I love how you put this together. Ink colors tend to be maddening & this really helps. My biggest comment is you need much more concentration showing the inks on paper & a lot less shots showing you chatting. Also, show then all in a wrap up (I lost track of which color I liked best at the end). I hope that helps!
Ecclesiastical Supplies do a gorgeous blue-black. It goes on fairly light blue swiftly darkening through royal blue to navy, very close to black. And it's totally permanent and waterproof. Very similar to Diamine in that it's a registrar's ink and "archival". I stuck a sample in the window 18 months ago and it's faded to brown just like ink from centuries ago, I love it. Had been looking for permanent fountain pen ink for years, having had many mishaps spilling tea across pages of writing which were almost washed clean away ー not very practical!
Those were superb ink demo sheets you worked up. By freezing the frame I managed to get what I needed, but it was a little bit of a struggle. An overhead camera with you guy's pointing to features would have been superb. Wishing you both the best and thank yo for a helpful review.
I love the Pilot Blue-black in the round 70ml bottle with the plastic inset ink miser feature. A good look to the bottle and the shading in the ink, especially with flex nibs
Nifty drawings. Great report! Unfortunately, you make strong cases for blue-blacks I haven't tried ... and now I'll have to do oodles of writing to get through my current loads to reach the new ones to try.
Love this review. I am so sad that Shaeffer is no longer offering Blue Black, which has been a classic in my pens for 40 years. Thanks, ladies, for a great review. Nice to meet you, Lisa, at the Atlanta Pen show. Love your selection of Akkerman, one of my favorite lines. Queen's Night Blue is my new recent blue-black favorite! Take care, y'all.
I LOOOOOOVE the sailor’s Blue Black. My only complaint is that the water or whatever from the ink evaporates very fast in my pen. I just ordered the Pilot Blue black 350 ML so I guess I’ll be trying to mix in some more black into it.
I work in the Grimaldi Palace in Monaco where I am required to do much writing, and the ink that I use is chiefly Waterman Encre Bleu Mystère Mysterious Blue Ink (also their Encre Noir, but that ink is off-topic). This blue-black has a definite professional quality about it. The ink does not 'feather'; it is smooth and a perfectly balanced blue-black although I would say that the ink's colour leans towards the black end of the spectrum. Last year my boss, Albert II, Sovereign Prince of Monaco remarked on the ink's colour; therefore it was good enough for me! I also use it at home and, with the same pen, a Visconti 'Bronze' Homo Sapiens (bold nib) that has been my faithful friend for close to 12 years next month. Just a point, but these inks best perform of highest quality paper: Original Crown Mill and/or Rhodia 90 gsm paper I enjoyed your video. It was well presented. Thank you!
Thanks, Lisa and Amy. Interesting organization in this one (focusing on the names). Judging by the apparent colors on my screen and none of the other properties, I lean toward the Sailor and, unexpectedly, the Sheaffer. They appear to my eyes to be almost a green black though. Anyway - Thanks!
Good point, Lisa, but, like you and Amy were joking, some of us don't see the colors like every one else does. I sometimes have some difficulty distinguishing between green and blue especially when they lean close to the other. That's an extremely good selling point for your very affordable ink samples! Try it on a small scale before buying larger quantities! -- So, thanks again as always!
I was expecting the camera to show the inks during the commentary. I was left wondering if the colours would be accurate and what blue colour shirt she was wearing and if the skin tone was true. I'll have to Google the inks separately to see each ink and examine the details.
The way you grouped the inks made it much easier to compare them. When you do non blue-black labeled blue-blacks, be sure to include Noodler's 54th Massachusetts; it's one of my standard inks.
Michael Simon and Lisa -- I love its performance too. It is one of the few permanent inks (or any fountain pen inks for that matter) that work surprisingly well on Rite-in-the-Rain (waterproof) paper. Naturally, it has to be applied to dry paper and sheet of blotter paper is a good idea to speed up its dry-time, but once it's dry, it's permanent and remains readable even after a good soaking.
Vanness Pen Shop Well you guys nailed it. I can’t wait for the next blue black video without blue black names. Keep the videos coming. I’m learning a lot.
