Black Inks Comparison #1

[@annamay6351]

Even when you don't like the ink, I appreciate how you include Waterman inks in your reviews. I am the odd ball where I really like Waterman inks. They always work and work well no matter what pen or paper that I am using, even the cheap printer paper at work, they just work. So thank you for including them in your reviews, even when you don't like them...

[@ctsealteam6]

Illustrator / Artist here, Platinum Carbon Black is the only fountain pen black ink I trust when I need something permanent. For normal use, Pilot black and Pilot iroshizuku take-sumi will do the job for me.

[@notsimar]

Sailor Kiwa-guro, Aurora black, and Montblanc permanent black are some of my favourite black inks.

[@jenntaiga3316]

I'm a big fan of Aurora Black and Platinum Carbon Black. Both verrrrry deep blacks; Aurora is on the glossier side, whereas Platinum Carbon has a nice matte finish to it.

[@chiarac358]

+1 for Aurora Black - very deep black and easy to clean to boot.

[@sajjadhusain4146]

+2..Aurora Black has forever been my firm favourite among black inks. So wet, smooth, an authentic black, and low maintenance. Only problem, as with all the Aurora inks, in my experience, is that they fare poorly on mediocre paper. Aurora inks seem to be made for use on quality grade paper.

[@jenntaiga3316]

@@sajjadhusain4146 I found it to perform really well on cheaper paper actually, though I do usually stick to finer nibs when stuck using a plebian-blend.

[@sajjadhusain4146]

Jenn Taiga ..Luckily, I rarely have to write on pedestrian paper. At my office, and especially at home, I have ample stocks of high quality paper at all times. But I occasionally test out my pens and inks on the cheaper paper out of curiosity. Your main use of finer nibs may be a reason why you’ve not had problems. My pens are predominantly broads, stubs and italics. Certain to make inks behave differently on certain papers, I’m guessing.

[@laurenstylish]

Jenn Taiga I’m forever going to call lesser paper “plebeian-blend” now, that’s fabulous 😂

[@ChrisSaenz13]

I tend to like grey inks better for some reason. But I do have one bottle of black ink: Noodler's Heart of Darkness. I really like how Lamy Black looked. But I still have 1/2 a bottle of HOD ink. Another reason I don't write as much with black ink these days is because I now really like blue-black inks!!!

[@PenultimateDave]

I am the same, I will very frequently ink up a pen with a grey ink but not a black ink. I think it's mostly because many black inks are more grey or charcoal or simply just not black for me. Interesting that you like blue black inks more as I'm strangely the opposite when it comes to a blue black, give me a blue or a black but not a blue black.

[@StopFear]

I also share this preference. I was thinking why I I like the slightly lighter and grayer inks and I think I know why. The reason is that when an ink is very black you cannot see any gradation of color intensity which may occur as a result of differently applied pressure. With lighter black inks you can have more options if you intend to accentuate something or maybe just for esthetics. Another reason is that there are already many very good quality rollerball, gel, and even quality ballpoint pens which produce very dark, jet black lines. If you want it to be evident that you wrote with a fountain pen and not with a ballpoint/gel/roller it’s better for that to use greyer ink too.

[@aag24]

Aurora makes a nice black which is very intense, also I I like platinum carbon black because it’s waterproof and blacky-black. I think another problem with black is that it seems to make ones handwriting look messy!

[@JuceePeachz67]

I have a bottle of Sailor Kiwaguro Black which is a beautiful ink and a sample of Platinum Carbon Black & Noodler’s Black which are nice as well.

[@lamarrharding4776]

I've recently found LAMY Obsidian to be my favorite black sheening ink. For years, I used Parker Quink black because it was avatar at my local market..

[@randomfantods]

I only have two black inks, quink black and heart of darkness. The quink was my first ever ink, but now that I have heart of darkness I never use quink anymore, it's just not black enough! I have also wondered about my aversion to some colours in relation to school and I remember being very hesitant to try blue inks. But what I've found is that I love blue inks, as long as they don't look anything like royal blue. Royal blue is my archnemesis of ink colours.

