Corrected subtitles and translations are up! A commenter pointed out that the water to clean could be deionized water. After researching, I think deionized water is the safest to use. However distilled water worked fine for me and is a lot cheaper (he said deionized water is about $10 a gallon in the US). Thanks @Calcprof

What? Skip the video full of your wry humor and all of that lush photography? Never. It's so good to see you back at it.

This is the ultimate oyaji ink. Should come with a complementary fishing vest and Wagner membership.

I’ve been on the lookout for a new black ink! Thanks for all this amazing work Inky! As always - you rock!

I discovered your channel recently and only today I had time to slowly watch through it. I feel lucky youtube suggested me this video, which was the first one I saw. It's like receiving a pleasant surprised gift. You're so knowledgable and your videos are entertaning while being very relaxing. Such masterful editing and lots of care, with a little spice of humour. Thank you for making them.

I love the cinematography and audio in this video. Not only was the content enjoyable, but the experience watching was pleasant in a way I didn't expect. So, thank you :)

Hurrah - A new video! And thank you for demystifying this ink with your signature visuals (woah - those mineral water moments are something!) and experiments. I was pretty much afraid to try this ink based on what other folks were saying about it, but thanks to you, fear has been replaced by much curiosity :-)

Thanks so much for the amazing video Alesa! Your mineral water experinment was absolutely amazing (and scary!). Just refilled my pen with Chou-Kuro, I can see myself always having a pen inked with it! Spectacular ink :) Cheers!

You got me interested in black ink?!? That's some black magic you worked there, Alesa.

Thank you very much for this review. - I am not a black ink person but will definitely look out for this. Nice to have you back

Wow, never knew I needed a bottle of black ink, but this is gorgeous and now on my wish list to buy. Such an interesting and entertaining video as always. Love the chemistry experiment!🤓

What an informative video. I so appreciate the way you always dive right in and experiment. The ink's reaction to mineral water was indeed creepy, but beautiful in its own way. Definitely not something we'd want in our pens!

your awesome video is always the only review i need. just ordered myself a bottle of this magic! can't wait to draw with it🔥

You definitely have a new mic! Video intriguing as always. Thanks!

This is such a good, helpful and artistic review! Thank you very much.

Wow, amazing review. Thank you for sharing this!

Fascinating and thorough review of this insanely priced ink. High production quality as the icing. Very much appreciated. I just ordered a 4 oz sample. This will make my 32nd black ink. Thanks!

As a chemist and an artist, this is so fascinating, Inky! I cant wait till it’s available, will definitely be dedicating a preppy to this.

This is a very scary experiment but the inkwasher side of me is absolutely entranced and fascinated. Thank you for showing those off!!! I am so tempted but alas, I still have other pigment inks, haha! Also, Amabie LE spotted on FPM photos :D! And good to know I am not the only one marking pigmented pens with washi, it's very useful. Thank you for the amazing video

Wonderful review! And it looks like a fantastic ink, too.

I trust you, but I'm still going to watch the video! Here for the ink drops in water!

Haven't seen you for a while - great to see you back on KZfaq and fab video!! Of course, you may have been posting and it may be the KZfaq demon algorithms that have hidden them away from me... looking forward to trying this ink!

Thanks for the video; I love your cinematography. Looks like there is a black ink that I actually want now!

"Salvadore Dali of ink drips" .... lady, here's another reason why I consider you to be my Guru! May God grant all your Inky (and Rocky) wishes :) PS we do miss your videos you know, please give us more :)

You are a legend. Thanks for the awesome review and video. Hope I can snag a bottle in the US this fall.

“Dropped and broke it…”. 🤣🙄

This is so interesting to me. I'm an indie dyer of yarns, and some colours will "split" when used with certain types of water. When I lived in London, the water there had so much limescale that it left a white residue on things after dry. All of the pigments I used with red on them would split. Once I moved to Edinburgh, it all changed - the water here is very soft. It'll still have a lot of minerals, so I'm sure it would interfere with Chou Kuro... Now I want to buy this ink just to experiment :)

I've been waiting for this review!! Thank you so much!! LOL @ let's leave this hellscape.

