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Hello everyone, I've been back on FPN for one or two weeks now, and am really loving the knowledge that's still being shared here. I'm currently learning more about urushi pens, and surprisingly, there is one topic I haven't seen explicitly discussed on this forum (or elsewhere). What inks are more "safe" for urushi on temporary contact? I understand that leaving ink (or any liquid) on urushi for a prolonged period of time will likely damage it, regardless of its composition. However, I suspect there certainly are inks that will create staining and other issues more quickly than others. I'm therefore trying to find out which inks are the least dangerous for urushi. My initial guesses on unsafe inks are pigment (as opposed to dye) based inks, Noodler's lubricated inks, and "permanent" inks of any kind. My initial guesses for safe inks are the standard fare: Pilot/Namiki, Waterman's, Pelikan, etc. (However, I have heard iroshizuku can cause problems -- is this true?) I'm looking forward to what people with experience in the matter have to say. Thanks in advance!

Hello, All. I've had my Pilot Custom 823 for about a month now, and I love it. It writes beautifully and I've only ever inked it with one type of ink: Pilot Irushizuko take-sumi (black). Earlier today though, I inked it up again for a long writing stint..and it started to feel clogged and not so smooth. It would lay down light ink at first then get dark, then light again. Also, the feedback started to feel more "scratchier" on a Leuchtturm notebook where just last night it was smooth as butter. So I thought I would flush it out. I have a GouletPens flushing solution and so I went about flushing it out with water first, then used the solution...but as I did, I noticed a weird stain on the inside of the barrel that no matter how hard I tried to flush it out, would not come off. I'm very hesitant about disassembling my PC823 for fear of voiding the warranty, but wondering if there's anything non-intrusive I could do to try and remove this weird stain. It probably isn't hurting why ink per se, but it's just me knowing it's there that's probably the main issue. Still I don't like that a really expensive pen (at least for me) has a stain on the inside of the barrel.

Here's another amberleadavis special. http://extras.ourpatioparty.com/files/7715/9033/4330/African_Violet_001-640p.jpg Forgot to indicate this is Rhodia Dot paper... Chroma seems like a single dye component.... http://extras.ourpatioparty.com/files/5915/9033/4331/African_Violet_Chroma_001-640p.jpg Pretty color, again suitable for spring, and this is the only tested PIF ink which seems at least a bit water-resistant. I don't have many purple or violet inks, but North African Violet seems similar to J Herbin's Violette Pensee. Which stains nothing. Wonder why none of my scans are in focus...

So I filled this pen with Alt-goldgrun and now it's slightly pink? Is this typical. I can't find anything online about this ink staining much less staining is this color. Does anyone have any insight?

Hi! I received my first TWSBI—an Eco—and I was wondering how resistant it is to staining from "strong" inks. In particular, I am looking at filling it with Noodler's Kung Te-Cheng, which is a great ink but also something that people have described as "apocalypse-proof". I have lent it successfully to people when their ballpoints (ew) would not on the signature space on credit cards so it is that kind of special and stubborn. I don't have high hopes for its compatibility but if it has been tried and tested it would a welcome surprise. nb. I get the whole battle scars argument but I prefer my pens to be on the side of "pristine"

Has anyone ever done a survey of inks with a uniform test of their staining properties? (I have a clear Pilot CH 92 and it would be nice to not get its chamber all stained...) The simplest idea that comes to mind would be to get a bunch of samples and just store them upside down for a period, maybe a month, and then see how well you could clean the ink off the inside of the white cap. But I don't know if the plastic of those caps is going to behave similar to the plastic in a pen/ink window/converter.

I had filled my new Ahab with Noodler's Catalpa for a quick comparison I did for this forum, and decided to see if I could use a Zebra G nib with it (whole 'nuther story), which meant cleaning out the Catalpa. So after emptying the pen and flushing it well, I came across one of the common consequences of using certain Noodler's inks, i.e. staining. The piston on the Ahab now looks like this: Nice green patina! And that's after several turns in an ultrasonic cleaner. And a scrub with a cotton bud. The odd thing is, the component that stained seems to be the UV reactive part: That's almost the identical colour glow to Blue Ghost, just a shade on the greener side. Won't stop me refilling the pen, as it's now got its Zebra fitted for me to do some practicing with, as I'm just starting out with flexible nibs. Nor will it stop me using Catalpa in future. Love the colour and its behaviour, which is very good. Other than the above, of course!

I hadn't read much about inks when I got my TWSBI Ecos so I wasn't very aware of staining issues. I've already been using them for a few months with a couple Sailor Jentle inks mainly (Tokiwa-Matsu and Yama-Dori) and they have cleaned out fine each time I refill. Is it safe to say these inks are unlikely to stain the pens if I've gone through a few refill cycles over a few months? I'm mainly concerned with my first more expensive demonstrator, a Pilot CH92 I ordered, and wondering if I can use the TWSBIs as a sort of "testing ground" for inks before using them in the Pilot.

