Sailor Jentle Black

[Djehuty]

Sailor Jentle Black

 

http://img61.imageshack.us/img61/1443/blackink03lu9.png

 

I knew something was different about this ink even before I began writing. Filling the converter for my Pelikano with a syringe, something new happened. The surface tension of the ink was sufficient to form an inky seal around the needle, in the mouth-opening of the converter, which in turn formed a bubble of ink, which proceeded to bubble up and over the rim as more incoming ink displaced the air in the converter, which resulted in severely inkified hands. Since this hadn't happened to me with any other ink (yet), I wondered what this might portend for writing with Jentle Black.

 

This is a very smooth, freely-flowing, highly lubricious ink (in the sense of being slick, not lewd; for lewd, try Caran d'Ache Carbon Black). It's a wet ink, but not a viscous one. It seems to sink right into the paper. It glistens a wonderful deep black when wet, but unfortunately loses much of that intensity as it dries. It works out to be more of a very dark grey than a true black, once dry. The grey is neutral in hue, so it should be perfectly acceptable when one doesn't need the ultimate blackest black. This can be easily seen in the second of the three squares above, in which the drying process was cut short. (The three squares are: 1) hatching allowed to dry, 2) fully colored in, then blotted, and 3) fully colored and allowed to dry.) There was no bleed-through in any of the squares, which is quite nice.

 

The ink doesn't dry as quickly as I would like, which surprised me because the drying process is very visible, and thus it seemed quicker than it actually was. On testing it performed about as well as Parker Quink black, neither particularly fast nor slow in drying -- about twelve to fifteen seconds before it can be touched without smearing. It isn't terribly water-resistant, either, but enough remained after being wiped several times with a wet paper towel that the writing was still legible.

 

The Verdict: I'll probably buy a bottle of this for use in my drier pens. I like wetter inks, and this flows very smoothly. But it isn't dark enough to become a favorite black ink, nor would I use it for classroom note-taking, unless I'm certain I'll have enough time to let it dry.

 

Edited October 28, 2008 by Djehuty

[Ondina]

Thanks for the detailed review, very nice one. The scan shows a grayish hue, or is my screen?

[Djehuty]

It isn't your screen. It's a very dark grey, just this side of what I'd consider true black.

 

[Readymade]

I like this black ink because it reminds me of Chinese brush ink, but in my (admittedly limited) experience, it behaves badly in almost any pen I put it in.

 

There's usually significant nib creep and in a few cases the ink simply seeped out of the nib, dirtying the inside of the cap. So far the worst instance was when I uncapped my Parker 51 to find Jentle black all over the section and the inside of the cap =p

 

The only pens the ink seems to tolerate are my Sailor Pro Gear and a cheap (but excellent) Pilot 2A.

[ethernautrix]

Huh. So odd.

 

Thanks for the review, Djehuty.

 

I just remarked about Chupacabras's similar findings in another review of Sailor Jentle that it is a very black ink, at least coming out of the Conklin Mark Twain (steel F nib). The blackety-blackness is nearly indistinguishable from my very, very blackest Blackety-Black Old Manhattan Black. This is puzzling.

 

Also, J. Herbin Perle Noire. BLACK.

 

Is it my eyes? Are my eyes failing? These inks are so BLACK!

 

I'm going to try the Sailor Jentle in other pens and see if I get varying results.

[andrewboy]

Thank you for your review. I love your description of Caran D'ache Carbon as "lewd" I know exactly what you mean.

[ethernautrix]

So strange. I've tried Sailor Jentle black (not the carbon version) in a Conklin Mark Twain (F) and an Aurora Optima (M, which is like an occidental F -- and FABULOUS), and in both, this ink is BLACK. BLACK BLACK!

 

And it's fairly water-resistant as well.

 

I mean BLACK.

 

Shiny, opaque BLACK.

 

Like hot tar.

 

 

 

 

I'm going to have to trust my own experience on this one. For pens that I might be squeamish about using OMB (such as in vintage pens), this is my new go-to blackety-black ink.

 

The J. Herbin Perle Noire is also blackety-black but not so water-resistant as the Sailor Jentle.

[bgray]

Hands down....Sailor is the best ink, my humble opinion.

 

I currently have the wheels in motion to start dealing Sailor Ink. Can't wait.

 

[Joe in Seattle]

I've not tried the black, but I've found Sailor Blue and Blue/Black VERY well behaved.

[Peter from Sherwood Park]

I'm in the same boat as Joe in Seattle. I guess I'm going to have to try Jentle Black.

[Yoda]

Hands down....Sailor is the best ink, my humble opinion.

 

I currently have the wheels in motion to start dealing Sailor Ink. Can't wait.

 

 

That is GREAT news. Will you also try to carry the new Pilot inks?

[jimbro2k]

... It glistens a wonderful deep black when wet, but unfortunately loses much of that intensity as it dries. It works out to be more of a very dark grey than a true black, once dry.

...The ink doesn't dry as quickly as I would like, which surprised me because the drying process is very visible, and thus it seemed quicker than it actually was.

I've been using this as my primary black for the last two months and the "glistening deep black" you mention is a good part of why I love it. I've been using it in a grid-ruled moleskin almost exclusively and on that paper (applied with a naginata togi medium-fine nib) it seems to dry veeeerrry slowly and that glistening deep black fades at the same rate. It does lose some of its "blackness" on that paper but not enough that I would call it grey.

 

Thanks for mentioning the Caran D'ache Carbon - it is next on my list to try.

 

The perfect black for me would have the "glistening deep black" and keep it. And be waterproof and archival too.

 

Thanks for the review, sorry I just now found it..

[nicholasyeo]

I am very used to Pelican Brilliant Black, thus when I come across this somewhat dry ink,

(coming out from a cartridge in F pro gear) and it's greyness, I can't take it.

[Ed Ronax]

Nice review, thanks, definatley one to consider if I'm looking for a dark grey rather than a black, a nice colour.

[moldero]

Thanks for the detailed review, very nice!!!

[Painterspal]

So strange. I've tried Sailor Jentle black (not the carbon version) in a Conklin Mark Twain (F) and an Aurora Optima (M, which is like an occidental F -- and FABULOUS), and in both, this ink is BLACK. BLACK BLACK!

 

And it's fairly water-resistant as well.

 

I mean BLACK.

 

Shiny, opaque BLACK.

 

Like hot tar.

 

 

 

 

I'm going to have to trust my own experience on this one. For pens that I might be squeamish about using OMB (such as in vintage pens), this is my new go-to blackety-black ink.

 

The J. Herbin Perle Noire is also blackety-black but not so water-resistant as the Sailor Jentle.

 

I found this ink to be the same. Intensely black, quite wonderfully black cat in a coal shed on a dark, moonless night kind of black, just how black ink should be. Great lubrication, slow drying, virtually no shading. Maybe I'll make it the subject of my first ink review - I LOVE Sailor ink!