[@peterbowenwalker6987]

Thank you for making these ink comparisons. They have been exceptionally helpful. Please keep them coming.

[@Rghosst]

I’m very much the same, where I like my Blacks to be jet black and not Charcoal. I found the Platinum Carbon Black incredibly nice. It is a really dark, deep matte black ink, I think you’d enjoy it if you haven’t tried it already!

[@peterpuleo2904]

Is it permanent?

[@richardsimms251]

To Omniprime : I completely agree with you. RS. Canada

[@auntiecarol]

LOL on school and black ink. I think ours had some kinda bulk deal on Royal Blue because black was strictly forbidden unless you were a teacher or in the Sixth Form. So, naturally, the naughty boys used black. Then corporal punishment ceased to be a thing ('85, maybe?), and then everybody started using it.

[@JoelTurrell]

Fascinating and illuminating (no pun intended). Montblanc Mystery Black has been my staple black ink for a couple decades, and on quality paper, has seemed both solidly black ( as opposed to charcoal), and to have some sheen.

[@PenultimateDave]

Thanks Joel, I will have to take a look at Mystery Black!

[@laurenstylish]

Dave I also struggle to use black ink in my pens because there are so many fun colors out there for fountain pens! I think I’m keeping my black collection to just 3: Pelikan Edelstein Onyx to go in my birds, Platinum Carbon Black when I need pigment ink properties, and Aurora Black for best color. That will leave me room for all of the other fantastic colors you inspire me to buy! 😁

[@PenultimateDave]

Thanks Lauren, I think you've just hit the nail on the head, it's that there are so many fun colours out there, why just stick to black? I completely agree!

[@waltonsimons3323]

I have only two black inks, both of which I really like- Aurora black and J. Herbin Perle Noir. Excellent inks in their own right, very saturated and black.

[@j.vincent3625]

Very nice vid as usual Dave...thank you. I have several black inks too...Noodlers HOD and eel blk, Quink and Hero. HOD will 'haze' if used for watecolour sketches so i use Noodler's Lexington Grey which never clouds up when wet. I have also discovered that if i use a blinding white paper any black ink will be dark enough for me. 😎✒📃

[@hekatsees9449]

I know this video is from a year ago, but I’m fascinated with finding a black so black you can’t look away. Look at the BMW which was painted with a “vantablack” paint color. The black looks spectacular, oh and the car’s not so bad either. That is the black I’ve been trying to find in the fountain pen ink world. I’ve seen online an ink called “Blink” for calligraphers and artists, but so far I don’t know if a fountain pen is safe to ink with it. I guess I’ll try to find out. Recently, the black ink I keep being drawn back to because I like the look of the writing samples when using this ink, is Colorverse “Shiny Black”. It has what I see as a soft shimmer, so there is particulate in the ink. So far, I have not had any problems with clogging my fountain pens when using this ink. To my eye it is a wonderful black when using a fine nib. It’s black with a surprise of just a bit of sparkle. I’m tempted to try “Shiny Black” in my posting nib (PO). The line this nib produces is so fine it looks like a line of very thin thread… As far as very black inks go, Hero Black ink in the 25mL glass bottle is still the blackest fountain pen ink I’ve seen so far… But, my experience is limited…

[@richardsimms251]

What you said is interesting. Also, I have not heard of Hero Black ink, but I will look it up and see if I can obtain a bottle. Thank you for the information. RS Canada

[@hekatsees9449]

@@richardsimms251 I used to find Hero “Black” ink quite easily and it was very cost effective. Now, I purchase it where I can find it. This particular “Black” ink comes specifically in a 25mL glass bottle, which is a very nice looking and sturdy bottle. I have forgotten the style number of the ink, but it is made in China and it works fine in fountain pens. Blink black ink was a total bust. And I still really like Colorverse “Shiny Black”. It adds a bit of interest without going over the top with the shimmer effect. Good luck…