I got a lovely tax rebate not too long ago and it's been sitting in my bank account burning a fountain pen sized hole. For some time I've been eyeing an Edison Persimmon Swirl, but have been very, very undecided about it because it looks a tiny bit garish to me. I'm normally a fan of black chased hard rubber pens (mainly vintage), although I do have slight magpie tendencies that surface in my weaker moments. I've also been eyeing the Visconti Homo Sapiens in bronze, but had dismissed it on account of it being so expensive, but all that was to change due to the lovely tax man (never thought I'd ever say something like that!). So anyway, the restrained elegance of the Visconti has won through and I'm really hoping that I made the right choice. I read quite a lot of comments and reviews both here and elsewhere and they all seemed positive, but I have a question regarding the material. I know that it is somewhat porous and has little pits and fine holes, but does ink stain it over time? Does the material over time with use become slightly shiny where your fingers would be? It's been out long enough and bought by enough people hopefully, to get some idea of whether certain inks might stain it or if fingers smooth it to a shine, so I'm hoping you can give me the answers I really want to hear!

Hello everyone! I'm new to the FP network (about 5 minutes ago) and am still learning the ropes of both the network and the fountain pen itself. I am a student in high school and just started using fountain pens this semester and am loving it. I own two Noodler's Ahabs and am looking to get something that will work better with cheap paper, as I cannot shell out money for Rodia, Clairefontaine and the like due to the fact that I take about 2-3 pages of notes a school day.I have been drawn to the TWSBI mini because of the modern design and because it seems to work well with cheap paper. Is this a good choice? If not what else? At the same time, I am looking for cheap paper that will bring out the best in my inks without feathering and such. Is Staplers Bagasse any good? And finally, if I do get the TWSBI mini, would Noodler's "Bad Blue Heron" be safe to use in it?

I like iron gall inks but often find them too dry for my taste. Recently I have had success with Diamine Registrars in a Pelikan M200. I tried a partial fill and when that was fine, carried on with a complete fill. The ink was in the pen for about 10 days and towards the end I noticed the ink window becoming obscured. After washing you could see there were hard edged patches of an opaque film inside. Not staining as I have seen before, but almost as if someone had made a bad job of painting it. Soap, cotton buds and effort have restored the pen but I am very surprised at something like this happening after such a short time. Does anyone have any advice, please?

Will Noodler's Apache Sunset permanently stain my Waterman Kultur if I use it as an eyedropper? The Kultur is a clear version.

Hello! I'm going to be getting a white Sailor 1911 soon, and though I'm excited, I would like to compile a list of inks to avoid for the pen. I'm very wary of staining the pen. I believe the ink bottles that I currently have with me are safe (Sheaffer Blue-Black, Private Reserve Shoreline Gold, and Diamine Monaco Red) but of course I plan on buying more inks in the future. What I really want to know is as follows: 1. Are there any inks that are known to stain, other than the obvious Baystate Blue and other baystate inks? 2. Are there any inks that could be recommended as "safe" inks?

When I buy a new pen, it is often with a particular ink in mind. About a month ago, I bought a Pelikan M400 White Tortoise with an M nib with the intention of inking it up with some black ink, and it's currently happily inked up with Aurora Black. Then I bought a Pelikan M200 with a B nib with the intention of inking it up with some Diamine Syrah, which I thought would look gorgeous if used with a broad wet nib. Alas, the M200 B nib turned out to be awfully dry, so much so that it turned Syrah's rich burgundy color into something rather pink. After much tinkering (think: flushing, brass shim work, ink changes), I found that my M200 works decently well with Aurora Black. Granted, it makes Aurora Black look lighter than Waterman Intense Black looks in some of my wetter pens , but then, I've always been a "black is black is black is black" kind of gal, so I don't particularly mind. Except that now I have two broad-ish nibbed pens inked up with black ink, and none with Syrah, which made me consider inking up the M400 with Syrah. But! My M400 is a white pen. Diamine Syrah is a red-ish ink. You see where I'm going with this... So here's my question: will Diamine Syrah stain my pen? Has anyone tried using this ink with a white pen (or with a demonstrator)? Did anything bad happen? Reason for editing: spelling

I've been looking at a lot of demonstrator pens recently, and I must say that the idea of having a clear pen has grown on me. When I first started lurking on FPN after I made my first FP purchase around 9 months ago, I honestly had no idea why anyone would ever buy a demonstrator. The clear body looked so cheap, and with inks like Baystate Blue out there, it seemed like you could almost ruin a demonstrator simply by filling it with the wrong ink. Not to mention that it seemed as if you were paying $80 (or more in many cases) for an easily breakable piece of plastic. I held this opinion for a fairly long amount of time... until I went to the Fountain Pen Hospital in Downtown NYC for the first time. Considering I'm only a 30 minute train ride away from most of the bottom half of Manhattan, I decided that I had to make the pilgrimage. During my first visit, I only stayed for around 10 minutes or so. It was nearly closing time, and a family of three tourists and I were the only customers. Knowing that I couldn't afford any of the beautiful pens displayed, I looked at their ink selection before leaving. (Don't worry, this story is actually going somewhere) On my way out, I picked up their annual catalog. On the cover was the absolutely majestic Visconti Opera Crystal with the extremely cool looking Mosquito filler. I was absolutely awestruck that a demonstrator could be so beautiful. As a matter of fact, I liked the clear body better than the Blue Typhoon solid design. This caused me to give demonstrators a second chance. I decided to do some research on TWSBI's (which I am now dying to get one of. Though I've promised to not buy any more pens until next year, there is always my birthday and Christmas ) and various other pens that come as demonstrators. Nevertheless, I no longer hold my prejudice against a very good deal of pens that actually look very nice if made correctly. What are your feelings on demonstrators? Did you start out with a prejudice against them/a preference towards them? (On a side note, this is the first time I'm posting a thread on First Stop that won't end in me spending massive amounts of money! Yay!) Pic Related: I would probably shave my head right now for this pen.