Some Exciting News About My Iron Gall Ink Experiments

[pharmacist]

After some experimenting with my iron gall ink formula I finally managed to produce by far the best iron gall document ink. To be honest: allthough my previous batches are quite good, this one is a total winner.

 

Some features of this ink:

 

-a brighter and more saturated initial blue and this blue teint stays when the ink gradually darkens, so the ink will stay truely blue-black with the same high concentration of ferrogallotannate content as my previous batches. My previous batches tends to write a bluish grey and darkens very quickly to a dark grey/black.

-finally my ultimate goal: despite the very limpid nature of this ink, it can be used with both fountain and dip pens alike. My previous batches did not work well with dip pens: the ink globs away from the pen when it it hits the paper surface. This ink sticks perfectly well on my dip pen and makes very nice and thin hair lines.

-the ink flows very well in a fountain pen ink. The best thing of all: my tenacious dry writing MB fountain pen seems to like this ink. Previously I did not get this fountain pen write well, even with original MB inks (like MB Midnight Blue).

 

This weekend I will upload some pictures showing my ink and some writings with both a fountain pen and dip pen.

Edited February 1, 2012 by pharmacist

[dgturner]

After some experimenting with my iron gall ink formula I finally managed to produce by far the best iron gall document ink. To be honest: allthough my previous batches are quite good, this one is a total winner.

 

Some features of this ink:

 

-a brighter and more saturated initial blue and this blue teint stays when the ink gradually darkens, so the ink will stay truely blue-black with the same high concentration of ferrogallotannate content as my previous batches. My previous batches tends to write a bluish grey and darkens very quickly to a dark grey/black.

-finally my ultimate goal: despite the very limpid nature of this ink, it can be used with both fountain and dip pens alike. My previous batches did not work well with dip pens: the ink globs away from the pen when it it hits the paper surface. This ink sticks perfectly well on my dip pen and makes very nice and thin hair lines.

-the ink flows very in a fountain pen ink. The best thing of all: my tenacious dry writing MB fountain pen seems to like this ink. Previously I did not get this fountain pen write well, even with original MB inks (like MB Midnight Blue).

 

This weekend I will upload some pictures showing my ink and some writings with both a fountain pen and dip pen.

 

Outstanding. I have talked up your ink before (and just again today). The initial color has been the only thing i was not 100% happy about, but it shifted quickly enough that it has not been an issue. I am very glad to hear that the initial color is now more saturated.

Hmmm.... Maybe i should let the post office (USPS) have another crack at my current bottle again to justify purchasing a new bottle .

[wallylynn]

Yay!

 

Though I'm confused by the blue vs. limpid nature. Limpid means clear, and you just made it bluer.

[lapis]

Just dying to see the results. And how it differs from the last bottle you sent me.

 

Mike

[ticoun]

Yay!

 

Though I'm confused by the blue vs. limpid nature. Limpid means clear, and you just made it bluer.

he meant fluid.

[WOBentley]

So...when can we get some?

[pharmacist]

Hi All,

 

Please be patient. The last time the ripening process made my batch so limpid it did not stick on my dip pen and rendered it unusable for dip pens. So I will let it stand unstirred for a couple of days and see if it will keep its writing qualities at this very moment (fingers crossed). It did worked very well with fountain pen, but the initial colour was more a greyish blue instead of a true bright blue (like royal/sky blue).

 

Actually the initial bright blue looks very similar to.....Lamy Blue-Black "Blue", but it is much more wetter. Most of us can confirm Lamy Blue-Black is a good iron gall ink, but rather dry writing. For the time being the ink is not only very wet writing (easy flow in fountain pens), but it also is a very good dip pen ink, which is a complete miracle to me :clap1: .

 

Please send me PM's how to grab a bottle of this ink, only after I have uploaded some test pictures of this ink, so you can see yourself. I hope it will be convincing enough .

Edited February 1, 2012 by pharmacist

[chris.hale]

I have two bottles of Pharmacist's ink from earlier batches, it's excellent.

[ever onward]

I look forward to the pics.

 

-eo

[Uncle Red]

pharmacist, would it be possible to make your ink with a different color dye than blue? I'd be interested in something warm toned and some people might like a green.

