Pilot INK (70CC) – BLUE BLACK

My workhorse ink. More blue than blue-black to what some may expect, nevertheless a good, safe-for-work, easy-reading colour. Not overly saturated and exhibiting some pleasing, low-key, smooth shading and visual complexity. What sets it apart is its overall very good set of characteristics: decently lubricating, highly-wetting but with moderate flow/viscosity; well-behaved in every pen I’ve tried it in (except maybe the absolute wettest firehose); good resistance to nib-dryout; with substantial water resistance—while it may run a bit it remains highly legible on the page. Not quite as good at resisting feathering as some the standard inks (eg. Waterman Florida/Serenity Blue, Parker Black or Blue) but still better than the majority of other inks. Curiously, I find it a bit better in this regard compared to its Blue and Black siblings. It cleans out readily even if completely dried out in a pen, but bear in mind it will stain porous/rough surfaces (such as the grouting between tiles or the surface-etched plastic feeds of eg. Pilot or Lamy). I haven’t yet had need to try removing it from clothing… A bit of reddish sheening can be coaxed from it if one slathers it on certain papers, however Sailor Jentle Blue is about the same colour and sheens much more readily if that’s your thing. If I had to pare back my collection down to a single, non-black ink, this would probably be it.