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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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Paakezah, Krishna S series


Paakezah, the first ink in Krishna's S series. In their own words, the S series is the flagship of this Indian brand. The bottle is not only a beautiful eye-catcher on your desk, its design makes refilling pens easy and clean. The ink itself is a moderate dark blue with a huge amount of (red) sheen. Too much sheen for a business letter, but definitely suited for taking work notes and any personal writing or correspondence.  

The ink is smooth and wet. I didn't like it much in my wet Parker Duofold, but in a TWSBI Eco (B nib, cursive italic grind) it was very pleasant to write with. 

The amount of shading is high and immediately shows the sheen too, especially on Tomoe River paper. Just to give an idea of the amount of sheen, two pictures of the same text, under different angles. The sheen is already quite visible on the left image, but when turned, the text apparently changes from blue to red.

No feathering. The ink is wet and smooth. Drying is slow at 110 secs. Water ruins your writing immediately. 

The characteristics:

Feathering None
Shading High
Show through Negligible    
Wetness High
Lubrication Excellent
Shimmer/sheen Huge amount of red sheen
Price/ml € 0,60

Paakezah reminded me of Diamine's Jack Frost, but that ink has considerably less sheen and is lighter. Tsuki-yo (Iroshizuku) and IG Turquoise (KWZ) are greener (and don't have any sheen). Maybe a marine blue would have come closer. Despite being blue, Paakezah has a unique color and appearance.

All in all this ink is a nice addition. The bottle is a true gem, the ink is definitely expensive, but manages to be different from other blues. 
Four stars out of a possible five. 



Written on Tomoe River 52g paper

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