Waterman Blue Black - a written review

[wimg]

Hi all,

 

Another one of these big hand written reviews , this time of a standard ink.

 

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Please forgive me for the writing errors. I always prepare these reviews beforehand, but somehow I always manage to write things down differently, and in a different order. Call me mad .

 

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this.

 

Warm regards, Wim

Edited November 8, 2010 by wimg
fixed links

[Keith with a capital K]

Wim - Thanks for the most excellent review of a most excellent ink.

 

Another quality I appreciate with Waterman BB is that it seems to have nearly the same waterproof qualities of Noodler's permanent inks as after application to paper (followed by 10 seconds of drying time), the BB will not wash away.

 

I am not sure how chemically resistant it is but it's waterfastness is a plus.

[Ann Finley]

Another good ink review, Wim. Though blue-black is a color I'd never buy, I really enjoy reading the reviews nonetheless.

 

Since you live in Europe, do you have access to Rorher-Klinger inks, and if so, have you ever tried them? (At least on my monitor) I like some of their colors and would love to know if they dry quickly, etc.

 

Best regards,

Ann

[southpaw]

Thanks for a great review - I think I'll have to order some!

[wimg]

Hi Keith,

Wim - Thanks for the most excellent review of a most excellent ink.

Wow, thanks for the kind words!

 

Another quality I appreciate with Waterman BB is that it seems to have nearly the same waterproof qualities of Noodler's permanent inks as after application to paper (followed by 10 seconds of drying time), the BB will not wash away.

 

I am not sure how chemically resistant it is but it's waterfastness is a plus.

It will, actually, at least the modern stuff. Yes a remnant will stay behind, but it will be rather bleak looking, but still very well readable, I must admit. Any other non-waterproof ink will just dissolve, but WM BB will still have nicely formed writing staying behind. I am speaking from experience here; some of my notes ended up in the water after the flooding last August, and the only stuff still readable was my notes written in WM BB.

 

Warm regards, Wim

[wimg]

Hi Ann,

Another good ink review, Wim. Though blue-black is a color I'd never buy, I really enjoy reading the reviews nonetheless.

Thank you very much! I love writing them, to be very honest. Takes a little preparation, with all the pens involved, but it is really fun doing them.

 

Since you live in Europe, do you have access to Rorher-Klinger inks, and if so, have you ever tried them? (At least on my monitor) I like some of their colors and would love to know if they dry quickly, etc.

 

Best regards,

Ann

I have heard of these inks, but never seen them. I'll inquire, and see what I can come up with.

 

I can get all the Herbin inks these days, and the Stipula and Visconti inks, if you're interested, oh and another Italian brand, forgot the name now. Just an ink maker, no pens. Oh, Rubinato, that's it.

 

Warm regards, WIm

[wimg]

Hi Southpaw,

Thanks for a great review - I think I'll have to order some!

Thank you! And yes, I think you have to get some . Alternatively, some Florida Blue, or South Seas Blue, they behave equally well.... Reviews of those are in the pipeline too, eventually .

 

Warm regards, Wim

[ElaineB]

I love Waterman Blue-Black. I had no interest in it at all for a long time. I felt it was too boring and conservative for me. But I bought a bottle on a whim a couple of months back and I just fell in love with it. I still don't really know why. There's something rather vintage about the way it reads, something comfortable but still rather subtle and rich. I found I even prefered it to Florida Blue, which -really- surprised me.

 

Just goes to show, sometimes you really can't judge an ink until you start to use it in your own pens!

 

ElaineB

[wimg]

Hi Elaine,

 

At primary school I used blue ink for my fountain pen, a yellow Pelikano with steel cap and blue ink window, cartridge filler. For dip pens we used a very dark blue, almost black ink, I can remember that much, with a very funny smell, probably phenol.

 

Then at high school I went to blue black at some stage, as I can remember an essay I did in that colour ink, probably Parker Quink Blue Black, as that was my ink of choice at the time.

 

Later on I started using PQ Black as well, and towards the end of secondary school I discovered violet ink too, which I thought was great for love letters to my girl friend, later on again. I also used turquoise ink in those days, right up to the first or second year at varsity, when I went off fountain pens, until 7 years ago, when for a very short period of time I used a Parker Duofold Centennial with Parker Penman Ebony. That was short-lived due to the problems I had with that combination.

 

Next, 2 years ago towards the end of this month, I rediscovered fountain pens, with an Edson, and Waterman Blue Black. Since then I finished almost four bottles of the stuff, plus all the other inks I discovered in the mean time , but most of my writing over the past two years was done with this ink....

 

Warm regards, Wim

[Ann Finley]

Wim, thanks for being willing to check into the availability of Rohrer-Klinger inks!

They are made somewhere in Germany, if that helps.

 

Some of the other inks you mentioned I can already get, and the others I've not seen color charts for, so I don't know if I'd be interested or not.

 

Michael R. posted the color charts below on RS awhile back. I especially liked the 2nd green in the right hand column, called Verdure. It reminds me a lot of Noodler's Gruene Cactus that I like the color of so much, but have a smearing problem with unless I use it on cheap tablet paper!

http://img222.echo.cx/img222/7244/rohrerklingnerinks20cv.jpg

 

I also liked the colors Cassia, Morinda, & Pernambuk on the 2nd chart.

I've no clue how these inks behave, though.

http://img222.echo.cx/img222/2526/rohrerklingnerinks13tw.jpg

 

Looking forward to finding out if they're available.

