Is Mont Blanc Burgundy Red (Cart) Iron Gall?

[johntdavis]

Just got a Mont Blanc Starwalker (Black Resin w/ M nib--awesome) for Christmas. It came with two boxes of ink carts: Mystery Black and Burgundy Red. I noticed the Burgundy Red, according to the pen's Service Manual, is an iron gall ink. (It's actually mentioned in the manual because it can discolor the nib/section coating on the Midnight (?) version of the pen, which I don't have...)

 

I've never owned or used an iron gall ink before. Is there anything in particular I need to do to keep things running smoothly? Should I avoid this ink if I'm not going to write a good bit with the pen every day?

 

Thanks.

[meiers]

Burgundy red does not contain iron gall. No worries. Nonetheless, I would have the pen and the service manual checked out at a montblanc boutique. I am not sure that your pen is authentic.

Edited December 23, 2013 by meiers

[johntdavis]

Burgundy red does not contain iron gall. No worries. Nonetheless, I would have the pen and the service manual checked out at a montblanc boutique. I am not sure that your pen is authentic.

 

Given that I bought the pen new at a MB Boutique three days before Christmas, I'd be incredibly shocked if it wasn't authentic.

 

Seriously, this is not me being sarcastic. Are counterfeit MB pens something I need to worry about at the MB store?

[fiberdrunk]

Just got a Mont Blanc Starwalker (Black Resin w/ M nib--awesome) for Christmas. It came with two boxes of ink carts: Mystery Black and Burgundy Red. I noticed the Burgundy Red, according to the pen's Service Manual, is an iron gall ink. (It's actually mentioned in the manual because it can discolor the nib/section coating on the Midnight (?) version of the pen, which I don't have...)

 

I've never owned or used an iron gall ink before. Is there anything in particular I need to do to keep things running smoothly? Should I avoid this ink if I'm not going to write a good bit with the pen every day?

 

Thanks.

 

How fascinating! I checked Montblanc's website but it didn't give much information about the ink (I did notice that they now have permanent black and permanent blue document inks-- so awesome!) I'd be curious to know if Burgundy Red is an iron gall. Is it waterproof, and does it darken over time to black? That's a pretty good indication if it's an iron gall (though the R&K iron galls don't change in color much, so that's not always true).

 

Generally speaking, you don't have anything to fear from commercial iron gall inks. Just flush the pen with a little more frequency than you would a dye-based ink. I have their Midnight Blue (iron gall) and haven't had any problems with it. Montblanc wouldn't create an ink that would destroy their own pens, I'm sure (it's nice that they had that extra bit of info in the service manual, though!) I hope you'll do a review of the ink and let us know what you think. I couldn't find a review of this ink on FPN, so yours would be the first, I believe.

Edited January 2, 2014 by fiberdrunk

[Bigeddie]

I have never known MB to make an IG version of Burgundy Red, or any other IG ink in cartridges in recent times.

 

Any chance of a photo of the passage in the service guide?

 

Congratulations on your Starwalker

[Sham69]

hmmm.. this is curious.

[johntdavis]

I have never known MB to make an IG version of Burgundy Red, or any other IG ink in cartridges in recent times.

 

Any chance of a photo of the passage in the service guide?

 

Congratulations on your Starwalker

 

Thanks.

 

Here's an image:

 

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2860/11503978806_7fb74efa37.jpg

Untitled by jtdavis84, on Flickr

It seems like they're worried only about the black coating on the nib/section of that particular model. Maybe the ink has just enough iron gall in it to eat the coating but not to affect the materials underneath? My pen doesn't have the coating, so it doesn't matter, but it does make me wonder since everyone agrees it's not IG ink.