What's The Deal With Blue/black Ink?

[Daisy]

So, will it be a blue/black or a grey that claims my next £10? Both would look very nice coming out of my new Serwex 162. Can anybody suggest to me a blue/black that shades really well? :puddle: Shading

 

The shadingest blue-black I have found is the Sheaffer and also the Diamine Blue-Black; the Diamine a little less than the Sheaffer but both lovely in real life (see above). Also, it should be pretty easy for you to get both in the UK, and in the States the Sheaffer is less than $10 a bottle -- bonus!

[The Good Captain]

TheGoodCaptain - yes, that was what I wrote in the Ink Exchange thread about the post-IG cleaning... obviously a rinse with water first, but vinegar before the ammonia. That way you dissolve the iron then dissolve the dye.

 

Water/Ammonia/Water before switching to IG. Then use the pen as much as you want with the IG (but don't let it dry out). Then water/vinegar/water/ammonia/water when you are done with IG.

 

Iron Gall inks need to be used. If a person only writes occasionally, it would be better to get a nice blue/black or dark blue dye-based ink. If they are a regular, or even prolific writer, then IGs are certainly something they can try.

And I have just spent quite a time - helped by some Meddler's 'Medoc's Revenge' - changing my Magna from Salix-only usage to all, and converting my Sapporo into the Salix-only pen. Whatever minuscule logic there is, being that the converter pens would get more throughput of the ink than one of my Pelikans. Also the Sapporo has a broad wet nib so the Salix just quietens it down a bit.

Kitchen smells like my old school chemistry lab now, with just a hint of the chippy!

Such fun.

 

 

[daTomoT]

TheGoodCaptain - yes, that was what I ...

And I have just spent quite a time - helped by some Meddler's 'Medoc's Revenge' - changing my Magna from Salix-only usage to all, and converting my Sapporo into the Salix-only pen. Whatever minuscule logic there is, being that the converter pens would get more throughput of the ink than one of my Pelikans. Also the Sapporo has a broad wet nib so the Salix just quietens it down a bit.

Kitchen smells like my old school chemistry lab now, with just a hint of the chippy!

Such fun.

 

Sounds a beaut'.

[tnmike1]

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1351740276[/url]' post='2500117']

i have a buttload of vintage skrip blue-black,(no, not sharing, it's readily available if you search)and i've discovered that i prefer certain (most) old skrip and quink inks to the overly-saturated, vintage-pen-killing modern inks....

 

I've looked for vintage inks but not had the same luck as you. Do you have a specific reliable source (or sources) that you wouldn't mind sharing?

 

Here on the thread or by pm would be fine. I'd be most grateful!

 

Another vote for the vintage blue blacks. I go between vintage Skrip and Waterman blue black. Skrip shades well and is waterproof and Waterman is a blue black with grayish undertones. Both wonderful and totally pen safe. All available mon eBay

[Mr Blifil]

I use blue-blacks at work because I often write things that are then photocopied, and the tint makes it readily evident which is the original. I do have preferences, and I seem to like the classics, but I have not made a systematic study, so I'll not get into it. For personal use I like blacks just fine for journaling and my own notes, but for personal correspondence I will often choose a color and a pen to fit the relationship and the occasion. I'm talking about subtle differences here, not pink vs. orange. One of the blacks, blue-grey, grey, blue or blue-black--brown very occasionally. I don't want the ink to draw attention to itself, but rather to just be there and convey a certain quality to the atmosphere of the note.

Edited November 2, 2012 by Mr Blifil

[Frank C]

I have always liked blue black ink. Formal in appearance, it adds gravitas to one's writing. I also like it because it is definitely from a fountain pen. There are very few non-fountain pens that write in blue-black, so if it is blue-black, it almost certainly came from a fountain pen.

[daTomoT]

I have always liked blue black ink. Formal in appearance, it adds gravitas to one's writing. I also like it because it is definitely from a fountain pen. There are very few non-fountain pens that write in blue-black, so if it is blue-black, it almost certainly came from a fountain pen.

 

This is a good point.

[Sandy1]

Hi,

 

I agree that Blue-Black ink is not a 'big deal'.

 

BlBk is an everyday ink that just goes about its business, carrying the written word to the reader without distraction.

 

Given its origin as an iron-gall 'Blue-to-Black' ink, it is the classic FP ink colour that encompasses just about any document that can be hand written. (Though billets doux in BlBk may need to be done up as a sonnet.)

 

As with any colour, there are many variations to choose from, though all that appeal to me have the distinguishing aspect of the BlBk - subtlety. A BlBk ink may be very interesting, but not eye catching.

 

Some would say that BlBk inks are dull - I wouldn't argue the toss; and doubt that I'm alone in occasionally giving some BlBk inks a boost of Blue-Indigo or a drop of dew to breathe a bit more life into them.

 

I like BlBk because I don't feel the [OCD] need to think twice about choosing a pen+paper combo: BlBk looks wonderful from any nib shape or wetness, and does well on any paper surface or base-tint.

 

Bye,

S1

[The Good Captain]

Hi,

 

I agree that Blue-Black ink is not a 'big deal'.

 

BlBk is an everyday ink that just goes about its business, carrying the written word to the reader without distraction.

 

Given its origin as an iron-gall 'Blue-to-Black' ink, it is the classic FP ink colour that encompasses just about any document that can be hand written. (Though billets doux in BlBk may need to be done up as a sonnet.)

 

As with any colour, there are many variations to choose from, though all that appeal to me have the distinguishing aspect of the BlBk - subtlety. A BlBk ink may be very interesting, but not eye catching.

 

Some would say that BlBk inks are dull - I wouldn't argue the toss; and doubt that I'm alone in occasionally giving some BlBk inks a boost of Blue-Indigo or a drop of dew to breathe a bit more life into them.

 

I like BlBk because I don't feel the [OCD] need to think twice about choosing a pen+paper combo: BlBk looks wonderful from any nib shape or wetness, and does well on any paper surface or base-tint.

 

Bye,

S1

Absolutely wonderful! PM me your address and I'll send you one of my '4001 Blue-Black Union Flag' (my Avatar!) badges - you deserve one!

[Sandy1]

Hell again,

 

I wanted to respond to a the following points from the OP. Some of the terms I use are explained and illustrated in this article: LINK

. . . Apparently it's not dark blue? I haven't really studied the ink range for blue black, . . .

 

~daT.

:hmm1:

 

Blue-Black inks are traditionally Blue-Indigo dye + a neutral Black (from iron-gall.)

 

Adding neutral Black to a colour lowers the chroma/intensity of that colour and makes the colour darker (lower value).

 

Those two points are nicely illustrated by two photos of a Blue-Black ink with I-G changing tone value as the I-G component reacts with the air - going from nearly clear to Grey in the few minutes between exposures:

 

Wet Ink - ESSRI:

(Edit to add: The white spots, such as those seen in the the Left-most lead-in stroke, are spectral highlights resulting from the use of a photo-flash.)

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN%20Stuff%20-%202011/Ink%20Review%20-%20ESS%20Registrars%20Blue-Black/f4d80187.jpg

A few minutes later:

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN%20Stuff%20-%202011/Ink%20Review%20-%20ESS%20Registrars%20Blue-Black/6a2fcb13.jpg

(And who said BlBk was dull?)

IMHO BlBk is not a Dark Blue ink - Dark Blue inks have a much higher chroma/intensity.

 

As to the "range for blue black":

• To my eye there there is more uncertainty when the value of colour increases - the ink becomes pale, and might be considered a 'Soft Blue'; and getting a sense of where the chroma/intensity separates Blue from Blue-Black, and Blue-Grey from Blue-Black.
• There is less uncertainty as to the colour itself: BlBk ranges from Indigo to Blue, and is a known associate of Sapphire. Definitely no Green-Teal aspect; such inks can be very attractive indeed, but I don't consider them Blue-Black.

Bye,

S1

Edited November 2, 2012 by Sandy1

[DanielCoffey]

Parker Blue/Black is one that can change to Teal very quickly under some conditions.

[daTomoT]

I don't believe I ever called it dull, and if so I take it back! I'm considering buying Diamine Blue Black. It's that or Midnight.. :hmm1:

[RudyR]

Hi,

 

I agree that Blue-Black ink is not a 'big deal'.

 

BlBk is an everyday ink that just goes about its business, carrying the written word to the reader without distraction.

 

Given its origin as an iron-gall 'Blue-to-Black' ink, it is the classic FP ink colour that encompasses just about any document that can be hand written. (Though billets doux in BlBk may need to be done up as a sonnet.)

 

As with any colour, there are many variations to choose from, though all that appeal to me have the distinguishing aspect of the BlBk - subtlety. A BlBk ink may be very interesting, but not eye catching.

 

Some would say that BlBk inks are dull - I wouldn't argue the toss; and doubt that I'm alone in occasionally giving some BlBk inks a boost of Blue-Indigo or a drop of dew to breathe a bit more life into them.