 

Thanks again,

Ann

[georgem]

I've been using Waterman Blue-Black for quite a while. I have it in my Parker 51 vac which is a pretty wet writer (I asked Richard to adjust it that way for me).

 

It looks a little darker than it does in Wim's scans (but then, that's probably my monitor and its adjustment).

 

I find it a good ink for daily use when one must (correction) should be graphically correct.

 

PS: I was using Herbin Orange Indien to make entries into a cash journal at work today; tomorrow's ink will probably be Noodlers Navajo Turquoise.

[ElaineB]

Ann, are you looking to buy some of these inks? They're sold on this site:

http://www.penboard.de/shop/

Text is in english, and the owner is Tom Westerich. The colors look different on that site than they do on the color swatches above, btw.

 

It also looks like this vendor does a lot of selling on Ebay, so probably doesn't mind shipping to the U.S. (Don't know what the shipping costs would be, though!) I could add items to the shopping cart, but I couldn't find a way to place the order once the cart was filled, so you probably need to contact him directly.

 

I like that Cassia ink, at least from the swatch on the German site. A nice crushed-blackberry color.

 

ElaineB

[Mobybick2]

I just bought a bottle of Waterman blue black over the weekend at my local b&m pen shop. I've been using Parker Quink washable blue for a couple of years, but wanted to try something a little darker (I also bought a bottle of Waterman red and Parker black--to try a combination to come up with a darker red)

 

I do like the blue black a lot--it does seem to have a vintage appearance to it. It's in my new Pelikan M400 -- my now favorite pen of all times for everyday writing.

 

Thanks for the review Wim!!

 

Brooke

[Stylo]

Thanks for the nice review! Waterman BB is a great ink for workhorse pen duty. It is dark enough for functionality, blue enough to liven things up a little, and it is extremely dependable. I always have one pen inked with WM BB.

 

At primary school I used blue ink for my fountain pen ...

Then at high school I went to blue black at some stage ...

ater on I started using PQ Black as well ...

 

I think this is a common progression in many European countries, at least it was in France. Regular washable blue seemed to be the norm all the way to the 8th/9th grades. In high school, blue-black would start showing up and it was considered more of a grown-up's color. Eventually, some people would even transition to black, considered a truly "adult" and risque color I think that's why I don't use any of the light blues nowadays. It feels like Jr. high Perhaps it is time to overcome that feeling?

[wimg]

Hi George,

It looks a little darker than it does in Wim's scans (but then, that's probably my monitor and its adjustment).

Well, I'll have to check out the scanner's settings. It seems to come out lighter than the real thing. Of course, my monitor isn't calibrated either. Something to try out some time...

 

And it is a great ink for normal day use...

 

Warm regards, Wim

[wimg]

Hi Elaine,

 

Thank you kindly for the link, I'll check it out, so that I can give my favourite pen shops the right information for ordering this ink .

 

As I am a blackberry fan, I'll have to try the Cassia too...

 

Warm regards, Wim

[wimg]

Hi Brooke,

I just bought a bottle of Waterman blue black over the weekend at my local b&m pen shop.  I've been using Parker Quink washable blue for a couple of years, but wanted to try something a little darker (I also bought a bottle of Waterman red and Parker black--to try a combination to come up with a darker red)

Just a little tip, when mixing with black ink: the effect of black is very heavy. So try a 1:100 mix at first (1 part black to 100 red), and slowly increase until you get the effect you're after. Just be careful, because black + red = brown, officially anyway...

 

I do like the blue black a lot--it does seem to have a vintage appearance to it.  It's in my new Pelikan M400 -- my now favorite pen of all times for everyday writing.

Pelikans are great pens, I have four now, I think, no, five . And I would agree with you on the vintage aspect of blue black. Does that make me dated too?

 

Thanks for the review Wim!!

 

Brooke

It's a pleasure!

 

Warm regards, Wim

[wimg]

Hi Stylo,

Thanks for the nice review!    Waterman BB is a great ink for workhorse pen duty.  It is dark enough for functionality, blue enough to liven things up a little, and it is extremely dependable.  I always have one pen inked with WM BB.

The pleasure is all mine! And yes, that is exactly what I use WM BB for: as a workhorse ink for workhorse pen duty!

 

At primary school I used blue ink for my fountain pen ...

Then at high school I went to blue black at some stage ...

ater on I started using PQ Black as well ...

 

I think this is a common progression in many European countries, at least it was in France. Regular washable blue seemed to be the norm all the way to the 8th/9th grades. In high school, blue-black would start showing up and it was considered more of a grown-up's color. Eventually, some people would even transition to black, considered a truly "adult" and risque color I think that's why I don't use any of the light blues nowadays. It feels like Jr. high Perhaps it is time to overcome that feeling?

I do use turquoise inks a fair amount, but plain blue, not a lot. The closest I come to plain blue is PR DC SS 2003, which is a bottle I got as a present. That is very nice in a blue pen with a 1.3 Italic nib .

 

I rmember I never really thought about ink colours, until I got to secondary school. And yes, some people do think black ink is the ultimate adult colour ink. I know/knew a few who do/did. Some of them I converted already . Now for the remaining few .

 

Warm regards, Wim

[Ann Finley]

ElaineB, thanks for the link....I'll check it out!

 

Ann

[KCkc]

What can I say, got a bottle of WBB because my friend wrote me a snail with it and I like it.

 

Personal experience :

relatively fast drying qualities

looks bluer when wet

there's a certain calmness to the blue black

 

I also like PR Black Magic Blue but it dries slower and I tend to smudge it while it is wet. However, color-wise I like PR BMB because it is more navy than black compared to the WBB.