Kaweco Midnight Blue is one of the blue-blackiest blue-blacks I’ve ever used. At first glance, it appears to be nothing special since its a dark blue black with little-to-no pizazz. But on second glance, this is a workhorse ink. Its not the hot, new color or the “in” ink for 2015. Its a classic. It’s trend proof. Its a beautiful alternative to black ink or a plain blue. Its deep, dark and true to its purpose.
Even on Rhodia paper, Midnight Blue dries pretty quickly. The longer I used it, the more I warmed to this ink. Its like a good comfortable cardigan. It might not be the flashiest thing in your ink closet but I suspect you’ll find yourself coming back to it again and again because it works well and in lots of situations.
I used to think that Lamy Blue-Black was my go-to blue black but when I see it side-by-side with Kaweco Midnight Blue, I have to say I prefer the bluer hue of the Midnight Blue ink over Lamy’s more violet undertones.
Kaweco Blue Black is quickly moving into my favorite blue-black and, with its reasonable price (approx. $17.50 for a 30ml bottle), it might just stay there.
My only gripe is the funky label wrap on the bottle. No matter how many ways I try to remove the wrap sticker, I end up with unsightly label residue or weird bits. I keep ink bottles for a long time and I like to keep my favorites on display but the unslightly label shards mean the Kaweco inks are going to be kept out of sight until I find a good method for removing the labels. Which is kind of sad because I like the shape of the Kaweco bottles a good deal.
DISCLAIMER: This item was sent to me free of charge by Kaweco for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
There’s a great product called GooGone which will remove labels and stickers that won’t come off easily. It’s a citrus oil product, pretty natural and inexpensive.
Goo Gone doesn’t work? Or a warm soak in a shallow bowl for 2 days alternating through warm water? I mean if there’s time for it of course. Rubbing. Alcohol usually works, but I’m guessing that’s been tried.
I always have a small bottle of lighter fuel on hand specialy for this. Works perfectly.
Excellent review as always.
I find furniture polish does the job getting rid of label residue.
Oh my god I hate label shards, too! It looks so pretty before opening the bottle then it’s just insane in the aftermath! I keep hoping they’ll make a lime-ish green…
Btw, this blue is fantastic! It should go perfectly with my Navy Filofax and Mint Kaweco!
Which flash cards are these? Do you like these better or the other ones you bought in San Fran better?
I am sad to say these are the Maruman Mnemosyne Cards from JetPens but they are no longer available. But, yes, I did like them better. If you find a source for them, please let me know!
I would say that this price is hardly reasonable. When you look art price per 1ml Kaweco inks are more expensive than Montblanc or Edelstein and they’re not equally good. Personally I dislike this hue even though I enjoy blue/blacks. For me it’s dull but as akways it’s subjective. The behaviour is good, I agree. The pprice though is outrageous for what we get. If they want to get premium price they should offer premium ink in premium packaging.