Rohrer & Klingner Salix

[jgrasty]

At the last Dallas Pen Show, I purchased a bottle of Rohrer & Klingner Salix, an iron gall ink. I love iron gall inks, as they perform magnificently in pens with flexible nibs. Typically, iron gall inks exhibit great shading and water resistance, resistance to feathering and generally perform well on poor paper. Salix exhibits all these characteristics, and is a lovely blue-black ink, without a trace of green that some iron gall inks show.

 

Like most iron gall inks, Salix starts out of the pen with a bright blue tint, but it rapidly oxidizes to the traditional blue-black that most would recognize as an iron gall ink. Salix oxidizes to blue-gray in 20-30 seconds, and the color is stable after that point. The ink is dry, so a nib on the wetter side is most useful with this ink. Shading is quite impressive; there is some shading even with very narrow nibs.

 

Below is a scan of Salix, written with a number of different pens.

 

• Wahl Lady Doric with adjustable XXF nib.
  
• Pelikan M700 Toledo with BB nib.
  
• Pelikan M450 with EF nib.
  
• Pelikan M800 with M nib converted to cursive italic by Mike Masuyama.
  
• Pelikan M200 with M nib.
  
• Waterman 52 with XF flex nib.
  

 

I've included swabs from two other iron-gall inks, Montblanc Blue-Black and Lamy Blue-Black. Montblanc Blue-Black is no longer available, but I understand the currently available Montblanc Midnight Blue is identical. Lamy Blue-Black is rumored to be changing from iron-gall to a normal ink, but I've not seen a definitive answer on that. The bottle of Lamy Blue-Black I have is clearly an iron-gall blue-black ink, as it exhibits the same characteristics as Salix and Montblanc Blue-Black. Salix is quite close in color to Lamy Blue-Black, but Montblanc Blue-Black has more gray in it. I also have a bottle of Diamine Registrar's Ink; unfortunately, that ink has changed color and isn't representative of the ink you would get from a new bottle, so I didn't include a swab. You can see the color shifted Diamine Registrar's Ink in an iron-gall ink comparison I did a while back.

 

Salix doesn't feather, even on newsprint. On quality paper, such as the Rhodia No 18 lined paper in the scan, there is no bleed through and show-through is minimal. On cheap copier paper, there's bleed-through only with the wettest nibs, and no feathering at all.

 

Drying time varied from a few seconds for the narrower nibs to nearly a minute for the very wet Waterman 52.

 

http://bettygrastymd.com/jgrasty/wp-content/uploads/rohrer-klingner-salix-scan.jpg

 

Salix is quite water resistant, losing only a little of the blue from the blue-gray and leaving behind seemingly all of the gray. Here is a sample of the ink after a 15 second rinse.

 

http://bettygrastymd.com/jgrasty/wp-content/uploads/salix-water-resistance.jpg

 

Finally, I made a paper chromatography sample for the ink geeks. The paper, cut from a coffee filter, was immediately dipped into water before the ink had a chance to dry.

 

http://bettygrastymd.com/jgrasty/wp-content/uploads/salix-chromatography.jpg

 

Salix is a wonderful ink, with beautiful shading and excellent water resistance. Since it is iron gall, proper pen hygiene must be maintained and never, ever allow this ink to dry in your pen, or you'll have a difficult time cleaning it out.

Edited November 20, 2012 by jgrasty

[lapis]

Great review but in all humbleness may I say the following:[a] First of all, Montblanc Blue-Black and/or the curently issued Midnight Blue (which is the same as their old "blue-black" with a few improvments like on flow etc) ) is still available. There is no real sense in including a paper chromatography of one single ink without doing at the same time in parallel another ink in question. Unless of couse, this has already been done elsewhere by somebody else, and you add a link to it.

No harm meant.Mike

[JonSzanto]

Below is a scan of Salix, written with a number of different pens.

• Wahl Lady Doric with adjustable XXF nib.
• Pelikan M700 Toledo with BB nib.
• Pelikan M450 with EF nib.
• Pelikan M800 with M nib converted to cursive italic by Mike Masuyama.
• Pelikan M200 with M nib.
• Waterman 52 with XF flex nib.

Since it is iron gall, proper pen hygiene must be maintained and never, ever allow this ink to dry in your pen, or you'll have a difficult time cleaning it out.

