Best blue-black ink?

[vhild]

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

 

That last one looks the part!

 

[HesNot]

I agree with many comments made thus far, in particular those about Dupont Blue Black which is a really wonderful mix but difficult to source.

 

When put to the coffee filter test Noodlers Blue Black shows clearly a black component (presumably the waterproof piece) and a royal blue component. With the same test Aircorps clearly shows a black component and a turquoise/teal component. I don't see any green to my eye in the regular blue black either on paper or on the coffee filter but there could be some in there. Aircorps is interesting and distinctive but bears little relation to a traditional blue black.

 

Meanwhile PR Midnight Blues shows nothing on the coffee filter test other than a dark navy blue. It is the purest deep dark blue I've used and I like blue/black inks a lot. Pretty well behaved although I find it does, like American Blue, smudge a bit too much after drying which is why I've not been using it much recently.

 

Pilot/Namiki Blue Black is lighter than Midnight Blues, but is a nice middle of the road blue black.

 

Waterman Blue Black is a classic, well behaved and very usable vintage sort of blue black. It is a great color, has nice shading but it does appear lighter for some particularly when compared to the Noodlers versions. But sometimes in a wet medium I like the subtle shading and vintage look of Waterman more than the almost felt tip quality look of Noodlers in the same nib.

 

I recently have tried Noodlers Ellis Island Blue Black and have to admit it has become my second favorite blue black. It is lighter than "standard" Noodlers blue black, flows nicely, and has a nice color that if anything leans more toward dark grey than teal, but still has a definite blue undertone to my eye. An interesting color - I haven't done a coffee filter test yet but will shortly.

[QM2]

 

I found Pelikan blue-black to be very traditional in colour and very gentle.

 

But for pens that take international cartridges, Montblanc blue-black (cartridge only, not the bottle ink) is simply the best. The bottle ink contains iron gall, but the cartridge ink does not. The color is an extremely interesting, "moody" shade of blue-black that has no green or teal in it. I would describe it as Indigo or maybe a dark Prussian Blue -- there is a shadowy, dark-gray component in it as well. But best of all, it flows very well and my pens all seem to love it. The only minus for me in both inks I mentioned, is that neither is bullet-proof.

 

QM2

[wpblaw]

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

 

 

I like Lamy bb (same as Mont Blanc). But it marks my Lamy steel nib.

[Ondina]

Montblanc is the best I think (Lamy is the same stuff).

Waterman BB is second, and Pelikan BB comes third. All very well behaved inks, but with iron-gall content, thus the need to a high maintenance on inked pens.

Edited March 30, 2008 by Ondina

[QM2]

Montblanc is the best I think (Lamy is the same stuff).

 

Again, you have to be careful and differentiate MB bottle ink from cartridge ink. I would NOT recommend the bottle ink to someone who has a vintage, sensitive, or corrosion-vulnerable pen, because the bottle ink is iron gall. The cartridge ink, however is not. It is wonderful in every respect and perfectly safe for all FPs. If you have a pen that does not take int'l cartridges, I would go so far as to recommend buying a bunch of MB cartridge packs and draining them into a bottle -- it's that good. I would not, however, under any circumstance recommend the bottle, iron gall ink, unless you're sure your pen can take it, and you are committed to rinsing it out very frequently (once a week, even if you use the ink continuously).

 

Now, when you say that Lamy ink is the same as MB: if we talk about cartridges, I do not think that holds true any longer. I just used a Lamy BB cartridge that I got from a coworker here in Vienna when I ran out of ink, and the color was not the same as my MB cartridges [yes, I washed the pen out first : ) ].

 

QM2

[Lloyd]

Lamy and MB inks are only the same in the bottled BB. MB recommends rinsing pens using the iron gall bottled BB ink every two weeks.

[pmsalty]

In my limited experience PR Midnight Blues is my favorite Blue-Black. I have scanned the three inks I own that can be regarded as blue-black. I really like Ellis Island but it needs a wet nib to flow well. I tried it first in a PArker "51" F, but the pen would skip and it was very hard to start. I have it now in a Duke Esteem and it flows freely. But PR Midnight Blues is the best blue-black I have ever used. The swatches of ink were applied with a q-tip. I then used the pens that I have in rotation with their respective inks. All are medium nibs. The Quink is the freeest flowing with the 45's nib almost showing as a broad on this paper. the paper is from an Ampad gold fiber spiral notebook, very FP friendly. Honest the Noodler's is a blue black the blue definetly shows up when smeared. Enjoy!

PMS

 

[Ondina]

Montblanc is the best I think (Lamy is the same stuff).

 

Again, you have to be careful and differentiate MB bottle ink from cartridge ink. I would NOT recommend the bottle ink to someone who has a vintage, sensitive, or corrosion-vulnerable pen, because the bottle ink is iron gall. The cartridge ink, however is not. It is wonderful in every respect and perfectly safe for all FPs. If you have a pen that does not take int'l cartridges, I would go so far as to recommend buying a bunch of MB cartridge packs and draining them into a bottle -- it's that good. I would not, however, under any circumstance recommend the bottle, iron gall ink, unless you're sure your pen can take it, and you are committed to rinsing it out very frequently (once a week, even if you use the ink continuously).

