The Worst Question. Find Me A Blue Black

[Darth_Roo]

Guys, easy question, difficult answer.

 

I want a professional, dark, rich blue black that has almost equal qualities

I dont want purple or grey or green hues and I want quite a bit saturation

 

I'm not spending more than £20 / $26US all in

 

I honestly thought Sou-Boku was the answer, but I'm not sure how I feel about long term use and maintenance

 

I've scoured the forums and seen lots of alternatives, but my favourites are either less preferable because they're IG or discontinued

 

I'm going to put it in my Lamy 2k so you're going to get good flow and dynamics

 

 

Any suggestions?

[carlos.q]

I suggest you start your search here:

https://www.jetpens.com/blog/the-best-blue-black-fountain-pen-inks/pt/767

[khalameet]

Pilot blue black delivers very good performance and has neither purple or green in it. It has, however, a slightly red sheen where the ink pools. But that's not really visible in the base colour.

The ink is somewhat medium saturated for my taste, but I like it.

 

R&K Salix is also a pure blue black, although mild IG. Plus, it can be cheap as hell in Europe (just 3,50 €/50 ml in Germany).

 

Platinum blue black is also really nice and very similar to Pilot's version, although also mild IG and slightly more blue. Little bit more pricey than the other two IIRC.

 

Both the Platinum and Pilot are a little more on the blue side. But I like them because they have very interesting undertones.

 

Oh, and of course, Pelikan 4001 Blue Black. In my opinion slightly similar to Salix, and also, mild IG.

 

You could also have a look at Montblanc Midnight Blue, the newer version has no IG content and the colour is pretty rich and dark (in my opinion). At least in Germany the ink is not THAT expensive (seen it for 15 € /60 ml), definitely not as expensive as Iroshizuku.

 

If you want Iroshizuku, then get Shin-Kai. This ink put my search to an end.

 

And, they should be mentioned here: Herbin Bleu Nuit and Bleu des Profondeurs. The latter is very dark, the former might not be saturated enough for you.

Edited April 21, 2019 by khalameet

[Namo]

I suggest you start your search here:

https://www.jetpens.com/blog/the-best-blue-black-fountain-pen-inks/pt/767

Amazing link, thank you!

 

I tried many blue black inks since I find this color most relaxing for the eye and surprisingly not boring on the long term. I am using Iroshizuku Tsuki yo, which leans quite a bit on the teal side, but my favorite still is Waterman blue black (not mentioned on the Jetpens site). One of the nicest color, probably the less troublesome ink there is, not expensive, good bottle design (maybe the best after Lamy's and Iroshizuku's). Maybe you will find it not saturated enough though.

[Olya]

You should also look at this then https://www.jetpens.com/blog/the-best-blue-fountain-pen-inks/pt/387

because many inks that fall into the blue black category can be actually teal or blue and some blue inks can also be seen as blue black, eg Sailor Yonaga, Diamine Oxford Blue, J Herbin Bleu des Profondeurs etc etc.

 

Do a google picture search on "blue fountain pen ink" and "blue black fountain pen ink".

[Karmachanic]

Sou-Boku!!

[aurore]

Sailor Yonaga and Diamine Oxford are dark blue.

Pelikan Tanzanite is a good choice, Kobe Nagasawa 38 & 51 are amazing.

[displacermoose]

Guys, easy question, difficult answer.

 

I want a professional, dark, rich blue black that has almost equal qualities

I dont want purple or grey or green hues and I want quite a bit saturation

 

I'm not spending more than £20 / $26US all in

 

I honestly thought Sou-Boku was the answer, but I'm not sure how I feel about long term use and maintenance

 

I've scoured the forums and seen lots of alternatives, but my favourites are either less preferable because they're IG or discontinued

 

I'm going to put it in my Lamy 2k so you're going to get good flow and dynamics

 

 

Any suggestions?

What exactly are your concerns? Don’t leave it for a year in a drawer with the cap off.

 

I’ve been using the Sailor nanos (used to be Seiboku and Kiwaguro, but recently added Souboku) for years with absolutely no maintenance issues. I clean my pens when I switch colors, but otherwise just refill. My Lamy 2000 loves Souboku. When it’s time to clean these inks fall in the middle of the pack. I have inks that are easier to clean but also plenty that are harder.

 

Disclaimer: I am generally a very laid back sort of person. I tend to take the warnings about iron gall and nano pigment inks as CYA from retailers in much the same category as “glue sticks are not to be used as lip gloss”. A bit of common sense goes a huge way to prevent issues.

[VivaTerlingua]

Aurora Blue-black, Robert Oster Thunderstorm, and Pelikan Edelstein Tanzanite are my favorites that (possibly) fit your needs.

[Noihvo]

[Darth_Roo]

I'm very grateful for all your input.

 

It's nice to hear good things about Sailor's NanoPigment. I guess, I'm just concerned what impact they'll have 10 years down the line... but shoulda woulda coulda.

 

I like the idea of R and K but it always looks washed out when I see the reviews.

 

Montblanc Midnight Blue is definitely an option, but I've got other things to buy from MB before that. Looking your direction, Irish Green

[Tasmith]

I use Diamine Registar's Ink which I prefer over R&K Salix. It's an IG ink, well behaved, writes on most types of paper and is very water resistant. Works well in all my pens except for some reason my Pilot Decimo with a fine nib. I do rinse out my pens about every other refill just as a precaution.

