Left the “e” off of Noire…just wanted to see if you were paying attention.
J. Herbin Perle Noire has been my go to black ink for the last few years. Perle Noire is a dark black ink that is very well behaved. There is not much in the way of shading and I have had no issues with feathering. The flow is average. Dry time is faster than normal and ink is not waterproof but I have read that is is water resistant. The ink did fade with drops of water but it did not completely disappear like other inks. The only ink that comes close is Aurora Black which may even be a slight bit darker, however, in my experience Perle Noir is better behaved.
If you know of a better black ink please let me know.
Here is a great review of J. Herbin Perle Noire:
(I have no affiliation with the site linked below)
Noodler’s Blue Eel is a lubricated ink that is designed to improve the flow of your fountain pen. I was surprised by how much I ended up liking the color of the ink; it’s a real bright and saturated blue. The flow is heavier as you would expect from a lubricated ink but so far has not caused problems with any of the papers I regularly use. No real issues with bleeding or feathering. Dry time is on the average to slow side and it is not waterproof. This is easily one of my favorite blues.
Writing sample on Maruman Smooth-To-Write loose leaf paper.
Here are some great reviews of Noodler’s Blue Eel:
(I have no affiliation with the sites linked below)
The Uni-Ball Vision RT is a retractable roller ball pen. Uni states that this pen has “triple protection against ink leakage” and is airplane safe. I am not certain what consists of triple protection but it sounds nice. The fine point retracts when you pull on the clip making it a safe for pockets. I quite like the design of this pen; someone clearly put thought into it.
In the writing sample I incorrectly state that the pen is not refillable; it is in fact refillable.
On to the bad…
When I first used this pen I thought it was a ballpoint because the pen wrote so dryly. “Roller ball” usually means liquid ink but Vision RT feels pasty like an oil based ink. The lines as you can see in the image above are not clean. This is easily the worst writing roller ball I have come across. At a dollar I would say it’s passable but $2.00 is too much for this level of performance. Uni usually makes excellent product but the Uni-Ball Vision RT is a rare miss.
Here are some reviews of the Uni-Ball Vision RT Roller Ball:
(I have no affiliation with the sites linked below)
Written with a Rohrer & Klingner glass dip pen on Maruman Smooth-To-Write paper.
This month’s Goulet Pen Company Ink Drop is titled “Christmas Dreams” and includes the following inks:
De Atramentis Poppy Red (not Red Poppy as I put in the writing sample…oops)
De Atramentis Pine Green (not Aramentis…double oops)
Diamine Crimson
Diamine Kelly Green
Pilot Iroshizuku Shin-Ryoku
My favorites this month are the Shin-Ryoku and the Poppy Red (reviews to follow). From my quick first impressions none of these inks are a buy for me. The Shin-Ryoku looks amazing when wet but it becomes a little dull when dried; it’s very similar to J Herbin Lierre de Sauvage which I think has a little bit more character and is cheaper to buy.
Ink Drop is a subscription service through The Goulet Pen Company (no affiliation) that consists of monthly shipments of 5 ink samples. Each shipment is $10.
Montblanc has released two new permanent inks, Permanent Blue and Permanent Black. Both of these new inks are ISO 14145-2 certified; this is the same standard applied to roller ball refills with permanent ink suitable for documents. Montblanc Mightnight Blue was previously formulated as a permanent ink but I do not believe it held this same ISO certification. The new Midnight Blue is no longer permanent. Interestingly, the Permanent Black costs $28 while the Permanent Blue costs $17 (same as the other MB inks). I went for the Blue because the saleswomen couldn’t explain to me why the black was worth an extra $11 (…if someone knows why please let me know).
The branding on the these new permanent inks is a little bit different. The boxes and labels on the bottles are white instead of the normal black with a color fade. The permanent inks use the same great 60ml Montblanc bottle which has a little hump in the middle making it easy to fill your pen when the bottle is low. Montblanc does an all around superb job with their packaging. There is an expiration date on the box and bottle which is a feature I love.
