Tag Archives: black

INK REVIEW: Franklin-Christoph Black Magic

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I have, love, and use Franklin-Christoph items. Huge fan here.

Black Magic ink from Franklin-Christoph, though? It has some amazing qualities, but I am not a fan.

Let me explain . . .

The above image sums it up nicely. Black Magic reminds me of writing with a felt-tip marker. The pen (a Lamy Safari with medium ink) would barely touch the paper and just like (black) magic, I’d have a tremendous spot of ink. If I paused even for a nanosecond, another huge spot of ink. 
On to the amazing qualities . . .
Black magic is crazy black. It’s incredibly saturated. Black inks aren’t my favorite, but if I’m using black, it better be black. 

And then there’s this . . . 

Black Magic don’t smear.  (You can quote me on that.)  It seriously, seriously, seriously doesn’t (Does. Not.) smear. I couldn’t get it to smear even when I tried.

Before writing with it for a few days, I mostly liked the ink.  However, after i few days on regular writing on a variety of paper brands/types, I was worn out from all of the bleeding and washed that ink right out of my pen.
I could see loving this ink. An extra fine nib or a pen with a super-stingy feed to control the flow combined with the right paper and it could be a perfect black.  I’m just way too busy to spend time with such a fussy ink when there are so many inks that work well, you know?

What is your favorite black?  I’m still loving Noodler’s Black.

INK REVIEW: Noodler’s Heart of Darkness

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ink swab – Noodler’s Heart of Darkness

Almost Wordless Wednesday

This is one crazy black ink!

Noodler’s Heart of Darkness Writing Sample

Tested on Rhodia Dot Pad.
I thought this reminded me of Invincible Black – but it’s blacker (more black?) than that and there’s nothing about this ink that felt..scary.  Just perfect, perfectly saturated black. BLACK.

 Revised Bottom Line:   It’s love! Woooo!!

Oh..and apparently, I had more to say about Heart of Darkness than I thought I would – so much for Wordless Wednesday!   Guess I’m just pentulant that way 😉

REVIEW: Sharpie Refillable

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click here for full size image

Click for super-size image

I’ve had this in my desk drawer forever. Not really sure why it was never opened. I love me a Sharpie. I paid around $10 for this one.

This item should not be confused with the Sherpa. This is a refillable item – meaning that one would need to purchase a specific refill. Oh, I tried to stuff a regular Sharpie (and several other pens) into the unit . . . no dice.

Would love to know how they decide that the regular (kinda fat) Sharpie is a fine point. I guess if you’re using one of the big fatty fat ones, this would be rather fine, but if you’re used to using any sort of fountain pen or even a broad gel pen, these are going to seem impossibly thick.

I love that the refill part number is so prominent on the packaging – and it shows that the refill screws in. I’m thinking this is to make it abundantly clear that this is a refillable unit.

Refills are available for a couple of bucks on Amazon. Looks like they only come in black – bummer.

click for ginormous image

My bottom line….

PEN REVIEW: Pilot Varsity All Colors

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We’ve already looked at the blue – and now here are the remaining colors of the Varsity Pilot fountain pens.

The Classics
Some people worry that something is wrong with the pen when they see the ink down in the section (the part of the pen between the barrel and the nib). This is perfectly normal and is a result of the ink moving through the feed system into the nib. In most pens, this part of the pen is opaque – but if you could see, you would see – this is perfectly normal.

Handy Ink Window

The Whole Enchilada
Bottom Line? In a pinch, these get the job done. The colors are fun.

INK REVIEW: Noodler’s Black Eel

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I’m off recovering from eggnog, picking ribbon out of my hair, or just taking it easy. In other words, this review was pre-written.  Enjoy!
Noodler’s Black Eel.
How is this different from Noodler’s Black?
Well, I didn’t know. And I wanted to know. So I did some research before this review. 
But first, what the heck is that line down the center of the ink swab? Yeah, I don’t know. It’s not on the swab. I think it’s gunk in the scanner. I hope it’s not too distracting. I hope my mess-up on the “c” in “Black” isn’t too distracting, either. I’m sorry, ok? That’s what I’m trying to say.
Anyway.
Inks in the Noodler’s Eel series are lubricated (stop being gross).  Rumor is that this lubrication helps the action of piston converter pens (the ones you twisty up and down to fill). 
Then I read things that say that the difference isn’t appreciable. Then I read things that say the ink is “sticky,” and takes a long time to dry. And then I read things that contradict all of the above.
My general thought – ymmv, yo. There are so many variables with inks and pens and papers and your writing style. Your mileage may vary, yo.

It’s pretty. The cost is the same as other Noodler’s inks. It’s very well-saturated and I like that. A little smearing, but not horrible. Felt wet to me in my pretty Libelle. I liked it.

Very little feathering. No shading. Solid.

On to the water test. Solid. See those black specks? I don’t want to talk about them, but I can tell you this – those are not Black Eel from Noodler’s. And I hope they are not too distracting.  (They are actually from my horrible Invincible Black fling-a-thon!)

So. That’s Black Eel. Will you give it a go? I may end up getting bottle of this to see if it makes any difference in pens that I’ve had trouble with. 
Here’s what some of the kind people over at Fountain Pen Network had to say about this one.

