A water base ink for ink-jet recording includes carbon black as a coloring agent and water. The content of chlorine ion contained in the ink is not more than 8 ppm. The ink may be added with 1,2,3-benzotriazole as a rustproofing agent. Even when oxygen is contained in an amount of about 9 ppm in the ink, the corrosion of a discharge section, which would be otherwise caused by chlorine ion, can be avoided even in the case of the use for a printer which uses a metal member for the discharge section.