Search the Community

Only today did I come across this official announcement made by Sailor nearly three months ago back in February 2022. Has anyone else noticed? There's also this advisory earlier in April:

Not sure if this is the right forum or if there even is a rightful place for it on FPN. I'm experimenting with a concertina prototype for my students. (The fold-and-cut concertina template isn't mine.) This first attempt is just on printer paper, as I wasn't sure if I would be messing up right from the start. It's certainly the wrong paper, as everything soaks through and you can barely tell back from front. I'll use better paper for my students, but for my purposes it was fine that the page had two inky sides. First I put down a little bit of crayon as a resist, but it didn't really do anything. Then I splashed some FP ink around, dragged some of it with a comb, picked some of it up with a wet paper towel & dabbed it around, then dried the page in the sun. After that, borrowing Nick Stewart's tip about using bleach to react with the ink, I created some random negative spaces. To play with texture, I used wadded-up plastic wrap dipped in watered-down bleach. Dried the page again. Finally, I cut & folded the paper into a concertina, and used the random shapes to prompt outlines of memories with darker ink (Brun Prévenance, Jacques Herbin Scented. Despite the cool smell, I don't care for the ink).

Having committed myself to this project in June, I have tested circa 100 different fountain pens inks, and it’s six months down the line that the investigation is now really starting to pay off. Please click the link to view all images related to this post: https://quinkandbleach.wordpress.com/2015/11/16/and-the-real-magic-begins/ All fountain ink brands contain chemicals within their fluids to: increase paper penetration, minimise spreading and increase drying time. Other than that, each individual product can vary considerably and as shown in previous blogs, the the variations between products are wide ranging. Diamine produce an in-depth range of fountain pen inks made from dyes that when subjected to my water and bleach tests react in a visual way that is both dramatic and intriguing. Very often, the different dyes that make up the ink colour range reveal themselves in the gorgeous water wash blends and the bleach reacts with them in intensity from white or yellow gold to a stunning neon. Noodlers, on the other hand’ are known for creating ‘bulletproof inks’ to minimise fading and to prevent document tampering and forgery. These inks are agent (including bleach) resistant and often demonstrate a degree of resistance to water, which is equally exciting as the inks break down leaving a sediment effect, rather like a watercolour paint, often on top of a feint translucent base colour. What I have done here is lay down a background of Diamine Sunset onto a heavy Bockingford watercolour paper, which washes out a gorgeous range of dark and mid tone reddy browns with pinky reds and yellows. Then, using a Daedalus pen with a Zebra G flex nib I have rendered the illustration and type with the agent resistant Noodlers Lexington Gray. Once dried thoroughly I applied mid strength bleach washes over the illustration which only reacted with the background underneath. The final effect is visually pleasing in many ways as not only has the outcome been achieved using only two inks, adhering to my ethos of ‘less is more’, BUT because of the limited colour palette, the complex final image looks fresh and not overworked. The mottled gold areas where the bleach hasn’t obliterated the background colour add those magical serendipity effects unique to fountain pen inks. The subject matter may not be to everyone’s taste, but the technique is what counts, as I believe it to be unique to fountain pen inks. It’s simple, time efficient and visually dramatic! I am becoming increasingly convinced that fountain pen ink art could and maybe should become a proper genre of its’ own?

My ink samples for my first pen arrived yesterday, and I am still waiting for my first pen to arrive in the mail, a Lamy Vista. When I looked at the ink samples, I noticed immediately that the sample vial of bsb was totally stained with blue, and none of the other samples had any staining at all. With all my research online, I knew that bsb has a reputation, but the color is just so breathtaking! I am now having second thoughts about putting this ink into my pen. If (when) staining occurs in my Vista, will an ammonia solution be able to get it out? I have heard of some issues with using bleach with steel nibs and some rubbers, so I am a bit off put about using bleach. Also, I don't know how many of you are aquarium people, but I have a bottle of Dr. Tim's brand ammonium chloride solution for "fishless cycling" of a tank; would this work to clean a pen, or should I avoid it? Sorry for my ramblings here, but hopefully some of you can help me. Thanks!