Deepest black and dark as night.

[Relentless]

I'm searching for my daily black. I like it to be black with very little feathering or shading. I want it to dry black and not some darker shade of gray!

I've sampled or purchased:

1. Diamine Jet Black
2. Diamine Onyx
3. J. Herbin Perle Noir
4. Aurora Black
5. Platinum Black
6. Edelstein Onyx

I'm not satisfied that there isn't a darker black. The closest is probably a tie between Edelstein and Platinum. There has to be more. There must be more. What am I missing?

 

[cursethis]

Take a gander at: http://www.gouletpens.com/Swab_Shop_Black_s/815.htm

That said... my favorite black is Montblanc Mystery Black. It's not nearly as dark as something like Noodler's Borealis though.

 

[oc_in_fw]

I find Pelikan Brilliant Black to be blacker than Edelstein Onyx.

 

[Isaac]

Noodlers Old Manhattan is a pretty dark black. It does cause a great amount of nib creep though.

 

[Viseguy]

Noodler's Black -- the original and classic. Hard to believe it's been around for almost 10 years.

 

[inspiringK]

I did this same search a while ago and ended up going with Diamine Onyx black. I'm very happy with the decision and haven't thought about it again since, but I tend to go Diamine when in doubt.

 

[OldSchoolYoungin]

Sailor Kiwaguro Nano Black. Trust me.

 

[JapanDE]

Make that 2 votes for Sailor Kiwaguro. Goes on black, and dries black as night.

 

[nemo]

Isn't the Sailor Kiwa-guro more of a matte finish, reflective because of the carbon particles? Yes

I've always found Waterman, Pelikan, and Aurora to be quite black. My pens all write wet though.

 

[Relentless]

I found an old review thread and the Sailor looks nice. I should just pick up a bottle and see for myself.

At least I'll have a nice selection of black inks to toss in a 2000 post PIF in a couple of months! I should pick up more plastic vials from Goulet.

Has anyone tried the Iroshizuku Take-Sumi?

 

[djm2]

I find the Waterman to be quite black.

 

[Doc4]

Sailor Kiwaguro Nano Black. Trust me.

I would sample this, Noodler's Black and Noodler's Heart of Darkness. (Noodler's inks are often criticised as being "too saturated" by those who like a bit of shading and 'personality' in their ink. Someone looking for a really black black, though, would, likely, find that characteristic a plus.)

 

[Relentless]

I think there is more than a little truth to Doc's observation.

I've been looking and decided on ordering Noodler's black next week after I pay for my razors off "the bay". What would the be the characteristic difference between HoD and plain Noodler's black? Or Borealis for that matter.

 

[Artimid]

I have a Noodler's Black Eel, which doesn't seem as dark as the Lamy black as far as I can tell with my writing. But I have also read really good things about the Noodler's X-Feather. Also, gotta agree with inspiringK: when in doubt, Diamine.

 

[Rudy Vey]

You miss the blackest of the blackest: Noodler's Heart of Darkness.
Went to Art B's last B&B meetup in NYC and asked them for the blackest black, clear winner in their book of ink sample swatches was the HoD.

 

[Isaac]

You miss the blackest of the blackest: Noodler's Heart of Darkness.
Went to Art B's last B&B meetup in NYC and asked them for the blackest black, clear winner in their book of ink sample swatches was the HoD.

Thats interesting. I would really say that Old Manhattan is still much darker than HOD

 

[RichieRich3902]

My vote is Heart of Darkness, it is as black as I've tried and is my daily black.

 

[Relentless]

I just found a review comparing HoD, and Borealis, and Dark Matter, and Black. They did notice a gray undertone to the Dark Matter, and HoD after drying; but only when compare to Black, and Borealis.

It seems the majority of Noodler's comparisons favor either Black or Borealis for crown of deepest black. I'm not ruling our other brands, but they are definitely strong favorites.

Should I worry about cleaning up waterproof inks?

 

[cursethis]

I just found a review comparing HoD, and Borealis, and Dark Matter, and Black. They did notice a gray undertone to the Dark Matter, and HoD after drying; but only when compare to Black, and Borealis.

It seems the majority of Noodler's comparisons favor either Black or Borealis for crown of deepest black. I'm not ruling our other brands, but they are definitely strong favorites.

Should I worry about cleaning up waterproof inks?

They're a pain in the *** to clean out of the pen, so I'd pretty much try to dedicate a single pen to it. For example, I keep my HoD in the Preppy that came with it. It's eyedroppered and I never really worry about having to clean it out. It just stays in one of my work bags for convenience. I also dedicated my Kaweco Sport to housing my Lexington Gray for the same reason.

 

[Relentless]

They're a pain in the *** to clean out of the pen, so I'd pretty much try to dedicate a single pen to it. ...

Hmmm. Not sure I'd want to mess up my better pens while experimenting with the inks. Thanks for the head-up.