What Are Your Favorite Nano-Pigmented And Iron Gall Inks?

[nmcnick]

Hello FPN!

 

Im looking for an ink for a designated fountain pen that will write on low quality copy paper. What are the best options out there in terms of specific brands and kinds?

 

Thank you for any feedback!

[haruka337]

Nano Inks:

Sailor Nano Kiwa-guro
Sailor Nano Sei-boku

The inks are very lubricating in fountain pens, really tames finicky nibs. I love Kiwa-guro's unique matte, layered effect and Sei-boku's beautiful shading indigo blue color.

Iron-galls:

KWZ Ink Iron-galls

You cannot go wrong with any of their iron-gall inks. As I understand it, their iron-galls are more user friendly and colorful (for iron-galls).

[nmcnick]

Thank you, haruka! I may go with the sailor ink. Is there anything I should know about cleaning it out when needed or maintenance?

[AndyYNWA]

Sailor Sei-boku is my favourite ink.

Nice colour, lots of shading and beautiful sheen. And it stays on the paper even if you torture it a bit.

 

This far I haven't had any issues with it at all. Works like a normal ink. However, I flush my pens quite often.

[OCArt]

Try Hero 232 Blue-Black, a very inexpensive iron gall ink that I use everyday.

[haruka337]

Thank you, haruka! I may go with the sailor ink. Is there anything I should know about cleaning it out when needed or maintenance?

Some people experience difficulties in cleaning out nano pigmented inks, but I've not had any issues to date. As AndyYNWA noted, as long as you flush your pens regularly there should be no issue with cleaning. If, by chance, there is, use a "laxative" ink such as Sailor Do-you. Do-you will remove any ink stain and budge hard to move nano particles. I believe (correct me if I'm wrong, people) that Noodler's Eel Cactus Fruit is also a laxative ink.

 

Iron-gall has it's own unique set of maintenance. It can be corrosive to some metals, especially stainless steal and is a bit on the dry side, however, I find KWZ Iron-gall inks to be wetter than the average iron-gall. Don't let this ink dry out in your pen for it's a pain to clean. As with any ink, make sure to flush your pen on a regular basis--what "regular basis" means will be up to you. I like to flush out Nano/Iron-gall inks out of pens every 2 to 4 weeks, but that's just me. If it's a pen that tends to dry out inks quickly, I stick to 2 weeks. I have a dedicated Platinum Preppy ($3 to $5) that I use for KWZ iron-galls inks--so far so good!

 

Hope that helped!

[Pterodactylus]

IG inks that I can recommend:

Rohrer & Klingner Salix and Scabiosa as well as Pelikan Blue-Black are great and need absolutely not more maintenance than any other ink.

 

ESS Registrars Blue/Black is also one of my favorite inks, but I would recommend to flush the pen at least every couple of months. It develops a little residue after some months, nothing dramatically it can be easily cleaned (just to mention it)

It also isn't relevant for the function. I´ve inked a pen continuously since about 2,5 years without a flush, just refilling,

 

In general you will not find ink that would perform better on poor quality paper than IG ink.

 

I think that modern IG may corrode steel is a myth, I´m sure that modern IG inks do not harm any material and for sure not stainless steel.

These stories are based on former pre industrial times when they couldn't control the creation process like the manufacturers can today. Some batches contained a great concentration of IG together with the poor steel quality of that time.

 

In general FP IG ink contain less IG than e.g. some IG inks made for dip pens.

[bioluminescentsquid]

I'll join in the praise of IG inks - especially Salix and Platanium Blue-black. Although still expect some bleed with wetter pens on (very) crappy paper (that anything but ballpoint and pencils bleed through), they seem like the best we can have with fountain pens. They will do fine with typical copy paper, with no feathering or bleeding. I think Platnium blue-black, especially, is slightly more bleed proof than salix (I used up a bottle PlBlBk very recently; my next one is arriving next month, so I'll have to check), but both are pretty darn invincible and are beautiful colors, too.

I've also used Diamine Registar's BB and had quite nice experiences with it, but it dropped sediment on me. I blame my ignorance on that (and it seems like it wasn't as well buffered as other IGs), however. I might get a new bottle soon.

 

I'll also have to try Pelikan BB. I can get it easily outside of the states, which is where I get my Japanese inks anyways.