 

I like BlBk because I don't feel the [OCD] need to think twice about choosing a pen+paper combo: BlBk looks wonderful from any nib shape or wetness, and does well on any paper surface or base-tint.

 

Bye,

S1

 

And herein lies the real reason I like traditional Iron Gall blue blacks. They are the most versatile of all inks; A journeyman in the craft of writing and quite capable at its trade.

[Daisy]

I'm considering buying Diamine Blue Black.

 

Excellent choice, IMO. I don't think you'll be disappointed. It's actually a very rich color with a lot of "life" in it, to my eye. Plus, you can easily get it in the UK at reasonable prices: bonus!

 

I use it in a broad nib to get the best of the shading, myself. Be sure to let us know how you like it!

[The Good Captain]

I'm considering buying Diamine Blue Black.

 

Excellent choice, IMO. I don't think you'll be disappointed. It's actually a very rich color with a lot of "life" in it, to my eye. Plus, you can easily get it in the UK at reasonable prices: bonus!

 

I use it in a broad nib to get the best of the shading, myself. Be sure to let us know how you like it!

Get the reformulated version if you can. The boxes have a small label on the inside with R2 on them. Or, it could be on the bottle itself.

[daTomoT]

I'm considering buying Diamine Blue Black.

 

Excellent choice, IMO. I don't think you'll be disappointed. It's actually a very rich color with a lot of "life" in it, to my eye. Plus, you can easily get it in the UK at reasonable prices: bonus!

 

I use it in a broad nib to get the best of the shading, myself. Be sure to let us know how you like it!

 

I'm trying to get a hold of a TWSBI Diamond 540 in the standard demonstrator colour. I'll be buying a bold, something I've been looking forward to for a while. I'm struggling to find one right now though!

[EKE]

Diamine Denim is my classic dark blue of choice lately for journal jotting. Serious but lovely. Someone here said they saw little shading with it. In my experience, it has subtitle but really nuanced shading, especially with my M nibs on 90g Clairefontaine. It just looks striking on that gorgeous pure white paper.

[Daisy]

I'm trying to get a hold of a TWSBI Diamond 540 in the standard demonstrator colour. I'll be buying a bold, something I've been looking forward to for a while. I'm struggling to find one right now though!

 

I am honestly not saying this to be snarky, and please don't be offended, but between the various ink purchases you have in mind plus your search for the right TWSBI, you're well past the point -- to me, at least -- where U.S. shipping would be vastly more prohibitive than UK or EU. If you were to get your pen from Goulet's, as an example, you could also throw in a huge mess of samples for very little in extra shipping, because you've already crossed that threshold. I think Todd at ISellPens.com does samples too, though I don't know their shipping policy.

 

I guess what I'm trying to say is that the bigger the purchase, the lower the overall shipping cost. Even though I'm stateside, I always keep a mondo list of samples I want to try, and then when I've found a couple of full bottles I've decided I need, or a pen like yourself, I go ahead and do an order. I do it this way because I'd be nickled-and-dimed to death with various shipping costs if I didn't, and I'd rather spend that cash on lovely pen juice.

 

Like I said, I'm not trying to be snarky at all, it just seems to me that you're at the place where one big order from the right retailer will actually save you money, not just as percentage of dollars spent in shipping that one order, but in saving you from spending even more than that through making multiple smaller orders that have lower shipping costs but add up to even more than one big order shipped from wherever you like, if you'd gotten everything at one place instead.

 

That, and you're bound to find your TWSBI much faster stateside...

 

It's just a suggestion -- feel free to ignore it!

 

 

 

 

(edited for clarity)

Edited November 3, 2012 by Daisy

[DanielCoffey]

Don't forget to factor into the overall cost the Import Duty on the pen (3.7%), UK VAT (20%) on the pen and ink, the UK VAT (20%) on the shipping charges and the UK re-delivery charge (around £8). You do not have to worry about the Import Duty on the ink itself as it is zero-rated.

 

Not to be a downer, but you should be aware of the additional costs. Also no reputable company will mis-label or mis-value items to evade the duty for you so do not ask.

[The Good Captain]

Don't forget to factor into the overall cost the Import Duty on the pen (3.7%), UK VAT (20%) on the pen and ink, the UK VAT (20%) on the shipping charges and the UK re-delivery charge (around £8). You do not have to worry about the Import Duty on the ink itself as it is zero-rated.

 

Not to be a downer, but you should be aware of the additional costs. Also no reputable company will mis-label or mis-value items to evade the duty for you so do not ask.

I'll keep all posted on the bottle of ink I've ordered from the Goulets, just the other day. One Noodler's at $12.50 plus carriage. Let's see, shall we?!