Review - Everflo™ Blue-Black

[corniche]

Greetings all,

 

I received several samples of blue ink from Greg, (FPN ID: longdistance); a few of the colors were nice and quite tempting; however, I am a blue-black man and that is the color that appealed to me the most. The ink in question is Richard Binder’s Blue-Black; an ink I had sworn off after reading Sandy1’s review- which I am beginning to think was a mislabeled bottle of True Blue. Because the results I got from my sample of Richard’s new ink appear in every way as a classic blue-black.

 

After using Everflo Blue-Black for only a couple of hours now; one thing comes to mind. It is my supposition that Noodler’s makes these inks; not only are the bottles the same, but this ink performs exactly like my bottle of Noodler's Eel Blue- in both the good and the bad attributes. The good attributes are amazing lubrication- the lubrication rivals my favorite- Quink Permanent Blue- and that’s saying something. One variant however, Richard’s ink has better flow than the flow I experienced with Noodler’s Eel. The other positive is Richard’s ink is more water resistant than both Eel Blue and QPB.

 

Now the negative, it is a little slow to dry- not as bad as Richard’s True Blue, but still a little slower than some other blue-blacks I’ve used. Second, there is a little nib creep and when you dip your nib- the ink clings like glue- just like the Eel Blue did. (QPB is fairly well lubricated but it doesn’t cling to the nib).

 

Also, like Eel Blue- it takes some extra effort to flush out your pen(s). This is the sticking point that concerns me the most. I worry that regular, long-term use of this ink could start posing clogging problems. This is why I believe good pen hygiene is extra important when using well lubricated inks like this one. I am going to buy a bottle of this ink because I love the color and performance; however, I am also going to run all the nibs that use it through my ultrasonic every second refill.

 

Flow: 5.0 Excellent- I’m a fast writer and the ink kept up with me every step of the way; this ink is like me- it loves speed.

 

Lubrication: 5.0 The pens glide across the cheap paper like a Cadillac.

 

Bleed-Through: 4.5 None detected; barely any even with the Q-Tip swab.

 

Nib Creep: 3.5 A little in my Sheaffer Targa.

 

Feathering: 4.5 None detected.

 

Shading: 2.0 This is one of the biggest drawbacks; it is very saturated and has little, if any shading qualities.

 

Saturation: 4.5 Nice, deep dark lines everytime.

 

Ignition: 3.5 Overall, excellent; however, I did notice a couple of times when the pen sat for a few minutes that it was difficult to get it writing again.

 

Water Resistance: 4.0 Writing was still legible after swabbing across it with a dripping wet Q-Tip.

 

Drying Time: 4.0 Not too bad; around 2-3 seconds with a dry writer; 4-5 seconds with a wet writer.

 

Final Assessments:

 

Overall, I like this ink enough that I am willing to overlook its shortcomings and I am going to buy a bottle of it later today when I purchase my bottle of Diamine Hope Pink from Brian G.; however, I must stress that I believe good pen hygiene is vital if you choose to use this ink on a long-term regular basis.

 

All the best,

 

Sean

 

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff449/quinkkid/EverfloBlue-Black1.jpg

 

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff449/quinkkid/EverfloBlue-Black2.jpg

Edited January 8, 2011 by S. P. Colfer

[corniche]

Greetings all,

 

The pics will be here soon- I have to run them through Photobucket again.

 

Sean

[Sandy1]

Hi,

 

Well Well Well

 

What next?

 

Perhaps whatever ink I reviewed was True Blue or something else - but certainly not the ink so well depicted and described in this Review.:bonk:

 

On another point:

It seems that you did not see the feathering depicted by Member 'slowpoke2':

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/179933-everflo-blue-black/page__view__findpost__p__1811185

 

I'm just going to say a big 'Thanks!' to Sean.

 

Bye,

S1

[corniche]

Hi,

 

Well Well Well

 

What next?

