Consistant Saturation With Dea...or Not?

October 9, 2015

I understand the basic math:

Wet nib = More ink = Darker ink line (appears more saturated)
Dry nib = Less ink = Lighter ink line (appears less saturated)

Here's where I'm stuck.

Fell in love with De A's Thomas Alva Edison, convinced this was destined to be my "signature color" after using it in the TWSBI Diamond 580, M nib, filled from a sample vial (Anderson's? Goulet?). The ink was too wet for the M nib, so I swapped in a F, and the combination was magic. Deep, dark, saturated color, albeit not as much glide, due to the finer nib.

Today, I finally cleaned, then filled, my Pelikan m805 Demonstrator for the first time. Same ink color---this time, using a bottle purchased from Exotic Blanks (the only folks who still had this in stock).

The shock is how, in spite of there being so much ink on the page (this pen's a gusher, drats), the color looks considerably lighter than it did in a drier nib and finer line. Logic tells me this is the opposite of what one would expect.

I emptied the pen, gently shook the bottle, refilled, and still...the ink looks less saturated.

My question:

Is De A ink inconsistent, when it comes to saturation? Did I get lucky with the sample vial, but end up with a "thinner" iteration in bottled form?

October 9, 2015

it seems that on the pelikan your getting some shading which is absent in the TWSBI

this could be a pen, ink and paper combo but thats just me

save the ink on your twsbi and try it on your twsbi if they exhibit different characteristics decide on what pen you will ink it with

if they display the same characteristics then well... like noodler's DA are handmade inks by a single guy

Edited October 9, 2015 by Algester

October 9, 2015

In all defence of DE A (w/a) I must say that Jansen's handmade inks are all manufactured very consistently. I've not yet seen or heard of any differences in his batches. Noodler's ink batch formulations and/or mixings are OTOH very often very different.

October 10, 2015

Just a note: the Thomas Alva Edison is relabeled de A Black-Red, so if you want more of it, look under that name.

October 10, 2015

Does it darken more after you've left it in your Pelikan for a couple of weeks?

October 10, 2015

Just a note: the Thomas Alva Edison is relabeled de A Black-Red, so if you want more of it, look under that name.

Thanks for the heads up; just added that to my notes.

Does it darken more after you've left it in your Pelikan for a couple of weeks?

Time will tell; I inked this a couple of days ago, so we'll see....

October 11, 2015

Actually, it appears to me that your Pelikan is not a gusher with that ink.

To get the shading effect you need the ink to flow slow enough to get the light parts of the letter and still flow enough to get then ends of the stroke dark.

Whereas the TWSBI is just WET.

BTW, I've been having a similar problem with my Waterman Green.

In my case, same bottle of ink, but different pens.

Some pens (all clip pens) will write WET, yet not be as DARK as a desk pen that does not write as wet, yet is MUCH darker in shade.

And the clip pens have various shades of green. This has been quite aggrivating as I can't predict what the ink will look like until I actually ink up the pen and test it.

Edited October 11, 2015 by ac12

October 11, 2015

Some pens (all clip pens) will write WET, yet not be as DARK as a desk pen that does not write as wet, yet is MUCH darker in shade.
And the clip pens have various shades of green. This has been quite aggrivating as I can't predict what the ink will look like until I actually ink up the pen and test it.

Maybe there is something lost in translation, but what do you mean by clip pens? Pens with a clip? How would having a clip on the cap affect the wetness of the pen? Would having a clipless pen reduce the wetness? Or do you mean clipped pens as opposed to desk pens? Are you talking "capless"?

Edited October 11, 2015 by Noihvo

October 11, 2015

Actually, it appears to me that your Pelikan is not a gusher with that ink.
To get the shading effect you need the ink to flow slow enough to get the light parts of the letter and still flow enough to get then ends of the stroke dark.
Whereas the TWSBI is just WET.

By "gusher," I mean that an excessive amount of ink is released at the end of each stroke (throughout the entire stroke, unless I write at a quick pace).

The TWSBI, by comparison, writes very consistency, with no end-of-stroke "puddles" or pronounced shading. Doesn't matter if I'm writing fast or slow.

Maybe there is something lost in translation, but what do you mean by clip pens? Pens with a clip? How would having a clip on the cap affect the wetness of the pen? Would having a clipless pen reduce the wetness? Or do you mean clipped pens as opposed to desk pens? Are you talking "capless"?

Ditto to what Nolhvo said. Clarification, please...?

October 13, 2015

Really don't know why, but thank you for bringing this ink into my attention. Looks uber-sweet!

October 13, 2015

Really don't know why, but thank you for bringing this ink into my attention. Looks uber-sweet!

It is---I love the color (when it's in the TWSBI). Glad you like it too.

October 13, 2015

It is---I love the color (when it's in the TWSBI). Glad you like it too.

I'll let you know how it turns out on my pens and paper combos.

November 6, 2015

Does it darken more after you've left it in your Pelikan for a couple of weeks?

Now that it's been in use for awhile, I can report back that there's no change---still looks less saturated in the Pelikan than when it was in the TWSBI. Looks like a changeup is necessary for future pairings.