Fountain pen ink....

[Chris_in_the_UK]

Thanks for the advice everybody - now the proud owner of a 1962 Parker Slimfold Aero-Matic fill fountain pen -pics to follow in the morning... :wink:

Now my next question - any rec's for ink....

Any advice most welcome.

[ramc181]

I use Parker's Quink (black, naturally) from the bottle in all of mine, haven't had any problems.

Hope that helps,
Paul

[Griswold]

I've been using Sheaffer Skrip (Peacock Blue) in my pens for a long while now and have been very happy with it. The bottles have an interesting ink well built in.

However, it's not easy to find round here so I'm currently using Lamy (Turquoise) which is also good. No ink well, but it does have a very useful nib wipe built into the side.

[ijhill]

For black ink try Noodlers Eternal bullet proof black, Private reserve inks are very good.

Personally I use Visconti Sepia for work in my Pelikan M400.

Head over to http://www.thewritingdesk.co.uk where they have a display of all the colours.

You may find that your satisfactions depends on your pen and how wet a writer it is, Noodlers can be a bit thick and may require a wet writer to get the best out of it, Private Reserve are pretty much good with any pen as is Visconti.

[Bristolian]

For black ink try Noodlers Eternal bullet proof black, Private reserve inks are very good.

Personally I use Visconti Sepia for work in my Pelikan M400.

Head over to http://www.thewritingdesk.co.uk where they have a display of all the colours.

You may find that your satisfactions depends on your pen and how wet a writer it is, Noodlers can be a bit thick and may require a wet writer to get the best out of it, Private Reserve are pretty much good with any pen as is Visconti.

Seconded all round. (And nice pen BTW)

ANORAK ALERT!

I must say that you've stumbled on a real minefield here - you might just take a glance at

http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum ... howforum=5

to see the arguments rehearsed in detail. If you like grey/blue there is a 'bulletproof' noodlers ink called 'legal lapis' which is only sold by pendemonium.com . It's a favourite of mine (no affiliation). The bulletproof inks are truly permanent but only on paper (they bond with the cellulose)

Regards

David

[Neil.C]

Thanks for the advice everybody - now the proud owner of a 1962 Parker Slimfold Aero-Matic fill fountain pen -pics to follow in the morning... :wink:

Now my next question - any rec's for ink....

Any advice most welcome.

They are nice pens and very slim for people who are used to ballpoints, a good choice. I've got a black one and a green one, what colour is yours? :wink:

Regarding ink I must say I like Pelikan blue/black as it makes your writing look vintage. :)

I did recently get some Mont blanc blue from Tinky though and it's absolutely darling. 8)

[Chris_in_the_UK]

[quote=Neil.C]

Thanks for the advice everybody - now the proud owner of a 1962 Parker Slimfold Aero-Matic fill fountain pen -pics to follow in the morning... :wink:

Now my next question - any rec's for ink....

Any advice most welcome.

They are nice pens and very slim for people who are used to ballpoints, a good choice. I've got a black one and a green one, what colour is yours? :wink:

Regarding ink I must say I like Pelikan blue/black as it makes your writing look vintage. :)

I did recently get some Mont blanc blue from Tinky though and it's absolutely darling. 8)[/quote:jjsq6so7]
Hi Neil

Mine is blue - posted pic's on another thread. :)

Thanks for the ink rec's - must get some ordered...... 8)

[draz]

I've come to like Noodler's inks a lot. I use the Red-Black in a Penguin M600 and the Blue-Black in a Lamy 2000. Along the way I've also picked up their Le Coleur Royale and Private Reserves corresponding purple, but they don't see as much use as they're pretty "exotic".

[Leif]

As for non permanent inks, Shaeffer and Waterman are probably some of the safest inks for your pen, you can buy.

As for permanent inks, many has recommended Noodlers, but I have mixed emotions about them. To my taste they flow too easily and "feather" on many papers. They are also very new inks, so nobody knows the long time permanency.

My everyday permanent ink is Montblanc blueblack witch contains iron-gall. It's a real vintage ink, like the ones everyone used before WW2. Montblanc Blueblack iron-gall ink is made for fountain pens, as opposed to many "medieval recipe" inks, that should never be used in a fountain pen due to sedimentation (clogs the pen) and high acidity (corrodes the metal parts) but only with quills and dip pens. Montblanck blueblack flows rather dryly, but the flow can be helped by adding 1-4 drops of diluted dishwashing detergent (not more than that, or the bottle is wasted).