 

Perhaps whatever ink I reviewed was True Blue or something else - but certainly not the ink so well depicted and described in this Review.:bonk:

 

On another point:

It seems that you did not see the feathering depicted by Member 'slowpoke2':

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/179933-everflo-blue-black/page__view__findpost__p__1811185

 

I'm just going to say a big 'Thanks!' to Sean.

 

Bye,

S1

 

Hello Sandy,

 

Thanks Sandy- you're quite welcome. As I said in the opening of my review, I kind of think you do have a mislabeled bottle of True Blue... or there is a ghost in the machinery somewhere... I don't get it either.

 

You raise a good and valid point with the feathering; I think I am going to stop judging that facet of ink quality because my eyes are not what they used to be. I have a difficult time assessing feathering unless I take my glasses off and put my face right up to the page- which I didn't do with this review.

 

All the best,

 

Sean

[lovemy51]

Hi,

 

Well Well Well

 

What next?

 

Perhaps whatever ink I reviewed was True Blue or something else - but certainly not the ink so well depicted and described in this Review.:bonk:

 

On another point:

It seems that you did not see the feathering depicted by Member 'slowpoke2':

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/179933-everflo-blue-black/page__view__findpost__p__1811185

 

I'm just going to say a big 'Thanks!' to Sean.

 

Bye,

S1

 

i was thinking the same thing when i saw your review, Sandy!!!

 

thx for the review, Colfer!

[mwc1]

Good review. Thanks.

- Mary Ann

Edited January 9, 2011 by mwc1

[Pen Nut]

Thanks for the great review. More food for thought.....you think you know what ink you want then, fifteen reviews later, you are not that sure.

[watch_art]

Hm. I just bought a bottle of this for a really good price in the M/P, so even if it's not as dark a blue as I'd like, I don't think I'll mind so much. But this has gotten me a bit excited about actually getting my hands on it.

[Sandy1]

Hi,

 

Well Well Well

 

What next?

 

Perhaps whatever ink I reviewed was True Blue or something else - but certainly not the ink so well depicted and described in this Review.:bonk:

 

On another point:

It seems that you did not see the feathering depicted by Member 'slowpoke2':

http://www.fountainp...ost__p__1811185

 

I'm just going to say a big 'Thanks!' to Sean.

 

Bye,

S1

 

i was thinking the same thing when i saw your review, Sandy!!!

 

thx for the review, Colfer!

Hi,

 

I believe the added emphasis should be expanded to include 'or something else'. My IR was revised to reflect this recent turn of events.

 

I knew I was on Santa's Naughty List, but to get a joke prezzie that doesn't prank me alone, but innocent bystanders as well, is really poor form. (Perhaps I am on the 'Very Naughty List'.)

 

Bye,

S1

[corniche]

thx for the review, Colfer!

 

Greetings Lovemy51,

 

That's MR. Colfer or just plain Sean. :ltcapd:

 

All the best,

 

Sean

Edited January 9, 2011 by S. P. Colfer

[corniche]

"...More food for thought.....you think you know what ink you want then, fifteen reviews later, you are not that sure."

 

Greetings PenNut,

 

Yes, I know exactly how you feel. First, I didn't want it; then I wanted it. Then I started worrying about the ink's thick viscosity and didn't want it again; then I looked at it on paper and I really, really want it again.

 

Greetings all,

 

One thing I meant to do earlier and forgot was to apologize for my wretched handwriting in these review pages. I try to make a better effort when I know I'm going to publish what I'm writing. When I wrote these, I wasn't preparing a proper review; I was just experimenting with the samples Greg sent me. However, I was so struck by the color and the ink's performance that I rushed these right out. I hope you can read my scrawl.

 

 

All the best,

 

Sean

Edited January 9, 2011 by S. P. Colfer

[longdistance]

Hi Sean,

 

Glad you like the ink.

 

I'd have never guessed the nice colors you got were lurking in EVERFLO B-B. Through your Targa, the ink looks almost like couple-days-old Waterman B-B. It also looks quite distinctive with your italics dip pen.