[@mauriciolacruz]

From what I understand, Parker Quink Black lightens over time (on paper), which makes it even less attractive. Normally I have not used black inks either. I only used them, and still use them, to mix (darken other colored inks)... Until now. One of my latest acquisitions of fountain pens has been the Cross Century II that came with black ink cartridges of the same brand (Cross) and this ink caught my attention so much, I liked it so much for being so dark, for giving such a saturation and contrast to the writing, and last but not least for being so serious and looking so good with that pen, that I decided to buy several bottles and, since then, it is one of my favorite inks. Also, it's a fairly wash-resistant ink on paper (it's fairly permanent and is advertised as such: "archive"), even though it washes out of pens very well (they wipe off easily). Not slimy or tedious to remove like other saturated inks (Noodler's, Private Reserve, etc.) I love this ink because it does not have any grayish shade, but it is a deep and pure black. There must be even darker blacks out there for sure, but this one does already look pretty BLACK to me and one of the darkest I've ever seen so far.

[@lorenzoemmepi3302]

Ohhh, very interesting, thanks! I'll take a look

[@ayklization]

You rock man.

[@kevinu.k.7042]

Another great review. Pilot seem to do rather a few inks which lack intensity. I'm surprised you have none of the intense blacks such as Aurora and Noodlers Black. Some would add Sailor Jentle black to my list too. Thanks for this though. 👍

[@WaskiSquirrel]

It's hilarious that you're struggling to fill out your Black stable. I have way too many bottles of black ink. But you brought up two (and a grey) that I've never tried: the Visconti and the Waterman, as well is the Iroshizuku. Interestingly, I never noticed the sheen on the Onyx! Mostly, I use the Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black, but, at last count, I have 15 different bottles of black...

[@PenultimateDave]

Even with this amount of blacks, I struggle to use any of them. It's not that I dislike black inks it's just that they just are not a consideration when I go to refill a pen, even for my black pens. Maybe I need to try and start changing that otherwise I'll never use up these bottles.

[@walterfoster2582]

I wondered what t ghe Onyx was like, now I know. As always great review.

[@marctestarossa]

I usually don't write black, so I only have one black ink. It's super cheap, you can get it everywhere (at least here in Germany it's available everywhere) and it's called "Brillant-Schwarz" or "brilliant black" it's made by Pelikan and part of the 4001 line. I don't make swabs to test inks because I just want to know how they look in writing and the simple Pelikan black is just black. It's not perfect but your little demonstration here showed that even the more expensive inks like Edelstein or Visconti don't put a deeper black on the paper. So maybe I give Lamy a try when I used up the Pelikan black, it's as ubiquitous here as the Pelikan inks. Either that or I look into the Sketch Ink series by Rohrer & Klingner because they are reasonably priced, extremely water resistant and the black seems to be quite black also.

[@XxXHardcoreshredderxXXxxxxxxxx]

Aurora and graf von Faber castell carbon black are ones on my list for blackest blacks

[@Rgc571]

I like Cross Black and Blackstone Stump Black. However my go-to Black is KWZ Foggy Green.

[@fbales]

Black ink is not my favorite either, but I do use it quite a bit in letter writing. Mostly, I think, because it’s already inked up. I enjoyed the comparison. Wouldn’t mind seeing the Noodlers black inks compared.

[@peterpuleo2904]

I have a bottle of Noodler's "Heart of Darkness". it is bulletproof and has always performed extremely well. My Parker's Quink black ink is also excellent, but it can be washed out.

[@wanyman]

I am constantly looking for the perfect black drawing ink. I’m a cartoonist and though have used dip pens for years find that as I get older fountain pens are easier. Platinum Carbon is one I’ve heard good things about, and I wonder if you have reviewed it yet? Thanks for the stellar video.

