As a lover of jazz music (and fountain pens), I was very excited when Montblanc announced they were releasing a Miles Davis edition of their Great Characters line. My excitement quickly dwindled however when I remembered Montblanc is way out of the price range of a simple student (around 800 euro for the regular edition and 3000 for the limited edition, yikes!). Luckily for me, this launch of a Miles Davis pen was accompanied by an inky tribute to the jazz legend as well: the limited edition Miles Davis Jazz Blue ink. So when Joost Appelboom from Appelboom pennen offered me a bottle in exchange for a review I didn’t have to think twice. Read on for my review of this kind of blue ink (let’s get that pun out of the way, shall we).

Introduction

When you think about jazz, it’s hard not to think about Miles Davis. For starters he’s the main man behind Kind of Blue, perhaps the most famous (and arguably best) jazz album of all time. I think it’s safe to say this album was also the main inspiration behind the colour and the name of this ink.

Montblanc is known for it’s exquisite packaging and bottles and Jazz Blue is no exception. They made sure to give the jazz legend a fitting tribute with a silhoutte of Miles Davis (in blue, of course) striking a pose with his famous trumpet and a lovely 30ml bottle. I’m sure that alone is worth the pricetag of 15 euro new (roughly) for some, especially for those people who like both jazz and pens (me!). But do read on if you’re interested in what’s inside that pretty bottle.

Colour & Shading

All tests were done on Rhodia paper

I must admit I was a bit disappointed when I first inked up my Faber-Castell Loom with a fine nib. It was so unsaturated that, frankly, I thought my pen was still wet from cleaning it at first. Evidently the ink performed similarly in an extra-fine Wing Sung 659. I don’t know if this is an intentional nod at kind of blue, but it doesn’t lead to a particular enjoyable writing experience. It’s a very nice shade of blue: quite soft and very different from most blues on the market. It has a royal blue vibe to it but more pastel. That makes it all the more frustrating that there isn’t “more” of it on the paper. It reminds me a lot of J. Herbin Blue Azur, which is in fact even more unsaturated (coincidence?).

Luckily I quickly discovered that this ink shines in wet and juicy nibs. In my wet Jinhao x450 the pretty shade of blue really pops and actually lends itself to a bit of shading. In this pen it actually resembles the colour on the packaging, unlike in the (extra-)fine nibs. Albeit still a bit watery, in this configuration I actually plan on using it to take notes in class. In fact, the ink pairs wonderfully with my milk white Jinhao. Similar results with a broad Lamy nib, but actually not as saturated as the Jinhao. This can be explained by the fact that the x450 is in fact very wet (Jinhao owners will know what I’m talking about).

Not to mention the flex-y Fountain Pen Revolution Jaipur! Because of the large amount of ink this pen lays down, the ink is nicely saturated and has quite a lot of shading to it. This is why I think Jazz Blue is more suited as a creative ink for special occasions or art and sketching as opposed to more formal settings. It suits the name of the ink well, but at the same time I’m sad that I’m unable to use it in class with my fine and extra-fine pens.

Performance

All tests were done on Rhodia paper.

My previous encounters with Montblanc inks have always been a joy performance wise and Jazz Blue is no exception. Ink flow is very generous and consistent in all the pens I inked up with it. Dry times are quite good as well: only 5 seconds in a fine and moderably wet Faber-Castell Loom and between 20 and 30 seconds in the wet Jinhao (which is honestly acceptable in such a wet pen).

As for water resistance Jazz Blue performs a lot better than I expected. In the simple drop test I performed the ink survived most of it. It’s definitely salvageable when accidentally spilling a drink or getting caught in the rain for a brief moment, but I don’t think it would stand up against more extreme situations than those.

To my surprise Jazz Blue holds up quite well on paper of questionable quality. Both bleed and feathering are kept to a minimum in finer nibs. Of course the paper quality (or lack thereof) becomes more apparent in broader and wetter nibs (and flex nibs), but even then it could be far worse.

Conclusion

Did the limited edition Miles Davis Jazz Blue ink by Montblanc live up to my expectations? Not entirely. The ink’s colour in a wet or broad nib shows that a beautiful shade of blue can be achieved. It’s just a shame that it’s almost impossible to get that colour in a fine or extra-fine nib. If you like the colour that you see and you primarily use medium/broad or wet pens, definitely consider buying this ink. Liking jazz is a legit reason as well, because the beautiful packaging Montblanc used makes it a fine addition to any writing desk or music room.

The ink in this review was provided free of charge by Appelboom Pennen (www.appelboom.com).