Pilot/namiki Blue-Black

[Abner C. Kemp]

Disclaimer: This is my first review. Hopefully it will be helpful. I apologize for the handwriting. I am in the process of learning cursive and wrote most of the writing samples in my "chicken scratch" print.

 

PILOT/NAMIKI BLUE-BLACK:

 

Price: 7/10

I purchased a 70ml. bottle from jetpens.com for $16.50. So, while the price isn’t as low as Noodler’s in the USA, I would argue that it is a fair price.

 

Presentation: 9/10

The ink is held in a fairly sturdy glass bottle with a plastic cap. The bottle has a plastic insert to help you siphon out the last drops of ink which is a nice design feature. For the price of the ink, I was satisfied with the presentation.

 

Color: 7/10

It’s a blue-black ink. So, we’re not talking about a lot of brilliance or shading properties here. That being said, the ink seems to stray much more towards the blue side of the spectrum. It is not “muddy” like some other blue-black inks. In a fine nib I would expect this ink to look much more like a royal blue than a blue black. In a medium nib the ink is dark blue but not quite blue-black in my opinion. I was very satisfied with the color.

 

Dry Time: 9/10

On cheap Staples paper this ink took less than 3 seconds to dry. On Clairefontaine it was more like 7-8 seconds.

 

Shading: 2/10

This ink doesn’t shade.

 

Bleed-Through: 9/10

To be honest, I wanted to give this a 10/10 but noticed a few miniscule bleed marks on the cheap staples paper. Obviously, there was absolutely no bleed on the Clairefontaine. Regardless, this ink performs excellently in this area.

 

Show-Through: 9/10

It is very rare that I find myself able to write on both sides of cheap staples paper with a fountain pen. With this ink that was absolutely no problem. Show through is very minimal on both papers.

 

Feathering: 9.5/10

A few small feathers on the Staples paper and absolutely none on the Clairefontaine. This ink easily outperforms other blue inks I have tried.

 

Flow: 10/10

This ink is a joy to write with. It is exceptionally smooth and produces a nice saturated line. I found the ink to be neither too dry or too wet (I would say it’s on the slightly wetter side). I have had absolutely no issues of nib creep or flow problems.

 

Ease of Cleaning: 9/10??

I haven’t had the ink for long enough to properly access this topic. However, based on all the reviews I have read on this ink it is quite easy to clean and behaves well.

 

Waterproofness: 9.5/10

The ink was completely waterproof on the cheaper Staples paper. Exposure to water did absolutely nothing to the ink. On the less absorbent Clariefontaine paper the ink did fade a bit but the words are still completely discernable.

Note: I did not completely envelop the entire paper in water during these tests. I simply added a heavy amount of water to the area and allowed it to rest for ~5 minutes before drying with a hand towel.

 

Pros:

A professional “blue” blue-black

Performs exceptionally well on cheap paper

Lack of see-through, bleed-through, and feathering

Good dry time

Smooth flow

Water Resistance

 

Cons:

“Boring” color

Lack of shading

 

 

Final Thoughts:

 

If you are a student or business professional searching for a well behaved, affordable, everyday ink then this ink is definitely worth a long look. Its performance on cheap paper is very impressive and its water resistance can help protect your work from an accidental spill. It is more of a deep blue than a blue-black and could work well for those looking for a dark royal blue ink in finer nibs. This ink will be a mainstay for my note taking pens.

 

 

[doggonecarl]

Thanks for the review. I recently got a bottle Pilot Blue Black after running a cartridge of it through my Pilot Vanishing. Point. I don't think the fine nib on the VP has revealed all the ink can go, but I like what I see so far: a stable, well behaved blue-black that is a nice counterpoint to the darker B-B inks I have.

[dunhamsa]

Thanks for your review. I would like to try this ink.

[Bemo]

Nice review. This is one of my favorite my favorite blue-blacks. No "majik" as Sandy says but dependable and inexpensive. Works on almost any paper. Has permanence/water resistance as well. What's not to like?

[Koyote]

This stuff is terrific. One of my everyday inks. You can put the paper under a running faucet, and after ten minutes the writing still looks fine.

 

As for the color: businesslike, but not a straight blue or black. Serious, but still eye-catching.

 

Also, it will shade a bit if you run it through wider nibs.

[The Good Captain]

I also got a bottle from Jet Pens. Personally, I'd call this a 'dark blue' but it's still a fantastic ink, nevertheless. Relatively recently, I bought a bottle of Black which together with the Blue that came with my 823, I plan to use in mixing a darker and truer Blue-Black.

When I've got the time!

