What is the "blackest" black in your opinion?
Which black is more intense than everyone else?

For fountain-pen safe inks, that's likely to be Noodler's Heart of Darkness or Old Manhattan Blackest Black.

I've heard varying reports about which is which, but Old Manhattan is the darkest in my stable and even the people who say that HoD is blacker place Old Manhattan right nearby. I haven't quite been tempted to get a bottle of HoD myself since I've heard reports of trouble with feathering.

I enjoy Aurora Black and Pelikan Brilliant Black, but for bulletproof do try Noodler's.

I wrote to Noodler`s asking the same question, and they say Borealis Black is the blackest black, I am planning to buy a bottle in my next purchase..

Julio

NOT Waterman or Higgins, that's for damn sure ;-P I too am on the quest for the blackest black XD I'll let you know if I find it!

Thanks everyone for your answers

If you're not concerned about FP-friendliness, try Speedball Superblack. NOT NOT NOT suitable for fountain pens. But very black.

Noodler's. Try Pelikan or Cross Black. If fit's not black enough for you.... I agree with the speedball superblack. (NOT SUITABLE FOR FOUNTAIN PEN)

Noodler's Old Manhattan Black is the blackest I know of, but it clogs some of my pens (not others). On the other hand Pelikan Brilliant Black is very dark and no trouble.
Does any one have experience with Pelikan Fount India?
Gerry

This is no answer. But I'm interested in congestion here.
Why do you all LOVE black so much. Black is too black for me (Think about your clothing: "Did Grandmother die today?"): I myself need colour. So I add to blue-black purple and brown. Then we can talk about it.

Mike

Some of us draw. Yes, you can draw with other colors, but black is pretty much all-purpose. I do use other colors as well, but when I use black, I want it to be black, not gray, and not a purplish or greenish gray. I have gray inks and I have greenish gray inks; I don't want my black inks to look that way too.

Some people love to write on very white paper, others prefer a more warm colour like cream or beige (or even coloured paper, light green or light blue). Same for inks. I prefer black ink, because I hate the dullness of some blue (like Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Blue, an ink I used for a very long time, and I never perceived it like a stylish colur, or like Koh-I-Noor blue, nice blue, but without soul in my opinion). Those are fine inks but boring in my perception (it's a matter of personal preferences). Recently really appreciated the brilliance of the tone of Lamy Blue. I'll buy a bottle (the problem is finding it.. but with a little patience.. or with a credit card and some mouse clicks..).
I wrote in the past with Omas Green, nice, but it's difficult to find the proper chance to use such a colour.

Mike! Why DON'T you love black so much? WHY, Mike, WHY?!

(Looks at what I'm wearing: black shows (with some white), black socks, black jeans, black T-shirt.)

Um.

Cos I like black.



Comment edited by moderator after complaint--let's keep the site family friendly!

For me, searching for the darkest black for a fountain pen makes no sense. Its just playing chicken with clogged feeds.

If I want really black ink I usually use a Sailor Innovation rollerball. Or, drag out a dip pen and some India ink.

Herbin Black is the one you need. Very black, very wet so also very good in dry pens.

Black is simply the easiest to read. If you think others, or even you, may read your writing in the future, black is a good choice. There are other reasons to choose black, such as the fact that it shows up better than anything else when photocopied. For those who choose pragmatism over flamboyance, black is the obvious choice. In terms of aesthetics alone, black would not be my preference, but there are other considerations than prettiness or uniqueness when choosing an ink.

Are you SURE you're a west coast gal? Your attire would be perfect for NYC!

The best black inks are Aurora and Pelikan. Aurora is very free flowing. Pelikan is not. For me, each works best in different pens.




Quote edited by moderator--part of quote was removed in original post, applicable parts of reply edited also.

Herbin black used to be my black ink of choice when I lived in Seville and I could find it. Right now I'm using Pelikan black, which is also a very nice black.

Nevertheless, thanks for reminding; I'll get some Herbin black soon. What's its name? Perle Noire? (can't remember now)

Juan in Andalucía

Juan,

It's 'Perle Noire' indeed. Look here: http://www.jherbin.com/fountain_pen_inks.shtml

My color of choice for my field journal is a dark brown which is easy for me to read. If I need to record dimensional data (lots of numbers & notes in a smaller space) I switch to Aurora Black with a fine nib. This makes for better recognization moths later when I try to decipher.
Works for me but YMMV.

Sailor "Kiwaguro" is probably the blackest I've seen so far, but it's got some different properties than regular ink.

For example, Parker Quink Black looks about as black as you can get on a good "hard" paper like Clairefontaine. It really jumps off the page. However on regular paper I find Quink Black to be washed out.

Kiwaguro looks like India ink or a Chinese calligraphy ink to me (And that's probably what they are trying to emulate). It's a matte black that seems to incorporate itself into the paper rather than standing out on it. I don't really know how to describe it better than that. But the interesting thing is that it looks exactly the same on any paper you use it on. I've tried it on Clairefontaine, Apica, HP 32lb, xerox copy paper, recycled copy paper, and newspaper. The only thing it bled through was newspaper, and even though it bled through, it didn't bleed "out." The other nice thing is that it increases the smoothness of your nib.. a lot.

