For your viewing pleasure. I tried to get the image to match the ink -- I think I did an acceptable job...

I miss the old skool Skrip, but I was surprised at how much like this stuff, too. I think it looks distinguished.

More than acceptable. Thanks much for the helpful image.

Did you happen to splash any water on the sample to test the ink's water resistance?

Unfortunately no. At least not at the moment. Appalachian State will be playing for it's third championship in a row about ten minutes from now... I'll do the dunk test afterwards... Or perhaps I'll do a soak test while the game is underway.

If anyone cares for some good football, tune in to ESPN2. App State plays the sort of football where they feel comfortable falling behind only to come back in a dominating fashion. Their (App State's) quarterback is a phenominal runner, and this should be an exciting game despite their second tier status.

The Slovenian Blue-black is fairly water resistant -- some blue washes off, but an waterproof grey/blue line remains.

It's a different color than the vintage Skrip, but still nice. I have a bottle and use it once in a while.

Peter

Thanks for the review, Catsmelt. Your observations mirror mine almost exactly. I have started using Skrip Blue-Black as my "break-in" ink rather than Waterman Blue-Black since Skrip's been so well-behaved in every pen in which I've used it. Wonderful stuff.

Don

I agree. I much prefer the older inks rather than the saturated inks. This ink provides a tremendous amount of "vintage" for a lot of value.

Thanks for the review. I'm impressed by the new Skrip B-B, but darned if I can see any blue in it (on my monitor, anyway). It looks more like a charcoal gray here. Very nice.

This ink performs wonderfully with a truly flex nib. Great shading and a vintage look. And it's true that the blue is very understated.

hi catsmelt,

i've tried to get the same tone and shading as you got, but i keep coming out with a greenish tone!!!! i didn't mind it too much, but after seeing your results with this ink, i did a few testings with different types of paper and got different results. the cheaper paper had more the tone and shading you got...!!!

can you tell me what kind of paper you're using???

Peter Paul

Ampad Gold Fibre.

Thanks for the review! Oh and "Go EERS!"

I forgot to mention that a pen's wetness may factor into it. My Duofold Jr. is pretty wet. If there are any green overtones, it may be more evident in a dry-writing pen.

The T-shirt vendors in Boone are raking in the bucks right now...

Thanks for the review, Catsmelt. There are still a surprising number of holes in the review database for easily available ink, so this is just the job! It looks to be an excellent colour, and quite what one might hope for when buying a blue-black ink.

The Waterman & Parker versions are so odd yet so ubiquitous that people probably think that they are what the colour should be like - but they're not!

If you're not up to an iron gall ink, this (or maybe the Sailor) looks to be the one.

The Slovenian Skrips seem to be a very good lot generally. I think the brown is outstanding as well...

John

Anyone know how Skrip B-B holds up to light? Does it fade and/or change color, like Waterman B-B?

Yes, it fades - quickly!
Thread with scan

With a little fading the modern Skrip Blue-Black is VERY close in color to an ink I've seen on the backs of several old photos from the 1930s. It does have a vintage vibe.

I forgot to mention that a pen's wetness may factor into it. My Duofold Jr. is pretty wet. If there are any green overtones, it may be more evident in a dry-writing pen.
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thanx for the tip... i'll keep that in mind.
best,
PR

Just for comparison's sake, here's a pic of some old American Sheaffer (Skrip) Blue-Black from a bottle that I have recently rediscovered:



Sometimes I think I see a little greenish tone in there, and sometimes not at all. It certainly seems lighter and bluer than the Slovenian ink in Catsmelt's pic.

Thank you, Nellie. This reminds me why I switched from traditional FP inks to Noodler's. Despite my reputation for hydromania, my real bête noire is fading. So I think I'll pass on the Skrip B-B.

I also felt it had too little blue (more grayish) than a blue-black should. Although I rather like the gray look, I would rather use it when I want gray, not when I want blue-black.

But then I tried mixing the Skrip B/B with some Skrip Blue, and I really like the result. I have not tried how it will resist water or fading, but I suspect it will actually improve these over the pure B/B.

Nellie and Viseguy -- while the final verdict will have to wait a year, my experience a few weeks out is different from Nellie's. I've noticed (contra Nellie) that there is no fading in the ink weeks after using it.

Luis -- what was the mixing ratio, and can you scan a comparison?

Well, that's encouraging. Hmmm, for the price of a bottle of Skrip, I may just try it and see for myself.

The color of the Sheaffer reminds me of Pelikan, another blue black that looks to me like a dark gray. I prefer the dark gray to the greenish shade that characterizes Waterman, Parker, Noodlers, and Diamine, but it still isn't what I'm looking for. For the moment, my favorite blue black inks are Sailor and Private Reserve Midnight Blue. I'm intrigued to hear that Lamy Black may be an extremely dark blue and would like to see a scan and a coffee filter test of that ink.

I've been mixing Waterman Florida Blue with Waterman Black until I get something like this very dark shade. Love it. But I'm thinking of moving to the Skrip.

One question: how safe and reliable is it for pens compared to Waterman? (which I know is just about the only ink Richard Binder stands by).

Thanks!

My understanding is this is a "safe" ink in the way Watermans is considered "safe."