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Lamy Black


mAnuscript69

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Seeing as there is only one review of Lamy Black thus far, I decided to do a quick review of this ink. This is my first ink review and I must admit that I didn't really have a plan of what to include and just went for it.

I do not claim to have the best handwriting in the world.

 

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                                                                        High Resolution Scan

 

 

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                                                                        High Resolution Scan

 

 

 

I've corrected the scans to my best abilities but some quality is lost in the scanning process. Here's a photo taken from a digital camera:

 

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                                                                        High Resolution

 

Transcript of the notes about this ink:

- Swab with Q tip starts extremely wet, swabbed till relatively dry; depicting ink saturation

- Flow is average though a little on the dry side

- Lubrication is average

- Not much shading to be seen, there's a little in wet and broad nibs but it is elusive

- Ink dries fairly quickly, even on glossy paper

- Lamy Black is great for cheap paper. It doesn't bleed or feather even with broad nibs

- Lamy Black is darker than Waterman Black but nowhere near as dark as Noodler's Black

- Lamy Black has sort of a matte/velvety look when dry while Waterman's is more glossy

- No problems cleaning Lamy Black from pens

- 30ml bottle does not come with blotting paper

- Waterproofness was surprising. Unlike Lamy Blue, Lamy Black fared better. Water was dripped on the writing, left for ten seconds before dripped off and blotted.

 

Additional notes:

- Writing in red was done with a Kaweco Sport Classic with a fine nib, ink is Diamine Oxblood

- No prominent smell/odour from the ink

- Lamy Black fades a little over time as with Waterman Black, giving it a slight washed out look.

 

Conclusion

Lamy Black is a low maintenance, well behaved ink. It isn't the darkest, most saturated black ink available but it certainly isn't the faintest either. It is suitable as a daily writing ink with its low cost and low maintenance, as well as some water resistance to boot! If you are looking for a very deep, intense black which doesn't fade, Lamy Black isn't for you. If you're looking for a hassle free, inexpensive black ink for large volumes of writing, Lamy Black will get the job done.

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Well done.

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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Well done.

Thanks, Bo Bo. It was fun doing this review and I'm considering doing more in the future, especially on inks that haven't gotten much reviews yet.

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Nice review!

 

Your conclusion is very similar to mine (I've been using Lamy Black almost daily for about a year). It's a nice black that behaves well in all of my pens, which is more than I can say for some other brands of black ink. Lamy's water-resistance was an unexpected bonus.

 

Also, the 30 ml. bottle makes a great traveling inkwell! Unfortunately, the 30 ml. bottles are generally unavailable in the U.S. as Lamy USA only imports the 50 ml. size. I was able to purchase a 30 ml. bottle on a recent trip to Germany.

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Giving it a whirl currently from my Goulet sample vial.

 

It writes well in my Delta Oro Oversize (med) and doesn't creep across the nib like others from that monthly delivery.

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Nice review!

 

Your conclusion is very similar to mine (I've been using Lamy Black almost daily for about a year). It's a nice black that behaves well in all of my pens, which is more than I can say for some other brands of black ink. Lamy's water-resistance was an unexpected bonus.

 

Also, the 30 ml. bottle makes a great traveling inkwell! Unfortunately, the 30 ml. bottles are generally unavailable in the U.S. as Lamy USA only imports the 50 ml. size. I was able to purchase a 30 ml. bottle on a recent trip to Germany.

I was quite surprised to find 30ml Lamy bottles here too. Online stores only stock the 50ml varieties but I picked this one up at a brick and mortar store. I agree that they make great bottles to decant other inks into, once empty.

 

Giving it a whirl currently from my Goulet sample vial.

 

It writes well in my Delta Oro Oversize (med) and doesn't creep across the nib like others from that monthly delivery.

I haven't noticed any nib creep from this ink though I can't say the same for Noodler's Black. I'm not really bothered by nib creep but I know a lot of people are!

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I haven't noticed any nib creep from this ink though I can't say the same for Noodler's Black. I'm not really bothered by nib creep but I know a lot of people are!

 

 

One recently sampled blank ink would leave a lot of ink on the nib, had to wipe it every 30 minutes or so when using.

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One thing that I don't like about this ink is that fades yellowish after some time.

 

If Lamy could fix this, would be my first black ink

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Currently I have my TWSBI 540 and a Sheaffer Imperial inked with Lamy Black. It performs and behaves so well, I'm not even considering another black. I'm very happy with the ink.

 

Thanks for the review - I look forward to more.

Fool me once, shame on you.

Fool me twice; damn

There goes that fox again.

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One thing that I don't like about this ink is that fades yellowish after some time.

 

If Lamy could fix this, would be my first black ink

 

Great review OP.

 

I have some notes for college I took last year and the notes were stored in a climate controlled room. I went back to look at them and the ink is fading already. So for long term storage it is not the best option.

“Left-handers are wired into the artistic half of the brain, which makes them imaginative, creative, surprising, ambiguous, exasperating, stubborn, emotional, witty, obsessive, infuriating, delightful, original, but never, never, dull" James T deKay and Sandy Huffaker

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  • 2 weeks later...

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Edited by Bo Bo Olson

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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I came looking for just this review, sort of weird to find it on the top of the list. Nice review good work.

Do not let old pens lay around in a drawer, get them working and give them to a new fountain pen user.

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  • 2 months later...

thank you for this detailed review. I got a free bottle of lamy black ink and I was thinking of using it for a while :o

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Thank you for the review.

Fountain pens are my preferred COLOR DELIVERY SYSTEM (in part because crayons melt in Las Vegas).

Create a Ghostly Avatar and I'll send you a letter. Check out some Ink comparisons: The Great PPS Comparison 

Don't know where to start?  Look at the Inky Topics O'day.  Then, see inks sorted by color: Blue Purple Brown Red Green Dark Green Orange Black Pinks Yellows Blue-Blacks Grey/Gray UVInks Turquoise/Teal MURKY

 

 

 

 

 

 

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  • 7 months later...

I have found that my Lamy black develops a slight metallic sheen of a sort of brownish golden color when dry. It is only visible under direct light reflected at an angle. I am kind of fond of it.

 

See one picture up close at an angle and one straight top-down for comparison.

post-108756-0-25092700-1389189750_thumb.jpg

post-108756-0-79652400-1389189758_thumb.jpg

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got mine free with a lamy 2000, ironically, this inks behaves very well in all my pens except my lamy 2000. :s

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Nice review. I have some Lamy cartridges and use it occasionally. I give the nod to Pelikan for the bang-to-buck performance with the "cheap" inks.

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  • 3 months later...

I've just injected water into a mostly-empty Lamy black cartridge to dilute the remaining ink to about 1:1, and I now have a rather nice dark grey that has all the good lubricating and non-feathering qualities of Lamy black but also shades a bit ... nice!

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  • 2 months later...
  • 5 years later...

got mine free with a lamy 2000, ironically, this inks behaves very well in all my pens except my lamy 2000. :s

 

 

L2000 don't like kon-peki too.

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