What a great review!

very good video and such an interesting ink. Would love to try it.

Yes, I trust you, but I also want to hear what else you say about this ink - and I'm glad I did. That's an amazing review!! The ink drops in glasses of water, especially the mineral water, tell a powerful tale and one I'm glad to have seen. Thank you! Black is not my favorite color, I've used it for far too many years to be fond of it, but there *_is_* a place for it. Since returning to Fountain Pens, I've been searching for the blackest of blacks, bought too many samples and bottles (need any?) and finally tried Platinum Carbon Black. It's pretty darned black in my estimation and wow, does it behave well in my pens! I'm not sure I could distinguish it from the Chou Kuro if I saw one today and the other tomorrow, but side by side or magnified, there is definitely a difference. Well done!! ps: Of COURSE you'd write out a passage on Obsidian - if I remember correctly you're a geologist or, at least, a rock hound! :) pps: I grew up in a small oilfield town in Texas with two Carbon Black plants --- _before_ the EPA started cracking down. My brother and I frequently asked dad to drive us between the two plants at night because everything was black including the sky, but the two plants were lit up with bright white lights like two humongous Christmas Trees. I really didn't pay much attention on a daily basis, this was the only town I really knew, and I always thought that snow naturally turned a dingy grey after a few hours or so. Then we moved to another state and I remember being astounded by how white the white faced cattle were! I also discovered that I was blond. (OK, the previous sentence is a joke, I already knew I was _very_ blond, actually quite towheaded, but the rest of this is rock solid truth!)

Thank you for the great information. A fellow fountain pen enthusiast and I were comparing our inks to see which was most waterproof. Amongst others, I had Platinum Carbon Black and he had Noodlers Black. Both performed well in our water and light tests. After watching this video, I'll run the tests again to see which black ink is the darkest.

I liked this video. I'm also more of a "colors" person, so when I shot my version of this video I didn't have many other black inks to compare it to. I also needed to break out the sharpie and rollerball to liven up the discussion 😄 I appreciate how you showed its behavior on more paper.

I am so glad you made this! Now I don't regret ordering this. I had ordered boxed set earlier but that wasn't available so now I am only getting the bottle in september.

Well done as usual. Many permanent inks are pigmented, bond to cellulose. It would be interesting to do this same experiment with some others.

Great video. I found the mineral water part to be especially interesting as I’ve never seen an ink do that stringy thing.

Thank you so much for this thorough information!! I want to use this ink in my Pilot Décimo as my EDC next year…are there any concerns with that? Of course I’d be sure to only use distilled water to clean it, I’d be refilling empty cartridges, and since I’d be using it every day there’d be no chance of it drying in the pen!

Thanks for the review

What a fabulous black ink! I'm now trying to get someone in the UK to carry it! Love your videos, by the way, there's just so much interesting pen stuff coming out in the far east!

I've used Platinum's Carbon Black (in Platinum 3776) and I found it dried out pretty quick, which I thought was unusual. Maybe I'll try this when it becomes available... . Great video IR 🙂. Love your videos.

Very interesting ink, nice video, thank you

WOW! When I started watching, I was absolutely sure that the difference was going to be negligible. I was so wrong. Thank you for the demo!

Ahh the effort you’ve put in for us is unreal auntie 😂

WOW that is some incredible ink! Amazing and scary stuff in the mineral water! I would love to try this ink 🖤

Very interesting! The last time I went to the States I picked up a large bottle of Noodler's Black. It's not black black, and drys a little grayish, but it is very well behaved even on cheap paper, and waterproof. But I love the look of this. You mentioned this was a limited release but it will be sold regularly soon? I live not far from Nagoya. Next time I'm there I'll have to check to see if they have any of this to try. The only concern I'd have is pretty much the only pen I use these days is my custom 823, which we can't really clean easily.

The experiments with the mineral water are so cool!! I find myself wanting to float the ink on/in mineral water in a shallow tray and gently lower a sheet of paper in the tray--like one does with paper marbling if you've ever done that. I really, REALLY want a bottle of this ink but so far haven't identified a seller in Europe. Will keep watch though!!

