Levenger Cobalt Blue Review

Levenger Cobalt Blue Review
The nice packaging for the bottle

Specifications:

Levenger Cobalt Blue Review
The bottle is nicely shaped and resembles a TWSBI Diamond 50 inkwell.
Manufacturer: Levenger
Color: Dark Blue
MSRP: $12
Actual Price: $12
Price I paid: $9 from Levenger's website while it was on sale
Amount of Ink: 50 ml
Cost per ml: 24¢/ml at $12
Bottle: Glass; It includes a reservoir 
Where to Buy: All of Levenger's inks are exclusive to their website.*
 * All prices are the prices at the time of this review's writing on June 22, 2014. 


Qualities:

Sheen: None
Levenger Cobalt Blue Review
Filling a Lamy Safari using the reservoir inside the bottle.
Shading: None
Water Resistance: Somewhat water resistant
Feathering: High in broader nibs; minimal in finer nibs
Bleed through: Moderate
Show through/ Ghosting: Moderate
Drying Time: Fast; fantastic for sinistral writers
Wetness: Very wet
Lubrication:  Well lubricated
Staining: I haven't noticed any staining.
Cleaning: The ink cleans out of a pen easily
Performance in Finer Nibs: Loses none of its saturated color
Okay on Copier Paper?: Not really due to the feathering, bleed through,  and ghosting

Writing Sample:

Pen: Lamy Safari Fine Nib
Paper: Levenger Circa Paper
Levenger Cobalt Blue Review
Writing Sample on Levenger Circa Paper- Front
The extremely broad italic nib shows how horribly this ink can feather and bleed through paper, especially when freshly dipped for the first pass.

Levenger Cobalt Blue Review
Writing Sample on Levenger Circa Paper- Back
Levenger Cobalt Blue Review
Writing Sample on Copier paper- Front

Levenger Cobalt Blue Review
Writing Sample on Copier paper- Back
Writing Sample on Levenger Circa Paper- Front
Overnight Soak Test- Interestingly, the color changed to more of a light turquoise.

Pros:

  • The bottle include a reservoir for more convenient filling.
  • The color appears saturated and not at all washed out in extremely fine nibs. I find that this ink goes very well with my blue Sailor 1911 Mid-Size EF, and the ink matches the color of the barrel as a bonus.
  • It dries very quickly, so this would be a fantastic ink for lefties.

Cons:

  • Not the best ink for low-quality paper
  • No shading or sheen

Closing Thoughts:

Cobalt Blue is a nice dark blue ink which dries rather quickly and comes in a great bottle. It isn't too expensive either at only 24 cents per mL.  One of my favorite qualities of the ink is that the color appears saturated and dark even in my Sailor 1911 Mid-Size's EF nib. I will use this ink often but only on nicer paper or with finer nibs to curb the feathering and bleed through issues.

Update:

I revisited this ink for another review in a comment on Reddit.
"I did a quick writing sample here.
Here's what I wrote typed out:
This ink is my favorite of all the dark blues I've tried, but I have to use it in finer nibs or on nicer paper to curb its issues with feathering. It also has a tendency to bleed through almost all paper. Cobalt Blue does dry very quickly (almost instantly on looseleaf) though, so it would be a great ink for lefties.
Some say that this ink can stain certain pens, but I haven't encountered this issue in any of mine. Cleaning is fairly easy, and the lubrication is also very good.
My favorite pen to use with this ink is my blue Sailor 1911S because it's almost a perfect match for the ink's color. I actually bought the two at the same time from Levenger because they were 20% off with a $50 gift card and I didn't want to bother with shipping from Japan.
Overall, this is one of my favorite inks, and I recommend it highly as long as the feathering and bleed through won't be too much of an issue for you.
I also reviewed this ink in greater detail on my blog with several scans."


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