Continuing on with black ink! Sorry for the delay. I’m still working out the best way to photograph/scan my tests. That’s a WIP, but if I wait until it’s perfect I’ll never post again. So here we go! Kaweco Pearl Black.

Kaweco is known for the pocket pens. Primarily the Sport series, but also the Liliput and Supra. They also make some normal sized pens like the Perkeo, Special, and Student.

But they also make some ink! And we’re talking about that today.

Kaweco Pearl Black is a basic, cool black with a very dark blue undertone. That tone, along with some moderate shading, can give this black ink a very interesting, and in my opinion appealing, appearance.

It’s fairly dark. Definitely not the darkest, but unless you compare it side-by-side with other black inks, you won’t notice it being light. You will notice the shading. But it’s an interesting shading that doesn’t work the same way most inks shade. Instead of the distinct sections of lighter color and darker spots where the ink really pools, Kaweco Pearl Black shades in a soft gradient, getting lighter at the ends of strokes. This gives the ink a soft, velvety appearance.

I think my Clairefontaine Triomphe pad might be suffering from sitting on a shelf for 5+ years unused. It doesn’t bleed like that in my 1951 notebook.

Pearl Black doesn’t bleed or feather unless you’re using bad paper. Use good paper! It dries pretty fast, and under 20 seconds average on all of the papers I’ve tested it on. Part of that is due to it being on the dry side. Kaweco is a pen company first, so they make ‘safe’ inks. That tends to mean their inks aren’t very lubricated, overly saturated, or permanent. That’s the case with Pearl Black. It’s pretty dry, not ultra dark, and washes away easily with water.

Their inks are pretty affordable though! You can get them in cartridges if you’re into that sort of things. I’d recommend getting their bottles though. They come in 50ml glass cubes, that cost around $17 USD. That’s not the cheapest ink, but it’s on the more affordable end of the spectrum.

Overall it’s a decent, standard black. For me it’s a little too dry, but I still like it enough to keep a bottle on hand.

Here’s my video review on youtube!

You can buy Kaweco Pearl Black from most retailers, including Vanness here and Jetpens here. I’m not affiliated with either company, I just like them. Shop where you want!