Kwzi Inks Scent

[fugel]

Hi Guys,

Recently I purchased some inks from Konrad (KZWI) and they are absolutely wonderful inks, Anyway I have noticed most of them smell like vanilla or something similar, it a strong scent. Do you know what it is?

[Noihvo]

[fugel]

Thanks Noihvo for the info.

The fact is that these KZWI inks smell a lot. I smell it constantly when I am writing, something that didn't happen to me before with other commercial inks. And I noticed an slight eyes irritation too, but this is something that may happen to me and not to others depending of one's sensitivity to some concrete compounds. Anyway, I read at Wikipedia that 'Phenol and its vapors are corrosive to the eyes, the skin, and the respiratory tract.' A pity that these inks smell so strongly, I love them, they are in my top 3.

Edited August 12, 2016 by ubezahn

[aeba]

@Noihvo

Maybe something has changed lately, but in 2015 @kwzi said this:

 

 

 

Phenol have different smell and because it toxicity I do not want to use it in my inks.

 

 

edit: killed duplicate of quote.

Edited August 12, 2016 by aeba

[white_lotus]

KWZI Honey smells like honey. Haven't really noticed an aroma with the others.

 

I believe it's been discussed in the past, but I don't think phenol is allowed in EU inks.

Edited August 12, 2016 by white_lotus

[fugel]

I just read the past post about the aroma in KWZI inks and it is clear Konrad does not want to say what compound is it.

His inks are impressive but to be writing with that scent around is something I personally do not enjoy.

I ordered ten samples (standard and iron gall) and a bottle of Rotten Green and all of them smell the same, so it must be a common compound in all of them.

Edited August 12, 2016 by ubezahn

[Old_Inkyhand]

KWZI Honey smells like honey.

I didn't know that, thanks! Another reason to buy it as soon as possible

[inkstainedruth]

I didn't know that, thanks! Another reason to buy it as soon as possible

 

+1 on that.

Now I'm going to have to see what the *other* KWZI inks smell like....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[jasonchickerson]

Phenol has a sweet, resiny odor that could resemble vanilla, or even honey.

 

Phenol is roughly twice as toxic as household bleach when inhaled. Avoid smelling it.

Edited August 15, 2016 by jasonchickerson

[Old_Inkyhand]

Thank you for the warning! I wonder if he uses phenol or not... Something might have changed since 2015.

[kwzi]

Hello

 

No I do not use phenol.

 

I will quote my answer I did send to one of the users lately regarding the smell:

 

 

 

In case of Iron Gall inks the strong smell is caused by gallic and tannic acids - both compounds have relatively strong odor.
Both our standard inks and Iron Gall inks use similar compounds for stabilization. Our inks contain large number of compounds which stabilize and improve them in various ways, for example preservatives, antioxidants, corrosion inhibitors, free radical scavengers and more. What has probably the strongest smell is fungicide - in case of this compound this is naturally occurring compound widely used in different branches, including medicine and cosmetics.
Additives we use in our inks are approved to be used in food industry or approved for contact with humans in form of cosmetics for example.
Considering allergies - our inks in some conditions might be source of salicylic and/or benzoic acid.

 

I'm very cautious about what I do use in ink making, and will certainly not use toxic compounds in ink making. This is for both safety of users, environment and also my health. We have to remember that concentration of preservative in ink is pretty low (less than 0,05-0,08%) while I have to handle pure substance or highly concentrated solutions while preparing ink.

[Old_Inkyhand]

Thank you very much, Konrad

[Noihvo]