on salePilot Iroshizuku Shin-kai - 50ml Bottled Ink

At least with my pens (e.g., a Pilot Custom 823 with nib in Smoke) the writeout is much more like a smokey blue than a deep blue/black.

As always, you can't go wrong with Iroshizuku ink. This is a great blue black.

I love Pilot Iroshizuku inks. And this is no exception. The color is a really nice blue-black (more blue) and it is wet! It takes a little longer to dry, but I am using it with a Broad nib. So I am putting a lot of ink down of the Rhodia paper. The color is lovely. Great for work, or whatever. No bleeding, no feathering. It's very well behaved. I can't believe I didn't get this sooner!

This is an interesting blue ink. In the bottle it looks insanely intensely blue. It goes onto paper bright blue initially, then as it dries it turns a stately slate blue. There is some shading on most papers, especially with broader nibs. Like many Iroshizuku inks, the flow is generous and lubricated. If your pen doesn't write freely with this ink, it's not working properly! It is wet even in drier nibs. This is a little bit different blue-black ink that would certainly be suitable for professional use.

These are the types of ink I love, they can be a bit of a chameleon. The color is a what I would call a dusty blue. You get fantastic effects with just standard writing. The shading on letters shows up in pretty much any light, with any writing style. It isn't quite dark enough of a blue to get by using it as a blue ink as on a professional or legal document though; it has a bit too much purple in it. It does stand out on the page visually. It's one of those inks that depending on where you are and even the mood you are in can seem to shift colors between blue and purple.