[@XxXHardcoreshredderxXXxxxxxxxx]

I'd recommend Aurora black, and graf von Faber castell carbon black

[@sistergoldenhair0727]

Lamy and waterman are my favorites here. I only like dark intense black inks. I only have noodlers dark matter in my ink collection as I really don’t like using black inks. I have mostly blues and pinks and oranges. I’d like to add more browns and perhaps another good black for my lamy 2000.

[@catchacoolbreeze]

There was once a youtuber named Pelahale, who had the most particular of taste. He made the most impassioned argument about how Pilot Iroshizuku Take-Sumi was the greatest black ink of all time. He also made a post about about it on FPN that is still there - you should try it!

[@PenultimateDave]

Yeah that's an ink I'll have to try at some point.

[@coveringgrape5251]

Thanks for recommending this, great entertainment reading his post

[@catchacoolbreeze]

@@coveringgrape5251 my pleasure! It was fun. Right?! :)

[@sacredband9812]

Diamine onyx black I like. But for black I use a dip pen, glass or metal, and lawyers ink or shellac ink. Something that has a gloss to it. My psalter leaf from 1300 has black ink on it not pretend black ink. I am waiting for the Futurelearn course on writing Arabic script to start. Will need to buy some reed pens and parchment.

[@harisivakumar207]

My first ink I ever purchased was Parker Quink Black, which you have and I did not realise that this ink has a bit of a blue or purple undertones. I picked up another bottle (my third) which is Lamy Black and that to me is the pure black. Like Cool Breeze mentioned, Take-Sumi is an absolute must because some say it's the blackest of blacks. Why don't you also try Aurora Black because it's pretty black too. When I started the hobby close to 4 years ago, I only ever used black inks (and also blue), but someday I'll venture off to other colours because black is really a boring and sometimes an upsetting colour at least.

[@animula6908]

Black ink sounds like such an easy thing, but we all know it is the the most complex riddle to a fountain pen user. This just proves it.

[@sel4hx]

Can recommend Platinum Carbon, not very pen-safe at it dries out quickly, but a very deep black unlike any of the ones shown

[@richardsimms251]

To LXBIII : I agree with you about PLATINIUM Carbon as it is beautifully dark black and impressive. From what I have read, it is water proof. I have 2 bottles. Thank you RS. Canada

[@EfotoBiz-Daniel-Hermann]

Thank you for the comparison. You may have missed some very black Inks. For example the very affordable TWSBI Black, is is really dark.

[@ImCFoxx]

You definitely need to increase your black ink population. LoL. I like very dark contrast and saturation. I need permanent ink for addressing envelopes and for documents. My first black ink was Noodlers black, then switched to Noodler’s Black Eel, which flows nicely. Aurora Black is beautiful and intense. Lamy onyx when diluted slightly is reminiscent of Lamy special edition Petrol, which is discontinued. Most recently I recommend Platinum Carbon Ink. I also enjoy Some lighter blackish grays that have some permanent qualities - like Diamine Earl Gray, And Monte Verde Smoke Noir.

[@carlatae48]

Noodler's Black is one of the few inks of that brand that I've tried, found well-defined and actually used a lot. But Platinum Carbon Black is very dark and more bullet proof. I found Noodler's Heart of Darkness dreadful -- spreading, feathering and bleeding--ugh. Did I just get a bad bottle? Seems I've gotten a bad one of other colors as well though..... But I don't like black inks much either. I will say that I've found whatever ink Sailor puts in the cartridges that come with their pens is quite nice. sailor Jentle Black perhaps? Haven't tried it. Do want to try the Iroshizuku Take- sumi. I love all their inks I've tried!

