Inky T O D - Experiments And Exercises In Curiosity & Blonde Optimism

[amberleadavis]

Special Thanks to Sandy1 for the pithy title.

 

Sandy told us about her experiments with non FP inks in expendable FPs.

 

What experiments have you tried...

 

You need not be blonde to apply.

 

 

 

 

[dcwaites]

1) Thistle Powdered Blue-Black and Angus Powdered Blue-Black dip pen clerical ink.

Initially made up according to the instructions of 1 sachet to 1 qt water. This is good for clerical dip pens like the M.Myers Post Office Pen, but too weak for FPs. I evaporated some down to 3x the original concentration, and got an ink that behaves nicely in FPs. These inks are only dyes with no gum arabic, so they are safe in (inexpensive) FPs. In fact, I left some in a Platinum Preppy as an ED filler for some months without problems.

 

2) Webster Diamine Powdered Blue-Black iron-gall ink.

This came in a cardboard canister, and had solidified into a lump, so I scraped some off and put it into water until I had a nice inky-coloured ink. Again, this went into a Preppy, and worked with no problems, and it seems to be an ancestor to the current Diamine Registrar's ink. The pen was ok, but the ink started to precipitate out into powder at the bottom of the bottle.

 

3) Queen Food Dyes.

I have written about these elsewhere on the FPN. They perform nicely and look good, straight out of the bottle. There doesn't seem to be anything in them (I looked up all the ingredients) to damage FPs, and at $1 for a 50 ml bottle, they make a remarkably inexpensive ink.

 

4) I did once make a batch of iron-gall ink using steel wool, vinegar and well-stewed tea leaves (Billy Tea, for the Aussies reading this). It worked ok as a dip pen ink, but was too weak for a FP.

[amberleadavis]

Can you believe this is what was said about people born on 4/6? Totally silly.

 

 

Personality of this day...

Those born on April 6 have an irresistible urge to experiment with what they find around them. In this respect they are scientific, peering and probing into all corners of emotional, physical and psychological matters. Nothing is free from their scrutiny, and they will go to any length to find out the truth about something or to see how it works. Many born on this day not only bring a childlike curiosity to bear, but also demonstrate an ability to lead the way in producing highly original material.

Even in the most mundane areas, including for instance everyday business or workaday life, these tireless seekers will find out what is wrong (for there is always something wrong) and try to correct it. Their basic underlying drive is to get to the bottom of things. Of course, if experimenting is required, they may be in need of guinea-pigs; April 6 people will readily place not only friends, family and even total strangers in this role, but also themselves. They are merciless when seeking answers.

Pay no attention to my fade experiments, Thistle Experiments (which DCWaites made possible) or current Susemai experiments.

 

 

P.S. I am a blonde.

 

[dcwaites]

"Of course, if experimenting is required, they may be in need of guinea-pigs; April 6 people will readily place not only friends, family and even total strangers in this role, but also themselves. They are merciless when seeking answers."

 

Sounds about right...

 

Yon lass seems to have about half the North American continent involved in her current escapade.

[napalm]

Many decades ago I filled a fountain pen with India ink. It wrote for a while. Then came the time for a long and painful cleaning exercise.

[The Blue Knight]

I have mixed J Herbin Bleu Nuit with Violette Penesee 3:1, it produces a nice bluey purple.

[amberleadavis]

"Of course, if experimenting is required, they may be in need of guinea-pigs; April 6 people will readily place not only friends, family and even total strangers in this role, but also themselves. They are merciless when seeking answers."

 

Sounds about right...

 

Yon lass seems to have about half the North American continent involved in her current escapade.

 

 

Oh, I have takers in 6 of the 7 continents.

 

Anyone here in Antarctica? Can I even mail a package to Antarctica?

[napalm]

Not sure, but if proximity to a pole is required, you can try Alert, Nunavut. They used to have a weekly mail and supply aircraft.

[mhguda]

I am still playing with two solutions of Dylon fabric dye. There is a thread on here somewhere, in which I was told off, to not put anything of the like in my FPs, when I inquired about what concentrations to use. So, my first attempt was much too dilute, and I am still in the process of diluting that, although by now I have evaporated off most of the excess water. The only other ingredient in my "ink" is a flow enhancer. This is a compound that is added to dishwasher cycles to make your glassware shiny. It's called Spoelglans in Dutch, this means Rinsegleam. I found it to be an excellent flow enhancer and mostly use it very diluted. In the Dylon ink I put a little more. The second "ink" was made from charcoal Dylon and I used much less water; about as little as I could dissolve the solid in. Added the flow enhancer and am trying it in some pens. Not entirely happy; right after a fill, it is fine, but the next day the pen won't start, and skip or fade. (Ink becoming fainter and fainter). So I tried mixing with a real ink. First experiment was my sample of Blue Amber - with the Dylon charcoal, this gives an excellent mix. I am now considering putting it some additional pens and see how they work - the test pens are fine...

Another mix has been the too-dilute Dylon blue mixed with Parker Quink Washable Blue; I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone, because both of these seemed too washed out but maybe together they'd do something?

And this too seems to have panned out, although the results seem somewhat dependent on what pen I am using. So that too is ongoing...

 

ETA thanks for starting this thread Amber - sometimes all this staid pen-correctness is too stifling...

 

Oh and BTW, Yes to food coloring as an ink; I've tried it pure and in mixes and am getting some nice color combinations...

Edited July 30, 2014 by mhguda

[Paddler]

I used my homemade walnut ink in a fountain pen for about a year. It works OK if you filter it well enough. Eventually, it begins to coat the insides of things and is rather corrosive, so now I only use it with gold nibbed dip pens.

