EFNIR: Stipula Ebony Black

Tuesday at 01:47 PM

Extra Fine Nib Ink Review: Stipula Ebony Black

This is review #328 in my series. Here's the YouTube video:

Post-recording notes: This ink was gifted to me by a generous FPGeek. It has a purple undertone, not as purple as Ohto Black; nearly identical to Sailor Chushu, but darker; and very similar to Diamine Earl Grey, but also darker. Check out the Ohto Black smear - I think these inks are almost twins.

Shading was just barely visible on good paper. The ink is black, the images look black, no further comment. Cleaning was quick and easy with plain water.

Erratum: The ink has a strong *purple* undertone - missed writing the color!

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 312µm. With 328 inks measured, the average line width is 297µm.)

Microscope image (100x. Inset, taken with a phone, shows more accurate color, but the green is brighter in real life than in the image.)

Void Comparison (The void wins again!)

Previous Review: KWZ Foggy Green.

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!

Tuesday at 02:48 PM

Nice review of a nice ink. Thanks! I'm not all that much into blacks but (as you sort of indicated) any and/or all shades of not-black in a black are what make it neat. BTW this is a very old Stipula (Calamo) at least originally named "Nero Ebono" (= Ebony Black) as stated on their boxes of the 70-ml jars where the inner lid seals are unpredictably difficult to open.

Whew! 🤪

Tuesday at 03:02 PM

6 minutes ago, lapis said:

Nice review of a nice ink.

Thanks!

6 minutes ago, lapis said:

Thanks!

You're most welcome!

6 minutes ago, lapis said:

I'm not all that much into blacks but (as you sort of indicated) any and/or all shades of not-black in a black are what make it neat.

It's not not-black enough for me to want any, but at least it's interesting.

6 minutes ago, lapis said:

BTW this is a very old Stipula (Calamo) at least originally named "Nero Ebono" (= Ebony Black) as stated on their boxes of the 70-ml jars where the inner lid seals are unpredictably difficult to open.

Yafa Brands still have this on their website, though maybe they're selling off old stock (it shows as available for purchase). Other sites just list "Black" (including Stipula's), and one Italian shop lists it as "discontinued" (though whether by the manufacturer or the store is unclear).

Mine is a sample, gifted from someone else, so I have no idea how the bottles are.

13 minutes ago, lapis said:

Whew! 🤪

Thanks for the additional info on this ink!

Tuesday at 03:37 PM

So…let me see…I'm to take it that this is a black ink? Next to Sir Klaw, Void Kitteh, it is not.

Thar be clicks an' wailins and groanins! Maybe they come from that wrecked pirate ship, 'pon the blue sea, its flag partly shot away. Or maybe just because 'tis Daylight Slavin' Time.

Thanks, @LizEF. You make Tuesdays magical and fun... I may not want the ink, but always look forward to the review and story.

My circadian rhythms, they be messed up. Zzzzz….

Tuesday at 03:57 PM

15 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

So…let me see…I'm to take it that this is a black ink? Next to Sir Klaw, Void Kitteh, it is not.

:lol: It's a little darker than it looks in the photo, but had I exposed it so the card was properly exposed, Klaw would truly have been a complete void. :lticaptd: I figure you get the right comparison either way, and this way, my boy looks charming. :sm_cat:

17 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Thar be clicks an' wailins and groanins! Maybe they come from that wrecked pirate ship, 'pon the blue sea, its flag partly shot away. Or maybe just because 'tis Daylight Slavin' Time.

Daylight Shifty Time was a month away when I recorded this review. Must have been pirates.

18 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Thanks, @LizEF.

You're most welcome!

18 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

You make Tuesdays magical and fun... I may not want the ink, but always look forward to the review and story.

Thank you!

18 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

My circadian rhythms, they be messed up. Zzzzz….

Yours, mine, and everyone else's. When I rule the universe, there will be no more DST!

Tuesday at 04:50 PM

1 hour ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

My circadian rhythms, they be messed up. Zzzzz….

So much same. Yesterday the nice postal worker noticed a bunch of dyslexic writing on the customs form I was filling out and I realized that I was exhausted. That stolen hour would have been real handy.

Tuesday at 04:54 PM

Thanks, Liz for the story. It gets curiouser and curiouser out there! That line width is on the wider side. The microscope images look like bodies of water with timber floating around in them. Nothing is equal to the rich blackness of the Void Kitteh.

Tuesday at 06:37 PM

1 hour ago, Penguincollector said:

Thanks, Liz for the story. It gets curiouser and curiouser out there!

You're most welcome!

1 hour ago, Penguincollector said:

That line width is on the wider side.

Yep. I suspect a bit of it is wear on the nib and wetter flow from all the cleaning (I disassemble), but then I still get an ink that has a ridiculously fine line, so I'm not sure...

1 hour ago, Penguincollector said:

The microscope images look like bodies of water with timber floating around in them.

:lol: Timber and pond scum!

1 hour ago, Penguincollector said:

Nothing is equal to the rich blackness of the Void Kitteh.

