EFNIR: Aurora Black

[LizEF]

Extra Fine Nib Ink Review: Aurora Black

This is review #274 in my series. Here's the YouTube video:

Post-recording notes: Cleaning was quick and easy with plain water.  The microscope slide was dullsville - though I thought I saw some yellow, which may indicate a yellow dye, like Waterman Intense Black has.  In test (RH:34%), dry time was about 9 seconds.

This is a pretty neutral black.  From the line width image, it appears quite opaque (for a FP ink).  As I often do, I shined a bright desktop lamp (with 5000K, 1000 lumen LED bulb) at the page to help light it from above. In this case, that revealed what looks like red sheen - but I never saw any of that in my writing.

Zoomed in photo

Screenshot

Scan of Completed Review

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

Line width (The "I" in "Ink:". 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 287µm. With 274 inks measured, the average line width is 296µm.) (Please see the post-recording notes for more about the apparent sheen.)

Previous Review: Pilot Mixable Colour Turquoise.

Images also available on Instagram: @zilxodarap.

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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!

[SLinkster]

Timely review since my bottle just arrived. Is this the "old" Aurora black, or the "Anniversary" version? 

[LizEF]

8 minutes ago, SLinkster said:

Timely review since my bottle just arrived. Is this the "old" Aurora black, or the "Anniversary" version? 

I have no idea.  A sample was gifted to me in September of 2023 by a generous FPNer.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Groaning seems a good way to introduce the story and I love the first line!

I have, or had, most of these black inks. Even Aurora. I recall it being very blackity; everyone recommends it but for me it was just 'meh.'

The line width shot and its colors and textures makes me think of madame Le Staff. And I'm happy to see Mom at least is there, in one piece.

Thanks, @LizEF for making Tuesdays special. 

 

(My family seems to have had fun by doing to me what Quin's brother does, times ten)
 

[txomsy]

Great review for a great ink.

 

[LizEF]

21 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Groaning seems a good way to introduce the story and I love the first line!

Serendipity.

 

22 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

I have, or had, most of these black inks. Even Aurora. I recall it being very blackity; everyone recommends it but for me it was just 'meh.'

Yeah, I'm not sure what all the hoopla is about.  It's black, but not a bottomless hole in space...

 

23 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

The line width shot and its colors and textures makes me think of madame Le Staff. And I'm happy to see Mom at least is there, in one piece.

Hmm.  It is sort of entwined, isn't it?  And yes, Mom is there, but what about Dad?  Tune in next week....

 

23 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Thanks, @LizEF for making Tuesdays special. 

You're very welcome!

 

24 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

(My family seems to have had fun by doing to me what Quin's brother does, times ten)

Family is a strange thing - potential for the greatest joy and the greatest pain.  An organization for experiencing extremes....

[LizEF]

11 minutes ago, txomsy said:

Great review for a great ink.

 

Thanks, @txomsy!

[yazeh]

Great review and selection for meet the family @LizEF 👍

I'm waiting for a few snarky remarks or hisses from Makhabesh and a few wisecracks from "Ethrie". I had to remind myself that Quin was named after the 5th wizard  as I was hearing Primus instead of Simon, all the time 😁

I had an enjoyable chuckle with Seinfeld's quote. 

I believe it was Ramdas who said if you believe you're enlightened stay a week with your family 

 

Looking forward to family madness next week 😆

[LizEF]

15 minutes ago, yazeh said:

Great review and selection for meet the family @LizEF 👍

Thanks!

 

16 minutes ago, yazeh said:

I'm waiting for a few snarky remarks or hisses from Makhabesh and a few wisecracks from "Ethrie". I had to remind myself that Quin was named after the 5th wizard  as I was hearing Primus instead of Simon, all the time 😁

 

17 minutes ago, yazeh said:

I had an enjoyable chuckle with Seinfeld's quote. 

Me, too - and it's so true - highly unusual for every member of a family to enjoy the same activity.

 

17 minutes ago, yazeh said:

I believe it was Ramdas who said if you believe you're enlightened stay a week with your family 

Yeah, family know all your flaws and often trigger your worst behavior.

 

18 minutes ago, yazeh said:

Looking forward to family madness next week 😆

[lapis]

Yellow in a black is not uncommon, although the black dyes of course take over....

If you check this out and scroll down a bit, you can see that Aurora Black (chromatography strip 1) also has some yellow in it, although a few other inks show that, too.

[LizEF]

19 minutes ago, lapis said:

Yellow in a black is not uncommon, although the black dyes of course take over....

If you check this out and scroll down a bit, you can see that Aurora Black (chromatography strip 1) also has some yellow in it, although a few other inks show that, too.

Thanks, @lapis!  Nice collection of chroma strips.  The first time I did chromatography, Waterman Intense Black was one of the inks, and it had yellow in it, which was very surprising to me.  I'd hoped to mix it with Inspired Blue to come up with a blue-grey-black thing, but the yellow turned the result green - which is why I did the chromatography - to find out why my mix turned green!

[TSherbs]

Not much of a fan of black inks, I gather.