The only catch is: I think it's only sold in Japan.

I'm hoping to do a review and comparison soon.

Neill

Would like to add a vote for Heart of Darkness. It doesn't change quality when it dries. Totally bulletproof.

There are different ways of judging the blackness of black ink. India ink (NOT SUITABLE FOR FOUNTAIN PENS) is often very shiny, like glossy black paint, and the shine can make it look lighter, even though it's very dark and very dense. This depends on the lighting where it's being read. So "which is the blackest black" is not a question with one absolute answer.

And (as has already been pointed out) you have to get a black that writes well in your pen, because if it's super-dark but the pen won't write, then who cares?

Be warned that Borealis Black is not bulletproof. I'm curious to see whether it is actually the blackest black that Noodler's makes. If it is, then it would be by far the blackest black in the fountain pen world. (Yes, much blacker than Sailor Kiwaguro or the various "fount" India inks.)

You could say that Noodler's blacks clog feeds faster than "safe" blacks (though I have not seen this to be the case), but it's definitely not harder to clear out, so I say go for Noodler's. There's no comparison intensity-wise between Noodler's blacks and other blacks.

Best,
Summer

In my findings so far another vote for J. Herbin Perle Noire. Pelikan Black is also very dark but has a lesser flow than Perle.
I haven`t tried any Noodlers yet.

San Franciscans wear as much black as people in NYC. They just do it because they want to, where in NYC, it's a law.

I am brand ne to this. I have not even received my pens yet. On the advice of a friend, I ordered a Hero and Pelikan Future. I love black, and I really do not care for blue. Black hs just always seemed more professional to me. I ordered some Private Reserve Velvet Black with my pens. Am I going to be disappointed?

Thanks,
Jonathan

Wow, I wasn't even thinking of such a great array of fine comments!

Thanks for all of those really good thoughts and comparisons. Now a note or two...

• My shoes are all black, many of my jeans and T-shirts ditto but I don't usually wear everything black because that somehow reminds me of a funeral sort of thing.
• Actually I don't really hate black, I just prefer instead a black with a dash of purple and a hint of brown because that sort of makes a very slight suggestion that something subtle is present. Like cooking. I cook everyday and I LOVE spices. (I have more than 10 x as many spices as I do FPs.) But of course, too much of any spice is also a foul.
• Actually what I DO hate is any gray. Since I am an extremist, I love black or white but not much in between. Real colours are something else here.
• Apart from that it's all true what you all said in the posts above, e.g. xeroxing is best with black but I don't xerox enough. I also don't draw very much.
• But I will, now, whip out my black and give it a fling! Thank G. that I've already got the Pelikan Brillant-Schwarz!! (the German word for brilliant as a takeover from the French is written with only one "i")
• I posted this somewhere else lately so here's a repeat. A good example that colours really do differ and that no one brand is "IT": Pelikan's black seems to be a very dark black but Pelikan's bown is a very light brown (at least to me).

'Ave ze nice dayo!

Mike

I have just made up 1000cc of a strong black, writes totally black with my Cross ATX.

This isnt for sale but if anyone would like a sample or a trade then please let me know.

I am surprised to hear that Herbin Black is a dark black color. Most of their other colors seem to be on the thinner, lighter side.

I like black for the same reason I like B&W photography. It's simple yet subtle. Plain elegant. My cell phone, glasses, most of my shoes, some shirts and tshirts...

The blackest black must be drawing ink (pelikan or winsor&newton), or sumi-e ink, but of course you don't want that in your fountain pen.

This is sumi-e ink on watercolor paper. The paper sucks in most of the ink so you don't get all the black you can when using sumi-e (bamboo pulp) paper:

Wow, Juan, that's a great piece you did!

Thanks; right now I don't have much time for painting (it takes a lot of time only to grind the sumi ink), but I have some sketches for other portraits: Frank Zappa, Joey Ramone, and Camarón de la Isla (the guy in my avatar). Maybe after summer.

Regards, Juan

You're on a roll, Deirdre! Funny!

Me, it's cos I'm too lazy to match colors.

Juan, that's great art. Please post a picture of, or a site link to Frank Zappa. PLEASE!
May he R.I.P.

Mike
I love FPs and Glenn Gould but FZ too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sure I will. So far I only have pencil sketches for studies on shadows, composition... but they're just doodles. I think I'll use the pic in which he is sitting on the WC as a source. Anyway as I said before, I don't have much time for painting.

I used to play guitar with some guys and some years ago (7, I think) we played a FZ tribute concert which became a minitour. There were 12 or 15 people on stage depending on the song, and we all were in disguise. I was dressed like Toni Manero (saturday night fever) and sang on "Uncle Remus" and "Bobby Brown Goes Down". It was kinda fun.

Oh, and no, there are no pics nor videos of that.

Juan in Andalucía

I was also surprised by the dense blackness of Perle Noire the first time I used it. It is really different than the other Herbin inks I have used.

Juan, thanks! No hurry!! I am still a big fan of FZ and was at his last concert, here in the Berlin Philharmonie shortly before he died. His daughter Moon took over the organization. I even bought a T-shirt there with "The Yellow Shark".

Mike