What Pens Do You Put Your Iron Galls In?

[ca49reber]

I bought 2 TWSBI, VAC 700 & Mini VAC, just for IG inks. They are the only steel nibs that I have.

[Alexandra]

I use iron gall in any pen I will use regularly. My Pelikan 200 has been loaded with IG for months now with the occasional flush and this has presented no apparent problem to the steel nib.

[WaskiSquirrel]

With KWZ and Rohrer and Klingner IG inks, I'll happily put them in any pen as long as it's fairly easy to clean out and a pen I'm likely to use regularly. So far, I've had good luck.

[Runnin_Ute]

I just took KWZI Iron Gall Turquoise out of my blue marbled M200 this week (OB). I ran a couple of fills through it. But most of the time I use once of my c/c pens. Although for a period of time in 2015 I used in a lot in my TWSBI 580 with a custom ground nib. (B to a stub)

[mariom]

I've never been comfortable using R&K IG inks in any "good" pens. so they always go into one the Jinhao 159s which are one of the few remnants from my Chinese pen phase. They seem to have the unfortunate habit of drying out in the pen, but don't appear to have caused any lasting harm.

 

I've recently switched to Blackstone Barristers' Blue as my permanent ink of choice. It seems much better behaved than the R&K inks, and every bit as waterproof.

[RudyR]

I have no fear of using a Iron Gall ink in any of my pens. I tend to use them to the point that I don't worry about them drying out. This includes using it in my Montblanc 149 which is pretty much dedicated to be used with Midnight Blue.

[Chrissy]

I don't use IG inks in any of my pens because I don't write for archival purposes, so I see no need to write using IG inks. There are plenty of non IG, no risk, inks around that I would rather use instead.

[El Gordo]

Parker Vector with Akkerman #10, heavily stained the converter (the cheap sliding one, no idea about other converter versions) permanently (still have to try the steradent trick) but otherwise no harm. Only drawback is that I only notice being out of ink when the writing stops...

[ca49reber]

I don't use IG inks in any of my pens because I don't write for archival purposes, so I see no need to write using IG inks. There are plenty of non IG, no risk, inks around that I would rather use instead.

I use them to write checks & address envelopes.

[The Good Captain]

In answer to the original question - any pen I fancy. The 'modern' iron gall inks that I happen to have, cause no problems, with a little care and attention.

And as we all know, Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black, is a veritable gem!

[Goudy]

Scabiosa and Salix don't produce a sediment, so I have no concerns about using them in any pen. However, they're quite dry.

 

ESSRI and Diamine Registrars do produce a sediment, but slowly, so can be used safely if you're careful. I've been using Diamine in a Kaweco AL Sport with EF nib for 6 months with no problems at all. I flush the pen each time I refill.

 

Traditional iron galls shouldn't be used in any pen with a feed. They produce sediment and mould too rapidly to be controlled.

[bigkahuna]

For both IG and nano-particle inks, I tend to use easily-cleaned C/C pens with unplated gold or stainless steel nibs. Flush every 1-2 fills. I also routinely load IG/NP inks into my disposable Pilot Varsities/V-pens.

 

With rare exceptions, I usually reserve my piston fillers for conventional dye-based inks.

[the_gasman]

I use ferro-gallic ink (Diamine Registrars' Ink) for everyday use at work. I love the ink and so am grateful for work to be my excuse to use the ink. Also, like ca49reber, I use ferro-gallic ink for addressing envelopes (What's a cheque? I had to look it up in my history books! ).

 

At work, I write only brief, intermittent notes but do so fairly frequently, so my priorities for the pen are:

 

• vintage pen
• not so expensive that I would cry in the event of theft, loss, or damage
• push-click cap
• gold nib
• mono-line nib
• generous ink flow
• easily dissassembled (including nib, feed, section, and filling mechanism)

 

My current work pen of choice is a black Onoto 6035 piston-filler that I can easily and quickly strip down to its component parts. It cost me £30 on Ebay. I nearly re-sold it immediately because it would hardly write but, embarrassingly late, I checked the tines under a loupe and saw that they were misaligned. After less than a minute's work with thumb nails the pen was writing with a wonderfully generous, smooth flow of ink. Duh!

 

 

Cheers,

David.

Edited March 20, 2017 by the_gasman

[JakobS]

I am currently using KWZ IG Turqouise in my Esterbrook Relief 2-L with a 14kt nib, and KWZ IG Green #2 in an ASA Maya with a steel nib. As the majority of KWZ IG inks appear to possess a weaker amount of Iron Gall than Diamine Registrars and ESSRI, being more comparable to R&K I will use them in any of my pens.

 

I have found Diamine Registrars if used long term( 3-5 years) in a Lamy Safari/Studio with a stainless steel Lamy Z50 nib can cause pitting on the nib, specifically on the feed side of the nib, which isn't surprising, being the side most exposed to the ink. It appeared as a half dozen or so pits in the area closest to the section, with a few pits nearer to the tines. This pitting did not make the nib unusable, and would of taken a number of years more to do so, but it was interesting to find. It was only noticeable because I was changing the nib to a different one, otherwise the pitting would not have been seen. I was having issues with the Safari it was attached to, one of which was a cap that was becoming looser and looser by the day, and also a spill of being left in a soybean field for a week! So, its hard to say if this could be replicated with a pen more accustomed to desk life!

Edited March 20, 2017 by JakobS

[Chrissy]

I don't find any need to use IG inks, so I don't. There are plenty of inks to use without having potential IG problems. I'm not writing documents on a daily basis that need to last beyond my lifetime.

[Randal6393]

Have used IG inks in many pens but eventually quit using them in fountain pens. Not concerned about damage, it's just that dip pens give a much better, more traditional letter for IG inks. Mostly, love iron gall inks for copperplate, engrosser's script, etc. Just don't look the same written with a fountain pen.

 

Instead of IG inks, I use Noodler's Bulletproof Black for anything that is archival, water proof, etc. Find it works well for me.

 

The other ink that seems to need a dip pen is sumi ink. As close to an actual medieval carbon ink as one can get these days. Gives a look very similar to old manuscripts. Makes italic really pop.

 

Enjoy,

[Pensei]

Safari--cheap, easy to clean.

[Mercian]

I don't find any need to use IG inks, so I don't. There are plenty of inks to use without having potential IG problems. I'm not writing documents on a daily basis that need to last beyond my lifetime.

The water-resistance of iron-gall inks is just one of the characteristics that they offer.

Others include tight lines, no feathering, very little bleedthrough.

And their shading - oh! the shading! I <3 it!

[Mercian]

My own favourite pens for iron-gall inks are wet-writing pens that have Fine nibs.

 

Of the pens that I own, those would be my Pelikan M205F; my two Luxor-made Parker Frontiers, and; my Parker "51"F (except with Scabiosa, which works well but feels too dry for me from my "51").

 

The M205 and the Frontiers all have nib/feed units that simply unscrew, so are really easy to clean out. I regard them as ideal pens for use with iron-gall inks. The Pelikan in particular is an excellent showcase for the supple beauty of R&K Salix.

The "51" requires more care/diligence when using iron-galls. I once found out the hard way exactly how much of a PITA it is to try to clean dried-out iron-gall from a "51". D'oh!

[Noihvo]

 

The above inks being Akkerman #10 IJzen-galnoten blauw/zwart, and Rohrer & Klinger Salix.