Black Ink For An Ef Lamy Safari?

[CheesyWalnut]

Hi everyone. I'm looking for a good versatile black ink that will work well in an extra fine lamy safari, won't feather on most papers, and dries in a reasonable amount of time (< 10 seconds on copy paper).

 

I am currently using noodler's black, but I find that it takes too long to dry and causes a significant about of nib creep; it also does not seem to completely dry and smears after several hours. Others have said that it is the "blackest black," but I think pelikan 4001 brilliant black is more black than noodlers, but pelikan is drier.

 

I have samples of diamine onyx and jet black, Bernake black, Quink black, pelikan black, Schaffer black, and lamy black.

 

Lamy and pelikan black both are fantastic inks, but don't seem to be dark enough and look gray at times; other inks like Schaffer feather on cheaper paper or aren't a "true black" like onyx that seems like a dark purple. I have yet to try Quink black. Waterproof properties are a plus but aren't too important for me.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Also, if anyone has used them how does diamine midnight compare to oxford blue?

Edited April 26, 2017 by CheesyWalnut

[ParkerDuofold]

Hi Cheesy Walnut,

 

Congrats on choosing a Safari.

 

Try Aurora. Silky and quite black.

 

- Anthony

[asegier]

I second Aurora. I can't exactly give you statistics, but given that someone else has suggested it, and it's my go to and only black ink I like to use, I can't help but suggest it.

[tinto]

I used to use Lamy and Pelikan black and had the same conclusion: they should be darker. I'm currently using J. Herbin Perle Noir in my Safari EF with joy.

[Ink Stained Wretch]

Hi everyone. I'm looking for a good versatile black ink that will work well in an extra fine lamy safari, won't feather on most papers, and dries in a reasonable amount of time (< 10 seconds on copy paper).

 

I am currently using noodler's black, but I find that it takes too long to dry and causes a significant about of nib creep; it also does not seem to completely dry and smears after several hours.

 

It dries. What can happen is that the paper may not absorb all of the Noodler's Black ink. In that case the ink can't bond with the cellulose because the ink itself gets stacked up on the ink underneath it. So absorbent paper can eliminate the smearing problem.

 

Also, diluting the Noodler's black will eliminate the smearing, but then it's not a very black ink that you're putting on the paper.

[ac12]

try a sample of Waterman black.

 

Yeah Parker Quink and Sheaffer Skrip are not real dark blacks.

 

hmm I thought Pelikan black was 2nd behind Aurora black, for being BLACK.

 

Ah, you may be running into an optical illusion problem.

When I write with my Chinese EF nibs, the normally fine medium blue inks look faded and washed out.

When I look at the ink with a magnifier, the color is the SAME as from a M nib.

I came to the conclusion that with EF nibs, your eye is seeing more white paper, so the intensity of the ink seems to fade.

Someone on FPN had a technical explanation for this.

 

And the problem gets worse if the nib is dry. A dry nib write narrower and lighter than a wetter nib.

[asegier]

try a sample of Waterman black.

 

Yeah Parker Quink and Sheaffer Skrip are not real dark blacks.

 

hmm I thought Pelikan black was 2nd behind Aurora black, for being BLACK.

 

Ah, you may be running into an optical illusion problem.

When I write with my Chinese EF nibs, the normally fine medium blue inks look faded and washed out.

When I look at the ink with a magnifier, the color is the SAME as from a M nib.

I came to the conclusion that with EF nibs, your eye is seeing more white paper, so the intensity of the ink seems to fade.

Someone on FPN had a technical explanation for this.

 

And the problem gets worse if the nib is dry. A dry nib write narrower and lighter than a wetter nib.

 

 

This is really interesting. I write with a Pelikan Fine nib normally with Aurora black. I recently switched over to Montblanc 24 with a Fine nib (writes more like EF though) and I feel like the line is GREY. It made me almost stagger and think that I put in Diamine Grey instead of Aurora black. I started scribbling like crazy, thinking it was residual water or something... but nope. So strange. That being said, the nib is a dry writer, compared to my Pelikan, which may just be that a lot more ink is being laid down... then I tried a Montblanc KEF nib, with Diamine Midnight, and it was DARKER then my Aurora black... now I'm really confused.

[ParkerDuofold]

 

 

This is really interesting. I write with a Pelikan Fine nib normally with Aurora black. I recently switched over to Montblanc 24 with a Fine nib (writes more like EF though) and I feel like the line is GREY. It made me almost stagger and think that I put in Diamine Grey instead of Aurora black. I started scribbling like crazy, thinking it was residual water or something... but nope. So strange. That being said, the nib is a dry writer, compared to my Pelikan, which may just be that a lot more ink is being laid down... then I tried a Montblanc KEF nib, with Diamine Midnight, and it was DARKER then my Aurora black... now I'm really confused.

Hello Asegier,

 

Don't let the confusion get you down; it's part of the process and your described experiences are not that unusual.

 

Each pen is unique, (unless you start custom tuning them like I do, to make them all wet writers), and the way one handles an ink will vary wildly from another... even within the same model range.

 

Meanwhile, ac12 recommends Waterman Black and in my experience, that's the most washed out, dingy black ink I've ever used... in any pen I've tried it in! Yet, he must have had alternative experiences or he wouldn't have recommended it.

 

Life is a wild ride... take good notes.

