Inky T O D - Improving Ink Flow (Make A Dry Writing Ink, Wetter, Or Help Ignition Problems)

[amberleadavis]

Hi,

 

The approach I suggested is intended to be a means to fine tune an ink to a given pen+paper combo, which might seem OTT or too cautious to some people.

 

Member sooto2 chose to forge ahead by dead reckoning - achieving an enhanced level of inky enjoyment, even with Lamy Blue.

@ Post № 15 https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/199472-in-praise-of-dish-soap/?p=3016647

 

Sometimes things like this are akin to making soup: one could follow a recipe or use what's to hand including a sprinkling of common sense. Both approaches will result in soup, (or stew or chowder.) Either way no one should go hungry.

 

Bye,

S1

 

 

Hey Sandy1:

 

 

Okay, I decided to add Sotto2's systematic approach as a opposed the msfussy approach (That was Sandy1's description not mine).

 

 

sotto2

Gadzooks - it's your ink, so fly at it!!

I reckon that you'll not invoke an event horizon by doing so. My SWAG is that it'll be OK...

OK, I did as you suggested and picked up a bottle of Photoflo ($8.99 for 16 fl. ounces from Samy's Camera here). I couldn't find a needle in my haystack, but I did find a thinnish paperclip, which I dipped in the undiluted bottle of Photoflo and then placed into a Lamy ink cartridge that was half-full of Waterman Havana Brown (Absolute Brown now) ink. I placed the cartridge back in the Lamy Accent Brilliant M nib pen that had been writing rather dry-ly, and almost instantly the flow increased substantially to very juicy, but not blobby. The saturation also increased substantially so that it almost looked like I was writing with chocolate. If you've seen that youtube video of Peter Unbehauen (sp?) writing close-up with ink that looks 3D, that's the way it looked when I wrote. After 10 mins or so, the pen has settled down and there's a wee bit of shading to the chocolate. Next time I'll only try a dipped needle point in a full cartridge of ink which should cut the Photoflo dose to about half of what I tried.

So, bottom line, dipping a paperclip straight into Photoflo and then into an ink cartridge worked just fine to significantly (IMHO) increase ink flow and saturation.