What Exactly Is Blue Black?

[ParkerDuofold]

Until I got into fountain pens, I always thought of blue black as a dark blue that's almost black but not quite. Once I'd gotten into fountain pens, I consider blue black to be a dark blue which, when the light hits it the proper way, looks green. I consider it a color that is unique to the fountain pen hobby and gives a bit of unique flair to the writing.

I'll buy this.

 

And I'll add: if not a hint of green, then a hint of blue-gray.

 

 

- Anthony

[eharriett]

I'll buy this.

And I'll add: if not a hint of green, then a hint of blue-gray.

- Anthony

Hmm, I don't know about that one though. If we are both thinking the same color (and we might not be). I've seen blue blacks in ballpoint with hints of gray (I'm thinking specifically of a color in a Fisher Space pen). But I've never seen a ballpoint blue black with a similar hint of green to it. Apologies if we are not thinking the same color.

[dcwaites]

Iron gall inks made in a laboratory are basically colourless, so a blue dye used to be added.

When you wrote with it, the blue dye let you see what you wrote. As the oxygen in the air turned the iron in the ink black, the ink would turn black. Hence the term "Goes down Blue, turns to Black" or Blue-Black ink.

 

More commonly now, a blue black ink is a blue ink with a touch of black to make it a darker, more business-suitable ink.

[chromantic]

I would love to have some water resistant inks in other colors; are there any that match the water resistance and other superior properties of Pilot Blue-Black?

 

Noodler's Red Black is considered "near bulletproof". It's a great color, too, and very well-behaved.

[ink-syringe]

For the love of all that is holy: Blue Black is NOT teal.

 

Blue black comes from the iron gall days, it is a blue that when dried oxidizes towards black. It can have elements of black, of blue, or of slate and charcoal like colors as well (See: Sailor's wonderful stormy mix they sell as a fantastic non-iron gall blue-black substitute) it can even get away with a little purple (See Pelikan's lovely Tanzanite).

 

WHAT IT CAN NOT HAVE IS ANY %^!*^& GREEN.

 

BLUE BLACK AINT GOT NOTHING TO DO WITH GREEN YO.

 

N O T H I N G

 

</strong_opinions>

Edited April 20, 2017 by ink-syringe

[ParkerDuofold]

WHAT IT CAN NOT HAVE IS ANY %^!*^& GREEN.

 

BLUE BLACK AINT GOT NOTHING TO DO WITH GREEN YO.

 

N O T H I N G

 

</strong_opinions>

Hello all,

 

I was being facetious when I said that... it was a subtle jab at Waterman's Mysterious Blue that always turns a tealish green-blue color.

 

I guess I should have included an emoticon to make the point.

 

 

- Anthony

[ParkerDuofold]

Hmm, I don't know about that one though. If we are both thinking the same color (and we might not be). I've seen blue blacks in ballpoint with hints of gray (I'm thinking specifically of a color in a Fisher Space pen). But I've never seen a ballpoint blue black with a similar hint of green to it. Apologies if we are not thinking the same color.

Hi EHarriet,

 

Please see above comments.

 

- Anthony

[Joane]

Hello all,

I was being facetious when I said that... it was a subtle jab at Waterman's Mysterious Blue that always turns a tealish green-blue color.

I guess I should have included an emoticon to make the point.

- Anthony

No misunderstanding here--I got it. 😃 For the same reasons, for years I hated Waterman Blue-Black/Mysterious Blue. Performance was never a problem but from the time the colour first showed signs of green, a couple of decades ago, I shunned it. Then, one day, by chance I discovered it was almost identical to my beloved discontinued MB Diamond Blue LE. Now I use Mysterious Blue regularly and since thinking ot as a Diamond Blue replacement, I love it!

[eharriett]

Well, I may not know what Blue Black is.

 

But I know what I like

Edited April 20, 2017 by eharriett

[ParkerDuofold]

Well, I may not know what Blue Black is.

 

But I know what I like

That's all that matters.

 

- Anthony

[ParkerDuofold]

No misunderstanding here--I got it. 😃 For the same reasons, for years I hated Waterman Blue-Black/Mysterious Blue. Performance was never a problem but from the time the colour first showed signs of green, a couple of decades ago, I shunned it. Then, one day, by chance I discovered it was almost identical to my beloved discontinued MB Diamond Blue LE. Now I use Mysterious Blue regularly and since thinking ot as a Diamond Blue replacement, I love it!

We are funny and mysterious creatures, ain't we? I had a somewhat similar experience with pens... I vowed I'd never own a piece of $#!¥ Chinese pen... today I own over 30 from several different brands.

 

- Anthony

[ink-syringe]

I guess I should have included an emoticon to make the point.

 

 

 

No I got that.

 

My post also included a hidden wink and nod.

 

heh.

[ParkerDuofold]

 

No I got that.

 

My post also included a hidden wink and nod.

 

heh.

 

- Anthony

[Tweel]

What Exactly Is Blue Black?

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 22, 2017 by Tweel

[Tweel]

Blue-black is exactly my favorite color.... it is the situation of the night, timelessness and depth of feeling.

 

Whew

 

[ParkerDuofold]

 

 

Hi Tweel,

 

Yeah, I see what you mean... the highlighting in her hair looks blue-black to me.

 

- Anthony

[kronos77]

Iron gall inks made in a laboratory are basically colourless, so a blue dye used to be added.

When you wrote with it, the blue dye let you see what you wrote. As the oxygen in the air turned the iron in the ink black, the ink would turn black. Hence the term "Goes down Blue, turns to Black" or Blue-Black ink.

 

More commonly now, a blue black ink is a blue ink with a touch of black to make it a darker, more business-suitable ink.

I am glad some people here are coming out with the historic truth. Every time I have said that blue-black is not a color but a color change, someone has told me I am wrong.

 

I do think we should be somewhat vigilant about enforcing the proper use of the term, here at FPN. If we don't, who will?

[TSherbs]

....

 

I do think we should be somewhat vigilant about enforcing the proper use of the term, here at FPN. If we don't, who will?

 

Could you be more precise about what you want to "enforce"? Manufacturers use the term "blue-black" for many of their ink products, many of which are not iron gall, nor do they color change when they dry. Are you suggesting that we not be able to use the manufacturer's ink name here in those cases?

[kronos77]

 

Could you be more precise about what you want to "enforce"? Manufacturers use the term "blue-black" for many of their ink products, many of which are not iron gall, nor do they color change when they dry. Are you suggesting that we not be able to use the manufacturer's ink name here in those cases?

"enforce" sounds harsher than I intended. In fact, enforcement wouldn't even be possible. Still, people often come to this site for sound advice and knowledge. The way the term blue-black is abused is likely to give people the wrong idea.

 

So, I suppose something sensible is just diligently but politely setting things straight when they need to straightening.

[DavidCampen]

Does Pilot Blue-Black show enough of a color change to be called blue-black? I can see some darkening of color as it dries but is it enough? We would need a standard ink that shows the minimum amount of darkening that is required for an ink to be called blue-black so that we could compare other inks against that to determine if they meet the minimum darkening requirement to be called blue-black.