Rohrer & Klingner50 ml Bottle Fountain Pen Ink, Blu Mare (Sea Blue)

When buying my first fountain pen, I researched an ink to accompany it. Something that didn’t feather, something that didn’t bleed-through paper, that’s when I came across Rohrer and Klinger’s Black ink. As a student, I write a lot in low or generally average quality paper and R&K’s supposedly feather-resistant qualities of iron gall inks ( even on low quality paper! ) definitely pushed me to buy this.The colour of the ink itself is quite amazing, a deep dark black with hints of green. It also dries extremely quickly (do take this with a grain of salt, the higher the paper quality, the slower it dries) and that’s about where the positives end for me.While this ink may be faultless with high quality paper, I’m basing this review on my own experience and the experience others may have using this ink with average to low quality paper. First of all the ink feathers horrifically ( see pictures ). Note that in the pictures I used only an extra fine nib which further prevents feathering. The amount of feathering with this ink renders it completely unusable with everyday paper. The bleed-through also makes the other side of the page useless. I understand that fountain pens and their inks are not exactly suited towards average paper but for this ink to be completely impractical with everyday use is quite absurd.This ink was overall very disappointing, if you are willing to use it solely on high quality paper then go ahead but if you plan to use this as an everyday ink or in school/work, I recommend you stay clear!

I have always (13 years) used moleskine diary's but although they suite my needs the paper is shockingly thin and rubbish .Fine for a biro or gel pen. However I like fountain pens so using one was nigh on impossible with collosal bleed thru and spidering (bleed across the paper). In a review elsewhere I heard of this ink . Initially the cost was a bit of a issue as 'what if its no better ' Well its excellent . I can write on the moleskine toilet paper and there is NO bleedthrough at all and no spidering . I have four fountain pens and even the wide nibbed one which puts a lot of ink out is fine so for all intents and purposes this ink is perfect for my needs Also its a bit of a novelty as it starts light blue and after about a minute it darkens to a royal blue as it has iron in it which reacts with the air and the paper apparently.

"Rohrer & Klingner *since 1892* Fountain Pen Ink - Leipsician Black - 50ml", otherwise Leipzig Black, is the deepest of two blue-black inks from within this brand. Because of its depth of tone, it is probably best reserved for narrower grades of nib, possibly up to and including Medium but may over-power if used with Broad or Italic nibs and take longer to fully dry due to the wider lines. It may be best described as 'Midnight Blue' as it is almost black in tone; its blue elements are mostly subdued.Most of R&K's inks are dye-based and moderately wet-writing. Their easy-flowing character will work well with any dry-writing pen but this and most others can also be used with some that are considered wet although not exceptionally wet. Correctly used, it will photocopy extremely well. It could easily be an alternative to a true black ink as it has sufficient tonal depth.Used in a pen with a Fine nib, it was an ideal companion and should also work well with most Medium nibs. Although the specific brand of pen is regarded as generically 'wet', that mostly applies to its Medium and wider nibs; the Fine and Extra Fine versions will definitely benefit from the ink's easy-flowing properties as it provides extra lubrication and prevents them from becoming too dry or scratchy. That should also apply with most pen brands.For use with broader nibs, and possibly Mediums that are generously-tipped, R&K's Verdigris may be a better choice of blue-black; it is considerably lighter, has a stronger blue content and a hint of green, but is still fairly photocopier-friendly. In other respects of their usability, both inks perform similarly and personal preference may help decide between them.With several of their inks purchased and used, R&K's inks have proven very easy to use with no issues discovered to date. Best-known in the old Iron Curtain countries, R&K inks are now widely distributed worldwide with several UK sources including Amazon. Alternatively, there are several on-line suppliers and specialist high street dealers.

Typically, Verdigris is the bright green colour that copper assumes once exposed to air and moisture. In Germany where this ink is produced, it may have another meaning as this is a fairly standard blue-black ink with a dark green tint when wet but which is short-lived. When first considering this, several external reviews and colour samples appeared to show this as a true blue-black with no hint of green. It is when dry!Thus far only used in one pen, it worked well and is sufficiently deep in tone to photocopy well. R&K have another blue-black, Leipzig Black, which is far darker and probably more accurately described as Midnight Blue. "Rohrer & Klingner *since 1892* Fountain Pen Ink - Verdigrease - 50ml" otherwise written as 'Verdigris', is probably better-suited to Medium-nibbed pens and broader whereas the darker ink will often overwhelm when used with broad and italic nibs and is therefore best reserved for Fine and Extra Fine nibs. If you only want a single blue-black, Verdigris is the more useful.Rohrer & Klingner have been producing fountain pen ink in Leipzig since the 1950s but, then behind the Iron Curtain, their products were only available eastwards but are now more widely distributed. The majority of their inks are dye-based, fairly wet and usually best matched to dry-writing pens which is where this ink fits within their range. They are however well-behaved and mostly usable even with moderately wet pens although probably not one that is excessively wet, otherwise a gusher.The bottles are tall and fairly narrow but not too likely to over-balance. The ink range is of good quality and the range includes several very usable and popular colours, some of which were previously purchased and often used.

You will see from my other reviews that I am an avid user of fountain pens and gorgeous inks, and this ink is no exception to that rule.Firstly, to clear something up (seller pse note) it's R&K Verdigris (not grease), and as such it is a very subtle blue black, (through a fine nib) and a gorgeous greeny blue black with shading that makes you smile through a medium or broad nib. I love this ink and can sit all evening using it for note taking or general correspondence. Classy enough to use for business writing, R&K inks are famous for their ease of flushing out of pens once they need a refill.I have a Platinum clear demonstrator pen that was stained awfully by a well known English ink that took ages to clean out with water and ammonia - whereas a change after a month with an R&K ink needed only two flushes with warm water to clean it perfectly.If you are looking for an uberclassy blue black that errs on the side of green, please consider this ink, and if you love pens and ink and paper and you are looking for a lovely BB ink that will flow with ease, and look lovely on the page, this is one ink that you need on your ink shelf.I currently use this ink in a TWSBI 580 clear demonstrator (buy one!!) and it is never out of my pen rotation. As with other R&K inks, it is freeflowing, has minimum feathering and hardly any bleedthrough except on the cheapest of papers.It has performed flawlessly on any paper above 80gsm.It's a gorgeous ink, buy it with confidence.Edit 17/6/15.I have to come back to tidy this review up a bit, as I've found that the more pens I put this ink through, the more it is, in fact, a lovely deep green with blue undertones - the extra fine nib I was using when I originally put up this review showed it to be extremely dark, nearly blue black. I've since used this ink in a Platinum 3776 medium nib, an Aurora Archiviste, and three Delta pens, (all fine nibs) and the ink through these pens is an intense green blue that looks stunning on the page. So nice to look at it now is one of my four favourite inks. Buy it with confidence, it really is a classy, graceful ink on the page, and although I don't sketch, I have a friend that does, and she raves about it's shading and vibrancy.The ink arrived from Germany within three days of ordering and the seller is willing to combine shipping if you order other colours in the same order.Hope this helps.