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Perle Noir, Herbin

Perle Noir is one of the most recommended and well reviewed black inks out there. When I bought this ink a few years ago, I was disappointed. It is not the blackest, not the smoothest, not the fastest drying ink, not an archival ink, not the cheapest.  I decided to give it a second chance so I eyedropped a Preppy with it and filled a Lamy All-star. Over the past few days I have written many pages of work notes with the ink. Perle Noir is a well behaving black ink that is sold at a reasonable price, but it doesn't excel in anything. Below some writing samples, followed by drying times and test in water resistance. Drying times are about average to slow, 45 secs with a broad nib on Tomoe River 52g paper. The ink is certainly not water resistant, but it can handle an accidental drop.   The full characteristics: Feathering none Shading hardly any Show through negligible 
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Aurora black



Traditional fountain pen colors are blue and black. There are quite a few great blue inks available, but black is notoriously difficult. I have tried a few, but none were really a success. Much as I love Iroshizuku, Take sumi is a disappointment. J. Herbin's Perle Noir the same. I don't write with black often, but an ink collection isn't complete without a really good black. 

 Then I stumbled upon Aurora black. Recommended by one of my favorite penshops, the darkest available color according to internet reviews, I had to try it. And I can say, this is the first black I really like. It's dark, it's smooth, it has a long drying time but other than that writes like a dream. And, at 45ml for less than 15 euro's it's not very expensive. Excellent value for money. 

 Of course black can be used for business purposes but I also like to write slightly darker thoughts and stories with it. For this review I have taken some quotes from Stephen King's 1408. Very fitting for this color.

It is often claimed that Aurora Black is the most deep black. I am not so sure. It certainly is a beautiful deep black but when comparing the inks - using a glass dip pen - both Heart of Darkness (Noodler's) and Take Sumi (Iroshizuku) seem a bit darker. 



N.B. all writing on Original Crowm Mill Vellum paper

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