 

I love blacks, and this is one of my favorites, especially in larger nibs than EF (I find that my eyes can't tell the difference in EF writing--especially Japanese EF).  Black inks actually all look and feel different (except for those that are the same inks rebranded as others--this happens). My (subjective) experience with Aurora Black is that it is smooth and rich and toward the blacker end of black (not the darkest, however). I don't recall, however, that I have ever used it in a Japanese fine nib, so thank you for that information. 

[LizEF]

13 minutes ago, TSherbs said:

Not much of a fan of black inks, I gather.

Nope.  They make me yawn.  If someone wants a black ink, I'd say this is a good one, but since they don't thrill me, I don't notice little nuances - though as I mentioned, this one does seem a little more opaque than many.

 

14 minutes ago, TSherbs said:

Black inks actually all look and feel different (except for those that are the same inks rebranded as others--this happens).

Oh yes, some are warm and some are cool and some have some color as an undertone.  And lubrication is definitely where my Japanese EF nib shines, so to speak - it knows just how well an ink is lubricated.

 

15 minutes ago, TSherbs said:

My (subjective) experience with Aurora Black is that it is smooth and rich and toward the blacker end of black (not the darkest, however).

Thank you!  I love having others share their experiences to add more value to the thread.  And yes, blacker than many and quite smooth.

 

16 minutes ago, TSherbs said:

I don't recall, however, that I have ever used it in a Japanese fine nib, so thank you for that information. 

You're most welcome!

[Lithium466]

Thank you for that review!

 

7 hours ago, SLinkster said:

Timely review since my bottle just arrived. Is this the "old" Aurora black, or the "Anniversary" version? 

Regular old in the 45mL "tall" bottle.

 

I think what sets Aurora black from other "classic" blacks like Lamy black/Waterman black/Pelikan 4001...is the lubrication. There's also J. Herbin Perle noire that's fairly dark and lubricated, but for some reason I just prefer Aurora black, it's a good match with my Pilot capless EF for sure.

[LizEF]

3 minutes ago, Lithium466 said:

Thank you for that review!

Happily! Thanks for the sample!

 

4 minutes ago, Lithium466 said:

Regular old in the 45mL "tall" bottle

Thanks!

 

5 minutes ago, Lithium466 said:

I think what sets Aurora black from other "classic" blacks like Lamy black/Waterman black/Pelikan 4001...is the lubrication. There's also J. Herbin Perle noire that's fairly dark and lubricated, but for some reason I just prefer Aurora black, it's a good match with my Pilot capless EF for sure.

Lubrication, opacity, and it writes a nice fine line - it's not that common to find a well-lubricated ink that still writes a fine line. 

[Lithium466]

1 minute ago, LizEF said:

Lubrication, opacity, and it writes a nice fine line - it's not that common to find a well-lubricated ink that still writes a fine line. 

Don't tell me, I've been chasing them 😂 

Iroshizuku Asa-Gao isn't too bad for that either.

[arcfide]

Love me some black ink! I think if I didn't feel like no one else cares, I could easily make a black ink my "signature" ink, but unfortunately, for most people, it wouldn't stand out to them as anything other than a standard black ink. Ah well. 

 

Since I don't have any Aurora pens yet, I've yet to pick up some Aurora Black, but it definitely seems like an ink that I want. The Chromatography that shows yellow is different than the one that An Ink Guy posted, so I wonder if something changed or if there was a mix up in either sample? Ink Guy's chroma shows mostly violet and green, while the other chroma shows a lot of yellow. One reason I liked Waterman Intense Black is the yellow/blue chroma, which produces a nice looking shade to my eyes. 

[LizEF]

1 hour ago, Lithium466 said:

Don't tell me, I've been chasing them 😂

 

1 hour ago, Lithium466 said:

Iroshizuku Asa-Gao isn't too bad for that either.

Another color I don't like, but would still highly recommend this ink. 

[LizEF]

1 hour ago, arcfide said:

Love me some black ink! I think if I didn't feel like no one else cares, I could easily make a black ink my "signature" ink, but unfortunately, for most people, it wouldn't stand out to them as anything other than a standard black ink. Ah well. 

Yes, noticing the differences between black inks can be difficult - especially if the ink comes out of a very fine nib - it tends to mask all the nuances of very dark inks.

 

1 hour ago, arcfide said:

Since I don't have any Aurora pens yet, I've yet to pick up some Aurora Black, but it definitely seems like an ink that I want.

If you love black ink, I'd say yes, you want this one.

 

1 hour ago, arcfide said:

The Chromatography that shows yellow is different than the one that An Ink Guy posted, so I wonder if something changed or if there was a mix up in either sample?

Different chromatography paper can do significantly different things.  Just today I watched Mike Matteson's review of the new Lamy Blackberry and his two chromas (one on chroma paper, one coffee filter) could easily be mistaken for similar but different inks.  Or perhaps it's the anniversary edition thing?

 

 

[InesF]

Thank you, @LizEF, for your always honest and reliable work done even with black inks!   

 

I guess, there is no such thing as fun when using black ink.   However, I got two of these smaller square bottles together with two Aurora pens. I would not had bought these. Now that I have them, I use this ink (still first bottle) from time to time. Aside from being black, nothing else to complain.

 

I'm looking forward to the upcoming events. I wish only the very best to our magic heroes   and frightening adventure reports in the story parts to come for us!  

 

PS: Is the black Aurora ink a dramaturgical tool similar to the black cross-fade in film?