EFNIR: Cross Black

November 28, 2023

Extra Fine Nib Ink Review: Cross Black

This is review #261 in my series. Here's the YouTube video:

Post-recording notes: Cleaning was super quick and easy. If you want a black ink that's quick to clean from the pen, this is it. When cleaning, you can see that there's some purple in the ink. The slide was yawn-inducing. It's not as black as the swatch in the video makes it seem.

NOTE: Apparently these cartridges are rather evaporation-friendly. It was quite low, so I added some distilled water. Darkness, flow, and lubrication results may not be entirely accurate.

Zoomed in photo (Shading is exaggerated. Text is a little paler than reality.)

Screenshot

Scan of Completed Review

Absorbent Paper Close-up (top is puzzle paper like thick newsprint, bottom is old 20lb copy paper)

Line width (One of the lines 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 312µm. With 261 inks measured, the average line width is 296µm.)

Previous Review: Noodler's Akhmatova.

Images also available on Instagram: @zilxodarap.

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

View a list of my inks, complete with review results in a google sheet.

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

Hope you enjoy. Comments appreciated!

November 28, 2023

Oh, no! I don't use black ink if I can help it, but it was appropriate for the story today. I will be biting my fingernails until next Tuesday, hoping Makhabesh missed something and Essri's not really gone. 😢

November 28, 2023

What a stimulating review and apropos colour for the "tragic" ending @LizEF :thumbup:

I never thought Quin of all people will be taking a life, albeit a rotten one. But you cannot win war with idealism always can you?

The ink however, seems to be relegated to yawnville....it will make me cross to use this ink

I wonder what is % of Makhabesh forgiving Quin vs. the trio forgiving Marsell, i.e. if Essri has truly survived or Quin forgiving himself If he has killed both Marsell and Essri? The end of the trio, until Essri raises from the magical ashes of the source

Questions to ponder.

Thanks for making this Tuesday, introspective 🙏

November 28, 2023

38 minutes ago, knarflj said:

Oh, no! I don't use black ink if I can help it, but it was appropriate for the story today. I will be biting my fingernails until next Tuesday, hoping Makhabesh missed something and Essri's not really gone. 😢

I didn't consider that the ink color matched the story - that wasn't intentional. As for the story... Tune in next week....

November 28, 2023

I think Pelikan used to make Cross inks; if it’s an older cartridge, it’s probably 4001 black, which is dry. If you have 4001 black, try comparing the two.
😥 I hope Essri is just caught up in the cloak somehow or got thrown across the room or something. I like the lil’ snek.

November 28, 2023

15 minutes ago, yazeh said:

What a stimulating review and apropos colour for the "tragic" ending @LizEF

Thanks!

16 minutes ago, yazeh said:

I never thought Quin of all people will be taking a life, albeit a rotten one. But you cannot win war with idealism always can you?

Once I realized who was down there messing with the source (and killing skeletons :glare: ), the ending was pretty much out of my control. The question still remains whether Marsell's plague killed Quin's father or any other family members.

18 minutes ago, yazeh said:

The ink however, seems to be relegated to yawnville....it will make me cross to use this ink

:lol: Yeah, nothing exciting here.

19 minutes ago, yazeh said:

I wonder what is % of Makhabesh forgiving Quin vs. the trio forgiving Marsell, i.e. if Essri has truly survived or Quin forgiving himself If he has killed both Marsell and Essri? The end of the trio, until Essri raises from the magical ashes of the source

Questions to ponder.

19 minutes ago, yazeh said:

Thanks for making this Tuesday, introspective 🙏

You're most welcome!

November 28, 2023

4 minutes ago, Penguincollector said:

I think Pelikan used to make Cross inks; if it’s an older cartridge, it’s probably 4001 black, which is dry. If you have 4001 black, try comparing the two.

This is a relatively new cartridge (I assume). It came with my Cross Wanderlust Malta, which is a couple of years old now (I got it in May 2021).

5 minutes ago, Penguincollector said:

😥 I hope Essri is just caught up in the cloak somehow or got thrown across the room or something. I like the lil’ snek.

It would be tragic if our poor little snek went to snek heaven. Tune in next time... (Or maybe the next handful of times...)

November 28, 2023

1 hour ago, LizEF said:

This is a relatively new cartridge (I assume). It came with my Cross Wanderlust Malta, which is a couple of years old now (I got it in May 2021).

I bought the same pen last year, my black cartridges were slightly evaporated, so they might be older than the pens they came with. I will tune in next time to see what fate awaits the stalwart crew.

November 28, 2023

@LizEF, I have so many of your comparison black inks (Waterman, Pelikan, Lamy, JH), and soooo many other blacks including Montblanc, two Monteverde, Osmiroid, random cartridges, and one I mixed (Chesterwolf SteppenBlack) that Cross is not likely to join my enormous collection. Especially if it's really Pelikan!

Yes, I once went bats for black.

But 😭 🙀 😟 the story!?! Noooooo! Not The Dream Team. It's nail-biting time.

Thanks so much for these reviews. Makes Tuesday something to look forward to.

November 28, 2023

8 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

@LizEF, I have so many of your comparison black inks (Waterman, Pelikan, Lamy, JH), and soooo many other blacks including Montblanc, two Monteverde, Osmiroid, random cartridges, and one I mixed (Chesterwolf SteppenBlack) that Cross is not likely to join my enormous collection. Especially if it's really Pelikan!

No idea if it's really the same as the Pelikan, but it's just black - nothing exciting about it.

9 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Yes, I once went bats for black.

:lol:

9 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

But 😭 🙀 😟 the story!?! Noooooo! Not The Dream Team. It's nail-biting time.

9 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Thanks so much for these reviews.

You're very welcome!

9 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Makes Tuesday something to look forward to.

Thank you!

December 1, 2023

WOW - the story! I didn't expect it to go that direction.

... but ...

as far as I know Sneks (do I?), they often fall into something like a scared stiffness! 🙄 It may had happened because of the scary quick moving sword or because of LizEF using a black ink. 🤫 :lol:

Don't worry, LizEF, with coming years we will forgive you. Maybe ...

Thank you for taking the effort and facing the challenge of making good stories with black ink!

December 1, 2023

This ink was too fuzzy for me the one time I tried it. I gave my bottle away....

December 1, 2023

59 minutes ago, InesF said:

WOW - the story! I didn't expect it to go that direction.

... but ...

as far as I know Sneks (do I?), they often fall into something like a scared stiffness! 🙄 It may had happened because of the scary quick moving sword or because of LizEF using a black ink. 🤫

1 hour ago, InesF said:

Don't worry, LizEF, with coming years we will forgive you. Maybe ...

:blush:

1 hour ago, InesF said:

Thank you for taking the effort and facing the challenge of making good stories with black ink!

You're most welcome!

December 1, 2023

3 minutes ago, TSherbs said:

This ink was too fuzzy for me the one time I tried it. I gave my bottle away....

I have yet to try it in larger nibs - I do have one cartridge left, and my choice of two Cross pens to put it in. Perhaps it will turn out fuzzy there...