In June I visited Washington DC and did a tour of the local stationery stores to see what cool office supplies I could dig up. One of the places I stopped was Fahrney’s Pens, and I am glad I made it a point to get there. While I was there checking out all of the great pens and notebooks, I also picked up a bottle of their Midnight Blues Ever Write Fountain Pen Ink.
I’m not sure how many different blue black inks I have reviewed, but I would have to say that it is one of my favorite colors to write with for just about any purpose. I was looking forward to the opportunity to try out this midnight blue which I assumed would be the same as blue black. For all intents and purposes, Fahrney’s Midnight Blues Ever Write Fountain Pen Ink matches up pretty well with the other blue black inks I’ve used before. It definitely leans more towards the blue end of the scale than black though, which is fine with me.
I was cautious of buying ink from a company that I didn’t associate with ink because I’ve read plenty of horror stories about inks destroying the inside of pens due to chemical reactions between the ink and the inside of the pen. I was pretty comfortable knowing how long Fahrney’s had been in business so I didn’t let that stop me from buying the Fahrney’s Midnight Blues Ever Write Fountain Pen Ink.
The ink comes in a 1.5 oz or .5 mL bottle that as you can see from the Fahrney’s website, you can pick up a bottle for about $9.50. If you are buying 12 or more you can also get a nice discount. The bottle itself is kind of a no-frills glass cylinder, but I don’t really expect anything from a fountain pen ink bottle other than it not breaking or leaking on me.
I’ve been using the Fahrney’s Midnight Blues Ever Write Fountain Pen Ink on a daily basis for a few weeks now, mostly in my Levenger daily planner and I have really enjoyed it. The ink has many of the qualities that you would expect. It dries quickly, writes smooth, doesn’t feather, and didn’t result in nib creep in my Pelikan M215 with a fine nib.
Fahrney’s Midnight Blues Ever Write Fountain Pen Ink Summary
Now that you see the writing sample of the Fahrney’s Midnight Blues Ever Write Fountain Pen Ink, you may notice that its much more blue than black. It still has a nice darker tone to it though. If you compare it to Noodler’s Blue Black you can see the difference. I’m not sure which of the two I like better because they both handle really well and I love both colors. I can see myself switching between the Noodler’s and Fahrney’s on a regular basis. They are close enough that they fit the blue black category, but they are also different enough that one can be change of pace for the other. This is a great option if you are looking for a nice blue black ink that leans a little more blue.
Also if you are ever in DC you should definitely check out the Farney’s store. They have a huge selection of fountain pens and ink to pick from, but the front of the store is really the attraction. The giant fountain pen sign is really cool to see in person.
I was under the impression that Fahrney’s ink was basically Private Reserve with a Fahrney’s label on top. It seems that way since they name their colors exactly the same as PR. Does anyone know off-hand if this is true? Should we do a test and I’ll break out a bottle of PR Midnight Blues to compare?
@Tom – Sorry Im slow on responding this week, thanks for the insight though, and I’m looking forward to your comparison.
“For all intensive purposes…”
GAH! NO! The proper phrase is “For all intents and purposes…”
@BrodyV – Fixed…and thank you. Im an idiot, I can own up to that. 🙂
Love your reviews but can’ t help but chime in with the copy editing:
Remedial Metric System 101:
1.5 fluid oz equals approximately 45ml
(44.36 if you want to be painfully precise.)
Cheers,
S
OK, my math is correct even if my contractions are not 🙂
@Sean – Corrections are always welcome, I could probably give someone a full time job cleaning up my mistakes though. 🙂
The true measurement/text should read how the Fahrney’s site has it, which is: “Each bottle holds 50ml of ink (approx. 1.5 oz.)”
That “approx” can mean anything. 🙂
That ink looks an awful lot like DC Supershow.