Please help me choose a black ink for a Waterman open nib Crusader with an extra-fine flex nib. I would like a rich, dark black (without "grayish" shades or anything like that) with a good smooth flow but not too wet.

Thank you.

I love Aurora, but it might be a little 'wet'.

I'm not sure about the flow on your pen, but I've recently had pretty good experiences with Visconti Black which is not as free flowing as Aurora Black (although I'd still recommend the latter if you want a truly dark black) but is still dark and does not show much shading in my Opera Club. I find Pelikan Black to be too dry for flex nibs even though it too is a famed black ink.

To keep the lines extra fine nad ensure zero feathering on swells, I'd recommend Noodler's bulletproof black.

I've actually never had a problem with Pelikan 4001 in flex pens, but I appear to have fewer issues with Pelikan inks in general than is normal.

*sigh*

Lucky you! Pelikan Black is so dry for me that it barely writes even in my Lamy 2000 - the pen in which most inks just gush out of.

I'll second the suggestion for Noodlers' Bulletproof Black. I have found this to be very well behaved in my XF, X flexy pens; not too wet (like Aurora), nor too dry, with no feathering. Aurora Black is one of my favorite inks but for me, it is too free-flowing for this type of nib.

Greg~

Thank you all.

I've never used Aurora, Noodler, or Visconti before, because...I can't find them here!!

I've only seen Parker, Waterman, Lamy and Montblanc in my local stationery stores.

I've asked my friends to have a look in their local stores for me.

I have an ultra-flex Moore Non-Leakable safety pen that is always filled with Waterman Black. It's not the blackest ink, but seems to do very well in the flex pens, with no shading in the wide downstrokes.

Skip

I use Aurora black and Pelikan brilliant black.

Pelikan ink works well in vintage Pelikan 400s. The vintage Pelikan nibs write a very wet line and I do have some of those pens filled with Pelikan blueblack or 1:1 Pelikan blue and Pelikan blueblack. I never fill Pelikan 4001 in a modern pen, not even a wet writing Pelikan pen.

If your nib is writing a wet line, Pelikan black would be worth a try.