:sm_cat: 😊

Tuesday at 07:14 PM

I've been a little slow reaching this conclusion, but I finally figured out that I should look forward to your reviewing black inks--not, of course, because I like or use black ink, but because in addition to a new story instalment, there will also be a new picture of Klaw. There could not be a more beautiful Void.

Tuesday at 07:26 PM

11 minutes ago, knarflj said:

I've been a little slow reaching this conclusion, but I finally figured out that I should look forward to your reviewing black inks--not, of course, because I like or use black ink, but because in addition to a new story instalment, there will also be a new picture of Klaw.

:wub: :sm_cat:

11 minutes ago, knarflj said:

There could not be a more beautiful Void.

:thumbup: 😊

Tuesday at 07:54 PM

Thanks @LizEF for another intriguing review :thumbup: and many thanks to Klaw for your gracious participation, when are you going to launch The VOID collection of Inks? 😸

Poor Quin as a politician? He's a seeker. The Librarian should tell Quin about the apocryphal book of Snek and Sphinx and how in the prophecies it is said, that: " when the land transmutes to gray, from the dragon's stone, two would emerge and join the seeker to reestablish the balance between light and darkness...."

I am not sure if I understand, the dry time. Is it an ink that smudges after 2 minutes?

As for the ink, I prefer the Void anytime. Give him a neck rub as a thank you from me

Thanks for bring magic to a world that is headed towards madness 🙏🙏🙏

Tuesday at 08:32 PM

27 minutes ago, yazeh said:

Thanks @LizEF for another intriguing review and many thanks to Klaw for your gracious participation

You're most welcome!

27 minutes ago, yazeh said:

when are you going to launch The VOID collection of Inks? 😸

We haven't figured out how to make an ink appear to leave gaps in the paper, so, no time soon...

28 minutes ago, yazeh said:

Poor Quin as a politician? He's a seeker. The Librarian should tell Quin about the apocryphal book of Snek and Sphinx and how in the prophecies it is said, that: " when the land transmutes to gray, from the dragon's stone, two would emerge and join the seeker to reestablish the balance between light and darkness...."

Actually, Quin's a finisher. The Wizards' Council could be in trouble... We'll save ancient prophecies for our next adventure (maybe).

30 minutes ago, yazeh said:

I am not sure if I understand, the dry time. Is it an ink that smudges after 2 minutes?

You really can't tell from the images (and hooray for distracting cat hairs :rolleyes: ), but all the marks up to and including the 2m mark smudged at the bottom, ever so slightly. But the ">2m" mark didn't. Still, since the 2m mark smudged, it takes more than 2 minutes to dry - just not much more than 2 minutes.

32 minutes ago, yazeh said:

As for the ink, I prefer the Void anytime. Give him a neck rub as a thank you from me

:wub: Will do!

33 minutes ago, yazeh said:

Thanks for bring magic to a world that is headed towards madness 🙏🙏🙏

Gladly!

2025-03-13T07:33:21Z

FPN forum software didn't let me add "Life is challenging enough without black inks" yesterday.

Thank you, @LizEF, for taking out a bit of the tension from the magical story (I will sleep better from now on), for testing more black inks, especially if they have surprisingly charming crystallisation patterns, for inspiring us with clever selected quotes and for convincing Klaw to participate in the void test. :thumbup:

Aaah, the void test! So many trials so far, so many fails, no ink managed to win against The Void Himself. Maybe we should come away from saying "it's black, everything told" and start looking closer to subtle undertones, invent new sub-categories of black and find creative descriptions for invisible shading? Probably we should find nice words for how flowery the purple or how warm the yellow in the black is?

I'll give it a try: "This Stipula black ink looks black at first attempt, but surprises with ... Hmm. 🤫 It's black, everything told".

:lol:

2025-03-13T14:19:58Z

6 hours ago, InesF said:

FPN forum software didn't let me add "Life is challenging enough without black inks" yesterday.

and :lol:

6 hours ago, InesF said:

Thank you, @LizEF, for taking out a bit of the tension from the magical story (I will sleep better from now on), for testing more black inks, especially if they have surprisingly charming crystallisation patterns, for inspiring us with clever selected quotes and for convincing Klaw to participate in the void test.

You're most welcome!

6 hours ago, InesF said:

Aaah, the void test! So many trials so far, so many fails, no ink managed to win against The Void Himself. Maybe we should come away from saying "it's black, everything told" and start looking closer to subtle undertones, invent new sub-categories of black and find creative descriptions for invisible shading? Probably we should find nice words for how flowery the purple or how warm the yellow in the black is?

Exactly! Maybe we should insist the inks be called "Blackish", or "Super-Dark Grey". It is interesting that when looking for swatch cards to compare in the video, black inks can be just as difficult to find matches as any other color - the color temperature and undertones make them look quite different from each other. But in isolation, and especially from a Japanese EF, they just look black.

6 hours ago, InesF said:

I'll give it a try: "This Stipula black ink looks black at first attempt, but surprises with ... Hmm. 🤫 It's black, everything told".

:lticaptd: