Parker 51 And Super Chrome Ink

[Parker Quink Turquoise]

I know this ink is not safe for most pens.However since it was designed to be used in the Parker 51 and Parker 21 pens I was wondering if its use in these pens ever caused problems with them?

[jbb]

I'd also love to know the answer to this question. I've picked up some Super Chrome ink and am afraid to use it. What about Parker 45s too?

[OcalaFlGuy]

The two areas I've seen and heard of Superchrome most affecting are the P-51 Sterling Silver breather tubes and the chrome plated P-51 filler housings. It was Very Corrosive ink.

 

Interestingly enough, the Vac 51s have neither of those potential problem areas. It'll take someone more knowledgeable that I to speculate on any potential Superchrome damage to a Vac 51.

 

Not that I'm any Superchrome expert, but I don't recall hearing that the Superchrome ink was anything Really Special like say some of the Penman inks. Thusly I'd likely stay away from it unless maybe in a Vac. (Until someone educates me about it hurting Vacs too... )

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

[Parker Quink Turquoise]

The Super Chrome was advertised as a very fast drying ink.On the boxes it says something like,"Writes dry with wet ink".Not sure about the Parker 51 ink.

Edited January 13, 2013 by Parker Quink Turquoise

[jbb]

Parker Super Chrome ink seems to show up at yard sales and flea markets so I am helpless not to keep buying it even though I've known since the first bottle that it might be dangerous to use. :bonk:

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8362/8376063423_c24d9fe9c1_o.jpg

[nana_kathy]

I have several bottles of this stuff as well, and am afraid to put it in a "good" pen. Have used it a few times with dip pens for calligraphy practice, and it worked fine. I thought about using it in a Platinum Preppy, or other pen of that price range, but as yet haven't tried it. There are so many good inks to use, I mostly just sit these bottles on the shelf and look at them.

[paultyler_82]

As Bruce said, neither of the main two problem areas are present in a Vac P-51, but I would seriously wonder if Superchrome won't ossify a Vac's diaphragm quicker than a more inert ink. Other areas you should be aware of are that Superchrome may corrode Octanium nibs, so if you have one of those in as a replacement, I wouldn't use the ink. It can dry up very quickly and when it does, the metallic dye turns into a water insoluble mess. Last point is, don't use it in any pen with celluloid parts, Superchrome contains alcohol.

[jbb]

As Bruce said, neither of the main two problem areas are present in a Vac P-51, but I would seriously wonder if Superchrome won't ossify a Vac's diaphragm quicker than a more inert ink. Other areas you should be aware of are that Superchrome may corrode Octanium nibs, so if you have one of those in as a replacement, I wouldn't use the ink. It can dry up very quickly and when it does, the metallic dye turns into a water insoluble mess. Last point is, don't use it in any pen with celluloid parts, Superchrome contains alcohol.

Soooooo, dip pen only??????????????????? :blink:

[Parker Quink Turquoise]

I suppose one could purchase an inexpensive Parker 21 and use Super Chrome ink in it for awhile and see what happens?

 

I would think that a lot of the old Parker 51 and Parker 21 pens would have had Super Chrome used in them.Especially as it was recommended for use in them.You would think that some of these old pens would show some damage by now if its use in these pens was to ever cause problems.

Edited January 13, 2013 by Parker Quink Turquoise

[paultyler_82]

As Bruce said, neither of the main two problem areas are present in a Vac P-51, but I would seriously wonder if Superchrome won't ossify a Vac's diaphragm quicker than a more inert ink. Other areas you should be aware of are that Superchrome may corrode Octanium nibs, so if you have one of those in as a replacement, I wouldn't use the ink. It can dry up very quickly and when it does, the metallic dye turns into a water insoluble mess. Last point is, don't use it in any pen with celluloid parts, Superchrome contains alcohol.

Soooooo, dip pen only??????????????????? :blink:

 

Since dip nibs are cheap, yeah, but it will eat through them much faster than an india or iron gall.... Gold nibs are about the only thing safe from this ink's corrosive power. Further, your experience may vary, Superchrome was a fountain pen ink (albeit an ill conceived one) and isn't as thick as most inks intended for dip nibs, it may act funky.

 

I suppose one could purchase an inexpensive Parker 21 and use Super Chrome ink in it for awhile and see what happens?

 

I would think that a lot of the old Parker 51 and Parker 21 pens would have had Super Chrome used in them.Especially as it was recommended for use in them.You would think that some of these old pens would show some damage by now if its use in these pens was to ever cause problems.

 

Superchrome was the '51' ink's replacement, originally only intended for use in the '51' pen. The '51' ink was even worse than the Superchrome and would quickly corrode the silver breathing tubes in the later '51's and so Superchrome was formulated... unfortunately, it too was found to corrode the tubes, just not as quickly.

 

 

Recommendations in short:

Parker '51' and Superchrome ink shouldn't be used in anything with non-gold metal and celluloid parts that would potentially be exposed to the ink (definitely NO stainless steel or octanium -nibbed pens), further, considering what more benign inks do to latex sacs and diaphragms over time, I would be hesitant to use these inks in any pen that uses those... pli-glass and silicone sacs would probably be more resilient. This stuff was discontinued for a reason, same as the Parker Penman ink... Quink has stayed around for a reason, even if Quink Black is an unpredictable little beastie.

[Parker Quink Turquoise]

The boxes of Parker Super Chrome ink I have seen have all been marker,"For the Parker 21 and 51 pens only".

[paultyler_82]

The boxes of Parker Super Chrome ink I have seen have all been marker,"For the Parker 21 and 51 pens only".

 

Yep, the 51 was allegedly made for the ink since parker didn't have another pen that would stand up to long term use with the ink... once '51' ink was discontinued and Super Chrome was released, since it wasn't as corrosive as the '51' ink, it was thought to be okay to use with the 21 as well, but time has shown that it didn't play nice with the Octanium nibs. Super Chrome was discontinued within eight years if I remember correctly.

[Parker Quink Turquoise]

Thank-you all for your comments.Hard to beat the regular old Quink ink for safe use in fountain pens.

 

If the Parker 21 and 51 could not stand up to the use of parker 51 and Super Chrome ink, I wonder just how many pens were wrecked by people who do not read labels and used it in other pens?

[paultyler_82]

Thank-you all for your comments.Hard to beat the regular old Quink ink for safe use in fountain pens.

 

If the Parker 21 and 51 could not stand up to the use of parker 51 and Super Chrome ink, I wonder just how many pens were wrecked by people who do not read labels and used it in other pens?

 

I wonder the same thing, especially with the abundance of celluloid at the time... this stuff will wreck celluloid within the hour.

[Mille]

Not everything was better in the good old days. The ink itself is cancerogenous and probably mildly poisonous. It contains fenoles and over time I would expect dioxines to be formed. At least it is an environmental hazard. I would never open a bottle of Superchrome.

[Grendel]

Thank-you all for your comments.Hard to beat the regular old Quink ink for safe use in fountain pens.

 

If the Parker 21 and 51 could not stand up to the use of parker 51 and Super Chrome ink, I wonder just how many pens were wrecked by people who do not read labels and used it in other pens?

 

I wonder the same thing, especially with the abundance of celluloid at the time... this stuff will wreck celluloid within the hour.

Probably less than you would think -- back in the "old" days people actually read labels and manuals...

[ps4ever]

I purchased a 1947 bottle of Supercrhome. I was planning on filling up a 51 pen and just trying it out briefly, then evacuating and rinsing the pen. When I actually looked at the ink, the farthest I got was dipping the pen and writing a few lines. That ink was bad stuff when it was new, and you cannot get your hands on any that is less than 60 years old. It has degenerated further in 60-75 years. I would not fill any pen with it. Certainly not any non-51 pen. The stuff I had went down the sink and I had to use a scouring stick to remove the calcification that was around the rim of the bottle. I am now using the bottle to hold Quink and put the aluminum tin on a shelf for decoration. This ink does not belong in any pen, certainly never a 61 or a Vac or any celluloid pen that holds ink in the barrel. Even trying it out could cause damage.

[ps4ever]

No, they didn't, and I'm sure there were pens ruined by Superchrome even though the directions were explicit.

[pajaro]

I suspect that when anybody in the 1950s or 1960s bought a pen or ink, the first thing they did was tear open the package and fill a pen. I know that's what I did back then.