Edited April 21, 2019 by Tasmith

[Darth_Roo]

Aurora Blue-black, Robert Oster Thunderstorm, and Pelikan Edelstein Tanzanite are my favorites that (possibly) fit your needs.

They definitely fit the bill. Gonna order some samples 👍

[pararis]

I also recommend Souboku, although it's not as dark as I like in a blue-black.

 

The simplest solution is a $15 bottle of Cross Blue-Black. It claims archival qualities, yet it's not strictly waterfast. And it's an excellent hue with none of that green that usually mars the blue-blacks.

[A Smug Dill]

I honestly thought Sou-Boku was the answer, but I'm not sure how I feel about long term use and maintenance

It's nice to hear good things about Sailor's NanoPigment. I guess, I'm just concerned what impact they'll have 10 years down the line... but shoulda woulda coulda.

I'm not sure what you mean by that. I've been using Sailor kiwaguro and seiboku pigment inks since 2013, and souboku for a few months, and I never have a real problem with it clogging nibs, forming crud, etc. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a case of one-upmanship, but I happily put those inks in rather more expensive fountain pens than a Lamy 2000; if it takes ten years for the ink to degrade or 'ruin' a $150 pen, so what? That's like $15 a year amortised, and I trust the Lamy 2000 will still be readily available new in retail ten years from now, without becoming a rare collector's model that has gone up two- or three-fold in the MSRP/RRP.

 

If you don't have a problem with how good the cap on the specific Lamy 2000 you're using today is, with regard to preventing ink from drying out in the pen while capped, then I doubt it's much of a concern. I know the Lamy 200 gets a lot of love on FPN, but nobody has said it's an expensive luxury pen that needs to be treated with kid gloves; fans are more likely to say the Lamy 2000 is robust and low-maintenance, and if there's any 'problem' it's likely to be about the size of the 'sweet spot' on the nib.

[penzel_washinkton]

Seconding the Pelikan Edelstein Tanzanite and the Kobe Nagasawa #38

[Bristol24]

Since getting back into fountain pens almost a decade ago, I have transitioned from plain, black ink (Parker Quink Permanent Black) and rich, saturated blues (Levenger Cobalt Blue) to the more muted tones of traditional blue black inks. My primary criteria for an ink to be used in one of my pens is that it must perform well on a variety of papers, especially the sorts of papers one runs into out and about. My favorites include:

 

Sheaffer Skrip Blue Black: A very traditional, nostalgic blue black that tends to write slightly on the dry side but offers great performance on a variety of papers with some decent water resistance. I have a 1949 Parker 51 that seems to really like this ink.

 

Sailor Jentle Blue Black: Another more traditional-looking blue black ink that seems to do well on most papers and will have faint shimmers of red or violet on less absorbent papers when delivered by a wetter-writing pen. Nice lubrication, too, in my opinion.

 

Hero 232 Blue Black: Once available just about anywhere (especially on Ebay) for under $5.00 a bottle, Hero 232 Blue Black is an exceptional ink. Apparently, it is an iron gall ink with blue/black dye elements included in its forumaltion giving it an immediate, dark blue to black color that darkens slightly over the next few days. This ink does very well even on the cheapest of papers, does not feather, and does not bleed through to the reverse side. The only problem with this ink is its availability. For all intents and purposes it is gone...outside of China.

 

KWZ I.G. Blue #1: This ink is relatively new to me. It is a true iron gall ink that goes on a medium, dusty blue (powder blue?) and then, over the next few days darkens to a traditional, blue black that is 100% waterproof. Captain Nemo I'm not but I will be using this ink in our log book this summer. If a stray dollop of seawater makes it down the hatch and onto the logbook, this ink will not notice.

 

I intend to post this as a new thread shortly but simply want to mention that I recently purchased three New, Old Stock bottles of vintage Parker Quink Blue Black with the "magic ingredient" Solv-X. The date code on my three bottles is "7" and, based on the packaging, vintage ads, and the like, I am confident in saying this ink is late 1940s (1947-48) in manufacture. I intend to methodically (well, as methodically as my time and inclination permits) compare some of today's blue black inks to this vintage standard. This is going to take some time but my objective is to learn what, if anything, has changed in the past 70 years in the way inks perform in the pen, on the nib, and on paper.

 

Cliff

Edited April 22, 2019 by Bristol24

[Intensity]

J. Herbin Bleu des Profoundeurs - beautiful and sophisticated very dark blue, well-saturated, low maintenance. My new favorite blue-black.

[ENewton]

J. Herbin Bleu des Profoundeurs - beautiful and sophisticated very dark blue, well-saturated, low maintenance. My new favorite blue-black.

 

 

I agree that this is an elegant ink, but I would have thought of it as blue, not blue-black.

[Intensity]

 

 

I agree that this is an elegant ink, but I would have thought of it as blue, not blue-black.

 

It's a really dark, somewhat murky blue, definitely blue-black and not simply blue. It's not a blue-black in that historical tealy blue-black category. But the OP does not want green hues for BB recomendations. Bleu des Profoundeurs does have just a slight tendency toward purple.

Edited April 23, 2019 by Intensity