[Sblakers]

I love this stuff as well. Almost flawless performance and the water resistance is quite high. If it had a little something more to the color it would by my staple go to ink. Sailor Sei boku is just too pretty to lose its spot as my go to.

[shudaizi]

Fully concur with the review! Thanks! I actually like the no-nonsense look of Pilot Blue-Black. No fireworks, just content, please. And it's really, really smooth in a broader nib.

 

My one "fly in the ointment" with this ink is that it left some rather persistent film behind in my demonstrator (Conid Bulkfiller) pen. It wasn't permanent, but it did require several soaks (hours each) in diluted dish soap and repeated scrubbings with cotton swaps.

[Tas]

Hello Abner C Kemp.

 

I bought a bottle of this after being TOTALLY blown away by the Pilot Blue Black ink that came with my Pilot Parallel Pens.

 

I foolishly thought it would be the same and didn't even look at reviews.

Whilst, yes it is a good solid performing ink the "boring" colour as you put it has sadly placed it in the "to mix with" pile.

[ 2 parts Pilot Blue Black (bottle) to 1 part Diamine Grey is a lovely colour with a smidge of shading and permanently lives in my Wancher 2K looky likey ]

 

If they sold the cartridge Blue Black in bottles I'd fill my boots.

[Abner C. Kemp]

Hello Abner C Kemp.

 

I bought a bottle of this after being TOTALLY blown away by the Pilot Blue Black ink that came with my Pilot Parallel Pens.

 

I foolishly thought it would be the same and didn't even look at reviews.

Whilst, yes it is a good solid performing ink the "boring" colour as you put it has sadly placed it in the "to mix with" pile.

[ 2 parts Pilot Blue Black (bottle) to 1 part Diamine Grey is a lovely colour with a smidge of shading and permanently lives in my Wancher 2K looky likey ]

 

If they sold the cartridge Blue Black in bottles I'd fill my boots.

 

I hear you. I think the color is very dependent on what you are using the ink for. As a student, I find it to be a fairly nice looking dark blue in finer nibs. I much prefer it to pure blues that tend to looked washed out in a fine nib and I think the color is more vibrant than the majority of blue-blacks which tend to look more of a muddy mess in my opinion. Since I'm not really looking for any shading or vibrance in my philosophy notes I can't complain. But, if I was an artist or looking for an expressive ink I wouldn't even look at this ink.

 

It's interesting that the cartridge inks are different. I suppose if you really liked the color you could syringe the ink into an inkwell but that would probably be a waste of time and money. Your mix sounds interesting. Thanks for your comment.

[amberleadavis]

Great review. Thank you.

[jmeldorf]

Thx for your review. I came across some older bottles of Namiki ink in a store tofay for just $8 each; now, I think I'll go back and get them.

[Abner C. Kemp]

Thx for your review. I came across some older bottles of Namiki ink in a store tofay for just $8 each; now, I think I'll go back and get them.

 

I forgot I made this review!! Yes, I would certainly pick up a bottle or two. All of the Pilot/Namiki inks I've tried perform flawlessly and they water resistance on this blue-black ink is quite impressive. Unfortunately, I haven't used my bottle as much as it deserves. Time to fill a pen up!!

[PithyProlix]

On 1/15/2014 at 6:15 AM, Tas said:

Hello Abner C Kemp.

 

I bought a bottle of this after being TOTALLY blown away by the Pilot Blue Black ink that came with my Pilot Parallel Pens.

 

I foolishly thought it would be the same and didn't even look at reviews.

Whilst, yes it is a good solid performing ink the "boring" colour as you put it has sadly placed it in the "to mix with" pile.

[ 2 parts Pilot Blue Black (bottle) to 1 part Diamine Grey is a lovely colour with a smidge of shading and permanently lives in my Wancher 2K looky likey ]

 

If they sold the cartridge Blue Black in bottles I'd fill my boots.

 

On 1/15/2014 at 6:15 AM, Tas said:

 

Thanks for the info! I have only used it in cartridges and was thinking about buying a bottle, assuming it is the same... 

[Lithium466]

Many years later I'm reading this review and feel the need to precise about the above post that the Pilot mixable blue-black, sold in cartridges only for the Pilot Parallel pens, is different from regular bottles or cartridges of Pilot blue-black for fountain pens.
 

In short, cartridges or bottles of regular Pilot blue-black ("for fountain pens") contain the same ink, and the Pilot mixable ink (that comes in cartridges only, in mixed sets or just single colours, and per Pilot "not for fountain pen use") is a completely different ink, darker and more saturated. More prone to feathering too.