Inky T O D - Oh, The Places You'll Go, Or, Waypoints On The Inky Journey

[arcfide]

3 hours ago, This name was free. said:

I can warmly recommend the Sailor blue-black inks. Well, one of them yet.  

 

As it turns out in your new thread, my tongue-in-cheek suggestion was not as good as I hoped.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure that the Platinum cartridge is not black at all - only blue. Maybe they have different blues.

 

Platinum Blue Black is a "blue" IG ink, which Platinum calls Blue Black to signify its IG-ness.

[XYZZY]

21 hours ago, This name was free. said:

I started my fountain pen journey just this week with the arrival of the Platinum #3776 (medium nib). The first thing I noticed was that the cartridge that came with it made the nib produce ugly light blue (and too broad) lines on whatever paper I tried. Today, my Sailor Sou-boku arrived, I instantly trashed the cartridge and filled the converter: Thin dark lines - perfect!

 

Fascinating for me - but boring for most of you, I guess.

 

Tip:  fish that cartridge back out if it's still in your trash.  Empty it, clean it, dry it, and stash it with your box of pen parts (or use it to start your box of pen parts).  You may someday want to syringe-fill a cartridge with whatever ink you  choose, and you'll be glad to have that cartridge.  Of course you could also just syringe-fill a converter, but a cartridge will hold more, and takes little space in your parts box.

[This name was free.]

Good tip - but I actually plan to keep a few converters filled instead.  Open cartridges are not really secure - once accidentally pressed, they’re empty...

[inkstainedruth]

You *can* seal them.  Some people use a hot glue gun.  I used to use 100% silicone caulk (the stuff you use around bathtubs).  But honestly, I prefer using converters in my c/c pens.  Flushing out cartridges is a major PITA, even with a syringe.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[This name was free.]

I work in IT. Nobody would want me to handle anything that requires a steady hand.

[Arkanabar]

 

17 hours ago, XYZZY said:

 

Tip:  fish that cartridge back out if it's still in your trash.  Empty it, clean it, dry it, and stash it with your box of pen parts (or use it to start your box of pen parts).  You may someday want to syringe-fill a cartridge with whatever ink you  choose, and you'll be glad to have that cartridge.  Of course you could also just syringe-fill a converter, but a cartridge will hold more, and takes little space in your parts box.

 

+1.

 

I think the Platinum cartridge is probably one of the best around.  It has both internal ribs and a sizable ball bearing to encourage flow, and it holds more than a converter would.  Further, its wide throat makes it easy to refill with just a disposable bulb pipette.  Now, I wouldn't carry a refilled cartridge, but I am still using the original cartridges on all three Plaisirs in my house, which I refill at need.

[ENewton]

2 hours ago, Arkanabar said:

 

 

+1.

 

I think the Platinum cartridge is probably one of the best around.  It has both internal ribs and a sizable ball bearing to encourage flow, and it holds more than a converter would.  Further, its wide throat makes it easy to refill with just a disposable bulb pipette.  Now, I wouldn't carry a refilled cartridge, but I am still using the original cartridges on all three Plaisirs in my house, which I refill at need.

 

I feel silly for not having thought of this option.  I have had such terrible luck with Platinum converters  that a cartridge would probably last me longer.  I don't seem to have kept either of my original Platinum cartridges but might buy a box of ink in cartridges instead of another converter to replace the one that most recently failed.

[AmandaW]

And, if you ever need to problem solve a pen, having a cartridge to fill and pop in will prove/rule out the converter as the problem. (I just went through that with a Pilot Falcon - so this use is fresh in my mind - thankfully it wasn't the pen!)

 

I keep a few empty cartridges for each brand of pen in my collection.

 

 

[bayindirh]

3 hours ago, AmandaW said:

And, if you ever need to problem solve a pen, having a cartridge to fill and pop in will prove/rule out the converter as the problem. (I just went through that with a Pilot Falcon - so this use is fresh in my mind - thankfully it wasn't the pen!)

 

I keep a few empty cartridges for each brand of pen in my collection.

 

 

 

Moreover, most of the cartridges (Platinum, Lamy, international long and Parker) hold more ink than a converter. They're useful in EDC pens with run of the mill (Serenity, Lamy Blue, 4001, etc.) inks. You fill and forget it and write for a long time.

 

It's not as ritualistic as other methods and of course doesn't provide exorbitant amount of ink reserve like some other options, but it's practical, hassle free & effective.

[This name was free.]