[draz]

Montblanck blueblack flows rather dryly, but the flow can be helped by adding 1-4 drops of diluted dishwashing detergent (not more than that, or the bottle is wasted).

OK, you're going to have to expand on that. since your recipe varies by 400%! Diluted how much? How many drops to how much ink?

[Leif]

Montblanck blueblack flows rather dryly, but the flow can be helped by adding 1-4 drops of diluted dishwashing detergent (not more than that, or the bottle is wasted).

OK, you're going to have to expand on that. since your recipe varies by 400%! Diluted how much? How many drops to how much ink?

Well, dishwashing detergents vary, so you'll have to experiment with the one you have. You may want to dilute it more than I do in order to not having the effect on the ink overdone. You can always add more drops of a more dilute solution.

With mine I have mixed one part detergent with three parts water. Of this dilution I use two drops in 50 ml (one bottle) Montblanc Blueblack. If it is not enough I add an extra drop. If still not enouh I add a fourth drom. I have never used more than four drops.

[Tinker]

Diamine.

Faultless.

[Rinaldo1711]

Herbin Ink - it's been pretty good since 1670!

[Si]

Aurora: the nicest blue and the blackest black!

Simon

[tempus]

Diamine.

Faultless.

I second that. I also have Herbin, Parker Quink, Sheaffer Skrip, Aurora, Pelikan, Lamy, Private Reserve, Mont Blanc, and Waterman, but if I could only have one brand it would be Diamine, no doubt about it.

By the way, I've had skipping problems with most if not all the others, worst for that have been Pelikan, Herbin, and Private Reserve (sometimes in pens which are not particularly prone to skipping). And don't get me started on the watery colour of the MB stuff!

I used to like Private Reserve, and enjoyed playing with the mixing kit (even though I usually ended up with another shade of gray :? ), but it seems to deteriorate quite quickly.

Just for fun, here's how I'd rank them based on my experience:

Diamine - superb flow and vivid colour (particularly royal blue, prussian blue and steel blue have good colouration, but are more subdued tones)
Aurora / Waterman - good flow and good colour (A=blue, w=florida blue)
Sheaffer (good flow, black's a bit watery)
Lamy (good flow, turquoise bit watery)
Quink (good flow, black/blue-black/red bit watery)
Private Reserve (about 8 various colours, initially near the top of the list, if not top, good colours, but seem to go off and start clogging quickly)
Pelikan / Herbin (2 or 3 colours of each - colours ok, but ink seemed so 'dry' I wonder whether they'd all gone off by time of purchase - though no evidence of this could be seen i.e. a surface film or particles)
Mont Blanc (Burgundy, don't bother - try using a thin waterpaint instead!)

When I say watery, I mean the colour is a bit washed out (at least in the colours I've experienced of that brand) - except MB which is more washed out!

I've read good reports about Noodlers in the past, but frankly I don't intend to buy anything except Diamine in the future :D

[tempus]

As for non permanent inks, Shaeffer and Waterman are probably some of the safest inks for your pen, you can buy.

As for permanent inks, many has recommended Noodlers, but I have mixed emotions about them. To my taste they flow too easily and "feather" on many papers. They are also very new inks, so nobody knows the long time permanency.

My everyday permanent ink is Montblanc blueblack witch contains iron-gall. It's a real vintage ink, like the ones everyone used before WW2. Montblanc Blueblack iron-gall ink is made for fountain pens, as opposed to many "medieval recipe" inks, that should never be used in a fountain pen due to sedimentation (clogs the pen) and high acidity (corrodes the metal parts) but only with quills and dip pens. Montblanck blueblack flows rather dryly, but the flow can be helped by adding 1-4 drops of diluted dishwashing detergent (not more than that, or the bottle is wasted).