 

Hope you don't mind a question with regard to usage: you note six pens - were these filled just for the test, and then emptied and cleaned? I would like to have one pen dedicated to iron gall ink (I have ESSRI at the moment), but I'd like to have a pen inked up with it, and not have to ink something for each use and then expelling the unused ink. Is it "proper hygiene" enough to clean the pen between fillings? I've got a couple pens I would really like to use with an IG ink, but I don't want to put the somewhat-vintage filling systems through the rigors of the chemistry.

[jgrasty]

Below is a scan of Salix, written with a number of different pens.

• Wahl Lady Doric with adjustable XXF nib.
• Pelikan M700 Toledo with BB nib.
• Pelikan M450 with EF nib.
• Pelikan M800 with M nib converted to cursive italic by Mike Masuyama.
• Pelikan M200 with M nib.
• Waterman 52 with XF flex nib.

Since it is iron gall, proper pen hygiene must be maintained and never, ever allow this ink to dry in your pen, or you'll have a difficult time cleaning it out.

 

Hope you don't mind a question with regard to usage: you note six pens - were these filled just for the test, and then emptied and cleaned? I would like to have one pen dedicated to iron gall ink (I have ESSRI at the moment), but I'd like to have a pen inked up with it, and not have to ink something for each use and then expelling the unused ink. Is it "proper hygiene" enough to clean the pen between fillings? I've got a couple pens I would really like to use with an IG ink, but I don't want to put the somewhat-vintage filling systems through the rigors of the chemistry.

 

Yes, all the pens except the Wahl were flushed free of the ink after the test. I'm still using Salix in the Wahl. If you fill a pen with iron gall ink and use it frequently, there is no need to flush and clean until you change inks. Just never let the ink dry in the pen. If you don't plan to use it for a week, flush it, and you'll never have to worry about damaging your pen.

 

Keep in mind that iron gall inks have been around for centuries, and were commonly used during the "vintage" period of the Wahl Doric and Waterman 52. Iron-gall inks were expected to be used in these pens, and there's no reason not to use them today.

[jgrasty]

Great review but in all humbleness may I say the following:[a] First of all, Montblanc Blue-Black and/or the curently issued Midnight Blue (which is the same as their old "blue-black" with a few improvments like on flow etc) ) is still available. There is no real sense in including a paper chromatography of one single ink without doing at the same time in parallel another ink in question. Unless of couse, this has already been done elsewhere by somebody else, and you add a link to it.

No harm meant.Mike

 

Thanks for your comments. I edited the text of my original post to make it clear that I meant Montblanc Blue-Black is no longer available, and that Montblanc Midnight Blue is one of their current inks.

 

I included the paper chromatography so that a reference is available that could be compared to other inks, or if Salix were to be re-formulated.

[The Good Captain]

A great review of my favourite IG ink. I've a Pelikan M200 using only Salix now and they get on just fine. Also, I use the Lamy in a Swan 3340 which has a lovely semi-flex nib but is incredibly wet so the Lamy just tames it a little. I suppose I could use ESSRI in it but I like the semblance of blue left after the Lamy has gone through its behaviour routine on the paper.

[Sandy1]

Hi,

 

Many thanks for your Review of Salix!

 

Being such a malleable ink, I am always interested to see how this ink responds to various pens & papers, and the hand of the person writing. Clearly you have 'showcased' this ink. :clap1:

 

Salix does well from just about any pen of adequate wetness, yet I have come to prefer the softer flexi nibs which generate a certain something with this ink.

 

I have no hesitation to use this ink in any of my vintage pens, including eyedroppers, wherein barrel and ink make direct contact.

 

Bye,

S1

[stefanv]

Thanks for the review! I too love this ink, and use it to tame my very wet Pelikan 140.

[michelim]

thanks for the review :thumbup: :thumbup:

[Gretchen]

Hi,

 

This is a wonderful review, thank you! And I lose geek points for admitting it, but I've not seen the chromatography before -- gorgeous! Is it showing the colors that go into making this ink? And what size is the strip of coffee filter? Do you dip it in the bottle of ink, then immediately rinse it off?

 

Thanks,

Gretchen

[jgrasty]

Hi,

 

This is a wonderful review, thank you! And I lose geek points for admitting it, but I've not seen the chromatography before -- gorgeous! Is it showing the colors that go into making this ink? And what size is the strip of coffee filter? Do you dip it in the bottle of ink, then immediately rinse it off?

