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Well Mannered Dark Blue For A Fine Nib


dragos.mocanu

Dark blue ink  

39 members have voted

  1. 1. Which well behaved dark blue?

    • Waterman Mysterious Blue (Blue-Black)
      12
    • J. Herbin Bleu Nuit
      11
    • Parker Quink Blue Black
      3
    • Other (please mention)
      13


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Hello,

 

Over the past few months I've been desperately trying to find a suitable blue(ish) ink for my Cedar Blue "51" Vacumatic with a fine nib...The thing is that I don't particularly like/use fine nibs (it's my only fine nib besides the Konrad flex nib), but this one writes more towards a medium than an extra-fine, is pleasantly wet, and was my college graduation gift (couldn't part with it in a million years)... so I use it for cursive writing (I usually write in print).

 

I've tried a large variety of blue inks (oh yes, forgot to mention...blue isn't really my favorite ink color), starting with Waterman Florida Blue (too pale), Pelikan Blue-Black (too grey when it comes out of a fine nib), Pelikan Turquoise (pale and had some bleedthrough), Pelikan Edelstein Topaz (beautiful color but takes quite some time to rinse it out of a "51" Vacumatic), even Noodler's Bad Belted Kingfisher for a very short while (I like the color and saturation in the fine nib...but I can't keep it for too long in a vintage pen).

 

So now, after trying some blue inks, some turquoise inks, I want to try a Blue-Black/dark blue ink. I've listed 3 particular inks in the poll and now I would like to know your personal opinion on the matter...what kind of blue(ish) ink could surprise a person that doesn't like blue inks :lol:

 

As a side note, you may wonder why I don't just abandon my quest for THE blue ink and go for the greens, the browns, the purples...since I don't particularly like blue. Well...let's say I want to give blue a second chance before I give up completely.

 

Cheers!

Edited by dragos.mocanu

"The truth may be puzzling. It may take some work to grapple with. It may be counterintuitive. It may contradict deeply held prejudices. It may not be consonant with what we desperately want to be true. But our preferences do not determine what's true..." (Carl Sagan)

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Although blue black isn't my favorite color (I prefer dark blue or turquoise variations), I found Private Reserve Midnight Blue very good when I do use it. I don't like black ink, so I keep one pen with blue black ink in case black ink is required for certain forms etc. I don't own a "51", but I have several "21"s and I didn't have any problems using them with this ink, or cleaning afterward. PR has several blue black ink versions which differ, I guess, in the blue and black ratio. They also have green black and other partially black inks, but I have not tried any of them.

I can't comment on the ink's behavior on different types of paper, since my workplace only uses very basic, cheap copy/print paper, and I rarely use my FPs at home, where they might be subject to cruel treatment by my wife and kids. This ink is pretty wet and tends to bleed on my work's cheap paper, so I usually use F nibs, to limit the amount of ink used. I keep the M nibs pens for writing on slightly better paper, such as envelopes, Post-It notes etc.

Dan

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Hi,

 

Coming from a rather narrow nib, inks in the Blue-Black range seem to need a fairly strong Indigo hue to overcome their low chroma.

 

Of the inks you picked, I chose the J Herbin Bleu Nuit, which I described as being 'Reminiscent of a gifted dance partner, who follows when I take the lead.'

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/228840-j-herbin-bleu-nuit/?do=findComment&comment=2448678

 

The performance profile is admirable, especially for a simple aniline dye ink.

 

I buy the 100ml bottles. :)

 

Bye,

S1

The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.

 

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Hi,

 

Coming from a rather narrow nib, inks in the Blue-Black range seem to need a fairly strong Indigo hue to overcome their low chroma.

 

Of the inks you picked, I chose the J Herbin Bleu Nuit, which I described as being 'Reminiscent of a gifted dance partner, who follows when I take the lead.'

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/228840-j-herbin-bleu-nuit/?do=findComment&comment=2448678

 

The performance profile is admirable, especially for a simple aniline dye ink.

 

I buy the 100ml bottles. :)

 

Bye,

S1

 

 

Hi Sandy,

 

Your fountain pen reviews are always enlightening to me...I actually owe most of my ink purchases to your beautiful reviews (like the Herbin Lie de The, my favorite brown ink). Naturally, I've also chosen these 3 particular inks based on your thorough reviews.

 

I too am thinking mostly about the 100mL bottle of Bleu Nuit...so you think it would look nice enough in a pleasantly wet fine nib?

 

Cheers,

Dragos

Edited by dragos.mocanu

"The truth may be puzzling. It may take some work to grapple with. It may be counterintuitive. It may contradict deeply held prejudices. It may not be consonant with what we desperately want to be true. But our preferences do not determine what's true..." (Carl Sagan)

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I use Pilot Iroshizuku Shin-kai in my Japanese fine point pens as my go-to ink. Very dark, but still blue, flows well and seems somewhat lubricated, like most of the Iroshizuku inks I've tried.

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Have a look at the Sailor Jentle inks. The blue-black, blue, and ultra marine are all really nice colours and performers. They have very good writing feel, perform VERY well on all papers, are mostly water resistant, and aren't dangerous to vintage pens. I just now loaded my snorkel with the blue and it's great. The inks also have really spectacular sheen on most paper.

 

Edit: meant Sailor sky high rather than ultramarine.

Edited by Mafia Geek
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I haven't put anything but Waterman and Sheaffer in my Parker "51" Vacs. Waterman B/Blk is in my smoothest fine nib "51". I find it a serious ink for a serious pen. Not flashy or bold, does not upstage the pen. I would consider certain Diamine inks and the J Herbin suggested.

 

Should you decide to leave the blues, suggest for this pen Waterman brown. Brown can be quite attractive, serious, even vintage. The Waterman brown is of course safe for the pen and a nice color.

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I have had very good luck with PR Midnight Blues in my fine nibbed 51s and 51 Demis.

 

I love Diamine Blue-Black, but have had problems with it and several others of thier inks being so over saturated that they clog up 51s with a bit of crusty gunk. It cleans off easily with a bit of water, but still shuts the pen down sometimes.

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I run Parker Quink Permanent Blue-Black in my P-51, F nib. I've also used Pilot Blue-Black in a VP with a F nib. Both situations write smoothly with no problems.

Moshe ben David

 

"Behold, He who watches over Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps!"

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I would suggest Diamine Midnight and Cult Pens Deep Dark Blue. Two dark blues that look great and behaved well each time I used them, they don't have the 'grey' aspect that blue/blacks seem to have (although I like that aspect) and work well in EF/F nibs without looking anaemic.

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Sailor Jentle Blue Black or Blue would be my choice for a dark blue ink from a fine point. It is what I run in my Lamy 2000 F. I've actually tried Waterman BB and Bleu Nuit in the 2000. They are not as dark as the Sailor in my experience.

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I have the same pen / same color and use Montblanc's midnight blue (old formula). It never dries out the pen and writes very smoothly but not too wet. It's one of the darkest blue blacks I have used. Cult pens deep dark blue is my other favorite for a very dark blue - similar to the montblanc but it seems to write a wetter line in my pens.

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