Deep Black Ink That Is Slightly Wetter Than Pelikan Black

[3nding]

 

I was going to suggest just that. The "coke bottle" version costs under $20 USD.

 

It has very good flow -- probably a bit "too" good for naturally wet pens. It's also a very nice dark black on paper.

 

-k

 

It's still a bit too wet for me but short of having tried Noodler's Black it's the best I got as of right now.

[3nding]

 

That's crazy talk! Where are you reading this? In my experience, Parker Black is a safe, inoffensive ink whose only fault, if it has one, may be it's lack of water resistance.

 

I think just like for Noodler's I might need to stop reading horror stories and try it for myself

[3nding]

So the natural next question is: which one is better for my needs (which are to able to write on cheap paper as well as quality paper without too much hassle), diluted (5:1) Noodler's Black or Noodler's Heart of Darkness?

[bugsydog55]

I really love black inks but have not tried all of them so I can't address some of the issues mentioned. Some i can toss my 2 cents into. The Noodler's blacks are great, I prefer HOD and Bernanke black for the dark color and general all purpose performance. I use almost exclusively cheap paper and both of these inks do a fine job especially with a fine point pen. And when you consider cost and overall value they are pretty hard to beat. I also use Parker black-not as dark but a good all round ink with nothing particularly special or bad about it. Another option that is inexpensive, reasonably dark and performs well on cheap paper is Camlin black from India. Takes a while for shipping. And if that is not enough, Hero from China makes a dye based ink called Dux which is very deep black. Can be found on Ebay at times for around 6 USD.

[IndigoBOB]

1. Noodler's Heart of Darkness. I prefer it much more than Noodler's Black, which turned me off from Black inks until I tried HoD. HoD is a rich black, wonderfully easy effortless legibility.

 

HoD works very well in any pen with any nib I use it with. And it works well on cheaper paper.

 

2. Sailor Kiwa-Guro Is fantastic and I prefer it for the same reasons I prefer Heart of Darkness. It's not as wet, but it's more lubricated, and has flowed very well in every pen I've tried, though I haven't tried it in as many as with HoD. Kiwa-Guro is the best ink for cheaper paper, hands down, IMO. It's pricier though.

[3nding]

Hey guys!

 

Just an update! After following your advice and letting myself be tempted I bought some Noodler's Bulletproof Black and oh boy had I not be so easily scared, my ink woes would have been over a while ago. So far, I have to say this ink is absolutely great. The wetness is just right for the pen I intended to use it in, it is definitely dark enough for my taste and the lubrication is excellent. I have Waterman Black, Pelikan Brillant Black, Aurora Black and Pilot Black as my other black inks and as much as I like them, this probably surpasses all of them, at least after a week of using it.

 

Time will tell if this indeed requires more maintenance in my pens and if so, if it is worth the extra maintenance (depending on how much more it is).

 

Thanks to all of you who answered!