Ink Review #1922: Esterbrook Ebony

Esterbrook Ebony is from the Esterbrook Standard collection. You can find this ink for sale at Vanness Pens.

The color:

Ebony is a deep black.

*For my swab cards I use a Col-o-ring by Skylab Letterpress, a medium Pilot Ishime and a Mabie Todd Swan.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink has lots of bleeding and feathering.

Writing samples:

Let's take a look at how the ink behaves on fountain pen friendly papers: Rhodia, Tomoe River, and Leuchtturm.

*For my writing samples I use:

• EF Pilot Vanishing Point

• F, M, B Pilot Ishime

• Vintage Mabie Todd Swan (flex nib)

• Rhodia Goalbook

• Taroko Enigma notebooks (68gsm TR)

• Leuchtturm A5

• Pen & Gear Paper from Walmart

Dry time: 5 seconds

Water resistance: High

Feathering: High

Show through: High

Bleeding: High

Other properties: no shading, no sheen, and no shimmer.

On 20 lb copy paper the ink had lots of feathering and bleeding.

Comparison Swabs:

Ebony is similar to Colorverse Selectron. Click here to see the black inks together.

Longer writing:

I used a Lamy Safari Petrol with a medium nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink had a wet flow.

Overall, this ink dries quickly and is water resistant, but it also comes with lots of issues: high feathering and bleeding, even on Tomoe River paper and the ink spreads so a medium nib feels more like a broad or double broad. I wouldn’t recommend this ink to anyone.

Disclaimer: All photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links and this post is not sponsored.