What Happened To Solv-x?

[SamCapote]

I have several bottles of Quink new and old and they all seem to smell the same, the bottle of washable blue (with Solv X) smells the strongest. Maybe as already suggested Solvent X sounds too corny for these times.

 

Alan

 

I know what Phenol smells like and I am sure that black quick solv-x has phenol in it. None of my current Quinks smells like this old solv-x one.

[Nib Joy]

All I know is that I found some old cartridges of Quink blue-black with Solv-X and they sure helped my Parker 45 and Sheaffer cartridge pen (via syringe) flow better.

[corniche]

I have several bottles of Quink new and old and they all seem to smell the same, the bottle of washable blue (with Solv X) smells the strongest. Maybe as already suggested Solvent X sounds too corny for these times.

 

Alan

 

I know what Phenol smells like and I am sure that black quick solv-x has phenol in it. None of my current Quinks smells like this old solv-x one.

 

Hello Sam,

 

I believe Phenol is part of the Solv-X formula- but I think there is more to it than just that. Phenol is a fungicide- it will stop bacterial/fungal growth but it would do nothing to improve flow. People here say Solv-X was Phenol or Triton 100- I believe those were single ingredients in a recipe that is Solv-X. I think Solv-X was a multi-faceted additive- not just one chemical.

 

All the best,

 

Sean

[mstone]

I think solv-x was a marketing term, nothing more.

[corniche]

I think solv-x was a marketing term, nothing more.

 

Greetings mstone,

 

I think you are letting the total skepticism and disbelief of the current age get the better of you. Not everything in the (business) world is a lie or a deception- I think Solv-X really did exist; exactly what it was or how effectual it was, is another matter. I never had the pleasure of using it, so I cannot say; however, there are learned and experienced fp users at this forum who swear by its proactive qualities.

 

All the best,

 

Sean

 

[corniche]

Greetings all,

 

1. Anyone out there with a bottle of Parker ink with Solv-X- is there any mention anywhere about it being patented? (That would be clear proof it really did exist)

 

2. Has anyone ever written to Parker Ink Division asking them when and why it was removed from Parker's Inks?

 

Best regards,

 

Sean

[SamCapote]

Greetings all,

 

1. Anyone out there with a bottle of Parker ink with Solv-X- is there any mention anywhere about it being patented? (That would be clear proof it really did exist)

 

2. Has anyone ever written to Parker Ink Division asking them when and why it was removed from Parker's Inks?

 

Best regards,

 

Sean

 

Nothing on my box or bottle label other than a Registered trademark symbol ® next to Solv-X ®

[handwriter]

IF Solv-X was phenol or phenol was a component of Solv-X, its usage COULD have been discontinued because phenol has been reported to be carcinogenic at least in mice.

[SamCapote]

Here's a couple of links that give a bit more information:

 

http://www.richardspens.com/?page=ref/glossary/S.htm#solv_x

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quink

 

 

Great details in this 1943 ad "You've flunked out in foresight, Kitten." Oh those were the days. LOL!

 

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h75/pike444/Inks/SolvXs.jpg

[SamCapote]

IF Solv-X was phenol or phenol was a component of Solv-X, its usage COULD have been discontinued because phenol has been reported to be carcinogenic at least in mice.

 

Who knows about all these changes in ink over the years. It could also be as Sean said that Phenol was their preferred biocide, and Solv-X was some kind of detergent, that was nice to rubber.

[Fuddlestack]

At some point phenol disappeared from Wright's Coal Tar soap because it had been shown to cause skin cancer in mice. In 1993, though, it was still in Quink: I just ran across this in a 1993 paper on lichens:

 

The hygroscopic features of thallus upper surface were assessed with 20µl of Quink Solv-X, Royal Blue Washable ink (Parker) delivered with a micropippette...

 

unless, of course, the bloke used an old bottle.

[Johnny Appleseed]

I have a bottle of Quink Black with Solv-X that I would have bought sometime between the end of 1991 and the start of 1994 - probably 1992 actually. It was still being sold then.

 

I think the carcinogenic effects of phenol are debatable. It is still widely used in a number of products, including pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. I think the main health concerns, and reasons for dropping it, are industrial - it poses a much greater risk to workers than to consumers.

 

 

...In fact, some bottles to not even have the word 'ink' on the label. (?!!?)

 

Such as Skrip "Writing Fluid", the successor to ink! :roflmho:

 

Just another case of political correctness run amok. No?

 

It was pure marketing, and it dates back to 1922. When Sheaffer first introduced Skrip, they sold it as "Skrip Writing Fluid, the successor to ink." It was purely an attempt to make it sound better than other inks. Richard Binder also suggests in his glossary that it may have been an attempt to cover for a problematic ink that Sheaffer introduced earlier which caused clogging issues.

 

Sheaffer stuck to the term, however. Sam from Pendomonium has talked about how some of the managers from the ink department were adamant about never using the term "ink" to refer to Skrip, and woe betide anyone who said so in their presence.

 

John

[mstone]

I think solv-x was a marketing term, nothing more.