[pharmacist]

Hi Uncle Red,

 

I have tried so much different dyes and it is very difficult to get a stable ink with other dyes. Most dyes cause a rapid formation of sediment, even some acid dyes. Sofar this blue dye is the best initial colorant for this ink and does not cause formation of sediment or sludge.

[pharmacist]

Now this evening I have some time to post some scans of the writings done with my latest batch of iron gall ink (Urkundentinte or document ink):

 

I use a type of paper, that does not contain any bleaching agent and therefore you are able to see the inital blue much clearer. Most papers do contain bleaching agents, which rapidly forces the ink to premature to oxidise into a darkish tone or even to the final black of this ink.

 

Sorry for my not so nice writing, but I hope it will be clear to all. Note: the ink also seems to shade a bit, so this might be a plus for those loving shading inks.

 

First picture shows writing with both a fountain pen (cheap Papermate) ink and with a dip pen

 

 

The second picture shows the underlying black and final colour after full oxidation forced by treating the paper surface with some horizontal stripes with my ink killer pen (bleaching agent).

 

The lower writing is down with this very latest batch of my Urkundentinte in my tenacious writing Mont Blacn ink....guess what: it turns from a rather dry and very difficult writer into a rather wet and free flowing pen with my latest batch of Urkundentinte. I am completely pleased with this, because I never managed to get this pen to write well, not even with original MB ink (Midnight Blue) :clap1: :

 

 

About oxidiation: because of the optimized recipe (which I will keep secret ), the ink tends to maintain its initial blue much longer, even on papers containing bleaching agents, allthough the writing will become considerable darker minutes after drying.

 

Now how does this ink compared to my previous batch: have a look beneath. As you can see my older batch oxydises very quickly and becomes darker in such a way the inital bluish grey colour is completely covered by the ferrogallotannate pigment. The latest batch (upper line) still maintains a great deal of its initial blue colour from the dye agent. I think most people prefer this property of this ink, but over time the colour will be superseded with the black pigment colour.

 

 

Now the last picture shows the initial bluish grey colour of my previous iron gall ink compared to the more brighter blue of my latest batch on this unbleached paper:

 

Edited February 3, 2012 by pharmacist

[pharmacist]

Yay!

 

Though I'm confused by the blue vs. limpid nature. Limpid means clear, and you just made it bluer.

 

Yes a bit confusing: I meant more fluid (lower viscosity) and actually it is more limpid compared to my previous more bluish grey batches. I think dark sky blue can be used to describe the initial blue teint of the fresh writing using this ink. Have a look at the scans above.

[pharmacist]

Today I made some pictures with my digital camera to show how the writings look in real life on both non-bleached paper and standard A4 bleached printer paper.

 

Not the the last pictures on which I write the words across two different paper surfaces to show you the difference in blue shade. Most people will experience the darker and deeper blue initial teint, because the ink will instantly be oxidised by the bleaching agents giving the writing a dark blue colour. This will overtime gradually darken into a dark blue-black.

 

 

 

[crabe919]

hello pharmacist,

 

yesterday i was at fountainbel's place, and he recommended to get a bottle of your ink. I'm not a blue but a black lover. Would you have some older batch you want to sell?

 

Regards,

 

Adam

[dgturner]

Excellent job -- the colors are beautiful.

[pharmacist]

hello pharmacist,

 

yesterday i was at fountainbel's place, and he recommended to get a bottle of your ink. I'm not a blue but a black lover. Would you have some older batch you want to sell?

 

Regards,

 

Adam

 

Hi Adam,

 

Yes I stil have some ink left from my older batch. Whether you choose the older or the newer batch: the ink will become black overtime when the ink oxidises. The initial colour is just to make the ink visible when applied freshly on paper, because iron gall ink is almost invisible.

If interested please send me a PM.

 

The older batch has the advantage that the blackening process is much faster, but it is for fountain pens only.

 

The newer batch has the advantage of a brighter and deeper initial blue, works wonderfull in both fountain and dip pens alike, but blackening will take much more time (days or even weeks, depending on the type of paper, the ink has been applied on).

 

Best regards,

[Uncle Red]

Thanks Pharmacist. I like the new batch a lot and may order a bottle, not that I need another IG ink. Do you have a sample of what the ink looks like without any dye?

[lovemy51]

so, when and how do we buy from u, genius?

[crabe919]

send u a pm back,

 

cheers,

 

Adam