Best blue-black ink?

[vhild]

Can anyone recommend me a good (dark enough and non-watercoloury) black & blue ink? I had a bottle of Lamy but it was too washed-out and I got paranoid about the iron-gall properties. I also have tested Parker´s version, but that is too close to blue....

As I´m using a vintage Parker Duofold, I´d like to have something soluble as well. I´ve read that for example Noodler´s bulletproof versions can stain the barrel.

Thanks!

Ville

[Geoff V]

Although I should perhaps be a little reticent about recommending this ink for use in a vintage pen, you might like to consider Noodler's Aircorps Blue-Black. It has excellent flow qualities and appears on most papers as a very deep teal blue-black. See The Noble Savage's review of this product on the Ink Reviews page. It has rapidly become my blue, green and black ink of choice!

[acfrery]

I am using Noodler's Aircorp's Blue Black right now, and though it is a very nice ink it is green-black. A true dark blue-black with fantastic properties is Noodler's Blue Black. It is one of my favourite inks.

 

Alejandro

[damien]

I am using Noodler's Aircorp's Blue Black right now, and though it is a very nice ink it is green-black. A true dark blue-black with fantastic properties is Noodler's Blue Black. It is one of my favourite inks.

 

Alejandro

 

 

To my eyes Noodler's Blue-black has a rather intense green component. How about Sailor Blue Black? More black than blue, with no greenish tones.

[girlieg33k]

For a blue-black that's more blue than black: Pilot Blue-Black

For a blue-black that's more black than blue: Sailor Blue-Black

For a blue-black that merely hints at black, but really a dark blue: Platinum Blue-Black

For a blue-black with a slight green tinge, but has a nice antique look: Diamine Blue-Black

For a blue-black that is exceptionally well-behaving, but often looks teal: Waterman Blue-Black

For a blue-black that is impossible to find, but the best looking blue-black I've ever used: Dupont Blue-Black

 

 

[Geoff V]

Aircorps is actually teal, which falls in the spectrum exactly between blue and green. I've been trying to find the old (and probably redundant) British Colour Council listing of colours, which includes Teal. Believe it or not, in British and Commonwealth countries the hues of hoods and gowns used by universities are based on the scheme created by the BCC back in the 1950s(!). It's still regarded as definitive in those quarters(!).

[vhild]

A wealth of recommendations, thanks! Now all I have to do is shop around.

[Pelikanyo]

For a blue-black that's more blue than black: Pilot Blue-Black

For a blue-black that's more black than blue: Sailor Blue-Black

For a blue-black that merely hints at black, but really a dark blue: Platinum Blue-Black

For a blue-black with a slight green tinge, but has a nice antique look: Diamine Blue-Black

For a blue-black that is exceptionally well-behaving, but often looks teal: Waterman Blue-Black

For a blue-black that is impossible to find, but the best looking blue-black I've ever used: Dupont Blue-Black

 

For a blue-black that tends toward a grey, try Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black

 

[encephalartos]

Can anyone recommend me a good (dark enough and non-watercoloury) black & blue ink? I had a bottle of Lamy but it was too washed-out and I got paranoid about the iron-gall properties. I also have tested Parker´s version, but that is too close to blue....

As I´m using a vintage Parker Duofold, I´d like to have something soluble as well. I´ve read that for example Noodler´s bulletproof versions can stain the barrel.

Thanks!

Ville

 

You might check out flea markets and Pendemonium.com for vintage blue blacks.

For old ink, blue black is one of the colors that lasts the best. I have a nice blue-black

(probably medium strength) Sheaffer from a bottle with the little SkripWel on the

side and a red label. Not super-old, but probably before the inks were made in

Slovenia. The older SkripWel bottles would have a yellow box and yellow labels.

When I was a kid, my mom had a bottle of the green.

[Kelly G]

I use a lot of Vintage Quink Blue Black - I've been known to add a bit of Permanent Royal Blue (also vintage) to darken it.

[dcwaites]

Parker Quink Blue-Black is a nice colour to start with, but as soon as it dries, it starts to turn green. I have some examples on Pukka Pad paper that is three months old that is completely green. On acid-free papers it is better, but still fades and turns a bit green.

