Well Behaved Water Resistant Black

[Abner C. Kemp]

So, I have successfully converted another ballpoint lover over to the dark side . He's a good friend of mine who does a lot of writing on fairly cheap copy paper at work. Limiting feathering, spread, bleed through exc. is definitely at the top of the list. In terms of permanency, I know it is important to him that the ink isn't going to wash away but I don't think he requires something necessarily fraud proof. He will be running the ink through a Pilot Metropolitan with a medium nib. He seems to really enjoy sepia shades but I have had some difficulty finding one that matches the criteria mentioned above, especially the feathering and water resistance. He also mentioned that he likes a simple black ink. Keep in mind I don't see this guy cleaning his pen all that frequently so pigmented / clogging prone inks are out.

 

My first thought was Noodler's X-Feather. What do you guys think??

Edited July 31, 2015 by Abner C. Kemp

[dragos.mocanu]

You may try Pelikan 4001 Brillant Schwarz...imho the best well behaved black which also has a surprising amount of water resistance.

 

As for the sepia, I've used J. Herbin Lie de Thé èèèè(browner) and R&K Sepia (grayer) and both are lovely, well behaved and have water resistance.

Edited July 31, 2015 by Murky

[mr dodo]

I second your X-Feather thoughts.

Also, quickly googling 'bulletproof sepia', I found this http://www.broworkshop.com/sketching/wonderful-sepia-ink-by-mixing-noodlers-and-platinum/ which may be of interest: it's a mix of two inks (which is a little bit of one-off effort) but apparently worked well for the person who made it, and looks pretty to me.

[SallyLyn]

Feathering IMO is a result of three factors. The paper, the ink and the nib or amount of ink put down while writing. If you write on paper towels no ink will do well, X-Feather would seem a good choice for the ink but if the paper is better than paper towels but still not great then a finer nib than Medium would work out better.

 

I like to keep Waterman inks handy for when I don't clean a pen soon enough. After finally water flushing I'll do a short fill of a similar color Waterman ink. For me the result is a mix of hidden water proof ink and the well behaved Waterman to tidy things up. My writings will remain if gotten wet. Then back to a full fill of my desired ink.

[dcwaites]

Pilot Black is a relatively thin, well-behaved water resistant ink.

 

Of course there is always Noodler's Black, which is a bit thicker and slower drying, but some people have an unwarranted prejudice against Noodler's. If it is too thick and slow-drying (depends on the paper he is using) you can dilute it with 20% or 40% water.

 

X-Feather can be very slow drying on some papers. It is the trade-off for no feathering. It is really aimed at those who write on newsprint (ie crosswords in the paper)

[The Good Captain]

I've no problems with my recently-acquired Noodler's Black and a Sailor H-MF nib. Great on the worst Moleskine I happen to be using at the moment. Also, the 4001 Brilliant Black is great as well and Sheaffer Skrip black has surprisingly good water resistance.

[VivienR]

Platinum Carbon Black - its absolutely waterproof, have a really nice flow, and surprisingly doesn't make harder to clean it from the pen. There is Sepia version from it, I didn't tried that one.

[Dragonmaster Lou]

I just got some Pilot-Namiki black myself. I'm no expert, but I've been very happy with it.

[UDog]

Noodler's Dark Matter is water resistant and has a great back story.

[haruka337]

Sailor Nano Kiwa-guro.

[Rua Uilliam]

Super5 Waterproof Black.

[pbhat]

Platinum Black Ink - excellent flow, dark and decent water resistance. In my experience the best black for all round performance.

pbhat

[ubc]

 

 

hi all

I am looking for a deeeeep black ink that does not clog the pen...any thoughts? I did some research and came up with the Aurora black vs the Faber castell Von graf black carbon..what are your thoughts??

[Paddler]

I just finished testing 43 of my favorite inks for water resistance. I wrote in a notebook with each of them and then soaked the book in water for two weeks. J. Herbin's Perle Noire didn't diffuse, feather, or print through. It will also survive for a couple of months exposed to direct sun and acid rain.

[ubc]

Thanks J herbin perle noire it is then!

[Octo]

He can't go wrong with Noodler's Black. It was designed for such use. If he likes the browns, then Noodler's Walnut Is very dark and elegant with a waterproof underlayer.

[FinalEleven]

Sailor Nano Kiwa-guro.

+1 on the Sailor Nano Kiwa-Guro

[Buzz_130]

The nano pigment blacks from Platinum and Sailor are both excellent inks that I treat the same as any other high dye load ink and have had no issues to date.

 

Buzz

[Bourgeoisie1]

Noodler's Heart of Darkness is my personal favorite. It has a very fast dry time and works great writing on cheap newspaper.

[Arkanabar]

4001 Brilliant Black is relatively dry and water resistant, so that is a good suggestion. It's also low-cost.

I usually recommend Noodler's Heart of Darkness, possibly diluted a 10% or so. I use it on cheap generic copy paper and even cheaper Norcom 70 sheet spiral notebooks in a Hero 616 with minimal feathering issues. And as Amberlea Davis has demonstrated, HoD is just about everything-proof.

As mentioned above, the pen matters too. I have a Pilot 78G in fine (same nib/feed/section as the Metro), and it's dry enough and fine enough to keep Borealis Black from feathering much on my lousy paper. The medium will be wider and wetter, but probably narrower and dryer than, say, a Pelikan fine. (This is a guess.)