Gum Arabic

[Pietru]

How much should I add to fountain pen ink? And should it be added to any ink, or just some? Its for use with a dip pen.

[Sandy1]

Hi,

 

I would not knowingly run any ink with gum arabic through my fountain pens.

 

Adding gum arabic to FP inks to make them more compatible with dip pen nibs is fine; and appears to me to be a matter of trial & error.

 

I'm sure that other Members with more experience in this area will chime-in.

 

Bye,

S1

[The Good Captain]

Sandy is spot-on. Gum Arabic and fountain pens don't go together at all. They're far too intricate.

[MadAmos]

I can't over state this but for fountain pens gum arabic is the path to disaster. It is for use with dip pen ink only.

[fiberdrunk]

How much should I add to fountain pen ink? And should it be added to any ink, or just some? Its for use with a dip pen.

 

I've never added gum arabic to fountain pen ink before, but when I make homemade iron gall ink, I use a ratio of 1 to 1 1/2 parts powdered gum arabic to 30 parts liquid. I wear latex gloves and rub it between the fingers of one hand slowly, letting it fall into the ink a little at a time, all the while stirring with the other hand. Otherwise, you get gluey blobs in your ink.

[Pietru]

Thanks for answers so far. I did say it was for use with a dip pen.

[Sandy1]

Thanks for answers so far. I did say it was for use with a dip pen.

Hi,

 

You're welcome!

 

Yes indeed, you did say it was for use with a dip pen. My intention was to reduce the chance of misunderstanding - not only by you, but by anyone else who may read this thread.

 

Gum arabic is also available in liquid form, which may help prevent 'lumpy' ink; as may heating the ink before adding gum arabic.

 

Please let us know of your adventure.

 

Bye,

S1

[fiberdrunk]

Along the lines of gum arabic and fountain pens (since it came up a few times in this thread), I actually have consistently used my homemade iron gall inks in certain fountain pens, even with the gum arabic in them (namely the Pilot Parallel, Parker Vector and Pilot 78G) without ruining them. I keep my ink in those pens at all times, in fact. So it's not impossible. I wouldn't attempt it in a more expensive fountain pen, however. (I've also tested my ink in the Platinum Preppy, Hero 266, and the Jinhao U76 360 Degree Fountain Pen... it wouldn't flow hardly at all in the Preppy or Hero, and it worked beautifully in the Jinhao until I set it down overnight, then it clogged). Just an FYI.

 

Generally speaking, however, you do want to avoid using an ink with gum arabic in a fountain pen, as most on this list seem to know.

 

eta: typos

Edited September 30, 2011 by fiberdrunk

[T. E. Samad]

I had no idea that you can add Gum Arabic to ink. Sudan is actually the world's largest producer of Gum Arabic, which is also a very important ingredient in Coca-Cola!

[pharmacist]

Gum arabic has been used in ink and water colour paint since centuries. It helps to improve the flow of the ink and to suspend pigment particles in ink/paint. Also very important in high quality confectionary like dutch "drop", which is based on concentrated liquorice root juice.

 

@fiberdrunk: actually you can sprinkle the gum arbic powder over your ink and let it stand for a few days. The clumps will dissolve ultimately, but it looks like lumps the first few hours, so no need for rubbing and pressing using latex gloves.

[USMCMom]

Our member, jbb, knows!!! LOL She'll probably spot this post soon.

Edited September 30, 2011 by USMCMom

[h_s_shrivastava]

I had no idea that you can add Gum Arabic to ink. Sudan is actually the world's largest producer of Gum Arabic, which is also a very important ingredient in Coca-Cola!

 

One more interesting thing:

1) Gum Arabic is called "Prakritik Gond" (Natural Gum) or "Gond".

2) A sweet dish is prepared with it and liked by masses and is called "Gond Ke Laddu"

 

Now I'm going to have one from kitchen.

Edited September 30, 2011 by h_s_shrivastava

[Sandy1]

I had no idea that you can add Gum Arabic to ink. Sudan is actually the world's largest producer of Gum Arabic, which is also a very important ingredient in Coca-Cola!

 

One more interesting thing:

1) Gum Arabic is called "Prakritik Gond" (Natural Gum) or "Gond".

2) A sweet dish is prepared with it and liked by masses and is called "Gond Ke Laddu"

 

Now I'm going to have one from kitchen.

 

Hi,

 

Somehow I think that making ink might be easier -

 

Bye,

S1

[fiberdrunk]

 

@fiberdrunk: actually you can sprinkle the gum arbic powder over your ink and let it stand for a few days. The clumps will dissolve ultimately, but it looks like lumps the first few hours, so no need for rubbing and pressing using latex gloves.

 

 

Thank you, pharmacist! That is so very good to know, because, man, it was a pain slowly sprinkling it in. Very tedious!

[DanF]

I use the liquified stuff from Windsor and Newton, made for use with watercolor paint. Not sure of the concentration, but add about one part liquid GA to 5 or 6 parts of ink, then dilute the ink with some water to the point that it has about the same color as from a fountain pen. Without dilution, most colored inks will be pretty dark relative to their color from a fountain pen. It's just something to experiment with, until you get the performance you are looking for.

 

Dan

[h_s_shrivastava]

I had no idea that you can add Gum Arabic to ink. Sudan is actually the world's largest producer of Gum Arabic, which is also a very important ingredient in Coca-Cola!

 

One more interesting thing:

1) Gum Arabic is called "Prakritik Gond" (Natural Gum) or "Gond".

2) A sweet dish is prepared with it and liked by masses and is called "Gond Ke Laddu"

 

Now I'm going to have one from kitchen.

 

Hi,

 

Somehow I think that making ink might be easier -

 

Bye,

S1

 

 

Here, its very easy and normal kitchen work.

 

Also, I've heard from my father that my great grandfather used to make his own ink in which spider's web was one of the ingredient with couple of other natural things including Edible Gum (Gum Arabic). I've seen a sample of his writing which was looking fresh and marvellous in this self-made very dark grey ink and written with dip pen.