 

Thanks for the review!

[corniche]

Hi Sean,

 

Glad you like the ink.

 

I'd have never guessed the nice colors you got were lurking in EVERFLO B-B. Through your Targa, the ink looks almost like couple-days-old Waterman B-B. It also looks quite distinctive with your italics dip pen.

 

Thanks for the review!

 

 

Hello Greg,

 

THANK YOU for the sample, yeah, I don't know, maybe this ink just really likes me...or my Targa, because the color I've gotten out of it is beautiful. To be clear though, I dip-tested it with a couple other fountain pens and a couple of dip pens and got the same results, (with the dip pens running a little darker as usual)... so the ink must really like me.

 

You hit it right on the head- it looks just like Waterman blue-black before it changes color. That was probably Richard's goal to start with because he had always been a die-hard advocate for WM b/b.

 

BTW, I’ll digress a little, who makes the Blue Pervanche? … very pretty if you like turquoise inks. The Pilot Asa-gao is nice too- reminds me a lot of WM Florida Blue.

 

All the best,

 

Sean

[kwpalzang]

Hi Sean,

 

Glad you like the ink.

 

I'd have never guessed the nice colors you got were lurking in EVERFLO B-B. Through your Targa, the ink looks almost like couple-days-old Waterman B-B. It also looks quite distinctive with your italics dip pen.

 

Thanks for the review!

 

 

Hello Greg,

 

THANK YOU for the sample, yeah, I don't know, maybe this ink just really likes me...or my Targa, because the color I've gotten out of it is beautiful. To be clear though, I dip-tested it with a couple other fountain pens and a couple of dip pens and got the same results, (with the dip pens running a little darker as usual)... so the ink must really like me.

 

You hit it right on the head- it looks just like Waterman blue-black before it changes color. That was probably Richard's goal to start with because he had always been a die-hard advocate for WM b/b.

 

BTW, I’ll digress a little, who makes the Blue Pervanche? … very pretty if you like turquoise inks. The Pilot Asa-gao is nice too- reminds me a lot of WM Florida Blue.

 

All the best,

 

Sean

 

Bleu Pervenche is made by J. Herbin

[corniche]

Greetings phr4nkr4wk5,

 

Thanks. I thought it might have been J. Herbin by the French name. Very tempting color.

 

Thanks,

 

Sean

[jniforat]

i love this color. unfortunately, like true blue, the dry time is the deal breaker. while it doesn't take forever like true blue, this ink just hasn't worked for me and takes too long. i'm a leftie and believe Everflo ink, in it's current incarnation, is a "right-handed" ink.

[corniche]

i love this color. unfortunately, like true blue, the dry time is the deal breaker. while it doesn't take forever like true blue, this ink just hasn't worked for me and takes too long. i'm a leftie and believe Everflo ink, in it's current incarnation, is a "right-handed" ink.

 

Hello jniforat,

 

You're right, Everflo inks are not well suited for LH writers; hopefully, someday technology will allow for a quick drying, well lubricated ink. Until that day comes, I'm afraid you'll have to look elsewhere. This ink can be a pain for RH writers like myself too- often times, when I'm signing a stack of papers at once, I can't re-stack the papers once they've been signed or the signatures get smudged. I have to keep the papers spread out until the ink dries. Fortunately, that is no longer a problem for me since I now use Diamine Twilight as my signature ink.

 

All the best,

 

Sean

[watch_art]

I found mine to work well on Rhodia and cheap papers just fine, but on CF and Black and Red, it smudges even the next day. I'm going to try some dilutions to see if I can improve on all of this. It's pretty pitiful.

[jniforat]

you're right, watch_art -- on el cheapo paper, Everflo is great! on CF, Rhodia, and non-cheap paper, i've had this ink smear two to three days later! it's crazy! too bad cos i love the colors a lot

[watch_art]

i diluted mine with about 30% water, and it works great. not as dark, but still very nice.