What Was Solv-X In Quink

[OCArt]

Parker Quink ads claimed they had "Solv-X" to keep pens in repair. I wonder what 'Solv-X' was?

 

[welch]

Dig around. One of our members figured it out. It's late here...I give you the link tomorrow if you haven;t found it already. It was not simply phenol.

 

Check for an explanation by Corniche around November, 2010.

 

Greetings all,

I may have cracked the case. While the name Solv-X is not mentioned by name, there are allusions to it's purported qualities in an old patent application. I believe Solv-X was a combination of Phenol, (fungicide) and amyl-xanthale, a flow enhancer. The latter chemical is referred to in the followings ways; "flow promoter" and "the trend of flotation." I think Phenol was the "solvent," (Solv) and the amyl-xanthale provided the "X." Hence, Solv-X.

Parker Ink Patent

Edited June 15, 2015 by welch

[OCArt]

Wow, from the "strongly acid writing fluids" dismissed in the ad to alkaline inks with a corn starch additive to prevent feathering. I wonder if the modern no-bleed inks also use cornstarch?

 

I'm still not sure how Quink "dissolves sediment and gummy deposits left by inferior inks?" Maybe a bit of advertising hyperbole?

[gordonhooker]

My distant memories do back up the claim to an extent. I can remember we always had issues with our fountain pens if we filled up using the ink supplied by the school which was full of sediment, I believe it was supplied to the school in powdered form and mixed with water before filling the school ink wells. I remember that when I used the Swan ink purchased from the local shop they were better but not as good as the nice bright blue Quink blue ink with Solv-X, and fountain pens did not need nearly as much maintenance. I found the worst problem I had with my fountain pens was cheap blotting paper if your nib was out of alignment and you picked bits up when cleaning the excess ink off the nib.

[adyf]

If I remember rightly, I think it was advertised to clean your pen as it writes.

[richardandtracy]

I hate it the way phenol has been removed from Quink and Coal Tar soap. I love the smell, and in the quantities used in those two products, it was highly unlikely to be carcinogenic.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[dcwaites]

I have several bottles of Quink with Solv-X. I use it in pens that are sluggish. I find that over a week the flow improves to the point that they are then a pleasure to use. The writing on each day gets darker until it stabilises. At that point I clean out the pen and put in the ink that I want to use.

It is especially useful in NOS Parker 100s that were tested in the factory but never cleaned out properly. The Solv-X cleans out the gummed up ink over several days.

[inkstainedruth]

I think the ad OCArt posted is interesting in of itself. Is it from WWII era? The bottle depicted certainly looks like some vintage Quink bottles I have (and two of those are specifically Microfilm Black for V-Mail). I'm thinking that the warning about the unavailability of repair materials may have to do with the switchover to manufacturing for the war effort, especially given the ad I've seen explaining why Parker 51s were [currently] unavailable (much as Parker would have liked to sell them).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[welch]

I think the ad OCArt posted is interesting in of itself. Is it from WWII era? The bottle depicted certainly looks like some vintage Quink bottles I have (and two of those are specifically Microfilm Black for V-Mail). I'm thinking that the warning about the unavailability of repair materials may have to do with the switchover to manufacturing for the war effort, especially given the ad I've seen explaining why Parker 51s were [currently] unavailable (much as Parker would have liked to sell them).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

 

I've seen other Quink advertisements that are clearly from WWII. They mention that (1) rubber is a scarce material; (2) two-thirds of pen failures come from broken sacs (pictures of sacs with bulge in one spot); (3) claim that Quink with Solv-X will protect your sac and clean the rest of your pen as you write.

 

I love the smell of Solv-X. Have been mixing older Quink with newer inks. 50:50 Quink Blue-Black with Diamine Midnight Blue, for instance, and a 1/3:1/3:1/3 mix of Quink Royal Blue + PR Tanzanite + Pr Supershow Blue.

