Ah, but do they warn that it causes cancer in California?

 

3 hours ago, LizEF said:

 

Thank you, @yazeh, for another detailed review and the continuing revelation of this ink line!  

A pleasure 🙏

3 hours ago, LizEF said:

A well-behaved and shiny waterproof ink is a bit of a rarity, so I'm sure users of black ink will welcome it. 

Yeah, I was quite surprised and impressed

 

3 hours ago, LizEF said:

 

Meanwhile, I love the drawings.  The elephant, kitty, mousey triangle is fun and the elephant on the savanna is fabulous. 

🙏

[yazeh]

2 hours ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

I love the drawings, too, @yazeh!  

 

🙏

 

2 hours ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

 

What a blakityblack ink.  My first thought on reading about its properties was, Nope, not gonna, no way.

 

But then it might be useful in a cheep, dedicated pen.  For line drawings, with added watercolor washes.  Hmmmm….

Yep. It's a very tempting ink

 

[inkstainedruth]

Thanks as usual for the comprehensive review.  

The question I have (in addition to the admonition about "expensive" pens) is the dry time, which (if I'm looking at the time stuff correctly) appears to be roughly 35 seconds on slicker paper -- so a bit slow for my taste.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[yazeh]

56 minutes ago, inkstainedruth said:

Thanks as usual for the comprehensive review.  

🙏

56 minutes ago, inkstainedruth said:

The question I have (in addition to the admonition about "expensive" pens) is the dry time, which (if I'm looking at the time stuff correctly) appears to be roughly 35 seconds on slicker paper -- so a bit slow for my taste.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

Yes it is true. I would say, maybe the warnings was written by an overprotective lawyer  two inks I have tried were very well behaved and easy to clean, much more than  De Atramentis Black red I'm testing. I would say, if you're looking for a waterproof black, especially for art this might fit the bill. My go to is Carbon Black in a fine Pocket Platinum with a Japanese fine, though it's not as black as this one

 

[inkstainedruth]

Well, at the moment, my "go to" waterproof black ink is Noodler's Heart of Darkness, which dries a bit faster IME than the regular Noodler's Black.

I apparently have a bottle of Carbon Black kicking around, but haven't tried it yet.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[yazeh]

1 minute ago, inkstainedruth said:

Well, at the moment, my "go to" waterproof black ink is Noodler's Heart of Darkness, which dries a bit faster IME than the regular Noodler's Black.

I apparently have a bottle of Carbon Black kicking around, but haven't tried it yet.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

Does it smudges at all? In my experience many of Noddler's bulletproof inks can move, especially if used in watercolour or washes. Noodler's Polar Black, one of the blackest inks I have tested, is not suitable for ex. A bit of the excess black will release itself, no matter what

[InesF]

Thank you, @yazeh, for reviewing the Write & Draw ink. It is always a pleasure to read your detailed explanations and a joy to be entertained with your inspiring drawings. I like your elephant-cat-mouse tower and also your elephant sketch! 

 

My experience with Octopus Fluid Write & Draw started back at begin of July, when I filled Grey Merkat into an Opus 88 mini with EF nib. The ink is still there. I used a bit more than half of the fill for writing and drawing (as intended) and find it comfortable for both purposes. With now three month in the pen, no problems, no stains, no precipitates appeared.

For drawing I prefer the grey colour as it allows to have brighter and darker lines (not only finer and wider). I add watercolour washes to some of my drawings and never had a smudge or de-colouring after a drying time of 5+ minutes. I once got a smudge when I impatiently used a rubber eraser over a heavy application of Grey Merkat only 30 seconds after drawing.

 

I guess, the "safety" instructions from Octopus Fluids are way overdone. However, I will never fill a waterproof ink into a piston- or vac-filler pen which can not be disassembled for cleaning. Not even think about. But is that not obvious? 🤫

 

Back to your review: Good work! Looking forward to more of your inkspirations!  

[InesF]

18 hours ago, LizEF said:

Ah, but do they warn that it causes cancer in California?

May that be caused by the unfavourable geological location - where all negative Earth- and Space-rays combine? 🤔 

[yazeh]

2 hours ago, InesF said:

Thank you, @yazeh, for reviewing the Write & Draw ink. It is always a pleasure to read your detailed explanations and a joy to be entertained with your inspiring drawings. I like your elephant-cat-mouse tower and also your elephant sketch! 

🙏

2 hours ago, InesF said:

 

My experience with Octopus Fluid Write & Draw started back at begin of July, when I filled Grey Merkat into an Opus 88 mini with EF nib. The ink is still there. I used a bit more than half of the fill for writing and drawing (as intended) and find it comfortable for both purposes. With now three month in the pen, no problems, no stains, no precipitates appeared.

For drawing I prefer the grey colour as it allows to have brighter and darker lines (not only finer and wider). I add watercolour washes to some of my drawings and never had a smudge or de-colouring after a drying time of 5+ minutes. I once got a smudge when I impatiently used a rubber eraser over a heavy application of Grey Merkat only 30 seconds after drawing.

Thanks for sharing your experience. My experience has been the same. Though I haven't kept Octopus inks that long in any pens, but have kept the notorious Kung Te-Cheng for three years in a Kaweco  and when I had to clean it, it wasn't as hard as I thought

 

2 hours ago, InesF said:

 

I guess, the "safety" instructions from Octopus Fluids are way overdone. However, I will never fill a waterproof ink into a piston- or vac-filler pen which can not be disassembled for cleaning. Not even think about. But is that not obvious? 🤫

That's a given. But maybe for some novice user it's not

 

2 hours ago, InesF said:

Back to your review: Good work! Looking forward to more of your inkspirations!  

Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I'm looking forward to eating Grey Merkat.

[LizEF]

5 hours ago, InesF said:

May that be caused by the unfavourable geological location - where all negative Earth- and Space-rays combine? 🤔 

Sounds about right.

[inkstainedruth]

On 9/27/2023 at 4:55 PM, yazeh said:

Does it smudges at all? In my experience many of Noddler's bulletproof inks can move, especially if used in watercolour or washes. Noodler's Polar Black, one of the blackest inks I have tested, is not suitable for ex. A bit of the excess black will release itself, no matter what

Not in my experience.  While it's not *super* black, the way Noodler's Old Manhattan is, part of the reason Old Manhattan IS so black appearing is because it spreads.... 

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

[Surlyprof]

Thank you, @yazeh for another thorough and wonderful ink review.  Your detailed explanations so helpful, your handwriting is fantastic, and I love that your reviews include sketches.  This review has prompted me to add a few Octopus samples to my upcoming Van Ness purple ink samples order (currently up to 3 Noodler’s and, now, 3 Octopus inks).  

[yazeh]

2 hours ago, Surlyprof said:

Thank you, @yazeh for another thorough and wonderful ink review.  

A pleasure 🙏

2 hours ago, Surlyprof said:

Your detailed explanations so helpful, your handwriting is fantastic, and I love that your reviews include sketches.

Thank you!  🙏fox

2 hours ago, Surlyprof said:

 

 This review has prompted me to add a few Octopus samples to my upcoming Van Ness purple ink samples order (currently up to 3 Noodler’s and, now, 3 Octopus inks).  

Hope you enjoy them