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 ...
My favorite fountain pen ink brand is - without hesitation - Iroshizuku. Excellent behavior, a beautiful bottle and some amazing colors. Tsuki-yo (moonlit night) is the first Iroshizuku ink I ever bought, roughly seven years ago. A beautiful dark teal color. It's a dark blue but with a very clear hint of green in my opinion. Which makes it perfect for any situation, both personal and professional. This ink deserves and demands high quality paper. If for some reason you cannot use that, please forget this ink brand. Buy Noodler's then. But if you can and do use it, you will be rewarded accordingly. The ink writes like a dream, very smooth! No feathering, no serious show-through, wet but with acceptable drying times, and very beautiful shading. Water will damage your writing, but won't wash it away completely. Compared to other teals this one is way more blue than the others. Syo-ro, ku-jaku and Emeraude de chivor (Herbin) are considerably more green. Keeping Sai...