Black Inks (20 + 1)

[Tender Typhoon]

 

Twenty black inks used with different pens.  Vinta Romblon and Picasso used medium nibs. Baoke MS212 and Hero 9002 had EF nibs.  The rest had F nibs.

 

The list is around half of my black ink collection. 

 

 

Canhdieu is the + 1 in the title. This ink is remarkable because it has a long drying time: around 30 seconds on 80gsm paper and over 3 minutes on 100gsm paper. It's the only ink where I notice smudges on the page after writing. 

 

Canhdieu Registrar's looks bluish initially and turns darker but still a bit bluish after a few days.

 

I have around 40 inked pens at the moment. Around 30 of them are filled with black ink, but the ones not found here have dried up. They never clog, so I'm not worried (I never allow a carbon/pigment ink to dry up).

 

The palest of the lot is Platinum followed by Hero 234A (a carbon ink). Cross and Pelikan (new) are also quite pale.  The vintage Pelikan (1980s) is one of the darkest.

 

Picasso and Oaso are made by the same company and are quite dark.  Picasso didn't clog the Parker 45, but it took 2 days of flushing and soaking to clean it off the pen (Parker 45 can be disassembled so I was surprised it took that long).

 

Vinta black onyx aka Romblon is fastidious with nibs.  It has hard starts with EF and F nibs but flows smoothly with a medium nib.  It's quite viscous.

 

 

 

 

[yazeh]

Thanks for posting this.

Do you have a favorite? 

[Tender Typhoon]

@yazeh

My top 3 favorites are Diamine onyx black, Hong Dian, and Platinum Chou Kuro. 

Chou Kuro is consistently well behaved on any paper grammage (from 56gsm to 250gsm). It's also good to write on toilet paper.  It may not look so dark on gross inspection, but it is quite dark seen with a zoomed lens or magnifying glass. 

Hong Dian pops and always looks darker than Chou Kuro except when seen on a zoomed lens. Also, it's very cheap (available on Amazon). 

I like the blackness of Diamine onyx black while the ink is laid on the page as I write. 

[yazeh]

10 minutes ago, Tender Typhoon said:

My top 3 favorites are Diamine onyx black, Hong Dian, and Platinum Chou Kuro. 

Chou Kuro is consistently well behaved on any paper grammage (from 56gsm to 250gsm). It's also good to write on toilet paper. 

10 minutes ago, Tender Typhoon said:

It may not look so dark on gross inspection, but it is quite dark seen with a zoomed lens or magnifying glass. 

Hong Dian pops and always looks darker than Chou Kuro except when seen on a zoomed lens. Also, it's very cheap (available on Amazon). 

I like the blackness of Diamine onyx black while the ink is laid on the page as I write. 

🙏

[Beechwood]

A lot of time and effort has gone into this comparison, thank you

[AceNinja]

16 hours ago, Tender Typhoon said:

Around 30 of them are filled with black ink,

Wow, that's... dedication.

 

What's Pelikan 1980s and Pelikan new?  Do you mean a vintage bottle of Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black and a modern bottle?

 

I see that you've Platinum Carbon Black and also Hero 234A.  May I know your opinion when comparing this 2?  I've the 234A but don't have PCB.  I find that 234A's water resistant is very very very good, i would say it's on par with PCB.  However I'm not sure how does their "ink behavior" compares, dry time, smudges, feathering, bleed through, wetness, those kind of things.  So i would like to know more.

[Tender Typhoon]

@AceNinja

Yes, vintage bottle and modern bottle of Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black. 

Platinum inks are generally well behaved. We have a winner with Hero 234A: very affordable, water resistant and bleach proof. 

Dry time, smudges, feathering, bleed through, wetness:

I find them to be practically the same (on 80gsm paper, the paper I mostly use).

Hero 234A has a greater tendency to feather on newsprint paper, otherwise they're the same. 

No bleed through. 

The only "real" difference is the color: Hero 234A is not very dark. 

 

Hero 234A is my go-to ink for writings that need to be preserved. 

[amberleadavis]

@Tender Typhoon Very nice comparison.