INK REVIEW: Pelikan Edelstein – Onyx

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Nice!  This ink had great flow from the pen. It was such a pleasure to write with. I wonder how much of that was the pen? (Watch for more on this topic in a future post.)
I little smearing, but I work around that fairly well – even for a lefty.
Nice color. Not as “solid” as some.
But here’s the issue. The major stinkin’ issue …
The way I look at water tests – I don’t expect all of my inks to do well when they meet water. I know they won’t. But . . . I do expect better performance from an average black – probably becuase I know it’s possible to make black with great stability.
I’m so glad I only bought the sample of this ink and not the full-size bottle.  Bummer.
Do you have rules like my black-must-do-well-with-water rule?

INK REVIEW: Private Reserve – Invincible Black

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click to see bigger images
Invincible Black from Private Reserve is an interesting ink!  The difference between it and other ink samples in my collection was noticeable right from the start. Rather than the ink settling in the bottom of the vial, it clung to the sides.  (Think…the difference between a bottle of Coke and a bottle of ketchup – not that the ink is thick like ketchup!..it’s not, but it hung like that to the sides of the vial.)
Anyway, I knew right away that I had something interesting on my hands.  And just look at the swab – that is some crazy black. Opaque.  (That streak down the left side of the scan was something from my scanner, not from the ink.) Anyway – opaque – I almost want to say chalky, but that’s not exactly right. Keep reading . . . 
passes the water test!

I inked this up in my white Pilot Vanishing Point (fine nib) and when I sloshed ink all over the place (don’t ask), I was definitely nervous that it was going to be a nightmare to clean, but it wasn’t. (Big Sigh of Relief!)
Does the swab in my review form below look chalky to you? I think it’s because the ink was definitely thicker than others I’ve experienced. Not in a bad way – just different. And!!!…I could actually feel the ink on the surface of the paper. St-range! But in a cool way.
thick & hearty?

It feathers. Quite a bit.  Look at these from the Hammermill paper (same paper I’ve used in my other reviews of other inks):

And so I decided to test it on other paper – Rhodia . . .

…and it definitely feathered less. Somewhat less, anyway.
Is it strange that I seem to write above the line rather than right on it?

So. I was worried about Invincible Black – just the name alone had me a little worried. It’s cling-factor freaked my freak. Should have seen my face when I flung some of the ink across the table. Yikes.
But..I think I like it.  Probably not enough to buy a bottle? Maybe. I’ll try it again with a different pen and other paper (thinking Lamy and Clairfontaine). We’ll see.
After I wrote this review, I researched it a bit. Here’s a link to a thread on Fountain Pen Network – where there are some differing opinions. And here’s a link to it on Goulet Pens – again, opinions vary.
Have you tried Invincible Black? What is your “go to” black? 

INK REVIEW: Caran D’Ache – Carbon

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Did you know that Caran D’Ache means pencil? (There’s probably more to it, but that’s my understanding.) Here’s how I learned….

A long time ago at pen show far far away, I marched right up to a dealer and exclaimed, “Oh! You have Caran D’Ache! I love her pens!!”

Ug.

Put me right back to high school when someone asked me if I like Def Leppard. Trying to sound like I knew what he was asking while still staying non-committal, I replied, “Yeah. He’s ok. I mean, some of his stuff is alright.”  Oops..Def Leppard is a “them.”

So, anyway. Check out that black. Pretttttttty?  Nice and dark – totally saturated. And it wrote beautifully from the very first stroke of the pen.

No feathering. No shading isn’t a surprise.

Beatiful.

The water test? Well. Not so beautiful. Not a total fail, but definitely a surprise.
Here’s my bottom line – if I had a bottle of it, I’d use it.  I’d rather have Noodler’s Black, though – all of the color, and water-resistance.

Read what others are saying..

Fountain Pen Network (a comparison of blacks..er…an unrealistic comparison)

Goulet Pens is selling for $19.50
and Amazon has it for $20

SF Pen Show is this weekend!! Who’s going?

INK REVIEW: Noodler’s – Black

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Noodler’s Black is a good, solid black.  The color is rich and deeply saturated. It was definitely wet in my Caran D’Ache with a fine nib; I imagine it would be almost too wet for me in a pen with a broad nib.

Look at the water test, yo.  That’s some impressive behavior!  (The “b” in “by” is where I place a single drop of water – can’t see it at all!)

I rarely read reviews before testing the inks on my own.  It doesn’t matter too much what other people think about a particular ink – I want to know how it performs for me – in my pens. Having fallen in almost-love with this ink, I decided to see what others were saying . . .

Amazon Reviews

Goulet Reviews

According to Noodler’s, the ink is Waterproof, UV resistant, bleach resistant, fade-resistant, and good for archival purposes. It’s also forgery-resistant. SOLD! I’ve added this ink to my wish list.

QUICK REVIEW: Marking Pencil

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The Listo Marking Pencil. Adverstised as WRITES ON EVERYTHING.

Look how dusty the packaging is. I bought it like this. Must not be much call for Listo Marking Pencils. (I wonder, is this the same thing as a “grease pencil”?)

Completely Mechanical. What does that even mean?

With refills available in seven different colors. I don’t remember seeing these in the store. Again, more dust and grime on the back of the package.

Twisty action.

Grippy part is a bit too low on the pencil.

Removable clippy part.

After turning and turning and turning and turning the twisty part at the top, the “lead” finally emerged.

While you can’t see it here, it looked a bit . . . crumbly. I wonder if this is from sitting on the shelf forever?

My plan was to run around the house, write on EVERYTHING, and take pictures to show you, but then I realized – I don’t know how (if)  it would clean up and while I’m pentulant, even I am not that brave!

So. I twisted it back up without writing on a single thing!  Wimp!

I’ll pull it out again sometime in the future and write on some things with it. In the meantime, what do you know about these? Anything?