Ink Review: De Atramentis Pearlescent Velvet Black
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We are continuing black ink week so today we are going to take a look at the four De Atramentis Velvet Black inks, and just looking at the swabs I like the silver version best, so most of the photos will feature Velvet Black Silver. I purchased my samples of ink from Vanness Pens.
Left to right, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Copper. The shimmer isn't visible when the ink is wet, it only appears when the ink dries.
Swabs:
In large swabs there is a ton of shimmer but no sheen.
Writing samples:
Let's take a look at how the ink behaves on fountain pen friendly papers: Rhodia, Tomoe River, and Leuchtturm.
Dry time: 20
Water resistance: Medium, some ink washed away, but you might still be able to read it.
Feathering: Low, there was some feathering on Leuchtturm.
Show through: Medium
Bleeding: Low, most of the bleeding was in the flex nib.
Other properties: no shading, no sheen, and lots of shimmer. There could be some shading in there, but I didn't notice any since it was covered in shimmer.
On Staples 24 lb copy paper there was feathering in every nib size as well as clogging, hard starts, and skips.
Comparison Swabs:
Ink swabs for comparison, left to right (top to bottom for mobile RSS): De Atramentis Velvet Black Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Copper. Click here to see the De Atramentis inks together.
Nemosine Coalsack Nebula, J Herbin 1670 Stormy Grey, and Diamine Moon Dust. There aren’t many black shimmer inks, so I included some grey swabs in there for comparison. Click here to see the black inks together.
Longer writing:
I used a vintage Pelikan 400N, which handled the ink a bit better than the other nib sizes, but there was some clogging. I had this ink in the pen for a few days. When I opened the pen the ink had burped out and filled half the cap with ink so ink went flying everywhere.
Overall, I just can’t recommend these inks because of all of the clogging, hards starts, burps, and skips. If you are looking for a black shimmer ink, give Nemosine Coalsack Nebula or J Herbin Stormy Grey a try.
Disclaimer: I purchased this ink myself, and all photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links, and is not sponsored in any way.