Review: Waterman Black Ink Hits All The Right Notes

After twenty years of using fountain pens, I finally purchased Waterman Intense Black Ink. My usual choices are Noodler’s Black or J Herbin Perle Noir when I am in a black mood. But I purchased the bottle of Waterman for a family member and decided to give it a whirl in a Delike New Moon 2 EF to good result.

It isn’t the darkest black but varied a little in my test perhaps in part due to the nib size and controlled flow. Super dark blacks remind me of gel pen ink and for that occasion the Faber-Castell Fast Gel Z is my weapon of choice. Waterman Black is more subtly varied as is my preference in fountain pen ink. It is undemanding to use and fitting for journal entries at the end of a long day.

So far it writes on all grades of paper tested and once I get started, it is so smooth on Rhodia that I don’t want to put the pen down. Nothing finicky about it but it is giving my mechanical pencil some serious competition. Just grab it and write. It won’t displace any colorful inks but Waterman Black could become a regular in my rotation. However, don’t spread that around. My usual companions might become jealous or worse. Naughty behavior won’t be far behind.