[Tas]

I pour all my failed mixes and really awful samples in two bottles - Brown Dreggs and Blue Dreggs.

 

The inks come from all different houses ranging from Parker to Iroshisuku. I keep a pen loaded with each and have never had any problems.

 

http://www.taskyprianou.com/fpn_brown_dreggs_may2014.jpghttp://www.taskyprianou.com/fpn_blue_dreggs_may2014.jpg

 

Oh poo. Dregs only has one g

Edited July 30, 2014 by Tas

[napalm]

You have probably re-invented the process through which some large manufacturers are making those teals sold as "Blue-Black".

[Tas]

Ha.
I'm starting a new Blue Dregs (one g) as I've really grown to like the May 2014 vintage . . .

[amberleadavis]

I like it!

[FPFan]

 

 

Oh, I have takers in 6 of the 7 continents.

 

Anyone here in Antarctica? Can I even mail a package to Antarctica?

 

Should you honestly be serious in attempting contact with Antarctica, you should contact the Antarctic Research Program via the National Science Foundation. They are the ones who do most of the "work" down there now.

 

I spent a bit of time down there while stationed with the Navy in Operation Deep Freeze at McMurdo Station in 1977. I follow some of the things that happen down there from time to time.

 

It would be a good place to do tests on Noodler's Polar inks. However, you will only be able to contact them through the below contact as it is winter in the Antarctic right now and there is typically no outside contact with the facilities "down under" directly till spring. Except via radio and other communication devices.

 

The National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia 22230, USA Tel: (703) 292-5111, FIRS: (800) 877-8339 | TDD: (800) 281-8749

 

Now back to your local experimentation's!

Edited July 30, 2014 by FPFan

[mhguda]

I do something similar: As many pens seem to need a dip once in a while - like on a daily basis, or several times, I keep a little bottle of inky water handy. It just sits open on my desk, ready for dipping, and of course, taking excess drops of ink when priming a feed of EDs, and anything else... while the water slowly evaporates, at some point the inky water becomes so dark I add some flow enhancer and use it as an ink. Anything goes in there but somehow it usually adds up to be a very dark purplish... something. I've got several with interesting colors, so am now calling them Inky water #...

Some of them are really nice, too. I usually have one or two pens inked up with them.

[AllenG]

I pour all my failed mixes and really awful samples in two bottles - Brown Dreggs and Blue Dreggs.

 

The inks come from all different houses ranging from Parker to Iroshisuku. I keep a pen loaded with each and have never had any problems.

 

http://www.taskyprianou.com/fpn_brown_dreggs_may2014.jpghttp://www.taskyprianou.com/fpn_blue_dreggs_may2014.jpg

 

Oh poo. Dregs only has one g

 

Brilliant!

[kidde]

Oh poo. Dregs only has one g

 

Those are your inky mixes, so name them as you like. Dreggs sounds to me like a great brand for those without fancy label proclivities.

 

I mixed several inks with Dragon's Napalm. Uh, it mixes with nothing I own. May not even mix with water.

 

Paul

[Tas]

Those are your inky mixes, so name them as you like. Dreggs sounds to me like a great brand for those without fancy label proclivities.

 

I mixed several inks with Dragon's Napalm. Uh, it mixes with nothing I own. May not even mix with water.

 

 

Thanks for the warning.

 

[Sandy1]

Hi,

Oi! The video : LOL!!

Most of my early inky explorations into uncharted waters seemed to check the veracity of other adventurers who had returned with tales to tell, but nothing to show for it, which is to be expected when there's no treasure to be found.

I steered clear of gummy, thick and large particle inks that common sense told me wouldn't flow through the ink path of a standard FP.

I tried the Magic Color acrylic inks after reading the yarn spun by Member fibredrunk, and found them to be wonderful, and the plaudits and cautions well-founded. https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/229391-magic-color-acrylic-pigment-inks/?p=2455813

The Magic Color inks can be intermingled, so that gives one a broad palette, but I thought to further expand that by blending with simple aniline dye FP inks. That worked almost OK, but there seemed to be a bit of layering when left at rest, so I was discouraged. Perhaps for a one-time single shot approach it might be useful, but if I'm going to conjure a recipe, I really do want at least 10ml that will have a reasonable shelf life.

Since the MC inks worked well, I tried a few acrylic calligraphy inks thinned with water. Oops! The particles proved too large, so clogging was encountered.

Then there was a series of trials blending Sailor nano inks with other FP inks. That resulted in my occasional inclusion of a skull & crossbones under the Blending/Mixing heading in my Ink Reviews. Seriously.

Having a close friend in the fabric arts who has her own dye-works and my passion for naturally dyed carpets & rugs, I looked into natural textile dyes. That ran aground when trying to filter the dyes beyond approx 20 microns, and achieving a uniform suspension of the dyes. (While not an FP ink, one might consider Encre à l’ancienne au pastel from Bleu de Lectoure http://boutique.bleu-de-lectoure.com)

I intend to continue along the heading of my initial exploration of blending iron-gall inks with other inks to take advantage of IG inks' attractive properties. As these things go, the only I-G ink I found without a dye adjunct is the DeAtramentis dip pen ink, which has yielded good preliminary blends with some inks. Also the J Herbin Encre Authentique, which includes 'Campeche wood tannin', ran well [briefly] through an expendable FP, so that just might be blended with other Brown/Green inks. All that will take more sampling, so when/if I ever get back to my ink pots, perhaps I'll have time to see what's what.

 

Bye,
S1