[@sajjadhusain4146]

Very surprised to hear of your disappointment with Noodler’s HoD. I’ve had the opposite experience with the ink. I really like it and have it in two of my pens. So very dark, wet flowing, well-behaved, consistent and adequately permanent. I’m totally with you on the surprisingly solid, true blackness of the ink inside the supplied cartridges with Sailor’s pens. I wish I knew for certain which black it was, because I’d like a bottle of it. And whenever I hear you or anybody else comment about Platinum Carbon Black ink, I know I ought to get it, too. Now, I finally will. 🙂

[@pbasswil]

I use black ink for art, and H.o.D. isn't particularly waterfast, so you can't, for instance, water-colour over it. But non-waterfast inks are good if you want to brush some tone out of the line - like, for shading. Unfortunately the wet smear from H.o.D. is far from a neutral black/grey; it's a very warm purpley-brown hue, not particularly appealing to me. :^/

[@mrpilotsapien7705]

fortunately, unfortunately, im a primary black ink user, (APOLOGIES COLOURS ONLY USERS). I would suggest a gander at 'Noodlers black.' (I ditto the sentiments) "a very blaaaaaaack black" thats well behaved along with 'Heart of darkness' and 'Black eel' > (which is a lubricant type of ink for piston fillers like pelikan and reluctantly homo sapiens if youre using the lava rock style bronze, dark, steel age could stain the grip section if you dont wipe it off fast enough COURSE YOU ALREADY KNOW THIS....) Noodlers black inks ; the ones I suggested are great ones to go to for that rich darkness. Aurora and Platinum are by "word of mouth" are great dark rick blacks as well; (Platinum 'Carbon' black is pigmented> giving it a dry fast property yet is really dark. aurora may be a basic but really a great quality black as well). just to note im currently using parker quink right now...... since I first stated my journey..... and NEVER KNEW IT HAD ANY SHEENING PROPERTIES WHAT SO EVER.... THAT BLOWS ME AWAY...... GUESS I CAN DISPEL MY CONCERN FOR WHAT DOES WHAT. P.S. Apologies for the long comments..... talking about these things are fun to discuss...... (am I WRITE?)

[@kevinu.k.7042]

I am in agreement with you. I used to use Aurora Black which is much more black than most other black inks I hacve seen reviewed or tried. It is very well behaved too (nodding to Waterman fans, of which I am one when it comes to their Serenity Blue and Tender Purple). However Noodler's Black just outshines them all for blackness. (Sic). It's pretty well behaved as well.

[@sajjadhusain4146]

I quite like black inks, though I seldom use them. I have too many other colours I like far better and use far more frequently. I actually still like solid blue-blacks best out of the traditional ink trio that also includes blue. I have only seven black inks, of which my favourite three are: Noodler’s Heart of Darkness, Iroshizuko Take-Sumi and my #1 remains Aurora Black (if it had good permanence, it would be perfectly peerless among blacks). All these are outright true blacks. Which is why I like and use them. The other four blacks I have are: Waterman Intense Black ( huge disappointment), Noodler’s Black (bullet proof, but somehow boring) Pelikan 4001 brilliant black (too dry and underwhelming) , and Kaweco Pearl Black (very black and the nicest among these four) .

[@hannahzechariah5062]

If I had one black for the rest of my life it would be Lamy Black, but I tend to use a lot of Noodler's Black and Perle et Noire as well. I really want a bottle of Platinum Carbon Black but havent pulled the trigger on that pigment ink yet.

[@TooLooseLeTrek]

Aurora!

[@louizelimepips3517]

I use Platinum Carbon black and Diamine Jet Black.

[@JayjitMajumdar]

Try jinhao black 3001.. I have found it as darkest black and really wet

[@pat412pear]

While I do like black pens, I abhor black inks. However, here in the US a number of official forms including he Federal Gov & military require black ink. It doesn’t need to be ‘bulletproof. Therefore everyone filling out forms should have a good flat black ink. I use to work with paper medical charts- I was sooo happy when I was finally able to use blue ink. It was always easy to find my notes, because mine was usually the only one in blue.🖋

[@zerozero3138]

I have just one black ink, the Pelikan 4001 and that is enough for me. In Germany it is cheap (3,50$ for 30ml), flowes and writes well. Drys in around 13 senconds and is black.

