Visconti Black

[Rocket1]

Link to review on blog

 

http://inkredibleblog.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/img010.jpg?w=574&h=821

 

Paper: Rhodia 80g

 

Pen: Lamy Joy 1.1mm

 

There are many black inks out on the market, however Visconti Black is my primary black ink. I must admit, I have not tried many other black inks to compare it to. From reading reviews on the Fountain Pen Network, this black is not the blackest black available. It shades a very dark grey and the ink looks almost brown when it is wet. It wouldn’t be suitable for anybody looking for a pure black.

 

The flow is moderate – it is not too wet nor dry. It is a well behaved ink and does not bleed or feather on any paper I have tried it on. It is not waterproof. It has a quick dry time of 3 seconds on Rhodia paper. The ink has not shown any signs of clogging in the pen.

 

http://inkredibleblog.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/dscf0924.jpg?w=516&h=390

 

I am not really a fan of black inks because I think they are too boring. However, when I need a change from blue, I use this during exams.

 

My absolute favourite thing about this ink (and the reason I bought it!) is the bottle. This is the coolest and most beautiful bottle I have ever seen. I don’t think a bottle can get better than this one! As well as being pretty, it is functional and can fit a pen with a wide barrel into it.

 

http://inkredibleblog.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/dscf0929.jpg?w=483&h=365

 

Colour: 6/10

 

Flow: 6/10

 

Saturation: 6/10

 

Feathering or Bleedthrough: None

 

Shading: 4/10

 

Overall Score: 6/10

[Jimothy]

The bottle is nice, but the old glass ones really were something to write home about. Shame they were replaced by the new plastic one.

[Ghost Plane]

Miss the old glass bottles, too.

 

Have to say the not so black is sort of soothing to the eyes if I have to use black.

[Patrick L]

Are black inks supposed to shade ??

[Ghost Plane]

It depends on the brand.

[Patrick L]

It depends on the brand.

 

I don't think that black inks should shade actually.

[BobR]

Thanks for another excellent review. I suspect many members have this ink stored away, (as it was often supplied with the Visconti Van Gogh pen) while we enjoy blacker-blacks. I surprised myself recently by buying and liking grey ink, so I'll have to give this one a try too.

[mturk]

This should probably be in its own thread, but there seems to be two schools of thought on black ink. I'll call the first school the "Oriental Black" school. These users want it as dark as they can get it. Nothing is really black enough. The second school I'll call the "Vintage Black" school. I'm in that group. I like my writing to look like what I work with all day: vintage documents. The blacks from the 1920s - 40's were not very saturated, and shaded easily. My favorite current black ink is Everflo Basic Black, from Gate City Pens (thanks Richard!).

[jgrasty]

The bottle is very cool, but the plastic case it comes in, not so much. If you neglect to hold the case by the bottom, you'll soon have the bottle on the floor, as it doesn't close tight enough to support the weight of the bottle.

 

I bought the bottle at Paradise Pens, and the clerk warned me about this issue.

[georges zaslavsky]

looks like an average quality ink, thanks I will pass

[OrganicsStudio]

+1 on missing the old glass bottles. One of the best ink bottles ever made.