Blue-Black="washed Out Blue?"

[Kuhataparunks]

At the 2014 Dallas Pen Show a few weeks back, I came to an ink stall and asked if they had Quink Blue-Black. The lady, specifying and describing the color of the ink, said that it's basically a washed out blue. To my surprise, it really was.

I've had huge success before playing around with drops of Iroshizuku TakeSumi and Asa-Gao; I like a dark black that is blue at just the right angle, which I once achieved .

 

What might be your take on this dealer's description of the color? Also, if your a BBK fan, what are your brand recommendations/mixtures? I'm currently using Pilot Carts and they're just okay.

[SujiCorp12345]

1:1 mixture of Asa-gao with Take-sumi has worked well for me as well.

[Joane]

Blue-black is my favourite ink colour and so many of them today are wishy-washy. I went through a lot of brands dissatisfied but am now happy with Montblanc's current Midnight Blue. Used with a fine or medium nibbed pen it comes out very dark, almost black with some blue and no green, just the way I like it amd just the way I remember blue-black from my youth.

[ac12]

Couple things

 

Yes the Parker inks seem to be light. The black that I used in college was really a dark gray, the blue that I have now is a light blue.

 

The pens wetness has a factor in how dark or light the ink is on the paper. Pelikan blue out of a medium or dry pen is a LIGHT blue. Out of a wet pen it looks good. I have not tried the Parker ink out of a wet pen, but I suspect it may look better, just as the Pelikan ink did.

[LamyOne]

Hello Everyone,

 

My favorite ink color is blue-black; I have a few favorites: Lamy, Pilot, Diamine and Everflo, (no longer available). You can also throw in Diamine Twilight and Midnight & Noodler's Navy, even though the latter three are not true blue-blacks.

 

Best regards,

 

Chris

Edited October 24, 2014 by LamyOne

[R. N. Dominick]

I'm really enjoying Iroshizuku shin-kai, which, like a classic blue-black goes on bluer and then dries darker. Especially nice in a wet writer -- I have it in a Pelikan Go and it's quite nice there.

[Sandy1]

Hi,

 

The current production Parker Quink BlBk is a reasonable performer, but the appearance is certainly not to my taste. Low chroma, undistinguished hue and low dye-load - only marginally ahead of Diamine Indigo.

 

I've used the prior iteration 'Permanent with SOLV-X' for years as my daily writer ink, and even though it is discontinued, I still manage to add to my cache of that ink.

 

I very much like Blue-Black inks as a daily writer: they are not the bog standard gel/roller/BP, and go about their business in a journeyman-like fashion, fitting in to most any occasion. The problem is that I find some are profoundly dull and boring. For example Lamy BlBk with iron-gall had a very stong following, but try as I might to broaden my palette, it just wasn't for me.

 

At least PQBlBk is a 'safe' ink, so it was not gifted away, but sent into Mixing Corral limbo.

 

Bye,

S1

 

__ __

- Comparison - Parker Quink Blue Black, Old : New https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/148828-parker-quink-blue-black-old-vs-new/ Especially the samples by dcpritch at Post № 13, which show ye olde ink from a rather wet pen.

Edited October 26, 2014 by Sandy1

[Runnin_Ute]

Blue Black is my go to ink color.

 

My favorite is Pelikan 4001 Blue Black, but I am also a big fan of Diamine Blue Black. I have Noodler's 54h Massachusetts, but it doesn't get used as much. Not sure if it is its propensity for nib creep or something else. I like it for a change once in a while though. I originally bought it because I liked the color and it reminded me somewhat of my beloved Pelikan. (which is no longer available in the US). I have tried others (Monteverde which I liked- and have a sample currently among others) but haven't yet gone further into the realm of blue blacks. Currently exploring some other colors.

[lmarine0510]

I like Sheaffer BB, although it seems more like a blue-gray than a true BB. l also like R&K Salix for a darker BB. Parker BB is quite a nasty color on its own, but I am pleased with it after mixing it with Quink Black in a 5:1 ratio.