 

Somewhere I found a recipe for a Parker Blue-Black that was 1 part Black and 10 Parts Permanent Blue. Similar ratios would probably work with Waterman Black and Florida Blue.

 

At least by mixing, you could get the Blue-Black that you want...

 

 

[penburg]

I like Pelikan Blue/Black.

 

::waits for profound elucidation, but nothing comes::

Edited March 29, 2008 by penburg

[Goodwhiskers]

Pelikan Blue-Black and the new (Slovenian) Sheaffer Skrip Blue-Black are both slightly blueish gray except from broad-pointed pens that are also wet writers.

 

The blue part of Namiki/Pilot BB is water-resistant but not stain-remover-resistant (good news for clothes). For a truly resistant blue-black that looks like Namiki/Pilot Blue-Black (dark blue, slightly gray, but no hint of green), try Noodler's standard Black, Iraqi Indigo (recently renamed Violet Vote?) and Eternal Luxury Blue, 1:6:16. A little more of the black would make it darker like Sailor's.

[HDoug]

If you don't need a waterproof ink, Private Reserve Midnight Blues is dark, and highly saturated. I really like it, but I don't use it any more because I want a waterproof ink. Here's a close scan:

 

http://homepage.mac.com/hdougmatsuoka/images/pen/060701expressionb.jpg

 

I also have a couple of mixes of Noodler's that create waterproof blue-blacks. Old Bishop Street Blue-Black:

 

http://homepage.mac.com/hdougmatsuoka/images/pen/obsbb2.jpg

 

And the same thing with a slight greenish tinge that I call New Old Bishop Street Blue-Black:

 

http://homepage.mac.com/hdougmatsuoka/images/pen/NOBSBB2.jpg

 

By the way, my new naming convention would have just called this "Old Bishop Street Blue-Black #2," else succeeding formulas would have to be called, "New New New Old Bishop..." etc.

 

Legal Lapis might be worth a try, but it does have a lot of green in it. I have a bottle of Tahitian Pearl on the way and that is a greenish blue-black that I'm dying to try out, but I can't report on that with any experience.

 

I am a fan of blues and blue-blacks also, and I wish you good luck on your worthy quest!

 

Doug

Edited March 29, 2008 by HDoug

[Mannenhitsu]

I use Pilot Blue-Black ink. It has a very nice balance. and a very nice hue. Likewise, its very smooth and easy to use.

[WhosYerBob]

Can anyone recommend me a good (dark enough and non-watercoloury) black & blue ink?

PR Midnight Blues is the best I've encountered so far.

[drgonzo2]

As I´m using a vintage Parker Duofold, I´d like to have something soluble as well.

 

Ville

 

Purely from the vintage point of view, I'd suggest Diamine's blue/black. It's the strongest of the b/bk's with 'vintage' flow characteristics.

 

Ymmv, etc...

 

... G

[scribe75]

I have Lamy BB in my Pelikan 800 now and it dries gray. Sailor Jentle BB up next. Waterman BB is my old standby.

[piembi]

Parker Quink Blue-Black is a nice colour to start with, but as soon as it dries, it starts to turn green. I have some examples on Pukka Pad paper that is three months old that is completely green. On acid-free papers it is better, but still fades and turns a bit green.

 

Somewhere I found a recipe for a Parker Blue-Black that was 1 part Black and 10 Parts Permanent Blue. Similar ratios would probably work with Waterman Black and Florida Blue.

 

At least by mixing, you could get the Blue-Black that you want...

 

Quink blueblack mixed with Quink blue 1:1 makes a blueblack instead of the green-teal of Quink BB.

Waterman BB is also green-teal. My mixture with Florida blue does not work as good as with Quink. It still remains teal.

 

Other than this Diamine BB that is also slightly greenish, but much more saturated than Quink or Waterman BB.

Noodlers midnight blue is nearly the same but Diamine seems to be better behaving in my pen.

Sailor Jentle BB is a dark BB, tends to be greyish.

Sailor blue is closer to blueblack than blue.

Pelikan BB is a greyblue.

 

[savarez]

I have Lamy BB in my Pelikan 800 now and it dries gray. Sailor Jentle BB up next. Waterman BB is my old standby.

 

Isn't Lamy BB from the bottle an iron gall? It dries lighter and will darken over time?