Long Gone Blue-Black-Lamy and Montblanc the same?

[bunnspecial]

A while back I read someone speculating that IG Montblanc Midnight Blue was the same ink as Lamy Blue-Black. I dismissed it at the time. I HAVE a bottle of IG Lamy BB that I ran out and bought when I found out they were changing the formula, but I honestly never took that much to it. In fact, it was my second BB, after Sheaffer(new formula in the conical bottle), and if it had been all I tried I might not have even stuck with it. I remembered the Lamy BB having kind of a light gray-blue-sort of teal color. I actually liked the new formula better color-wise. In any case, though, the IG Lamy is nothing like the rich, dark blueish-purple of Midnight Blue.

 

The box that had all of my blotter-paper Lamy inks, along with some others, managed to get packed up when I moved and I haven't uncovered it yet, so I can't test it now.

 

None the less, though, not too long ago I was given a bottle of MB BB(along with mystery black) by the friend I bought my 149 from. Both are the old Made in Germany 50mL rounded shoes, not the newer 60mL squared-off ones.

 

I excited loaded that ink up in a pen, hoping it would be similar to my beloved and dwindling bottle of Midnight Blue, and found it was nothing like it. In fact, it looks exactly like I remember the Lamy ink looking.

 

Has anyone actually compared the two inks side by side? Even my testing of a freshly written sample to my 8 year old or so memories in a different pen are that they look darn close...

 

 

[gyasko]

This was an oft repeated rumor back when your bottles were produced.  I have some of the old Lamy BB left, and just used the last of my old MB BB.  I never thought they looked the same.  To me, the MB was darker.  It seemed to oxidize quicker, too.

[bunnspecial]

Thanks. Again, I haven't even used the Lamy ink in years, so my recollection perhaps is tainted by reading that rumor.

 

For a lot of reasons, I need to hurry up and get that box out of storage, and hopefully I can compare head-to-head for myself.

[wallylynn]

I had both.  Nothing alike. 
Lamy was light blue, darkening to grey.  I always added more blue to it for more contrast.
MB midnight blue was a darker burgundy/violet and dried a dark black.  I don't know how it compares to the blue-black (not midnight blue) of the old round 60ml shoe . 

[bunnspecial]

8 hours ago, wallylynn said:

I had both.  Nothing alike. 
Lamy was light blue, darkening to grey.  I always added more blue to it for more contrast.
MB midnight blue was a darker burgundy/violet and dried a dark black.  I don't know how it compares to the blue-black (not midnight blue) of the old round 60ml shoe . 

 

To my eye, Midnight Blue, which I've used nearly a full bottle of, is nothing at all like the round 50mL Blue-Black. I have the same observation as yours on Midnight Blue, which is why it's my favorite IG ink.

 

Blue-Black is much dryer, or at least my sample is and starts out sort of a light denim blue and darkens more to a blue-tinged gray. Again, this is what I remember Lamy looking like, and I do still have some that I want to check once I dig it out of storage.