[Yaakova]

Some of the blue-blacks do have a washed out look, like Sheaffer, Lamy, and Monteverde. But Diamine and Noodler's have some great saturated inks that fall in the blue-black range.

[79spitfire]

My favorite Blue-Blacks are Sheaffer, Pelikan and Montblanc, in that order, fortunately I have plenty of the two. (I should have bought every bottle of Pelikan and Montblanc when I could!)

 

Real Iron-Gall inks for the most part are being discontinued by larger manufactures. I'm honestly not sure why. It keeps being blamed on toxic formulas, but I honestly just think the "real thing" is just more costly to manufacture. (what moron drinks enough ink to get poisoned? It's not like its full of arsenic or strychnine, I'll bet Dollar bills are more toxic!)

 

In real antique iron-gall inks, the black component didn't show until the ink reacted with the paper, so they were often colorless. A light color of blue (it can be others) was most often used so the user could see what they were writing easily, then as the ink aged (reacted with the paper) the ink would turn black, overwhelming the blue, hence the name blue-black. R&K Salix shows this behavior as does Diamine Registrars. Both excellent inks BTW....

 

The Pelikan and Montblanc Blue-blacks were iron-call (ferro-gallic acid inks) although the MB goes on pretty dark and stays that way, the Pelikan does show some change and looks best from a wet pen (IMHO) The Sheaffer is an aniline dye base (which is also toxic, btw...) and never changes, but is an awesome color. I have a stash of the original "made in US" Scrip that my dad purchased when it was being closed out years ago. The new Slovenian made ink is just as good, and the color is indistinguishable. (I'm allowed to brag once in a while too!)

[cellmatrix]

At the 2014 Dallas Pen Show a few weeks back, I came to an ink stall and asked if they had Quink Blue-Black. The lady, specifying and describing the color of the ink, said that it's basically a washed out blue. To my surprise, it really was.

This is a case of your mileage may vary. Personally I like quink blue black, especially in vintage pens with generous flow like my parker lucky curve.

I like a dark black that is blue at just the right angle, which I once achieved .

If you are looking for an ink which is almost black, with just a touch of blue, sailor jentle blue black may be more what you are looking for or you may want to look at Sandy1's excellent review on ESSRI, which is iron gall but which has that same, almost black with a hint of blue profile. Good luck!

Edited October 26, 2014 by cellmatrix

[inkstainedruth]

Kuhataparunks, have a look at Diamine Denim. It's not washed out at all.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Sandy1]

Kuhataparunks, have a look at Diamine Denim. It's not washed out at all.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

+1

 

DDen would be a good inky buddy to blend with PQBlBk: not only for hue, but to 'balance' the flow and temper the tendency of DDen to bleed- show-through.

 

Bye,

S1

[dcwaites]

Because everybody's concept of blue-black is different, I think the best way to get one that you like is to blend your own.

 

Take with a pair of sparkling eyes matching inks, like Sheaffer Blue and Sheaffer Black.

Start with 20 drops of the Blue and add one drop of the Black. Mix and see what you think.

Then add more Blue or Black until you get the shade you want.

 

Like Sandy1 I have a secret stash of PQ Blue-Black with Solv-X. It is my go-to Blue-Black.

[Kuhataparunks]

Kuhataparunks, have a look at Diamine Denim. It's not washed out at all.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

I greatly look forward to trying that! Thank you

[tinysnail]

Seconding the Diamine Denim recommendation. It's definitely a richly saturated navy.

[icKus]

I use Private Reserve's Midnight blue and it's a really nice shading really dark blue

[holgalee]

I've not seen a nice blue black, but then again I tend to go for cheaper inks. The Pelikan blue black that I owned was quite uninspiring, so I mixed it with Parker blue, which was also quite uninteresting to me. And now I have a much nicer ink!

[Muncle]

Seconding the Diamine Denim recommendation. It's definitely a richly saturated navy.

I really like Denim. But beware, it's very easy for a water spill to remove an entire page of writing.