Higgins Eternal With Osmiroid Fountain Pen

[Jeffrey Stein]

In the 1980s, I used to do calligraphy for Ketubot (Jewish wedding contracts); Hebrew characters; about 30 lines per Ketubah. I always used an Osmiroid fountain pen, with Broad Straight nib. I cannot recall which ink I used; it was good, but I was never thrilled with it being jet black. Still, it flowed well and looked good at the time. I have seen several of the pieces in recent years, and the ink still looks good on most of them. But, as I mentioned, I cannot recall which ink I was using . . . all this, 1980 through 1990.

 

25 years later, I am writing another Ketubah, and here is the situation. I have found or cleaned up a couple of the Osmiroid pens with the Broad Straight nibs, and they seem to be working properly. It seems that the best ink that I have found in a local store (Atlanta) is Higgins Eternal (which says on the box that it works in fountain pens).

 

Yesterday, I tried out the Higgins Eternal / Osmiroid combination and it seems to have been flowing well / looking good. I have been very careful to clean the pen after every sitting. So here are my questions:

 

-- Any recommendations on using this combination? The entire document should take about 6 or 8 hours to write, so if I can keep the pen working properly for that duration, I will be happy. I can clean and reload the pen every few minutes / hours, if recommended.

 

-- Can I expect this ink to hold up well over the years? I am not worried about water, but wonder about fading / exposure to daylight.

 

-- Is there any other ink that the experts recommend, to use in the Osmiroid pen with Broad Straight nib? Hopefully, something that I could get quickly through eBay or an online seller.

 

Thanks for this great forum!!

 

Jeff

Edited July 15, 2013 by Jeffrey Stein

[Elizabeth in NJ]

-- Can I expect this ink to hold up well over the years? I am not worried about water, but wonder about fading / exposure to daylight.

 

It should be framed with UV resistant glass regardless. Sorry I'm no help on the other questions.

 

Do you have any photos/examples of your work? I'd love to see!

[Bo Bo Olson]

Many...many....many folks say do not use Higgins inks in your fountain pen in spite of it saying you can.

 

Noodlers makes real black blacks, some (all?) are permanent...some are forgery proof.

X something is against feathering.

Living in Germany I don't do imported Noodlers, so I'm not quite so up on the names.

I have not got my basic 100 Euro inks yet.

 

Do go to the ink review sub forum and look up Noodler's black inks. They are a made in the USA ink.

 

He has something like 400 inks out...so you can get it from the net.

The Goulet Pen Company

From Virginia ships it so packed some one could kick field goals in American football with the package and it would be OK.

He's got a ink chart too.

Nib chart

Really got it together.

Sells good paper too.

 

Real one stop shopping.

[Jeffrey Stein]

Many...many....many folks say do not use Higgins inks in your fountain pen in spite of it saying you can.

 

Yes, a lot of people seem to say this, but if I am only using this ink for a few hours, and keep the pen very clean, is there a real risk? And what is this risk . . . damage to the pen, I assume?

 

I will certainly look into other inks, but was puzzled by the sentiments / recommendations against the Higgins. In one hour of writing, it performed very well; the entire project should only be six or eight hours, so I am trying to understand the risk.

 

I am a true novice in this world and greatly appreciate -- and will follow -- the advice of the experts!!

 

Jeff

Edited July 15, 2013 by Jeffrey Stein

[Paddler]

 

Yes, a lot of people seem to say this, but if I am only using this ink for a few hours, and keep the pen very clean, is there a real risk? And what is this risk . . . damage to the pen, I assume?

 

I will certainly look into other inks, but was puzzled by the sentiments / recommendations against the Higgins. In one hour of writing, it performed very well; the entire project should only be six or eight hours, so I am trying to understand the risk.

 

I am a true novice in this world and greatly appreciate -- and will follow -- the advice of the experts!!

 

Jeff

Try using the Higgins ink with a dip pen. Then wash the nib without touching it; rinse it, like would happen when you just flush out the inside of a fountain pen. If the ink leaves a residue, eventually, after many uses and flushings, it will build up in the small channels in the pen's feed and cause a blockage.