[@johnathanrhoades7751]

Sailor Kiwa Guro is the only black I will ever need...so good. (Pigmented, so not vintage safe, but amazing for modern pens.)

[@PoliticalPars]

Aurora black seems to be my reliable black. See @aag24 & others also suggested.

[@peterpuleo2904]

Brings to mind the old song "Black is Black". Variance is difficult to get in black.

[@blakeward2]

Sailor Jentle is my favorite dep black

[@sistergoldenhair0727]

None of these are black enough for me. I only have one black ink: noodlers Dark Matter which is the same formula used by the scientists who created the atomic bomb! I’m curious to see Aurora black as I’ve heard good things about that ink.

[@unslept_em]

stuart semple is apparently beta testing an ink version of black 3.0, might be worth keeping an eye out

[@unslept_em]

update: it's out!

[@Bob-Horse]

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.

[@PenultimateDave]

If you're looking at a vintage pen with a sac, then I would suggest going with Waterman Intense Black, it may not be the blackest of blacks but will not damage any sacs.

[@Bob-Horse]

Penultimate Dave Thank you very much indeed. The converter is a pump type, Pilot design.

[@jpg5540]

Hero234 is my blackest black, Quink is my go to black.

[@michellestephenson1680]

My black inks are KWZ Warsaw Dreaming, and Monteverde Onyx. I barely use them at all, but my young nephew wants black, so i have them for him. Black just seems blah to me. I’d much rather have a blue-black or an interesting grey.

[@alextaplin7354]

Black inks for me must be as dark as possible and have no shading or sheen at all. I can't stand inks like Parker Quink black where it is a dark grey being sold as black. My regular black is Diamine Onyx, it has a little more sheen than I would like but apart from that it's great. I've hear Jet black is good too but Quartz black is another dark grey.

[@SwayvillDelgarian]

I hardly use any black ink at all, but when I do it's mostly Montblanc Mystery Black. It is a very dark purple, which I find subtle and that has a good flow. I understand that black in the Pilot Iroshizuku line is take-sumi, have you tried it ?

[@StopFear]

When you, Dave, or anybody, say you "like" this ink, or that ink, what sort of thing do you use it for ? I assume you use it for something that requires either a lot of ink, or at least needs ink constantly. What sort of things do you use these inks for?

[@PenultimateDave]

Most of the time I write letters or take notes.

[@vergitube]

It would be nice to see herbin perle noire in this

[@Cristian-rj6zw]

Me sirvió mucho tu video, muuuchas gracias :D

[@lynnhayes5514]

I am searching for a patent leather shiny black ink. No shimmer or sheen, just shiny. Any suggestions?

[@sanjayharsh3532]

Sir looking for jet black nothing to beat aurora charcoal black/grey pilot take_sumi dull grey then Waterman intense black thanks god bless

[@massmike11]

Pelikan 4001 black is great

[@markcollins2876]

I love Cross black

[@AtomicElf1]

I have been loving the Cross Black also. My experience is limited with inks so far but it's the first ink that's come with a pen that I've actually been pleased with so far. No problems with false starts, even when leaving the pen uncapped during note-taking. It does pretty well with a fine nib on copy paper which makes it a good choice for office use. Parker Quink is a second choice, but doesn't yield the same saturation. I'm looking forward to trying some of the other recommendations like Lamy, Noodlers, Aurora, Iroshu-zuko.

[@SolinSultan]

Just curious about accuracy of cotton swab over paper test for writing inks , could you clarify Which "Standardized Testing Method for writing Ink color/tone comparison" you used (i,e. ASTM E1422-05 or ASTM D1535-14)? :)

[@PenultimateDave]

They comply with the PEND 2020-01 (Penultimate Dave) standard. ;-)

[@ebberman7672]

I thought that Diamine Jet Black was the darkest they made, partly because it's no. 001 in their catalogue. Now I see comments about Onyx Black. Is it blacker?

