Best Black Ink For Montblanc Fountain Pen?

[TLMG]

Currently using the standard Montblanc Permanent Black (this one!) for my pens. I write copious notes and am looking for something that I can jot with that looks nice while also not turning into a headache in terms of smearing, drying, etc.

I write on A5 and 8x11 pages, so it isn't too big of a deal... and the MB Permanent Black works pretty darn well... but I just want to see if I'm missing some holy grail black ink.

Thanks everyone~

[zaddick]

This topic is well discussed. It usually ends up with one of the Noodlers blacks, Aurora black, Sailor carbon black, and maybe a few others.

 

If you don't need a permanent black then there are lots of choices. Regular MB black is also just fine.

[almoore]

Hi

 

The black ink I would recommend is Herbin Perle Noir; if you try it and like it it is available in 100ml bottles; I found it better by far than Aurora which I found to be more of a dark grey than a black. If you want a dark grey KWZ Warsaw Dreaming is very nice to use.

 

Straying off topic a little; probably the blackest ink I have is Platinum carbon, however, the caveat with this is it gets its colour from carbon particles and Platinum make a specific pen for it (the Carbon Desk Pen) which is surprisingly inexpensive and I've found it very reliable, mine is a Japanese medium nib but it comes in a few sizes. I found the best prices on Amazon.

 

Al

[Pensei]

Well, as you probably know, according to the manufacturer, you are doing what you should be doing. I know people debate whether there is any advantage to using pen and ink from the same manufacturer, but MB is not bashful in asserting that there is. Here's a quote from the insert that comes with their ink:

Important note: The ink feed system of a Montblanc fountain pen is perfectly aligned with the physical characteristics of Montblanc ink, which has been specially developed for this purpose. Thus, to ensure consistently flawless functionality and a smooth writing feeling, use only Montblanc fountain pen ink.

 

Note those key words "perfectly" and "only." If this is a bunch of hooey, MB certainly asserts it boldly.

[Pens Woods]

I am using Montblanc Mystery Black in my 149 which I had ground to a cursive italic 0.7mm right now.

The ink flows well, is situated, and lubricates my nib

[Kalessin]

 

Note those key words "perfectly" and "only." If this is a bunch of hooey, MB certainly asserts it boldly.

 

It's a bunch of marketing hooey, and they've been boldly asserting it since at least the 1970s; I say this as a fan of their pens and inks.

[ygv]

Montblanc Mystery Black.

[mirosc]

The black ink I would recommend is Herbin Perle Noir;

 

same here, it's my best behaving black ink no matter in which pen I put it to use.

[lapis]

• Aurora, Perle Noire, MB's Permanent Black and Ultra Black, Noodler's Black and Old Manhattan, Pelikan's Black 4001, Kiwa-Guro, and Visconti all look good to me.
• Sure, there are other faves of other members here but IMO those inks don't belong to the best blacks; e.g. the way I see it, Noodler's HOD is too brown, PR's Invincible Black too green, and MB's Mystery Black too blue. The blackest blacks (har, har) are Kiwa-Guro and MB's Permanent Black.
• The problem with "best" -- especially for black inks -- is that it'll all boil down to your own personal experience. MB being MB (as regards their pens) means that they will (or at least should) all handle and/or tolerate all decent inks, and all of those above mentioned inks are decent. But your decision of the optics and judgement of maintenance remains up to you.
• Try out a sample of each.

 

Whew

[Arkanabar]

Bear in mind that your choice of paper matters quite a bit.

 

as for me, I've concluded that if I'm content with my inks, then there's not much point in wasting my time ensuring that they are all Teh Mostest Moar aawweeezzzooommmeeennneeesss in inks. I've got a set of eight to ten or so inks (The Essentials) I'll be perfectly content buying as I go forward. So I suppose I'm saying, if MB Permanent Black is working for you and you have no complaints, you should carry on using it.

[lapis]

Amen

[CoolBreeze]

Machiatto man did a great review of 32 black inks. http://macchiatoman.com/blog/2017/12/11/ink-comparison-32-black-inks

 

I have only tried Aurora and deatrimentis document black. I like both. Of the 2, Aurora is blacker. DeA is extremely well behaved though.

[Karmachanic]

The best black ink would be best.

[carlos.q]

MB Permanent black is indeed an excellent ink. It is so good I used it almost exclusively in my Pelikan M205 for more than a year.

 

However, in my experience, it will slowly leave a residue that will darken the pen's ink windows. The M205 has a dark grey ink window so I did not detect this gradual residue build up until too late.

 

The residue will not come off with a simple flushing and you will need to lightly rub the inside of the ink window to clean it.

[Karmachanic]

MB Permanent black is indeed an excellent ink. It is so good I used it almost exclusively in my Pelikan M205 for more than a year.

 

However, in my experience, it will slowly leave a residue that will darken the pen's ink windows. The M205 has a dark grey ink window so I did not detect this gradual residue build up until too late.

 

The residue will not come off with a simple flushing and you will need to lightly rub the inside of the ink window to clean it.

 

Sailor Doyou will take care of that.

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/297645-whats-your-cleaner-ink/

[carlos.q]

Sailor Doyou will take care of that.

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/297645-whats-your-cleaner-ink/

Thank you. I will try this.