Any other ink next to Chou Kuro looks as if you weee comparing against a gray ink. I’m flabbergasted by this ink I must get some ! Thanks for the scary vid, Inky!

Alesa! I'm excited to watch this one... I am a hard core carbon ink fan.

thanks for the cool video! any chance you've tried the uniball one (gasp) gel pen? their black ink is noticeably darker than platinum carbon black, and I wonder how it compares with chou kuro. it would be really interesting if you could wander into LOFT, get a writing sample and compare the two.

Lots of pigment blobs, very interesting! Are the Platinum converters suited to replace international cartridges? I suppose I could dedicate a Lamy/Kaweco/Jinhao to the ink. I‘m most interested for drawing with it. I already have demineralized water for general pen cleaning because the water in my city contains a lot of calcium carbonate and is quite hard. Thanks for the review! I really enjoy your reviews, they‘re interesting, fun and they just have a quality to them.

"Let's leave this hellscape." Classic! I love Carbon Black. I'm also more of a color person, but if the black ink is velvety and lush, then I'm in! Thanks for a beautiful review!

Wow this is such a fantastically produced video. Like, I would never need all of this information in order to make a purchasing decision, but for the pure joy of information this video is extremely pleasant. Your voice also has a nice ASMR quality to it.

It could be de-ionized water (also called purified water) that's in the box, I belive. This is about $10 a gal in US.

Thank you SO MUCH for the water test. Can you tell if Chou Kuro is as “runny” as Platinum Carbon Black? I find that my Japanese EF pens write like an F or MF when filled with PCB. I print my letters slowly (not cursive) so that always gives the ink more time to pool.

My pens were in the mood for a horror flick, so I put on this video. They all fled screaming and dove, nib first, into the pen box. Even this morning I could hear the whimperings from residual nightmares.

Thank you for posting this very interesting video. Personally I would hesitate to put such a pigmented ink in a fountain pen but it was reassuring to see how the ink could be cleaned out after use! How would these Platinum inks compare to the classic Iroshizuku Take-Sumi? I have an ambivalent relationship with black inks, considering them generally rather boring. However, I have recently started using very black inks which subtly contain shades or hues of very dark blue or even the deepest green. These create a wonderful effect on the written page. Among these are Nureba-iro, a Kyoto ink that dries with a hint of very dark blue. Another is the Sailor #51 Kanocho Iro, which is stunning after it dries into a very blue black finish. Then there is the Iroshizuku anniversary Hoteison ink, which dries into a fascinating and rich deep dark black/green.

Super interesting and fun to watch! I also do not favor black ink but recently have switched some nibs around and now my favorite nib is on the designated black ink pen, and suddenly i really enjoy the black ink🤣 which brings me to a question: i noticed the Preppys you are using and am curious if you notice much of a difference in the nibs? I've got 3, 2 fine and 1 medium and they all feel really different even with the same paper and ink. Is this normal?

Love the video! Distilled water is the way to go for cleaning pens. It's extra for your pen babys😂

:) "but dropped it and broke it" oh nooooo! Thank you for this video! I wonder how it compares to Aurora black.

Now I want that ink! ❤ the algorithm must see the bottles of ink in my desk through the lens of my phone or something to recommend this video to me so easily. 😅

Sooooo gooood review

I had a laugh when you said you dropped and broke your little beaker! I was afraid it was going to fall in the garbage disposal. As always love your reviews! Hope all is well!

OMG I got platinum carbon black because it was the darkest at the time, I use it to black out mail info I want to throw away without getting info stolen. That's amazing I'm getting this new ink as soon as I can love a black ink that's really black. Oh and call me stupid I didn't know the converter could be disassembled on the preppy pens. I spent time to custom make a almost bottle brush to clean my converters, but I know several others can't be disassembled so I guess I can use it on them and start taking the preppy apart.

If there was ever a video that stated "don't do this" when cleaning your pen, you have definitely nailed it.

Who knows black ink could be so interesting? Platinum outdid itself again with the Chou Kuro! I just bought a bottle of Carbon Black a month ago because of its water-proof characteristics, and now Platinum has released another magnificent black ink.