I think you are letting the total skepticism and disbelief of the current age get the better of you. Not everything in the (business) world is a lie or a deception- I think Solv-X really did exist; exactly what it was or how effectual it was, is another matter. I never had the pleasure of using it, so I cannot say; however, there are learned and experienced fp users at this forum who swear by its proactive qualities.

 

well, some past ages were ridiculously credulous. This was an era where things were automatically cooler if they had "X" in the name, people drank radioactive water for health, etc. Things are completely different today--they're only cool if they have "e" or "i" in the name. :roflmho: At any rate, without double blind tests and controlled (not degraded) samples of 50 year old ink, you're going to have massive biases with a major nostalgia factor thrown in for good measure. Note that many people still swear by quink for cleaning out pens, with nary a solv-x to be seen.

 

1. Anyone out there with a bottle of Parker ink with Solv-X- is there any mention anywhere about it being patented? (That would be clear proof it really did exist)

 

You must be unfamiliar with the patent medicine craze.

[corniche]

1. Anyone out there with a bottle of Parker ink with Solv-X- is there any mention anywhere about it being patented? (That would be clear proof it really did exist)

 

You must be unfamiliar with the patent medicine craze.

 

Greetings mstone,

 

I am quite familiar with the patent medicine craze at the turn of the last century; however, Solv-X came along many years after patent reforms were instituted.

 

Best regards,

 

Sean

 

* Edit, added text.

Edited November 19, 2010 by S. P. Colfer

[corniche]

Greetings all,

 

I may have cracked the case. While the name Solv-X is not mentioned by name, there are allusions to it's purported qualities in an old patent application. I believe Solv-X was a combination of Phenol, (fungicide) and amyl-xanthale, a flow enhancer. The latter chemical is referred to in the followings ways; "flow promoter" and "the trend of flotation." I think Phenol was the "solvent," (Solv) and the amyl-xanthale provided the "X." Hence, Solv-X.

 

Parker Ink Patent

 

Best regards,

 

Sean

 

PS: Perhaps one of our resident scientists could check out the patent app. and confirm or rebuke my thesis- I'm not a professional scientist, I'm a hobbyist scientist, and one who is often in a good bit of pain or discomfort- so maybe I missed something- but I think I got it!

 

 

* Edit, PS added.

Edited November 20, 2010 by S. P. Colfer

[corniche]

Greetings all,

 

One could say that Solv-X was a marketing term because the term first appeared 10 years after the patent was requested- then again- it takes about 10 years to get a patent. However, the chemicals, (or their properties), that comprise it's name did actually exist and were present in Parker's patented ink formulas.

 

All the best,

 

Sean

 

 

* Edit, PS added, fixed typo.

Edited November 20, 2010 by S. P. Colfer

[psfred]

Phenol was more likely a preservative, although it MAY have some effect on dissolving dyes when used in water. Commonly found in many many old inks (it has a characteristic smell -- think Chloroseptic throat losenges). Amyl-xanthale (whatever that is, Ill have to find out) seems a more likely candidate.

 

And of course, it could just be all marketing.

 

Peter

[SamCapote]

Greetings all,

 

I may have cracked the case. While the name Solv-X is not mentioned by name, there are allusions to it's purported qualities in an old patent application. I believe Solv-X was a combination of Phenol, (fungicide) and amyl-xanthale, a flow enhancer. The latter chemical is referred to in the followings ways; "flow promoter" and "the trend of flotation." I think Phenol was the solvent, (Solv) and the amyl-xanthale provided the "X." Hence, Solv-X.

 

Parker Ink Patent

 

Best regards,

 

Sean

 

PS: Perhaps one of our resident scientists could check out the patent app. and confirm or rebuke my thesis- I'm not a professional scientist, I'm a hobbyist scientist, and one who is often in a good bit of pain or discomfort- so maybe I missed something- but I think I got it!

 

 

* Edit, PS added.

 

Honestly, I think this is the closest we are ever going to get unless Parker wanted to divulge given that they stopped using it. It would be interesting to hear from an insider at Parker what the history, practical/tested/verified benefit vs. pure marketing. There is enough details when you print that pdf out and read it though, that it does seem there was a real approach at using some science. This patent however seems to be giving their formula for a "a permanent, non-feathering, water-proof, quick-drying ink of satisfactory flow quality for fountain pens, with a focus on alkaline dyes" so I'm not sure it applies to the marketed ideas behind Solv-X like shown in that newspaper ad I copied earlier.

[corniche]

Greetings Sam,

 

Perhaps Solv-X was the marketing term for the science behind the patent listed above. They wouldn't have wooed too many buyers with, "Our ink contains amyl xanthale- run out and buy some." The patent would protect the science and the registered TM would protect their marketing angle.

 

All the best,

 

Sean

 

 

* Edit, removed annoying animated emoticon and replaced it with a static one.

Edited November 20, 2010 by S. P. Colfer

[SamCapote]

Another interesting, if not "geeky" couple of Parker patent applications here:

 

"Permanent brilliantly colored writing fluid

"

 

"

Writing Ink Containing NonAnoic Acid

"

which gets back to the earlier arguments about ionic vs.pigments and the many ways you can use other agents to work effectively in ink.

 

Edited November 20, 2010 by SamCapote