Permanent Blue is a nice true blue color with some shading. Permanent inks tend to write on the dry side and MB Permanent Blue is no exception. The flow was comparable to the R&K Salix (permanent) ink but noticeably dryer than the Waterman Florida Blue. I saw no feathering in my test and the ink had an average dry time on the Maruman Smooth-To-Write paper. I have tested the ink and it is completely waterproof. I dripped water on the word “Waterproof?” and the result is what you see below. Overall I really like this ink. I am going to see how it behaves in my Pilot VP for a couple of weeks and if I don’t run into any issues with clogging as I have with some other permanent inks, I will use it regularly.
Noodler’s Qin Shi Huang is rich red with a bit of a pink hue. The flow is average but this ink seems to feather quite a lot on the Maruman Smooth to Write paper I used for the written review. I tried this ink on a Rhodia No.18 pad and my Exacompta FAF pad and there was less but still noticeable feathering. I have heard of feathering issues even with extra fine nibs which is too bad because this ink is beautiful. There is some shading and the ink is fluorescent. Qin Shi Huang is not waterproof and has an average dry time. I really love the color of this ink but the feathering even on high quality paper is a turn off.
I purchased a Rohrer & Klingner glass dip pen and thought I would test it out on the lastest. For those that don’t know, Ink Drop is a subscription service through The Goulet Pen Company (no affiliation) that consists of monthly shipments of 5 ink samples. Each shipment is $10. It’s a great way to try ink without making a full commitment to an entire bottle. More than once I have paid $10+ for a bottle and ended up hating it. Last month I bought J. Herbin Gris Nuage and I know I wont be using it again…no idea why I thought a grey ink would be appealing.
The Noodlers Qin Shi Huang and Noodler’s Antietam are my favorites. You can read my full review of Antietam here and Qin Shi Huang here.
I am rarely a fan of orange inks but Noodler’s Antietam is special. Antietam is a very unusual rust orange/red with great shading. I have been using Antietam this last week and I love it. The color varies red to orange in different pens and on different paper; it is a real chameleon ink. The flow is good, not too dry not too wet.
I tested this ink on Maruman Smooth to Write paper (my go-to for use with fountain pens) and used dry cotton swabs to test the dry time. Even after 90 seconds it wouldn’t fully dry; I got bored and gave up. The Maruman paper is quite smooth and for most ink I see an average dry time around 15-25 seconds. I did try later on more absorbent Exacompta 60gsm paper and it was near dry in 15 seconds and completely dry in 25. The ink is not waterproof; to test this I waited 5 minutes for the ink to dry and wiped the paper with a damp cotton swab. If you can put up with the long dry time Noodler’s Antietam is definitely worth a try.
Here are some great reviews of Noodler’s Antietam Ink:
(I have no affiliation with the sites linked below)
The Pilot 78G is a great looking budget fountain pen. The pen I will be reviewing has a bold nib that is actually a stub; I do not know why Pilot doesn’t offer this pen with a round tipped bold nib.
The nib writes quite well with some feedback but it is a bit dry for my taste; I may have to experiment with some different inks to find what works best with this pen.
The Pilot 78G comes with an aerometric-style converter and also accepts Pilot cartridges. It is rare for pens at this price point to come with a converter. For example, the ultra popular Lamy Safari at $35 doesn’t come with a converter; you have to pay an extra $5 to get one. Unlike the aerometric filling system found in a Parker 51 the Pilot’s doesn’t hold a lot of ink. If you plan to do a lot of writing you would be better served by using this pen with a cartridge.
The body is made of a lightweight black plastic and features a gold plated steel nib and clip. The 78G weighs in at about half an ounce which is lighter than I prefer. Capped it measures about 5.25″ and is 0.5″ wide at its widest point. The grip section is a problem, at less than a quarter inch wide I find it too skinny to be comfortable for long writing sessions. If you have larger hands or a tight grip this pen may be a bit too small for you. The body of the 78G seems to scratch quite easily but at this price point it’s not that big of a deal.
I have been using the Pilot 78G for 7 days straight now and it is great for taking notes. Compared to my Lamy Safari w/1.1mm stub, the Pilot 78G writes better, looks better and costs a fourth of the price. In short the Pilot 78G is great entry-level fountain pen that I highly recommend.
Pilot 78G fountain pen writing sample. Diamine Ultra Green ink on Maruman P160 Report Pad.
Here are some great reviews of the Pilot 78G fountain pen:
