Waterman Mysterious Blue

[HeartMan]

Your college notes faded after ten years? On the bright side, you can reuse the paper.

[Sandy1]

Sandy1,

 

First, let me add my thanks for this review (as well as the amazing breadth of your reviews - to have such quality and quantity is astonishing, and very welcome).

 

This particular ink is my "I really don't want to take any chances with this pen" ink. It currently resides in a pen of my father's I just brought back to the writing state successfully. It similarly resides in one of my old P25's just revived. It holds this place with me after reading through books and also Mr. Binders notes as an ink that seems to be one that pen doctors go to as a safe ink.

 

That said, I'm really glad to know about it's lack of waterfastness. There are a lot of things I will not care about in 6 months, but others I'll get back to after years and still find valuable. What is scarier is that I'll be astonished that I wrote them, as I do not recall the details at all. This is also why the long term characteristics are of such interest to me, and waterfastness is one of them.

 

✄ snip ✄

 

Cheers all

Mike

 

 

Hi Mike,

 

You're welcome!

 

I've read that this is one of the many inks that are considered 'safe'. It also has the property of being very easy to flush from pens, and is responsive to variations in pen characteristics. Also, being of dark tone, it is easy to see the results of any adjustment of flow & upstream plumbing; and its line quality would depict the nib characteristics, hence 'tweaking' of the nib.

 

I think it is grand that one has an array of inks with various degrees of durability from which to choose. My daily writer ink is Parker Quink BlBk with SOLV-X, and anything I write on duty is the property of my employer, hence grist for the mill; some of which is transcribed / media converted by Clerical / Repro staff to meet business requirements for collation, permanence, retrieval, distribution, etc. (Originals are not returned to the author.) So if any work product wasn't run through that process, it is considered ephemera by my employer.

 

Bye,

S1

Edited April 24, 2012 by Sandy1

[Sandy1]

Your college notes faded after ten years? On the bright side, you can reuse the paper.

 

:roflmho:

[Phormula]

Thanks Sandy for another excellent review.

Actually this is what I got when I ordered some cartridges of Waterman Blue-Black in my usual B&M store.

Haven'tt used it yet (still have some old cartridges).

[Sandy1]

Thanks Sandy for another excellent review.

Actually this is what I got when I ordered some cartridges of Waterman Blue-Black in my usual B&M store.

Haven'tt used it yet (still have some old cartridges).

 

Hi,

 

You're welcome!

 

If you have any of the Blue-Black, please let us know if you think there is a noteworthy difference between that ink and the Mysterious Blue.

 

Bye,

S1

[ethernautrix]

This is a trickster ink!

 

I happened to have bought a package of Waterman Bleu Mystere cartridges the other day (mostly for the cartridges, once empty, for cleaning my Montblanc 100-Year Historical), and so I decided to try the ink.

 

I put a cartridge in one of my first fine fountain pens ever, a blue-marble Laureat with an EF nib, and I was very pleased, both with the pen and with the pretty blue shade of this ink.

 

Imagine my dismay when I discovered the next day that the color had shifted to an anemic teal hue. I already have Iroshizuku Tsuki Yo and Diamine Teal, both of which are lovely teal colors (and dark). And Noodler's Legal Lapis. And Noodler's Ellis Island. In other words, no shortage of (dark) teal (or teal-ish) inks!

 

I want the blue of this Waterman Bleu Mystere before the color shift, dammit.

 

I have made a small sample, using the Nakaya Naka-ai with ruthenium-plated F nib. I took a picture. Now we shall wait...

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then I will take a picture of the same sample after it has changed.

 

Lest I forget, another stellar ink review, Sandy! Kudos!

 

 

P.S. Looks like maybe Noodler's Manhattan Blue is a good choice for a lovely blue. I do enjoy the FPN exclusive Noodler's Van Gogh Blue-Black, but I think I would like the Manhattan Blue, too.

Edited December 7, 2013 by ethernautrix

[FLZapped]

Very much reminds me of the inks I grew up with in terms of color density. Many inks have become much more dense in color these days.

[Sandy1]

This is a trickster ink!

 

I happened to have bought a package of Waterman Bleu Mystere cartridges the other day (mostly for the cartridges, once empty, for cleaning my Montblanc 100-Year Historical), and so I decided to try the ink.

 

I put a cartridge in one of my first fine fountain pens ever, a blue-marble Laureat with an EF nib, and I was very pleased, both with the pen and with the pretty blue shade of this ink.

 

Imagine my dismay when I discovered the next day that the color had shifted to an anemic teal hue. I already have Iroshizuku Tsuki Yo and Diamine Teal, both of which are lovely teal colors (and dark). And Noodler's Legal Lapis. And Noodler's Ellis Island. In other words, no shortage of (dark) teal (or teal-ish) inks!

 

I want the blue of this Waterman Bleu Mystere before the color shift, dammit.

 

I have made a small sample, using the Nakaya Naka-ai with ruthenium-plated F nib. I took a picture. Now we shall wait...

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then I will take a picture of the same sample after it has changed.

 

Lest I forget, another stellar ink review, Sandy! Kudos!

 

 

P.S. Looks like maybe Noodler's Manhattan Blue is a good choice for a lovely blue. I do enjoy the FPN exclusive Noodler's Van Gogh Blue-Black, but I think I would like the Manhattan Blue, too.

 

Hi,

 

Many thanks for your kind words! And for sharing your recent experience with WMBl.

 

It seems that you're experiencing the chameleon aspect of WMBl - it isn't ageing gracefully and ripening, but becoming awkward and wan. TskTsk Tsk. Well, as mentioned under 'Self Comparison - Colour Shift', many things can contribute to such a result, but that's been discussed ad infinitum, so all I can offer is sympathy, and the consolation that WMBl doesn't leave a lingering odour and is quick to clean-up after.

 

We seem to be of a similar mind in that there are other wonderful inks, so why tolerate one which is prone to [random] inconsistencies? If one has found a pen+paper combo to use with WMBl that suits their taste & needs, then all's well and good. But second guessing what an ink might do a few days hence is a WOMBAT.

I do a bit of previsualisation when working with iron-gall inks, but those are unlikely to give a flawed result, and have properties that encourage such indulgence.

 

As you mention two far more interesting inks, I offer a swab mini-comparo from existing inky work. The swabs are juggled to somewhat compensate for dye load variance.

 

Left to Right: Noodler's Arthur Brown Manhattan Blue, WMBl, Noodler's FPN Van Gogh Starry Night Blue.

 

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2012/Ink%20Review%20-%20Waterman%20Mysterious%20Blue/Untitled_Panorama1_zps96610da6.jpg

 

I am tickled pink that Manhattan Blue found a new home with the people at Fountain Pen Hospital in NYC. I like to use that ink when staying in a hotel, for missives written during the kimono wrapped interval from getting out of the shower at the end of duty hours until room service treats arrive.

 

Perhaps the next time you need some empty int'l cartridges, Herbin Bleu Nuit may prove far more rewarding.

 

Bye,

S1

 

__ __

See also:

• Noodler's Arthur Brown Manhattan Blue - Review : https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/250310-noodlers-arthur-brown-manhattan-blue/?p=2742456
• Noodler's Arthur Brown Manhattan Blue - Dilution : https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/250331-dilution-noodlers-arthur-brown-manhattan-blue/?p=2742800
• Noodler's FPN Van Gogh Starry Night Blue - Review: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/240695-noodlers-f-p-n-van-gogh-starry-night-blue/page__view__findpost__p__2610570
• Noodler's FPN Van Gogh Starry Night - Dilution: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/240697-dilution-noodlers-f-p-n-van-gogh-starry-night-blue/page__view__findpost__p__2610590

Edited December 8, 2013 by Sandy1

[Sandy1]

Very much reminds me of the inks I grew up with in terms of color density. Many inks have become much more dense in color these days.

 

Hi,

 

While I won't be so nosy to inquire of your vintage, Waterman inks have remained very consistent in character over the years. One Member mentioned they'd been using Waterman South Sea Blue for over twenty years, and it was very much the same stuff then as today!

 

Such a high level of consistency has made various Waterman inks a standard by which other inks are measured, which is not to imply that Waterman inks are at some sort of inky pinnacle, any more than a yardstick is the pinnacle of linear measure. (In my early Reviews of Blue inks, I included a swab of Florida Blue as a reference hue.)

 

Indeed, my daily writer ink at the office is the not so dissimilar Parker Permanent Blue-Black with SOLV-X, which was sadly discontinued, and its replacement is very much an imposter.

 

I'm not sure about the current fashion of highly saturated inks - very often I prefer them diluted, (evident in my prior post.) Which gives us even more choices!

 

Bye,

S1

Edited December 8, 2013 by Sandy1

[ethernautrix]

 

It seems that you're experiencing the chameleon aspect of WMBl -

 

...

Perhaps the next time you need some empty int'l cartridges, Herbin Bleu Nuit may prove far more rewarding.

 

Bye,

S1

 

__ __

See also:

• Noodler's Arthur Brown Manhattan Blue - Review : https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/250310-noodlers-arthur-brown-manhattan-blue/?p=2742456
• Noodler's Arthur Brown Manhattan Blue - Dilution : https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/250331-dilution-noodlers-arthur-brown-manhattan-blue/?p=2742800
• Noodler's FPN Van Gogh Starry Night Blue - Review: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/240695-noodlers-f-p-n-van-gogh-starry-night-blue/page__view__findpost__p__2610570
• Noodler's FPN Van Gogh Starry Night - Dilution: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/240697-dilution-noodlers-f-p-n-van-gogh-starry-night-blue/page__view__findpost__p__2610590

 

 

This ink is vexing! I took a photo of a bit of writing yesterday with the intention of taking a photo this morning to show how the color had shifted, and of course the color hasn't shifted as dramatically as it did in the notebook (same paper).

