The Ubiquitious "i Need A Black Ink" Thread.

[haruka337]

I use mostly Rhodia and Clairefontaine. On Clairefontaine Triomphe I can literally leave it overnight and it will smear the next morning -- obviously not to the point where the text is blurred out but it's bad enough that if I fold a page over or run my finger over a word there will be noticeable smearing. Finicky behavior has mainly been the inks tendency to dry out easily (which is strange since it won't dry on the page) namely in a Levenger pen I own which I haven't had any other issues with.

 

 

I obviously don't buy into it since I own a bottle of the ink already. I actually purchased my bottle from the Goulet Pen Company. However, the smearing makes this an ink I cannot use everyday.

 

I am thinking of going with the Sailor Kiwa-Guro since I've had excellent experiences with Sailor in the past and it has been suggested quite a few times. Thanks to all!!

 

I'm sending out my monthly batch of ink sample this Friday. I can send you a sample of Kiwa-guro along with three other black inks for you to try. Let me know!

[Tas]

I'm sending out my monthly batch of ink sample this Friday. I can send you a sample of Kiwa-guro along with three other black inks for you to try. Let me know!

 

Danger!

 

hakura337 is an enabler of the highest order. You WILL end up buying at least one ink from the samples sent . . .

[Abner C. Kemp]

 

Danger!

 

hakura337 is an enabler of the highest order. You WILL end up buying at least one ink from the samples sent . . .

 

Thanks for the warning. I am definitely going to take hakura337 up on the very generous offer.

[pepsiplease69]

I'll throw another vote for the following two blacks

 

Aurora Black: Very very nice black. It's the blackest black I've come accross, well behaved, free-flowing.

Can't speak to the water resistance or permanence of this ink, but I say: live on the wild side, go with Aurora Black and never look back. It's an ink that may change your approach to writing. Make it more care-free..

 

I've tried out Noodlers Borealis Black which purports to be an Aurora Black doppleganger (a more cost effective one), but I've learnt that nothing beats the genuine article.

 

Sailor Kiwa Guro: This one scores very high marks with me on performance on poor paper. No bleed, no feather. It's a very dark ink but it does have a shiny matte finish to it which is nice at times, but I could see it becoming distracting for some folks.

[akafridi3]

I have also experienced smearing with noodlers black. Sailor black ink is pretty nice alternative.

[mmg122]

My favorites:

BungBox Music Black - water resistant

Aurora Black...not waterproof but best black ink out there...IMO.

Kyonooto Nurebairo - not water resistant

[TSherbs]

......

 

I've tried out Noodlers Borealis Black which purports to be an Aurora Black doppleganger (a more cost effective one), but I've learnt that nothing beats the genuine article....

 

 

agreed

[Flaxmoore]

Heart of Darkness is excellent if you need an ink that will laugh at basically everything.

[arneyz]

J. Herbin Perle Noire really is a good option. I have it loaded in a relatively wet Parker 51 for note taking right now. I'm a lefty over-writer using it on 90g Clairefonaine and writing very fast with no smearing issues. It's a very true black, but it isn't waterproof (at least not intentionally) so keep that in mind. You do get a bit of shading with it if you look closely. Herbin inks are also the least fussy inks I've ever encountered.

[Tas]

Heart of Darkness is excellent if you need an ink that will laugh at basically everything.

 

[Arkanabar]

Noodler's Red-Black has the same tendency to smudge, but it can be remedied by dilution with water, somewhere around 3:1 to 10:1. (Actually, I did do this with a friend's sample of Black a while back, too.)

I'd much rather have Heart of Darkness, which didn't smear, without the bit of dilution that Noodler's original Black requires. And it has stood up to every assault anyone's ever tried.

Any of the carbon blacks (Platinum or Sailor Kiwa-Guro) should work. Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black is quite water-resistant IMX. And according to the final (2007) edition of Clark's Ink Sampler, both US and Slovenian Sheaffer blacks and Visconti Black are also quite water-resistant.

[pepsiplease69]

I wanted to also put in a good word for Papier Plume Black.

 

I discovered it at the SF pen show Ink testing station and immediately fell in love.

 

A very rich opaque black which flows very well. (Sorry not a chance of any shading)

 

It develops a shiny gloss after it dries and I hardly see any smudging.

[Abner C. Kemp]

I wanted to also put in a good word for Papier Plume Black.

 

I discovered it at the SF pen show Ink testing station and immediately fell in love.

 

A very rich opaque black which flows very well. (Sorry not a chance of any shading)

 

It develops a shiny gloss after it dries and I hardly see any smudging.

COOL!!

[Monbla]

After more than 40+ years of using fountain pens and just about all the major inks over the years, some of the Asian inks mentioned here I've not used, but I've finally settled on two Blacks for daily use. The blackest is Aurora's Black, free flowing dries relatively fast, doesn't smear and is the most opaque Black out there ! But is not waterproof and for that quality I use Pelikan's 4001 Brilliant Black which is close to the Aurora for opaqueness, flows well in all my pens and has the added factor of being much more waterproof than most.