Pilot Blue Black

This is the first of the "Pilot Ink for fountain pen" branded inks that I've tried. It was on my wish list, and Elaine over at JetPens was nice enough to send me a bottle to try out.

They come in a really nice 70ml bottle, that isn't as fancy as the Iroshizuku line and isn't as shallow as the Namiki line. I have looked around online for these inks on non-Jetpens sites, and I can't find them. So, as far as I know, there are only 3 colors of this ink. The Blue Black that Jetpens was nice enough to send me, a Black, and a Blue.

All of these bottles are deep and they all contain a small ink well. I've seen these in some Levenger bottles and a couple of others, but they're not super-common. It's a nice feature, and it makes it must easier to fill up pens that have big nibs or use pistons, levers and other interesting filling systems that don't play well with a syringe.

It's got pretty solid performance, as well. It is a little on the dry-side, so I've been using it in a fairly wet nib. It's a real blue black without the green shades that you find in lots of other blue blacks. You do see a fair amount of shading in this ink. The wet nib I'm using makes it prone to bleed a little bit, but I'm not sure that a slightly drier nib wouldn't control that little bit of bleed and keep the ink flowing. I know that I tried this ink in a finer nib and it wasn't very impressive. Your mileage may vary, I guess.

 As you can see, I've got a lot of blues inked up right now. It's one of my favorite hues, but this is the only blue black that I've got going on right now. You can see the telltale streaks of a rather dry ink in the scribble above-right. You can also see just a hint of a sheen in the smear above-left.

I know that this ink is going to be a little too boring for some people. Lots of ink-o-philes want something that is really going to stand out, and this ink isn't doing that. This is more of a business-casual ink. It's not just a blue or a black, so it'll give your writing just a little extra without really calling any attention to itself. That's going to be ideal for lots of people who use their fountain pens in a more formal setting than I do.

For me, this ink is a little on the expensive side, but at 70ml you're getting quite a bit of ink and a neat bottle without getting into Iroshizuku territory.

If you're looking for an ink that is competent without being flashy and blue-black without being green, then head over to Jetpens.com and check out Pilot's inks.

Water Test and Review Video

Here's the video for Blue Black. It's a little longer than usual, but it was super late, and I may have rambled a little. Anyway, I was surprised by the ink's water-resistance. Enjoy!

**This ink was received as a media sample. The opinions expressed here are all my own. No money has changed hands, and no promises were made.**