Looking For Black

[Paganini]

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.

Edited November 10, 2019 by Paganini

[Bibliophage]

Old Quink had phenols. Newer inks, in the US, don't.

 

Basic black from Camel/Camlin, from India, is just a decent black, but does appear to have phenols. I'm pretty sure it's the Quink formula, as that's one of the places that Parker used to produce pens and ink.

[Arkanabar]

Phenol is quite the biocide; it was Lister's original antiseptic. I have heard, but cannot confirm, that Pilot black (available in 30, 70, and 350ml bottles) includes phenol.

[Paganini]

Cool. Pilot Black was on my radar for being somewhat waterproofy. (I go through a bit of Pilot Blue-Black, but Salix is my go-to for everyday waterproof blue-black.)

 

It looks like some really waterproof options are:

 

- Montblanc Permanent Black ($$$)

- R&K Dokumentus ($$)

- Sailor Nano Kiwa Guro ($$)

- Monteverde Document Permanent Black ($)

 

Anyone have reports of them going bad, or, on the flip side, years-old bottles that are still good as new?

 

Eater of Books, where can I find this Basic Black you speak of? (Google tries to sell me Quink)

Edited November 10, 2019 by Paganini

[silverlifter]

I have a bottle of Montblanc Black from the early '90's that is still fine. I don't use it often, obviously, but when I last inked ip from it earlier this year it was the same boring black it has always been

[fkyu]

Almost all of the ink in my drawer is black. Black pens, black ink.

Two of my favorites are DeAtramentis Document and DeAtramentis Archive. They’re black without any blue or purple undertones, and waterproof.

The Kiwaguro is very similar to the Platinum Carbon; dark pencil gray in the sunlight, but waterproof. Not a big change if you like the Carbon.

Rohrer & Klingner dokumentus – love/hate. Gorgeous black and waterproof, BUT...it clogged up three or four pens in close succession. Dumped a copious amount of White Lightning to use it up in an eyedroppered Singularity. I may have gotten a bad bottle, but once bitten, twice shy.

You may want to look into the Rohrer & Klingner Sketch Ink Lotte – it’s just as black as the dokumentus and waterproof. Good flow in every pen it went into.

As for longevity, I can’t say. I’ve only had one ink go bad – a 16oz bottle of Higgins Drawing ink, and that was after 20 years. The oldest bottle of ink that was good to the last drop was a bottle of Waterman - had to be forty years old.

Iroshizuku take-sumi comes in 15 ml bottles. A lot of people love it. I’m not one of them. But you’ll probably use it up before it goes bad.

An ink I can also recommend is J.Herbin Perle Noir. It comes in a 10ml bottle. Again, you’ll probably use it up before it goes bad.

[Eclipse157]

My oldest ink is a bottle of Aurora Black from the early 2000s, possibly 99 or 98. It's like new. If you use so little black ink I'd say go with samples and try as many as you can. Personally I love Iroshizuku Take-Sumi, and they come in those wee 15ml bottles that could be ideal for you.

 

 

You may want to look into the Rohrer & Klingner Sketch Ink Lotte – it’s just as black as the dokumentus and waterproof. Good flow in every pen it went into.

 

Can confirm. Very solid, flat black, totally waterproof. Cheap to boot (in EU at least). Being a pigment ink it requires some extra care but since you've been using PCB it's nothing new for you.

Edited November 10, 2019 by Eclipse157

[Paganini]

Buying small bottles is a god idea! Most of the inks I've looked at seem to only come in 50/60ml bottles, or 30 at the smallest. 10/15ml bottles would be perfect. R&K sketchink is not exactly cheap here, but it's certainly less than MB and some of the other options. Although if MB will really last 20-30 years it might be worth the price...

[WarrenB]

You may want to look into the Rohrer & Klingner Sketch Ink Lotte – it’s just as black as the dokumentus and waterproof. Good flow in every pen it went into.

 

 

Can confirm. Very solid, flat black, totally waterproof. Cheap to boot (in EU at least). Being a pigment ink it requires some extra care but since you've been using PCB it's nothing new for you.

 

Ah. Glad I popped in on this topic!

 

What makes it so affordable compared to other FP pigment (or otherwise waterproof) inks? Lack of archival status? Is that a big worry for a saturated black pigment ink?

[Eclipse157]

What makes it so affordable compared to other FP pigment (or otherwise waterproof) inks? Lack of archival status? Is that a big worry for a saturated black pigment ink?

 

Not sure what makes it affordable but it's roughly half of the Dokumentus series (same make, R&K). Sketchinks are declared waterproof, lightfast and pigment-based, while Dokumentus are marketed as DIN ISO 12757-2 compliant (which carries value I guess), but they won't say if they are pigment- or dye-based. Not sure about the japanese ones (Platinum and Sailor), but they are even more expensive. Noodler's bulletproof inks on the other hand and more expensive but contain almost double the ink.

[Fuzzy_Bear]

You can buy phenol and put it into any ink, I believe.

[Lloyd]

You can buy phenol and put it into any ink, I believe.

 

See this thead. Specifically, follow SamCapote's link on usage of phenol.

[PJohnP]

 

See this thead. Specifically, follow SamCapote's link on usage of phenol.

 

Sam's advice is dead-on for the "dosages" and the effects.