Most waterproof non-waterproof ink

[adichew]

Hi ppl

 

The title of this post may be odd, but let me explain. I use f/ps in school on a daily basis and need an ink that dries fat and does not smudge easily, if possible retaining some waterproofness. However, I am reluctant to try Noodler's inks, not only because of reports of flow problems, but also because of the chemical reaction that binds the ink to the paper. (cellulose is present in both paper and cotton, and I am worried that ink gets onto my cotton uniform)

 

Could you suggest any ink that does not use this method, yet is reasonably waterproof and smudge free? Pelikan and Waterman seem fine, but Pelikan is a little "coarse' and does not really work with my somewhat flexible Waterman Hemisphere. Parker Quink, which I am now using, is quite bad in this aspect.

 

Thx

 

Adi

[jbn10161]

I have found an increasing amount of water resistance in black inks generally, but the two that I think are the most water resistant are J. Herbin's Perle Noire and Sailor's black. If you found the Pelikan to be too "coarse," you might want to go with the Herbin black, which is smooth and silky as inks go. Once you get away from black and go into colors, regardless of the manufacturer (except Noodler's bulletproof inks), there is substantially less water resistance.

 

Beware that, although inks other than Noodler's may not have the cellulose binding reaction, you could have similar trouble with any good ink that gets into your uniform fabric.

[Greg D]

I would also suggest Aurora Black. Great properties and fairly resistant to water.

 

GD

[Ondina]

All the above plus Pelikan Black.

[Lloyd]

Lamy Blue, MB Violet, MB British Racing Green.

[someonesdad]

Here's a test I did starting last night comparing Herbin Perle Noire and Noodlers Black from the same pen on cheap, crummy paper from the grocery store. The paper was soaked in water for 10.5 hours. The picture shows before and after.

 

http://www.gdssw.com/fpn/blacks.jpg

 

The Noodlers did well, as expected, but the Herbin ink did fine in my opinion. My criterion for this is simply that the writing be legible after the soak in water. I love the Herbin black ink, so the Noodlers is going to have to work significantly better over the next couple of weeks for me to acquire a bottle of it (I got a sample from an FPN friend). I call Perle Noire the Florida Blue of blacks because I think it's so well-behaved.

[Lloyd]

Has anyone tested the UV durability of this Herbin Black? Their Rose Cyclamen faded very quickly for me.

[Viseguy]

Skrip Blue-Black has pretty good water resistance.

[Lloyd]

Carbon inks, e.g. Sailor Kuragawa and Platinum Carbon.

[chkuo]

I am disappointed by the poor water resistance of Aurora Black/Blue (see my recent reviews in the Ink Reviews forum). The "water test" I did was drag a wet Q-tip across the line several hours after the ink was dried, yet the lines became unreadable for both inks. They are great inks in several other respects and I will continue to use them, just wouldn't recommend them as a "water resistant" ink.

 

On the other hand, Waterman Florida Blue performed reasonably well.

[Jimmy James]

I have some Platinum Blue-Black (which is a dark blue ink contrary to the name), and I've always understood it to be water resistant.

[gyasko]

MB BB, without a doubt. Try it.

[nkk]

MB BB, without a doubt. Try it.

 

I second this. Just beware of the iron gall nature, although I have had no problems and do not think any are too likely to arise.

 

-Nkk

[Jimmy James]

Isn't the point of a carbon or iron gall ink to survive water among other things? I personally put them in the waterproof category.

[jbn10161]

Has anyone tested the UV durability of this Herbin Black? Their Rose Cyclamen faded very quickly for me.

Some test I saw published a while ago rated it highly; a test I saw here, I think, showed moderate results. I've tested it twice, but hardly laboratory conditions. Once was direct sunshine for half days through a window for sixty days, IIRC; the other was direct or indirect sunshine all day without intermediate media (the paper was taped to the outside clapboard) for about 45 days IIRC. In both cases, there was no discernible fading at all. Herbin on their web site says that their inks are fade resistant, but, as you noted, that seems not to be quite accurate for all of their colorful inks.

[Goodwhiskers]

The behavior of J Herbin Perle Noire is always reported to be impeccable. The only drawbacks are the higher price per milliliter than several other common brands and the shallow bottle that is difficult to use with some pens.

 

The new Sheaffer Skrip Black is as water-resistant as you require. It's good on bad paper, easy to remove from clothing by stain removers, and reported to be freer-flowing than Pelikan Black is.

 

Namiki/Pilot Black is as water-resistant as you require, but it behaves very badly on mediocre and bad paper.

 

Noodler's Borealis Black is well-reviewed here. It's as water-resistant as your require and good on bad paper. It is easy to remove from clothing by stain removers and/or bleach as the fountain pen inks from most other brands.

 

Sailor Jentle inks are fairly water-resistant after 24 hours of drying. Their drawback is that they take more effort than most brands to remove from clothing, but they can still be removed.

 

Carbon inks (Sailor Kiwaguro, Platinum Carbon, Pelikan Fount India) are very difficult to remove from common fabrics.

[Ondina]

A home made test of Herbin Perle Noire and Pelikan Black showed very little or no fading at all after 4 weeks of being exposed to strong sunlight (adhesive tape, inner face of a terrace window pane facing south, lots of sun). Water test showed both were very readable after a 24 hour soak + 3 minutes under running water. and 2 minutes in the microwave.

 

Although the OP is asking about black ink only, Slovenian Sheaffer Blue-Black ( although the cart clearly says Blue), behaves fantastically well!. What a surprise. Now I must get some black to test.

[fjf]

I use platinum blue-black. Is not as blue as this scan but it is a nice usable dark blue, pretty waterproof.

[Inka]

Noodler's Borealis Black is well-reviewed here. It's as water-resistant as your require and good on bad paper. It is easy to remove from clothing by stain removers and/or bleach as the fountain pen inks from most other brands.

 

I can attest to this 100%, that Noodler's Borealis Black is a semi-waterproof ink or "a conventional black ink from the 1950s..." [according to Noodler's].

This was my very first bottled black ink purchase and I've done water tests with it on various grades of paper.

It holds up against water flushing to the point where the paper nearly turns to pulp, but will wash out with strong soaps and detergents.

Borealis has a deep, rich black color too, doesn't look the least bit gray as do some blacks I've tried and writes like the Eel inks I have [VERY smooth writing].

I'm hoping Noodler's continues to make Borealis for some time to come, since I'd buy a case of it if I had the cash flow, just to know I'm not going to run out.

That's how much I like Borealis and just like Noodler's advertises it's made to "survive a trip to the mailbox during a rainy day!" yet you can still wash it out if needed.

Check out the description at the Noodler's Website by clicking here.

This is the one ink in my inventory I would truly hate to run out of, seriously, the only truly black semi-waterproof ink I'm going to stockpile.

The label is sharp looking too, IMO, for what that's worth.

Do me a favor if you decide to buy some Borealis; leave some for me, please.

[diogenes]

Could you suggest any ink that does not use this method, yet is reasonably waterproof and smudge free? Pelikan and Waterman seem fine, but Pelikan is a little "coarse' and does not really work with my somewhat flexible Waterman Hemisphere.

 

I would have said Pelikan Black and Blue-Black, if you had not said this. Which of Pelikan inks did you use?

 

Montblanc Racing Green is very water-resistant (much better in this respect than these two Pelikan inks), but I don't know the mechanism. You have to want to write in green, however.