 

Now, when you say that Lamy ink is the same as MB: if we talk about cartridges, I do not think that holds true any longer. I just used a Lamy BB cartridge that I got from a coworker here in Vienna when I ran out of ink, and the color was not the same as my MB cartridges [yes, I washed the pen out first : ) ].

 

QM2

 

Yes, I was talking to bottled ink, not used their cartridges in long time, but is interesting to know that they have changed it. Is curious to see how many brands put different inks into their cartridges; I've noticed it too with Waterman Florida Blue.

[simonrob]

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

 

Try PR Midnight Blues or Black Magic Blues; dilution with water should take care of the stickiness problem noted by some. If you like the greenish tint in Diamine's Blue Black, consider Noodler's Navy - it's exactly the same colour (at least, bottles of each I've sampled are) but doesn't feather.

 

If you like Waterman ink but wish its Blue-Black was in fact blue-black, not dirty teal, mix your own - you get a marvelous, rich colour by adding Havana (yes, Havana, not black; adding black results in a greyish blue, though perhaps that's what you want) to Florida Blue - or look for a vintage bottle (years ago, Waterman made my favorite blue-black).

 

If dark blue (with not much black) will do, Platinum's Blue-Black is excellent. So too is Levenger's Cobalt (but only if rescued by being mixed - Lloyd's suggestion? - with Namiki blue ; though presumably some other ink, or water, could be used).

 

If you want a greyish blue-black that's not wishy-washy, try Sailor Blue or Sailor Blue-black.

 

(Perhaps there's some batch variation, but I'm surprised your Parker Blue-Black is "too close to blue" - mine is barely distinguishable from Waterman's and Yard-o-lead's: a wishy-washy, watery off-teal.)

 

Simon

 

 

[vhild]

Thank you all for suggestions. As I´m a conservative guy and at this point not willing to mix my own formulas, I´ve ordered these inks:

 

Waterman Black

Waterman Blue-Black

Sailor Blue-Black

Diamine Blue-Black

Noodler´s Aircorp Blue-Black

 

I can see a long road ahead...

[HesNot]

Thank you all for suggestions. As I´m a conservative guy and at this point not willing to mix my own formulas, I´ve ordered these inks:

 

Waterman Black

Waterman Blue-Black

Sailor Blue-Black

Diamine Blue-Black

Noodler´s Aircorp Blue-Black

 

I can see a long road ahead...

 

Yes, indeed, it is a long road! I have more inks than pens, but think of it this way - it's a much less expensive way to make an old pen you haven't used seem new again!

[Romeo Dog]

My favorite is Sheaffer's Skrip (old formula), although the new formula is not bad.

[Tricia]

My all-time favorite blue-black is Noodler's (regular, not Aircorps, which is very green to me), with PR's Midnight Blues a close second. The Noodler's I keep in my blue Bexley Sheherazade, a pen I keep inked and on my desk ready to go. The PR I trade out with several pens and love the color.

 

A couple of darker blues that I like are Diamine's Prussian Blue and Noodler's Manhattan Blue, but neither are what I'd call a blue-black. (I tend to prefer saturated inks, so that's how my criteria are set up.)

 

[Robert Hughes]

I like Lamy/MB Blue-Black because it is thin; it gives me more shading than any other ink I own. I prefer it in wet-writing pens, as the baseline darkness is greater.

 

As for its acidic properties, yes it is, but not as bad as the uncontrolled brownish iron gall inks of the past; I doubt that you'll burn through any paper with it in your lifetime, or even your grandchild's unless you're writing on newsprint. If you're concerned, use acid free paper as it's inexpensive and will last longer than regular sulfide papers no matter what ink you use..

[kudzu]

Of the handful of blue-blacks I've tried, I'm partial to PR Midnight Blues, but I'm quickly thinking of getting Noodler's Ellis Island when Midnight Blues is gone - looks perfect on my monitor.

[vhild]

Here´s a comparison shot I took today. Different beasts altogether:

http://usera.imagecave.com/vhild/IMG_1610.jpg

 

 

[futhark]

Do you like the Diamine Blue-Black? I think it is an unusual shade, with great writing characteristics, and it has a 1930s look. Actually, I like Quink B-B, but I agree it is way more on the blue side of the spectrum, and is not especially distinctive.

[vhild]

Do you like the Diamine Blue-Black? I think it is an unusual shade, with great writing characteristics, and it has a 1930s look. Actually, I like Quink B-B, but I agree it is way more on the blue side of the spectrum, and is not especially distinctive.

 

My favourites so far are Diamine & Noodler´s.

[drgonzo2]

Have a look at the Diamine after a day or two. I find the colour changes slightly over time, losing some of the green tinge that has been noted with this ink...

 

... G