 

Moreover, I am experiencing uncharacteristic hard starting (uncharacteristic for Waterman ink and for the Nakaya Naka-ai pen). The first few letters are teal, then there is no ink, and after some machinations getting the ink to flow again, the ink is the pretty blue that I like. I don't know if it will fade. Very mystere indeed. (Or mystérieux.) (Or bizarre.)

 

I will monitor the writing sample, and when (if) it changes, I will upload photos showing the shift.

 

Thank you for those convenient links and the color swatches. The Manhattan Blue looks very appealing. I do like the Van Gogh very much.

 

As for J. Herbin cartridges - I do like J. Herbin ink, but I wanted the long Waterman cartridges (emptied).

 

Thank you, S1!

[georges zaslavsky]

great color and thanks for the review

[RRE]

A very helpful and thorough review. This and Noodler's Black are what I mostly enjoy using at work. Thanks. Great job

[TheDutchGuy]

Outstanding review of an outstanding ink. In wet pens (such as vintage pens) this ink gives a very different result compared to dry-ish pens. It’s quite chameleon-like in character. Anyway, After using the ink for many years, only yesterday did I first notice that it sheens coppery/yellow:

 

^—notice the yellowish sheen on the feed (pen: ‘47 Parker Vacumatic Jr with flex nib)

 

^—the inside of the bottle cap.

 

^—In writing, the gold/coppery sheen is barely visible, if at all. The first image is from a very, very wet pen and as you can see the sheen is mostly reddish. The photo doesn’t really show it, but there are tiny traces (spots) of gold/coppery sheen sprinkled among the reddish sheen. The second image is from a dryer pen, with hardly any sheen at all.

[inkstainedruth]

Not sure how I missed this thread before now. I guess it resurfaced with TheDutchGuy's post. I have never particularly noticed the sheen, but OTOH, I haven't used WMB for a while.

My experience has been that "mysterious" is a good name for it -- I've seen it run the gamut from dark teal to bright green, depending on the pen and paper (I had people in my local pen club absolutely convinced that it *was* a green ink, and I was going "Nope -- I know what's in this pen....). And I'm not thrilled by its lack of water and UV resistance.

OTOH, I ran it through a 1937 Parker Vacumatic Red Shadow Wave for over 3 years without flushing, flossing, or any other maintenance to the pen -- just refilling it with WMB as needed when it ran dry. And there are a LOT of inks on the market that you couldn't say that about....

If I needed a teal-leaning blue black that had permanence to it, I've got Noodler's 54th Massachusetts. But I don't know as how I'd put that into a vintage sac pen, especially something like that Red Shadow Wave.... I do really need to flush the pen out, because I haven't used it in awhile, and need to to some repairs to the blind cap. But I expect to not have a huge amount of trouble (other than the usual "it's a sac pen and therefore a PITA to flush"), simply because of the ink in it. I'll try to stop back in on this thread when I do actually get around to the maintainence and flushing the pen needs; but I'm likely to put WMB right back in in it and expect to use it for another 3+ years as before....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[TheDutchGuy]

Not sure how I missed this thread before now. I guess it resurfaced with TheDutchGuy's post.

 

It did .

 

 

 

I ran it through a 1937 Parker Vacumatic Red Shadow Wave for over 3 years without flushing, flossing, or any other maintenance to the pen -- just refilling it with WMB as needed when it ran dry. And there are a LOT of inks on the market that you couldn't say that about....

Agreed. In vintage pens that are not easily serviceable, this is my ink of choice. It’s super reliable and super safe.

 

 

 

I have never particularly noticed the sheen

Neither have I, until yesterday. And I’ve used the ink for years.

[sansenri]

A great review by Sandy1 that needed to be revived.

That said, I dislike this ink. I don't like blue-green leaning inks, I am not usually fond of teal inks, unless they are very dark, and as Ruth says I have seen this ink turn out bright green, and unsaturated.

It might be a tame ink but if that is the scope then Florida/Serenity is my ink of choice and a much nicer colour too.

[dan in montreal]

Has anyone bought any lately? Has the formulation changed as Parker BB seems to have in recent months? Someone mentioned this on the forum recently. As I've always thought W and P BB / Mysterious Blue were pretty much the same, stands to reason W Mysterious Blue would also change. Any idea? If not, I might have to find out myself, as my bottle of W is almost dry.