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For the last few years I've enjoyed Platinum Carbon Black. It dries quickly, works in practically any paper, and is basically indestructible, so it is good for things like addressing envelopes, making grocery lists, and writing down recipes. I don't use very much black ink, though; my usual Carbon Black pen is a Platinum Plaisir. Ink will live in it more or less indefinitely without drying out, so I only open my Carbon Black bottle once or twice a year. As a result, even though my bottle of Carbon Black is several years old, it's nearly full. This morning I opened it up and it made a *FSSS* sound, and a VERY powerful ammonia smell issued forth. I assume (and the internet seems to agree) that this ink has Shuffled Off This Mortal Coil. This happened to me once before with some Noodler's inks - but those inks were maybe a decade old or older, and since then I have improved my ink hygiene (now filling from a clean dispensing syringe each time). So, sown the drain went my nearly full bottle of PCB. On the other hand, my old bottle of Quink is maybe 15 years old, and just as good as the day I got it (which is to say, not a great ink, but it still seems perfectly fresh). So I'm looking for a new black ink, one that will age well in the bottle. I've used samples of J. Herbin Perle Noire, Aurora black, and Lamy black. I found them to be perfectly nice. Does anyone know how they keep over time? In addition, I'm sure there are other black inks I don't know and/or haven't tried. The three above are somewhat less waterproof (understatement!) than Carbon Black. If there's a more waterproof one that will sit in the bottle without turning into cat pee, that would be great! - N P.S. I should mention, I dislike Noodler's black. I know a lot of people swear by it, but it's so oversaturated that it smears long (I mean weeks or years) after drying.