I just returned from the Dallas pen show – a marathon show if there ever was one! This show was open on Friday from 10am to 8pm! It was a blast, though, seeing so many people passionate about the hobby.
At the show, I worked for the Dromgooles. They stake out a large corner of the Dallas show (since the store is only 3.5 hours away) and that includes tables for many other vendors, one of which is Retro 51. They has some amazing new pens (like Fraggle Rock and a new Dromgooles exclusive – Wrangler) but I was more interested in their new project – ink!
Retro 51 is planning a few exclusive inks to match their Midnight pen series. At the moment they have released a single ink in the line- Blue Black – to match their Midnight Blue fountain pen and roller ball.
So the Retro 51 table was one of the first places I visited to see about this new ink. I was told that any ink review with their new ink wouldn’t be complete without showing it off alongside the new Midnight Blue fountain pen, however.
The Midnight Blue fountain pen has the same dimensions as other Retro 51 fountain pens – 5.4 inches long when capped and 5 inches long when uncapped, 1/2 inch in diameter, weighs in at 34g when capped and 20g uncapped.
The big difference isn’t the standard dimensions – it’s the trim. This series – the Stealth Lacquer series – all have a dark lacquer finish and black trim including a black nib. The engraved “51” stands out even better against the dark finish.
So blue black ink is a great match to this blue black stealth pen!
The blue black is a dark ink, especially in writing. I have seen some shading in writing and there is a red sheen – one that isn’t overpowering and doesn’t smear like super sheening inks. The sheen is more subtle but still shows up in writing on fountain pen friendly paper.
Retro 51’s Blue Black ink holds up well in a strong line up of well-known blue and blue-black inks on the market including Bungubox First Love Sapphire (an ink that was created to replicate Parker Penman Sapphire) and Diamine Majestic Blue.
While we don’t yet have a price on Retro 51’s Blue Black ink and do not yet have a way for you to purchase the ink, keep an eye out with any retailer who carries Retro 51 pens at this time. I will update the blog when this does happen along with a longer review on the usability of Blue Black – I was excited to get the information out to everyone about it as soon as I could!
The Midnight Blue fountain pen is priced at $100 with your choice of nib size.
Which Stealth Lacquer pen are you most excited to see in person?
DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided to us free of charge for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
Those are a couple of beautiful blues. I do like those stealth pens, but am having a very difficult time figuring out which one I like best. I am looking forward to your longer review.
Since I have the Black Cherry with silver trim, I think the Midnight Purple Stealth is the one I’d like to see. I checked Retro 51’s website, and saw the Blue Black ink for sale there for $8.