Cross Black is the first ink up in my inksploration! I’ll be starting this blog off with several black inks, because that’s what I have the most of.

We’re starting off with a bang! Because Cross Black happens to be my current favorite black ink.

Cross Black is a nice, well-behaved, true black ink. It is exceptionally dark, rivaling all black inks generally considered darkest, including some pigmented inks. But it’s not pigmented, so it doesn’t come with all of the benefits and drawbacks of pigmented black ink. It’s not waterproof. Water won’t completely obliterate your writing, but it will wash around the dye and make a mess of your page. And it’s not quite as dark as the best pigmented inks, like Sailor and Platinum’s offering.

However, because it’s not pigmented, it doesn’t need as much maintenance. it won’t kill your pen’s feed if you forget about it for a while. And without the carbon particles, it doesn’t have the glossy finish that carbon inks have. It’s matte, except in the areas where ink really pools up. That matte appearance makes Cross Black look even darker.

Samples done on Clairefontaine, Graphilo, and Tomoe River papers.

Another factor in its deep black appearance is its lack of color bias. Some blacks are secretly very dark purples, or unappealing dark browns, like Noodler’s various black inks. And without any shading, it always puts down a single, uniform tone. That may not be what you’re after, but if you want a solid, dark black, this has that look.

Cross Black flows well and behaves well on all but the word paper. It also dries as fast as the average fountain pen ink. Paper choice is more of a factor there.

I really like Cross’ bottles. They are big, sturdy, blocky glass bottles, with a wide mouth that makes filling easy. They are 2 fl oz (62.5ml in real units), which is a very nice size, in my opinion. They are around $20-$25, and you can get the ink in cartridges, though they are proprietary.

I’m having a hard time thinking of any negatives. The only bad thing is that Cross discontinued Cross Violet, which is/was my favorite ink. But that’s not really this ink’s fault.

Overall, Cross Black is currently my favorite black ink, but I have 15 black ink samples to try, so it might not stay that way for long. Still, if you haven’t tried Cross Black, you should! Go pick up a bottle, so Cross sees there is a demand, and they don’t discontinue even more of their wonderful ink.

In the States, where I’m located, you can pick up bottles from Cross’ website, Amazon, and Walmart, if you’re comfortable shopping from those retailers, and, even though they aren’t paying me to link to them, Goldspot. Vanness only carries their cartridges.