Pr American Blue For Student?

[Mhawke7894]

I am needing a good ink to use to take notes in lectures with my Parker 51 vacumatic and Sheaffer PFM. I prefer to use a good darkish blue ink as that sort of color is perfect for any possible situation I might face with any of my heavy use pens. I was thinking about trying the Fast Drying Private Reserve American Blue, as I like the color, and the fast drying would be great for rapid note taking. However, it seems like in some of the discussions it is sometimes mentioned that there are problems with the ink clogging. I am really looking for a no-fuss blue ink here. Does this fit the bill? Thank you!

[StrawberryJam]

PR American Blue looked ugly (and behaved awfully) in my Pilot Lucina F (Steel nib), but is much better behaved in my Pilot VP Matte Black with an F nib. Maybe get a few samples of various blues from GouletPens and see which works best for you?

Edited September 4, 2013 by StrawberryJam

[ac12]

Try Cross/Pelikan 4001 or Waterman ink.

I use both inks (in blue and black), matched to the characteristic of my pens.

Dry pens get Waterman ink to get them to flow better, and wet pens get Cross ink to slow down the flow of ink.

 

Note that "fast drying" is somewhat of an illusion. What I figured out in watching my inks dry is that the ink penetrates the paper, so the surface of the paper is dry. The wet ink is absorbed into the paper. This ink penetration also depends on your paper. If you have a paper with a HARD surface, the ink won't penetrate quickly, and will take longer to dry, and in that case it switches to evaporation drying which takes longer. So the worst situation is a WET pen with a HARD surface paper.

 

FYI, I did my college lecture note taking with Parker Quink cartridge ink (black) in my Parkers.

 

Given how difficult it is to clean a P51, I would not want to use any ink that has any kind of reputation for clogging. Even with regular cleaning, it could be a problem, because you cannot force flush a P51 without what I call major surgery. For reliability, I would stick to the regulars: Waterman, Pelikan, Parker, Sheaffer.

[DanF]

Best bet is to check the ink review forum, most of the reviews note how fast the ink dries. INDEX OF INK REVIEWS - Ink Reviews - The Fountain Pen Network

 

I would think that some of the Diamine blues would meet your criteria, and also be very pen friendly.

 

Dan

[corniche]

Hello M, et al,

 

I am one of the poor souls who experienced clogging in a Waterman Philieas using a steady diet of pure undiluted PR American Blue over an extended period. I love PRab, but I wouldn't recommend it as a steady diet for any one pen; alternate between other inks and pens, (with flushing in between and you'll be okay).

 

NOW, for your particular case, I would recommend a steady diet of Waterman Florida Blue, (I forgot what they call it now - but it is the standard royal blue). I would take the WMfb AND PRab and make a 60/40 mix; 60% WMfb for Waterman's terrific qualities and 40% PRab for the rich color. Make sure you use a CLEAN jar to store the mix. If you're able to do this, I think you'll find the perfect blue ink for yourself.

 

NOTE: I am talking about the STANDARD PRab - NOT the Quick Dry formula. I have not used the quick dry formula or smelled it; however, I have a suspicion it has an alkaline base because alkaline inks dry quicker than acid based inks. WMfb is an acid based ink; if PRab Quick Dry is indeed an alkaline base, you would NOT want to mix them. If you want to mix them, to play it safe, it would have to be the standard version of PRab.

 

I haven't tried diluted PRab; however, it is another option. Dilute the PRab, 80% ink/20% distilled water; however, remember, when you dilute an ink - you also dilute all the chemicals that are in it - so after dilution, the ink will have diminished flow enhancement, SITB/mold protection and less lubrication. So, IMHO, the first option of mixing WMfb and PRab is your best bet.

 

All the best,

 

Sean

Edited September 4, 2013 by corniche

[pencils+pens]

I would recommend a steady diet of Waterman Florida Blue, (I forgot what they call it now - but it is the standard royal blue).

 

Serenity.

[corniche]

 

Serenity.

 

That's it! Thanks, P&P.

 

All the best,

 

Sean

[amberleadavis]

I'd suggest Noodler's eel blue.