 

Thanks,

Gretchen

 

Paper chromatography is quite easy. Cut s strip of suitable paper about 3 inches long (I use a coffee filter), write a line of ink on the paper about an 1/4" from the bottom, and immediately dip into enough water to draw the ink all the way to the top of the paper. I use a Goulet Pens ink sample bottle with just a few drops of water in it (photo: Noodler's Tiananmen).

 

http://bettygrastymd.com/jgrasty/wp-content/uploads/paper-chroma.jpg

[WhosYerBob]

That's rapidly becoming my favorite ink. Thanks for the review.

[thesunshine]

Thank you for the review. I'm still a very new user of fountain pens, so the idea of usin an iron gall ink still frightens me a little but the beautiful colour of this ink in your review has nudged me a lot closer to buying my first iron gall ink!

 

One small query: how long did you wait between writing the review and doing the scan? Has there been any colour change in the ink since then?

[Cryptowolf]

Thank you for the review. I especially appreciate your use of multiple pens. While I own this ink, you've done a fantastic job of making me lust after a Wahl Doric.

[Horseknitter]

I have this ink and use it often. But you have indeed 'showcased' it in a way I have missed. I'm motivated to get out a softer, more flexible nib and get the results you have demonstrated. Thank you for the review and the motivation!

[jgrasty]

Thank you for the review. I'm still a very new user of fountain pens, so the idea of usin an iron gall ink still frightens me a little but the beautiful colour of this ink in your review has nudged me a lot closer to buying my first iron gall ink!

 

One small query: how long did you wait between writing the review and doing the scan? Has there been any colour change in the ink since then?

 

The scan was done a few hours after completing it. There's been no additional change since then.

 

All three iron-gall inks shown in the scan change color quickly, within a minute or two the change is complete. The only iron-gall ink that doesn't change in a minute or two, that I have, is Diamine Registrar's Ink, which takes about a day to fully change color.

[jolyon]

Hi,

 

This is a wonderful review, thank you! And I lose geek points for admitting it, but I've not seen the chromatography before -- gorgeous! Is it showing the colors that go into making this ink? And what size is the strip of coffee filter? Do you dip it in the bottle of ink, then immediately rinse it off?

 

Thanks,

Gretchen

 

Paper chromatography is quite easy. Cut s strip of suitable paper about 3 inches long (I use a coffee filter), write a line of ink on the paper about an 1/4" from the bottom, and immediately dip into enough water to draw the ink all the way to the top of the paper. I use a Goulet Pens ink sample bottle with just a few drops of water in it (photo: Noodler's Tiananmen).

 

http://bettygrastymd.com/jgrasty/wp-content/uploads/paper-chroma.jpg

 

 

 

For paper chromatography it's important to have the water level in the container lower than the ink on the paper when the paper is dipped into the ink. Otherwise the water becomes coloured and spreads the colour through the paper as it rises. The idea of this analytical technique is to separate the coloured components using colourless water.

Analysis is done to discover components, so there is no requirement to compare the result with something else, as was suggested by one of the comments on this interesting and useful ink review.

[jgrasty]

Hi,

 

This is a wonderful review, thank you! And I lose geek points for admitting it, but I've not seen the chromatography before -- gorgeous! Is it showing the colors that go into making this ink? And what size is the strip of coffee filter? Do you dip it in the bottle of ink, then immediately rinse it off?

 

Thanks,

Gretchen

 

Paper chromatography is quite easy. Cut s strip of suitable paper about 3 inches long (I use a coffee filter), write a line of ink on the paper about an 1/4" from the bottom, and immediately dip into enough water to draw the ink all the way to the top of the paper. I use a Goulet Pens ink sample bottle with just a few drops of water in it (photo: Noodler's Tiananmen).

 

http://bettygrastymd.com/jgrasty/wp-content/uploads/paper-chroma.jpg

 

 

 

For paper chromatography it's important to have the water level in the container lower than the ink on the paper when the paper is dipped into the ink. Otherwise the water becomes coloured and spreads the colour through the paper as it rises. The idea of this analytical technique is to separate the coloured components using colourless water.

Analysis is done to discover components, so there is no requirement to compare the result with something else, as was suggested by one of the comments on this interesting and useful ink review.

 

Yes, that's correct. I messed that one up for sure.

[Belles-lettres]

Nice review, thanks for reminding me about this ink - it fell out of my rotation and it needs to come back!

[georges zaslavsky]

very nice blue It reminds me a bit of diamine prussian blue but with a lighter tone