 

I've tried KWZ IG 6, but didn't like it. It had a nice navy-ish final color, but I was frustrated by its surprising (especially for an IG ink) penchant to bleed and feather on copy paper (which is less-than-ideal paper, but one that other IG's don't feather on) and its initial teal-ness. I, however, will try the other KWZs when I can get my hands on them.

 

However, I can't compare them to the typical beasts, such as Sei-boku (My bottle is also arriving next month) or, X-feather Noodler's Black, which I've heard are also very spread-resistant.

I am, however, careful to pour these inks into vials and only fill out of the vials, and not the bottle, as I don't want to risk sedimentation due to contamination, after the Registar's ink incident.

Correction to myself - Platinum Blue Black ≠ Platinum pigmented blue. I have the former (which I described above) and have no intention of trying the latter.

Edited March 3, 2016 by bioluminescentsquid

[Buzz_130]

I like Platinum's pigment blue ink. This is a reliable ink that works well on just about every paper, but I will admit that I only use this ink in Platinum and Sailor pens.

 

The same is true with Sailor's Sei Boku. Great color, but it only goes in my Platinum and Sailor pens.

 

I'll also give high praise to KWZ Inks. I've been running careful tests in pens that I can disassemble and clean. I've had no problems now with Esterbrook Js and Parker 45s with this ink. I've stepped up my game with a Parker "51" and my Visconti HS. I've had great results with these great inks.

 

Buzz

[ScienceChick]

I don't hesitate to put KWZ IGs in any of my pens, vintage or modern. I agree that they're not as feather-proof on poor quality paper as ESSRI or the R&K IGs are but they are much wetter which is probably why. IG Turquoise is gorgeous.

[bioluminescentsquid]

Are the other KWZ iron galls as wet and feathery as #6? I hope not, especially as they seem like beautiful colors. The pen I use, an old Conklin flex pen, is also pretty wet, so it plays well with drier inks such as the Platinum or the Salix, but makes quite a feather-prone combination with anything wetter.

[Algester]

Sailor Storia Lion Light Brown

Sailor Kiwaguro :3

[ENewton]

Rohrer and Klingner Scabiosa is an intriguing color and cleans easily of the pen.

[Perdendosi]

I bought KWZ IG Green #2 and Blue #5, and have samples of IG Red and Orange. I bought them specifically for writing on the cheapest, worst legal pads you could imagine. They are definitely not feather proof, but on the other hand they're quite wet, beautifully saturated, smell amazing, and have quite good shading. In a fine or Japanese Medium pen they do just fine -- maybe my expectations were just a bit high -- and I like them more than the R&K IG's, just because the color is stronger and they don't feel nearly as dry.

 

 

Here's a sample on some fairly cheap journal paper (it's an unbranded journal I got from Mental Floss), where they do quite well. (Don't trust the color on the bottom half of the page -- iPhone, office lighting, no editing...)

 

http://i496.photobucket.com/albums/rr327/perdendosi/077D4788-9253-4F1E-9200-D2F0D7E9A4AE_zpsgvu9wcex.jpg

 

Sorry for the chicken scratches. There's also some comparison with BSB and Noodler's Blue. The "Whoa" was because I thought I was getting a very different color from the bottle than from a sample. But what actually happened was that the blue ink changes color, not over a few minutes, or a few hours, but over DAYS. It starts a much bolder blue and slowly oxidizes into a rich blue-black. Actually super fun.

 

Here are some closeups on my awful legal pad paper for feathering examples. It really doesn't look as bad as this IRL, but the inks certainly are not featherproof. The red performs as good as, or better than, Diamine Oxblood.

 

http://i496.photobucket.com/albums/rr327/perdendosi/C25E32FA-B145-4325-8E3C-3FFE4105B063_zpslauhbdoh.jpg

 

Another closeup with a sample of a Uni-Ball Eco roller ball to compare:

 

http://i496.photobucket.com/albums/rr327/perdendosi/1F6F28F5-7789-4437-99A7-FCA09C2528FB_zpsk0dolgfp.jpg

 

The green has lots of great shading in my JinHao medium, but feathers quite a bit on the cheapest paper. The Orange even more so. But I've only used them in medium or larger nibs. I haven't saved any samples from my legal pads.