This is a great review... but! You missed out Parker Quink. When I was at school Quink was the number one brand of bottled fountain pen ink in the UK, the only brand that many shops stocked. And Parker is actually an American company, I heard. I never really liked their blue-black ink, it had an unattractive grey tone. I don't know whether it was a true iron gall or "ferro-gallic" ink or just formulated with grey coloured dye... That's something you missed out of your discussion! Iron galls!! I have heard that this gall nut ink is the oldest and most permanent type of writing ink in existence and it seems the most bizarre formulation... I mean, who would ever think of mixing oak apples (gall nuts) with rusty old nails to make ink?...??? If you haven't done so already, could you please do a video on that? While I have your attention, I have a question: why is it that modern iron gall inks are called blue-black, and yet most ancient manuscripts (from Europe at least) were written in this ferro-gallic ink and they tend to look true black ー nothing at all like the washy grey colour of any modern gall nut inks I have tried...?? Why is this? Did ancient scribes simply mix up a stronger solution so the final colour was almost black? Or did they add carbon black to the mix for the darkest possible result? What did they do? And why did ancient inks nearly always fade to brown (and not grey as you would expect if they were using a blue-black type formula)? You're the experts, ladies... Please enlighten us all!✒️🖊️🖋️✒️🙃🐹🤪
Thoroughly enjoy your videos especially inks! Would be nice to cover brands like callifolio, Krishna and L'Artisan. Just a suggestion. Love the different paper comparison too btw.
Lisa and Amy thanks for this comparison it is really useful and I truly did not know that there were so many blue blacks out there. Then of course when I started using FP's there were only three choices Blue / Black & Blue black, so when I discovered other colours I never looked back.
Thanks for the good review. I am considering either the Parker Quink Black or the Waterman’s Black. I assume these will be good on the pen in terms of low or no corrosion and easy to clean? I have seen cartridges with Pilot Namiki Black ink, but I think that may be more on the permanent inks and more damaging to a pen. Grateful for your views please, I don’t want to damage my expensive Alfred Dunhill fountain pen.
Very nice video. Even seeing all these inks here it would be tough to choose, but the Diamine would be my choice too! Could you ladies do one on Sepia inks? More specifically, what is a true Sepia? Thank you!
Thanks for the clarification of sepia. It has been my experience that sepia inks are all over the place. Just tried a bottle of Monteverde sepia from you guys and it is my new favorite. It reminds me a bit of Stephen's ink, but a bit more brown. Lovely 😊
The Blue-Black in the cartridge that came with my Petit1 is different from the Blue-Black that came in the cartridge with my Kakuno. One was much blacker than the other... and neither resembled the ink in this video. So strange.
I love how you put this together. Ink colors tend to be maddening & this really helps. My biggest comment is you need much more concentration showing the inks on paper & a lot less shots showing you chatting. Also, show then all in a wrap up (I lost track of which color I liked best at the end). I hope that helps!
Ecclesiastical Supplies do a gorgeous blue-black. It goes on fairly light blue swiftly darkening through royal blue to navy, very close to black. And it's totally permanent and waterproof. Very similar to Diamine in that it's a registrar's ink and "archival". I stuck a sample in the window 18 months ago and it's faded to brown just like ink from centuries ago, I love it. Had been looking for permanent fountain pen ink for years, having had many mishaps spilling tea across pages of writing which were almost washed clean away ー not very practical!
Those were superb ink demo sheets you worked up. By freezing the frame I managed to get what I needed, but it was a little bit of a struggle. An overhead camera with you guy's pointing to features would have been superb.
Wishing you both the best and thank yo for a helpful review.
I love the Pilot Blue-black in the round 70ml bottle with the plastic inset ink miser feature. A good look to the bottle and the shading in the ink, especially with flex nibs
Thats a Good color; we have sooo many blue blacks it will take several videos to go thru them all lol
That’s the Jentle right? I’m not sure if that’s a different line or what but there seemed to be a difference in my opinion from the other Sailor ink
My first and only blue black is Sailor Soubuko. Was a tad light but it just needed a few drops of black to give it more readability. Now i love it!