 

Best guess: Solv-X was removed because it was a risk to people making it. Large quantities in the factories in France and the UK. Camlin's Camel ink contains something that smells like Solv-X and is claimed, like Solv-X, to clean as you write.

 

Although I agree that ink-factory workers need to be protected, I have a deep and old reaction to the smell: Solv-X smells like "ink"...

[Frank C]

 

 

I've seen other Quink advertisements that are clearly from WWII. They mention that (1) rubber is a scarce material; (2) two-thirds of pen failures come from broken sacs (pictures of sacs with bulge in one spot); (3) claim that Quink with Solv-X will protect your sac and clean the rest of your pen as you write.

 

I love the smell of Solv-X. Have been mixing older Quink with newer inks. 50:50 Quink Blue-Black with Diamine Midnight Blue, for instance, and a 1/3:1/3:1/3 mix of Quink Royal Blue + PR Tanzanite + Pr Supershow Blue.

 

Best guess: Solv-X was removed because it was a risk to people making it. Large quantities in the factories in France and the UK. Camlin's Camel ink contains something that smells like Solv-X and is claimed, like Solv-X, to clean as you write.

 

Although I agree that ink-factory workers need to be protected, I have a deep and old reaction to the smell: Solv-X smells like "ink"...

 

I used to like the smell of the old Waterman Ink in the yellow boxes. I always thought that phenol gave it that distinctive odor. It reminded me of campfires.

[welch]

The complete thread on "what happened to Solv-X?" (including: "what was in Solv-X"), from 2010, is at:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/174781-what-happened-to-solv-x/?hl=solv-x

 

(There is also something nice about seeing the names of the FPN'ers again: SamCapote, mstone, Corniche, Tony Belding...haven't seen the names lately. Also dcwaites and sandy1.)

[OCArt]

Welch, thank you for posting that old thread. It was a great read. David W, it is very interesting that you are using old bottles of Quink and feel that it does, indeed, clean pens. David W, doe it seem like a very wet ink to you?

 

I wonder if there is a current ink that has the same "cleaning" abilities??

[Tweel]

I wonder if there is a current ink that has the same "cleaning" abilities??

 

Chelpark ink, from India. They took over Parker's ink manufacturing operation in that country a long time ago, and renamed the additive "Cleen-X" .

[dcwaites]

Welch, thank you for posting that old thread. It was a great read. David W, it is very interesting that you are using old bottles of Quink and feel that it does, indeed, clean pens. David W, doe it seem like a very wet ink to you?

 

I wonder if there is a current ink that has the same "cleaning" abilities??

 

When I start using it in a pen that needs cleaning, it is rather dry for the first couple of days. As it cleans, the pen gets wetter until it stabilises.

The ink is not particularly wet nor dry, there are others, like some of the PR inks, which are much wetter.

[Ernst Bitterman]

 

I'm still not sure how Quink "dissolves sediment and gummy deposits left by inferior inks?" Maybe a bit of advertising hyperbole?

 

Hyperbole? Heaven forefend!

 

[Frank C]

Using a very high power microscope, one can see all those "5 little Secret Agents" at work. Hyperbole, never!

 

Thanks for posting this advertisement.

[kbadair_2002]

I do not know the words verbatim: "It cleans your pen as you write." It has not been too many years in the past that Solv-x was printed on the ink bottle labels of Quink.

Edited June 17, 2015 by kbadair_2002

[OCArt]

Bitterman, thanks for the wonderful cartoon. Now I just need to get some Indian Chelpark ink.

Thanks!

[welch]

Chelpark is out of the pen business, but Camlin's Camel ink smells like Chelpark...which smells like "real" Quink. Camel ink has an additive that it claims will clean your pen as you write. Check Ebay...someone is selling Camel Royal Blue for about $6.50 per bottle. I mix Camel with more concentrated inks...

[OCArt]

Welch, thanks for the tip. The irony is that I have a bottle of Camlin Camel Royal Blue ink that I put aside because I didn't like the color. I will now try it in a vintage wearever pen. Mixing with more saturated inks is a great idea.