 

- Anthony

Edited April 27, 2017 by ParkerDuofold

[ac12]

PD

Washed out was Parker Quink black, when I was in college.

Out of my F nib pens, it looked like a dark/medium gray, quite upsetting when I wanted BLACK.

 

Yes, so many variables which affect how an ink looks on paper.

 

I have a weird one for you.

Waterman green out of my Sheaffer Touchdown looks like a dark green, similar to Pelikan Dark Green.

But the same ink out of ANY of my other pens (that I tried) is nowhere near as dark. And try as I might, I have not been able to adjust/make any of my other pens write that ink similar to the Touchdown. So it is not simply making the other pens write wetter, it is something else.

[Astronymus]

I'd recommend Lamy Black or J.Herbin's Perle Noir.

 

Have Lamy Black in my Math fine nibbed AL-Star. No feathering on office paper and fast drying, No noticeable shading with fine nib.

Perle Noir is one of the darkest black there is, as far as I know. More feathering, longer drying time. No shading at all.

[senzen]

Another vote for Perle Noire.

[Bo Bo Olson]

On real poor paper and with very skinny nibs, Pelikan 4001 Black is light or grayish. Folks too cheap to buy decent paper have been complaining about that for ages.

 

Get better paper....why fight poor paper when middling paper 80 g laser is not too expensive....90g laser paper is of course twice as expensive at 80g. And lots better one can worry about getting an F nib and shading inks.

 

You are writing with a fountain pen.....not a ball point.

 

A ream of paper is 500 sheets. At some $6.00 for 90g, costing $0.012 a sheet. Stop buying Starbucks coffee or mechanically delivered Coke, just a couple days a week....and you will never notice it costs $6.00 instead of $3.00 for a 'whole' 500 sheet ream...and you have paper good enough for fountain pens.

[ParkerDuofold]

PD

Washed out was Parker Quink black, when I was in college.

Out of my F nib pens, it looked like a dark/medium gray, quite upsetting when I wanted BLACK.

 

Yes, so many variables which affect how an ink looks on paper.

 

I have a weird one for you.

Waterman green out of my Sheaffer Touchdown looks like a dark green, similar to Pelikan Dark Green.

But the same ink out of ANY of my other pens (that I tried) is nowhere near as dark. And try as I might, I have not been able to adjust/make any of my other pens write that ink similar to the Touchdown. So it is not simply making the other pens write wetter, it is something else.

Hi AC,

 

I've never used Quink, but I do have WM and don't like it... at all. I'm not heavy into black inks because once I discovered Aurora, I was satisfied and I quit wasting money on more black inks. Contrary to the OP, I do like Lamy Black... it's actually my second favorite.

 

About your pens... your experiences just confirm what I said to the member above; each pen is unique. All us mortals can do is follow the basic rule that wet pens write darker than dry ones. So some of us try to make our pens write wet and once accomplished... that's all we can do.

 

How the ink responds with the pen is up to the ink and the pen... let them sort it out... I've done all I can do for them.

 

- Anthony

[asegier]

Hello Asegier,

 

Don't let the confusion get you down; it's part of the process and your described experiences are not that unusual.

 

Each pen is unique, (unless you start custom tuning them like I do, to make them all wet writers), and the way one handles an ink will vary wildly from another... even within the same model range.

 

Meanwhile, ac12 recommends Waterman Black and in my experience, that's the most washed out, dingy black ink I've ever used... in any pen I've tried it in! Yet, he must have had alternative experiences or he wouldn't have recommended it.

 

Life is a wild ride... take good notes.

 

- Anthony

 

What would you recommend for a dry writing pen to write as wet as possible (to be closer to my Pelikan!)?

[ac12]

 

 

What would you recommend for a dry writing pen to write as wet as possible (to be closer to my Pelikan!)?

 

I use Waterman ink for my wet ink.

 

Some of the Noodler's inks are even wetter than Waterman, but I have no experience with any of the Noodler's black inks.

[ParkerDuofold]

 

What would you recommend for a dry writing pen to write as wet as possible (to be closer to my Pelikan!)?

Hi Asegier,

 

It's tough with black ink because their usually made from an amalgam of various colors, so their viscosity tends to be a little denser than most other inks by their very nature... so, their flow is usually a little slower than say an ink like Diamine Asa Blue; which flows like a spigot in any pen.

 

That said, I think Noodlers Black is pretty good, but my personal favorite remains to be Aurora, (with Lamy Black as #2). I find Aurora to be a rich, well-lubed, well-behaved ink.

 

However, since many fps have their own little idiosyncrasies, general rules sometimes do not apply. Is there any way you can get samples of Noodlers, Lamy and J. Herbin's Pearle Noire where you live? I'm sure one of them would do well in that PARTICULAR pen. If not, my bottom line recommendation would probably be Noodlers, (or Lamy ). (I'm in the tank for Lamy And I do like their black, i really think it's underrated here).

 

Hope this helps.

 

- Anthony

Edited April 28, 2017 by ParkerDuofold

[bugsydog55]

Here are a couple of suggestions that don't get much play but are extremely good and economical black inks: Koh-I-Noor black available on Ebay for around 4.00 usd is a very black black, doesn't costa ton and works well on the cheapest paper, Levenger Raven black is wonderful, costs 3 to 4 times what the Koh-I-Noor does. Both of these work great on inexpensive paper and would be perfect for note taking or letter writing where a good dark black would really pop out on the page.