Nifty drawings. Great report! Unfortunately, you make strong cases for blue-blacks I haven't tried ... and now I'll have to do oodles of writing to get through my current loads to reach the new ones to try.
Love this review. I am so sad that Shaeffer is no longer offering Blue Black, which has been a classic in my pens for 40 years. Thanks, ladies, for a great review. Nice to meet you, Lisa, at the Atlanta Pen show. Love your selection of Akkerman, one of my favorite lines. Queen's Night Blue is my new recent blue-black favorite! Take care, y'all.
I LOOOOOOVE the sailor’s Blue Black. My only complaint is that the water or whatever from the ink evaporates very fast in my pen. I just ordered the Pilot Blue black 350 ML so I guess I’ll be trying to mix in some more black into it.
Monteverde Blue Black is a superb ink. Lubricated. High shading. Nice bluish-gray, traditional blue-black color. Inexpensive.
I work in the Grimaldi Palace in Monaco where I am required to do much writing, and the ink that I use is chiefly Waterman Encre Bleu Mystère Mysterious Blue Ink (also their Encre Noir, but that ink is off-topic). This blue-black has a definite professional quality about it. The ink does not 'feather'; it is smooth and a perfectly balanced blue-black although I would say that the ink's colour leans towards the black end of the spectrum.
Last year my boss, Albert II, Sovereign Prince of Monaco remarked on the ink's colour; therefore it was good enough for me! I also use it at home and, with the same pen, a Visconti 'Bronze' Homo Sapiens (bold nib) that has been my faithful friend for close to 12 years next month.
Just a point, but these inks best perform of highest quality paper: Original Crown Mill and/or Rhodia 90 gsm paper
I enjoyed your video. It was well presented. Thank you!
Interesting, I don't think a blue black ink lineup should exclude Waterman blue black and Parker blue black, these are bench mark inks.
Diamine, Noodler's and Pelikan 40001 are my favorites blue blacks.
Great job on the blue/black review, you ladies are real dolls
Lawrence Suchak thanks so much for watching us ramble
Thanks, Lisa and Amy. Interesting organization in this one (focusing on the names). Judging by the apparent colors on my screen and none of the other properties, I lean toward the Sailor and, unexpectedly, the Sheaffer. They appear to my eyes to be almost a green black though. Anyway - Thanks!
Randy R your screen may need to be color adjusted( we check ours monthly)- its got a teal tint to it tho for sure.
Good point, Lisa, but, like you and Amy were joking, some of us don't see the colors like every one else does. I sometimes have some difficulty distinguishing between green and blue especially when they lean close to the other. That's an extremely good selling point for your very affordable ink samples! Try it on a small scale before buying larger quantities! -- So, thanks again as always!
I was expecting the camera to show the inks during the commentary. I was left wondering if the colours would be accurate and what blue colour shirt she was wearing and if the skin tone was true. I'll have to Google the inks separately to see each ink and examine the details.
The way you grouped the inks made it much easier to compare them. When you do non blue-black labeled blue-blacks, be sure to include Noodler's 54th Massachusetts; it's one of my standard inks.
Michael Simon love that color!
Michael Simon and Lisa -- I love its performance too. It is one of the few permanent inks (or any fountain pen inks for that matter) that work surprisingly well on Rite-in-the-Rain (waterproof) paper. Naturally, it has to be applied to dry paper and sheet of blotter paper is a good idea to speed up its dry-time, but once it's dry, it's permanent and remains readable even after a good soaking.
Randy R Wow, I had no idea. That's good to know. Thanks
I agree about the 54th Mass blue-black. I also love Noodler's Aircorp Blue-Black but it can be fussy on certain papers.
You guys are awesome! Thanks for the education. I love blue black. Now I need to get some more ink.
Marko Markolovic we appreciate you watching; theres not many colors we dont love but wanted to analyze the differences within a category🙂
Vanness Pen Shop Well you guys nailed it. I can’t wait for the next blue black video without blue black names. Keep the videos coming. I’m learning a lot.
I'd prefer the one with separated colours. where black shows up thru blue
Great video.
