Ink Review #2345: Platinum Chou Kuro

Platinum Chou Kuro is touted as the darkest black ink-let’s test it out! You can find this ink for sale at most retailers including Vanness Pens. Thanks to Luxury Brands for providing this ink for review!

The color:

Chou Kuro is a deep matte 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 no shading or sheen.

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: 40 seconds

Water resistance: High-a tiny bit of pigment moves with the water so it’s not completely water proof.

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

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

On 20 lb copy paper the ink had no feathering or bleeding.

Comparison Swabs:

Chou Kuro is closest to Octopus Black Elephant. Click here to see the black inks together.

Longer Writing:

I used a Kaweco x Akkerman Al-sport in Navy with a medium nib on a Taroko Enigma notebook. The ink has a wet and smooth flow.

Overall, I really like this ink. It’s wet and super smooth and dries to a dark matte finish. I’ll use this ink often.

Thanks to all my Patrons! I couldn’t do these reviews without you! You can find my Patreon page here.

Disclaimer: This product was provided by Luxury Brands for the purpose of this review. All photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links and this post is not sponsored.

Platinum 3776

I’ve had a lot of requests for pen reviews lately so I decided to finally try one. Thanks to Luxury Brands for sending two Platinum 3776’s in Bourgogne/Gold with Coarse and Music nibs to try. Let’s take a look at both pens. You can find both the Coarse and Music nibs for sale at Anderson Pens.

Size Stats:

Length closed: 5.5 inches

Length of body: 4.7 inches

Cap: screw-on

Trim: gold

Size Comparison:

Left to right: Pilot Custom 823, Pilot Custom 74, Lamy 2000, Platinum 3776, Pilot Vanishing Point, Pelikan 205, Pelikan 605, TWSBI Eco, Lamy Safari, Esterbrook Estie and Sailor Pro Gear.

When compared to other pens the 3776 is the same size as a Lamy 2000.

The pen unposted is a little shorter than the Lamy 2000.

Writing Samples:

The Coarse nib is essentially a double broad nib. The nib is nice and juicy, with an average flow for a double broad nib.

The Music nib is a little bit smoother than an italic nib. It flows well without being too wet.

I have a Platinum 3776 Nice Lavande with a broad nib so I decided to compare the 3 nibs. The broad is a bit drier than the other two, the Coarse is the juciest and the Music is a little less.

Matching Inks:

Out of the inks I have Diamine Cult Pens Deep Dark Red probably matches the best.

Overall, I really like the Platinum 3776 but I like the Coarse nib the best. My perfect nib for everyday use would be in-between the broad and coarse. If you have any suggestions for how to make the next pen review better, please let me know in the comments below!

Disclaimer: These pens were provided by Luxury Brands for the purpose of this review. All photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links and this post is not sponsored.

Ink Review #1066: Platinum Carbon Black

A reader recently sent me a sample of Platinum Carbon Black to try, and after trying it a few times I fell in love and ordered a full bottle. I have no idea how I’ve never tried this ink before. This pigmented ink comes in 60ml glass bottles. Thanks to the reader that sent this ink in!

The color:

Carbon Black is a great classic, neutral black.

Swabs:

In large swabs on Tomoe River paper the ink is shiny, but I wouldn’t call it 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: 60 seconds

Water resistance: High

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: Low-just a touch of bleeding on Leuchtturm paper.

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

On Staples 24 lb copy paper there was feathering in all nib sizes as well as some bleeding.

Comparison Swabs:

Carbon Black is a similar color to a lot of other black inks, including Sailor Kiwa-guro and Colorverse Sunspot. Click here to see the Platinum inks together.

Longer writing:

I used a Pilot Vanishing Point Crossed Lines with a medium nib on a Yoseka A5 notebook. The ink had a wetter than average flow.

Overall, this ink does take a long time to dry, but it doesn't budge when exposed to water. The downside to the pigment-base is that it can be hard to clean out 100%. Once I used it in each of the nib sizes for the writing samples, I cleaned them all out and filled them with another ink, but it still felt a bit wrong-like it was a bit gritty and dry. I re-washed them all and then it was fine again. I would probably devote a pen to this ink, and use it whenever I need a water-resistant ink. As long as I used the pen at least once a week I didn’t have any clogging issues. It has a nice wet flow and provides a great writing experience.

Disclaimer: A sample of this ink was provided by a reader. All photos and opinions are my own. This page does contain affiliate links but this post is not sponsored in any way.