I've always used distilled water to clean my pens, so to me this is just an upgraded Carbon Black... except that it's three times as expensive. €60 a bottle, yikes! That's €1/mL Bungubox territory. Are the standalone Chou Kuro bottles without the extra bits for sale in Japan yet? If so, how does the MSRP compare to the limited edition set?

I would have liked to see not only the reaction to mineral water, but rather a comparison alongside distilled water. I did, however, enjoy your review enough to subscribe to your channel!

I've never seen a short beaker like that. Do you remember the size and maybe source? I just searched and the smallest looked taller than yours. I also looked for the ink, and it appears it might be coming to the US in September. Edit: I found the beaker on Clarto. I am hoping to find an original source now.

I've never heard of the Platinum carbon black heralded as the blackest ink before, just incredibly waterproof. Some artists have done comparisons and it's pretty grey compared to other waterproof inks.

The Salvador Dali of ink drops…. LOL. I read that someone left the ink in their pen a long time and had hard starts after that. I imagine it was a water issue. Nice video. Aloha

I do love Platinum Carbon Black. Sennelier makes one called A la Pagode that I called Liquid Midnight. But I am definitely interested in checking this out! Thank you! Ok, that wine glass looked like it was full of Dementors. Creepy.

That mineral water experiment is cool, a little creepy but cool.

You sold me a bottle 😂 Also, sharing this with the DC Pen Crew.

So creepy with the mineral water!! But that’s a darn good cautionary tale to remember to use distilled water!!

While Carbon Black i found underwhelming, i am sorely tempted to try Chou Koro. Definite difference in your samples. None more black! 😆

I trust ya, but I still had to see. I love it 💜 😊

I love the things you do for science👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

HAVE U TRIED X FEATHER? WHICH ONE IS DARKER? IS CHOU KURU GOOD ON COPY PAPER?

Your mineral water "experiment" reminds me of the black stuff from the later Alien movies.

I have a question: Couldn't see on the video, but Carbon Black has a slight sheen. Does the Chou Kuro also have a sheen?

I wonder if Chou Kuro is darker than Uniball One black gel pen? That's the blackest ink I've seen, blacker than any of my FP inks but I haven't compared it to Carbon black.

How would the ink work for brush caligraphy? It could be the lazy person's ink stick.

I wonder if they have used a pigment similar to Vantablack, the blackest black to ever black?

Is Chou Kuro waterproof like Carbon Black?

I like Platinum Carbon Black and have used it for years. It has never been the darkest black ink; there are several that are much darker. As you've seen, it leans toward gray. This Chou Kuro is clearly darker, but hardly worth it at the absurd price.

I trust you but I'm still going to watch this video now :)

Trigger warning: many glass objects were harmed for the sake of making this in depth video review. 🤣🤣🤣 I wonder how this ink would look like close to a Noodler's Polar Black or some traditional India ink. I'll have to wait until I get a bottle of it I guess.🤔 Anyway, superb review, thank you very much! 🥰🥰🥰

I've never been much of a black ink person, because they're rarely black enough. Why do half-measures? Now I want this ink.

When my 60ml runs out (approximately another year) I'll definitely get this one.

The "then dropped it and broke it" made me laugh out loud

Is it blacker than heart of darkness

Would that be darker than india ink?

Just bought it. Despite the scary stuff. And the hellscape will come when I try to clean the pilot Elite I put it in. Wish me luck …

have you tried Culture Hustle Blink?

So what happens if you clean out a pen filled with Chou Kuro with tap water?

I'm sad to say this is my favorite black. Sad, because $60 is crazy for an ink. But I can't help it, I love this ink because it dries matte. I was always turned off from Carbon Black because of its glossiness. As for a dupe...sort of: Uni-Ball One gel ink is very similar. But it's a gel pen...so...I guess that doesn't matter.

I thought it’s the shade of my heart after a failure 😂

It’s probably better to use distilled water on all our pens anyway come to think of it.

Holy black on a popo!

Saw 808 likes so had to click like. Aloha