Surely if it is an iron-gall ink it is dangerous for your pen, and should not remain in it for extended periods of time. It'll also corrode the paper eventually (might take a few hundred years though) :lol:

[JasonG]

Hiho,

I've used the MB blue-black for about 10 years now and I've never had a problem with it. Sometime the pen needs flushing through (MB109) but apart from that it's been faultless. It's also perfectly safe in a pen, most problems with old-school iron gall ink being caused by the ink being too acidic but the MB is much more tightly QC'd than 300 years ago. ;-)

As for attacking the paper, this really isn't a problem, for the reasonsmentioned above. You might like to know that Diamine have (for many years) produced ink for Registrars which is iron gall ink...I think these Guys stock it too, though I haven't got around to trying any yet. ;-)

ttfn

JasonG

[swanbourne]

I've just received some Noodlers to use in my Pelikan which had a tendency to skip with Pelikan's own ink. I'll let you know how it is.

Eddie

[JasonG]

I've been using Noodlers in other pens for a good few years now (imported my own from the USA) and I love it.

The permenant black is great but the Polar black I found feathered like billy-o, the other colours in standard inks I have from them are very good (Aircorps blue-black and the red-black).

Tra

JasonG

[Leif]

As for non permanent inks, Shaeffer and Waterman are probably some of the safest inks for your pen, you can buy.

As for permanent inks, many has recommended Noodlers, but I have mixed emotions about them. To my taste they flow too easily and "feather" on many papers. They are also very new inks, so nobody knows the long time permanency.

My everyday permanent ink is Montblanc blueblack witch contains iron-gall. It's a real vintage ink, like the ones everyone used before WW2. Montblanc Blueblack iron-gall ink is made for fountain pens, as opposed to many "medieval recipe" inks, that should never be used in a fountain pen due to sedimentation (clogs the pen) and high acidity (corrodes the metal parts) but only with quills and dip pens. Montblanck blueblack flows rather dryly, but the flow can be helped by adding 1-4 drops of diluted dishwashing detergent (not more than that, or the bottle is wasted).

Surely if it is an iron-gall ink it is dangerous for your pen, and should not remain in it for extended periods of time. It'll also corrode the paper eventually (might take a few hundred years though) :lol:

I have used MB Blueblack for many years with no ill effects at all in none of my pens. It's made for fountain pens, and it's NOT dangerous for fountain pens. In fact this kind of fountain pen ink were used by millions of people for "official" purposes until the advent of the ball point pen. The iron-gall inks, that should never be used in fountain pens, are those made from old "medieval" recipes. As said above, it's not the iron-gall as such that is the problem. It's the acidity of these "medieval" inks together with their tendency to sedimentation. Both are caused by their "handmade" nature, that doesn't allow for precise control during the manufacturing process ("Take some milled galls, add some sulphoric acid..." - you get the idea) . The acidity is well controlled in MB blueblack, and it doesn't throw sediments. Montblanc wouldn't sell an ink that caused harm for use in their pens.

[Leif]

I've just received some Noodlers to use in my Pelikan which had a tendency to skip with Pelikan's own ink. I'll let you know how it is.

Eddie

Pelikan inks are somewhat heavy flowing due to high surface tension, so I hope the Noodlers Ink solves the problem. But nibs should not skip, no matter the ink used. You may want to check the nib with a 10x or 20x loupe. Regrettably, there are fewer craftsmen in the pen industry these days, and quite often a nib is polished so vigorously that the nib develops a "babys buttom". that is the tines are rounded not only at the outside but also at the inside, where the two tines meet. That way the ink carrying slit is lifted a tiny bit up from the paper, and sometimes the capillary action won't work unless you press the nib hard down on the paper. This is the most common cause of skipping these days. Some of my pens have exhibited "babys buttom" nibs out of the box, but I have been able to correct it in a few minutes on MicroMesh abrasive sheets (ending with mirror polishing it on Micromesh grit 12000). One got to have a feel for it, though, or the nib can be ruined, and many prefer to have a professional do it. To my knowledge there are no such "nibmeisters" in UK. IN US there are a handful, among them John Mottishaw and Richard Binder. Both are excellent.

I remember (I think) that Richard Binder has written more about this (and everything else about fountain oens) on his extensive web site ( http://www.richardspens.com ). Richard can also fix the problem for you (or sell you another nib, that can be customized by him, if you wish). Pelikan nib+feed assamblys are screwed into the section and are easy to screw out for cleaning or replacement.

[swanbourne]

Thank you Leif, very interesting. I still haven't filled the pen with Noodlers, must do it today.

Eddie