Edited March 3, 2016 by Perdendosi

[akustyk]

Are the other KWZ iron galls as wet and feathery as #6? I hope not, especially as they seem like beautiful colors. The pen I use, an old Conklin flex pen, is also pretty wet, so it plays well with drier inks such as the Platinum or the Salix, but makes quite a feather-prone combination with anything wetter.

 

The KWZ IG Blue-Black, Blue #1, Blue #3, Blue #4, IG Turquoise, IG Gummiberry, are all excellent performers on 20 lb copy paper, in my experience.

[nmcnick]

Thanks everyone for your replies! I'm going to get the Sailor Kiwa-guro. I think next I'll get the kwz #3 or #4 and compare its performance.

 

My finest pen as of now is a pilot C74 SM so I'm going to go ahead get a new pen as well.

[haruka337]

I bought KWZ IG Green #2 and Blue #5, and have samples of IG Red and Orange. I bought them specifically for writing on the cheapest, worst legal pads you could imagine. They are definitely not feather proof, but on the other hand they're quite wet, beautifully saturated, smell amazing, and have quite good shading. In a fine or Japanese Medium pen they do just fine -- maybe my expectations were just a bit high -- and I like them more than the R&K IG's, just because the color is stronger and they don't feel nearly as dry.

 

 

Here's a sample on some fairly cheap journal paper (it's an unbranded journal I got from Mental Floss), where they do quite well. (Don't trust the color on the bottom half of the page -- iPhone, office lighting, no editing...)

 

http://i496.photobucket.com/albums/rr327/perdendosi/077D4788-9253-4F1E-9200-D2F0D7E9A4AE_zpsgvu9wcex.jpg

 

Sorry for the chicken scratches. There's also some comparison with BSB and Noodler's Blue. The "Whoa" was because I thought I was getting a very different color from the bottle than from a sample. But what actually happened was that the blue ink changes color, not over a few minutes, or a few hours, but over DAYS. It starts a much bolder blue and slowly oxidizes into a rich blue-black. Actually super fun.

 

Here are some closeups on my awful legal pad paper for feathering examples. It really doesn't look as bad as this IRL, but the inks certainly are not featherproof. The red performs as good as, or better than, Diamine Oxblood.

 

http://i496.photobucket.com/albums/rr327/perdendosi/C25E32FA-B145-4325-8E3C-3FFE4105B063_zpslauhbdoh.jpg

 

Another closeup with a sample of a Uni-Ball Eco roller ball to compare:

 

http://i496.photobucket.com/albums/rr327/perdendosi/1F6F28F5-7789-4437-99A7-FCA09C2528FB_zpsk0dolgfp.jpg

 

The green has lots of great shading in my JinHao medium, but feathers quite a bit on the cheapest paper. The Orange even more so. But I've only used them in medium or larger nibs. I haven't saved any samples from my legal pads.

 

Thank you for the color references, Perdendosi!

[haruka337]

Thanks everyone for your replies! I'm going to get the Sailor Kiwa-guro. I think next I'll get the kwz #3 or #4 and compare its performance.

 

My finest pen as of now is a pilot C74 SM so I'm going to go ahead get a new pen as well.

 

Wonderful! Let us all know what you think of Sailor Kiwa-guro and the forthcoming inks.

[nmcnick]

 

Wonderful! Let us all know what you think of Sailor Kiwa-guro and the forthcoming inks.

 

Wow. I'm actually blown away by the quality of the Sailor Kiwa-Guro. I'm using it on absolutely atrocious copy paper... NO feathering. Not even a little, and bear in mind I don't even have a fine nib yet! I am using this ink with a lamy medium on copy paper and getting absolutely no feathering. It's perfect. I am not even a little upset with going with this ink, even with its hefty $20 price! In fact, I hugely recommend it now. It's the best performing ink I've ever used.

[AndyYNWA]

 

Wow. I'm actually blown away by the quality of the Sailor Kiwa-Guro. I'm using it on absolutely atrocious copy paper... NO feathering. Not even a little, and bear in mind I don't even have a fine nib yet! I am using this ink with a lamy medium on copy paper and getting absolutely no feathering. It's perfect. I am not even a little upset with going with this ink, even with its hefty $20 price! In fact, I hugely recommend it now. It's the best performing ink I've ever used.

You should try Sei-boku as well...