[@oseenerby3031]

Sheen doesn‘t matter for me, because you only see it in swabs but not in normal writing.

[@richardsimms251]

That may be true with many inks. Thank you

[@nikola1389s]

try shnider, nice video thx

[@archivist17]

I love black ink, but it has to be blaaaaaaack! I was put off blue, and particularly Quink blue from school. Current favourite is Diamine Onyx Black, but I am saving up for a Take-Sumi. BTW, I came to this video on the recommendation of WaskiSquirrel.

[@michael_anthony]

What pen are you using? Does it hold multiple inks? Or do you have 6 of the same pen?

[@PenultimateDave]

It's a William Shakour 3D Printed Titan pen that holds around 3ml, although for the ink comparison I'm dip testing the pen and then washing it out between each ink.

[@michael_anthony]

@@PenultimateDave yeah I realized you were dipping just after I posted. Brainfart on my part. Admire how you respond to so many comments. Cheers

[@J.J._Kruger]

Parker and Waterman is the same ink in different bottle.

[@flesruoyllik4077]

Which one is the blackest one?

[@PenultimateDave]

If you check out the swatches at the end of the video, you should be able to see 😉

[@flesruoyllik4077]

@@PenultimateDave sorry dude for not seeing it completely ...new sub

[@flesruoyllik4077]

@@PenultimateDave I'm sorry for ask this, which is the blackest one? I have a problem with my eyes and ... I can't identify which one is more dark. Sorry for my problem. I see black and white so it's super hard to me to identify which one is darker

[@PenultimateDave]

Lamy Black and Pelikan Edelstein Onyx are the darker inks.

[@Michelt007]

We are unfair with black inks. If a blue ink is slightly pale, we still call it blue, and the same for red ink and any other color, except for black. A black ink that is a bit pale is said to be gray. The truth is, we arbitrarily call black a gray that is dark enough, which is highly subjective. The subtle differences between black inks are observable with a thick line, but when using a fine or an extra-fine nib, all black inks do look black.

[@fips7143]

the 'stein' in Edelstein is spoken like sh-tyne ;-)

[@CatherineC.2123]

Noodler's X-Feather is the blackest of all inks.

[@peterpuleo2904]

Is it permanent or bulletproof?

[@princemakwana7043]

Witch pen is this ??

[@PenultimateDave]

Check the description text in the video, all listed there.

[@TheJanmaxPL]

Test it Noodles X-Feather

[@carlatae48]

That was "well-behaved" and don't have a clue how all that other stuff for crossed out! Scuza. 😃

[@EverGreenElephant]

I really don't like the Waterman black - "intense" black is marketing gag in my opinion. It's more of a dark grey. It's so unsatisfying to look at.

[@PenultimateDave]

This is why I don't like using black inks, because most of them are either a dark grey or charcoal at best.

[@averyjohnson6436]

I'm not a huge fan of blacks, because I think they look uninteresting. They all look kinda the same, even when they're from different brands. As a result, I prefer Blue Black or Brown when I have to write something normally.

[@PenultimateDave]

Yes, I rarely write with black inks myself for the same reason, I find them less interesting and there are so many colours out there that can be chosen instead.

[@josephhargrove4319]

I'm not seeing any love for my favorite washable black: Sheaffer black. The darkest black ink I've used is either Noodlers Black or Noodlers Heart of Darkness, but they are both far from washable. The Sheaffer, for me, was almost as dark, but its washability raises it to the top of the list. I seldom use black ink, my preference being for blue in a variety of tones. My dislike of black comes from the lack of blackness in most black inks; their lack of saturation gives them neutral dark grey tones. If I use black ink, I want it to be black. richard -- The road to Hell isn't paved with good intentions; it's paved with "It seemed like a good idea at the time!”

[@Marc-so2cd]

Black is black.

[@humanfirst11]

First like and first comment!!