This is a great review... but! You missed out Parker Quink. When I was at school Quink was the number one brand of bottled fountain pen ink in the UK, the only brand that many shops stocked. And Parker is actually an American company, I heard. I never really liked their blue-black ink, it had an unattractive grey tone. I don't know whether it was a true iron gall or "ferro-gallic" ink or just formulated with grey coloured dye... That's something you missed out of your discussion! Iron galls!! I have heard that this gall nut ink is the oldest and most permanent type of writing ink in existence and it seems the most bizarre formulation... I mean, who would ever think of mixing oak apples (gall nuts) with rusty old nails to make ink?...??? If you haven't done so already, could you please do a video on that?
While I have your attention, I have a question: why is it that modern iron gall inks are called blue-black, and yet most ancient manuscripts (from Europe at least) were written in this ferro-gallic ink and they tend to look true black ー nothing at all like the washy grey colour of any modern gall nut inks I have tried...?? Why is this? Did ancient scribes simply mix up a stronger solution so the final colour was almost black? Or did they add carbon black to the mix for the darkest possible result? What did they do? And why did ancient inks nearly always fade to brown (and not grey as you would expect if they were using a blue-black type formula)? You're the experts, ladies... Please enlighten us all!✒️🖊️🖋️✒️🙃🐹🤪
Many of those looked more green than blue. Nice comparison.
Thoroughly enjoy your videos especially inks! Would be nice to cover brands like callifolio, Krishna and L'Artisan. Just a suggestion. Love the different paper comparison too btw.
Jasmine Mattox so many brands/ colors to cover we will get to them- slowly haha. L’Artisan is a personal favorite- Lisa
Need to know the permanence! And I’d they’re good on notebook paper
Lisa and Amy thanks for this comparison it is really useful and I truly did not know that there were so many blue blacks out there. Then of course when I started using FP's there were only three choices Blue / Black & Blue black, so when I discovered other colours I never looked back.
Peter Hofmann - so many inks you gotta try a variety for sure!
Lisa
And that is the problem:-) And these types of videos are not really helping either
Peter Hofman: That's for sure! :)
Thanks for the good review. I am considering either the Parker Quink Black or the Waterman’s Black. I assume these will be good on the pen in terms of low or no corrosion and easy to clean? I have seen cartridges with Pilot Namiki Black ink, but I think that may be more on the permanent inks and more damaging to a pen. Grateful for your views please, I don’t want to damage my expensive Alfred Dunhill fountain pen.
Either of those choices are excellent. The Pilot ink is completely safe as well. Just clean your pen routinely no matter what ink you choose- Lisa
Vanness Pen Shop Many thanks. 👍
Did you test the Diamine 1864 Blue Black? That's my favorite. It leans more to the black.
Norman Anderson we did; not every one got shown- its a great color too. We left parker off the video too
This was really great and very useful .. Thanks
Very helpful video, thank you!
Thank you for watching!
Very nice video. Even seeing all these inks here it would be tough to choose, but the Diamine would be my choice too! Could you ladies do one on Sepia inks? More specifically, what is a true Sepia? Thank you!
vinyljunkie64 eventually we will work thru all the colors but it may take a bit- sepia is in the chocolate brown family😊
Thanks for the clarification of sepia. It has been my experience that sepia inks are all over the place. Just tried a bottle of Monteverde sepia from you guys and it is my new favorite. It reminds me a bit of Stephen's ink, but a bit more brown. Lovely 😊
Great review of blue blacks. So helpful in deciding what to try. While blue black isn’t in the name, I do like Graf von Faber Castell’s Midnight Blue.
We will break down various form of dark blue evenrually😊
The Blue-Black in the cartridge that came with my Petit1 is different from the Blue-Black that came in the cartridge with my Kakuno. One was much blacker than the other... and neither resembled the ink in this video. So strange.
qwe1231 they do have namiki blue black and pilot blue black- guess we failed at distinguishing; also US vs Asian versions as well
you gals make it hard to choose.....(wait for the joke)....... ONE XD
Get it? cause we never just get one ink!!!!
9:31 though 🤣
does @aboutthatink still exist?