I agree that cartridges hold more ink than a converter, but there are no Sailor cartridges for Platinum pens - and I’m really bad at things which require a steady hand.

[RJS]

Don't forget that when you use a converter and fill a pen by dipping the nib in ink, the amount of liquid held exceeds the volume the converter holds alone.

[BayesianPrior]

I've been trying to reverse engineer some of these categories to rationale my desire to purchase a bottle of a particularly uncommon ink.

 

Hakase Dark Sepia

 

It isn't the blackiest black, it's not really a colourful colour, it isn't permanent, it's not known for shading and has no sheen, it isn't vegan, the reviews are less than glowing, it costs about $2/ml, the bottle is nice but not the reason I want it, it's appears to be finicky in that the manufacturer recommends frequent flushing...

 

Could Something Died to Make This be a new essential ink category???

[femamerica13]

On 4/15/2016 at 3:57 PM, dcwaites said:

 

*Just ask an archaeologist. The sort of thing they love to find most are documents about ordinary everyday things. Your shopping lists are of far more interest in the far future than your musings about inks.

.

My mind went straight to thinking about D. Daniel Jackson from Stargate. I do wish we got to see more of that in the show.

[Frank C]

•  I just want it to work!

This is when fussiness becomes the bane of your existence. You can't abide by inks that feather, inks that dry up, inks that make your pens sputter, inks that gush, or otherwise misbehave.

 

This would be my main criterion. I use my pens at work; they must be functional. Having said that, I love all the various colors, brands, and characteristics of fountain pen ink. I do lean toward inks sold by pen companies. As a rule, they work better in more pens than those made by specialty ink companies. 

 

Reading this topic has been interesting; I guess that's why there are 1000+ fountain pen inks. 

[Bo Bo Olson]

Yep, got most of the girlly colors but pink.....yellow is a waste.

Blue is a color I come back to every 3-4 years.

 

I was chasing Purple...6-8 bottles when I bought a half bottle of Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Green....only because it was cheaper than dirt....after all who needed a green ink.

That year 14 greenish inks, total 19. Never did get back to purple.

Still can't find sheen.

 

Got a hand full of glitter...that are supposed to shade, at least a bit.

 

Prefer shading inks.

Do have too many semi-flex nibs for most shading inks. The nib is too wet.

 

I still got half a bottle of 13 year old Pelikan Brilliant Black.

I don't live in Seattle, and write as I walk to work....permanent is not needed in on Mainland Europe bank wire transfers are done not checks. 

 

Only got 80 inks not counting some samples I got to use up.....I am down to 7-8 pens so I can use up more inks.

[Muncle]

While I'm not a fan of shimmer/glitter inks, I now have a couple of them for my kids. We're trying to work on their handwriting this summer, and this is a way to encourage them.

 

My brief interest with sheening inks lasted all of a week. I don't write enough on good quality paper to see it happen, and some of them have terrible dry times.

 

I'm branching out into newer brands, while before I had played it pretty safe. I don't think I'm going to suddenly dive into new colours though. I'm happy with black, blue, green, purple, and red.

[Wonky]

I just want it to work. Any thing that clogs or dries up a pen, is no good for me. Same with anything super runny.

 

Beyond that, I would say I am cautious with colour. I like red, and brown, and purple, and green... but i want dark ones. Bright colours don't stand off the page as well. I only have a couple of brighter inks, and do use them occasionally. Usually i want contrast with the page, but sometimes i want contrast with the other ink on the page.

 

Recently I have started moving from the darkest of any given colour, to something a little bit lighter and brighter. That need for contrast still applies though. Pastel colours are lost on me. I don't know why people would want them for anything other than artwork.

[NodariPi]

What a nice read!

[Chimera01]

Picking up the thread... seriously into Pilot Iroshizuku inks, current favourite is Asa Gao, but taking a step sideways into Sailor Manyo Haha and Ukikusa. As well as the Sailor Yurameku inks: Seki, Kyokkou, Yoi and Kangyou. Curious about the new Sailor Manyo dual shaders, anybody tried them? 

[dragondazd]

1 hour ago, Chimera01 said:

Picking up the thread... seriously into Pilot Iroshizuku inks, current favourite is Asa Gao, but taking a step sideways into Sailor Manyo Haha and Ukikusa. As well as the Sailor Yurameku inks: Seki, Kyokkou, Yoi and Kangyou. Curious about the new Sailor Manyo dual shaders, anybody tried them? 

Prepping some reviews for all four. what would you like to know?