Best Black Ink For A Pilot Custom 912 With Spencerian Customization (Mottishaw)

[holgersson]

i have just bought a pilot custom 912 customized by john mottishaw to a spencerian.

 

does anyone have experience with this set up, and if yes, any recommendations regarding black ink in terms of ink flow, feathering, bleeding etc.?

 

thanks.

 

best,

nils

[Algester]

Pilot Iroshizuku while others would say go ahead try other inks but eh...

J.Herbin's Perle Noir is ok but it doesnt look nice when "flexed"

[holgersson]

Pilot Iroshizuku while others would say go ahead try other inks but eh...

J.Herbin's Perle Noir is ok but it doesnt look nice when "flexed"

thank you for your input.

 

i have the following blacks at home:

- iroshizuku's take-sumi

- herbin's perle noir

- noodler's black

- waterman's black

- sailor nano carbon black (kawa-giro)

 

i also tend to go with the iroshizuku. the sailor nano carbon is tempting but since i have had flowing issues in a nakaya portable pen with this ink, i hesitate to try it...

[AndyYNWA]

thank you for your input.

 

i have the following blacks at home:

- iroshizuku's take-sumi

- herbin's perle noir

- noodler's black

- waterman's black

- sailor nano carbon black (kawa-giro)

 

i also tend to go with the iroshizuku. the sailor nano carbon is tempting but since i have had flowing issues in a nakaya portable pen with this ink, i hesitate to try it...

I would have started by trying with Take-sumi or Kiwa-guro

[Algester]

I would also hesitate trying it on the Kiwa-guro as its not a "flex friendly" ink and could be quite finicky when flexing in demand as a general writer I could voice for it

[lgsoltek]

I would also hesitate trying it on the Kiwa-guro as its not a "flex friendly" ink and could be quite finicky when flexing in demand as a general writer I could voice for it

 

 

+1.

My 912 FA (sans mod) is extremely finicky with inks. It has to be the wettest and the most lubricating, otherwise the pen keeps railroading. I don't think Kiwa-guro, being a nano-particle pigmented ink, would work well here.

[AndyYNWA]

I stand corrected on Kiwa-guro...

[cellmatrix]

I've found that montblanc permanent blue ink is the best of all the dozen or so inks I've tried in my Pilot 912 Spencerian pen. Its the best in resisting railroading as well as being slightly dry and producing good hairlines.

 

If I were to use black ink this pen, which I haven't so far, then based on my good experience with the blue, I would probably try montblanc permanent black ink.

[cellmatrix]

 

 

+1.

My 912 FA (sans mod) is extremely finicky with inks. It has to be the wettest and the most lubricating, otherwise the pen keeps railroading. I don't think Kiwa-guro, being a nano-particle pigmented ink, would work well here.

The nice thing about the Spencerian modification that Mottishaw or Minuskin does is that the feed channel is widened. So your experience with the non modified FA nib might not parallel that of the modified nib.

[lgsoltek]

The nice thing about the Spencerian modification that Mottishaw or Minuskin does is that the feed channel is widened. So your experience with the non modified FA nib might not parallel that of the modified nib.

You are probably right. Makes me want to widen my feed channel too. I did try to widen mine but didn't seem to make a big difference. I wonder if anyone has a pic of how Mottishaw does it, how wide it should be.

[sexauerw]

Mine is filled and writing well with Pilot Blue ink. My thought would be to try Pilot (Namiki) Black. Since mine is almost empty, I'll try to find some time this afternoon to flush out the blue and refill it with the Pilot Black and report back.

 

Edited 1:44 PM

I've flushed the blue and refilled the pen with Pilot Black. It writes nicely and flexes without railroading. But the ink isn't as black as I would like it, it's more like a dark gray. I'm not sure whether it's just that the ink is that way or that I had too much water left in the converter when I filled it. As you know, it's very difficult to get all of the water out of the CON-70 converter when cleaning it. There might have been enough to dilute the ink somewhat. But the flow is good and there is no bleeding or feathering. I used Clairfontaine paper.

[cellmatrix]

You are probably right. Makes me want to widen my feed channel too. I did try to widen mine but didn't seem to make a big difference. I wonder if anyone has a pic of how Mottishaw does it, how wide it should be.

 

Mine is a Minuskin, not a Mottishaw customization, but I noticed that the feed channel does seems a bit wider - the photo below shows a modified pilot 912 feed to the left (next to FA nib) compared to an unmodified pilot 912 feed to the right (next to PO nib).

 

Edit to add, it appears there are other changes on the spencerian modification too, for example there is the absence of some protrusions on the lateral aspects of the feed, and perhaps the small holes on either side of the feed channel are slightly larger too?

[ReadyFireAim]

I know this is an old thread but the best ink I have found so far is Private Reserve Electric DC Blue.

 

My second best is Bungubox Tears Or A Clown

 

The .1 mm modified tip was as scratchy as a Zebra-G with most inks.

The upstrokes and left to right strokes are much smoother.

The nib tends to pick up less paper fibers also.

 

I just ordered a bunch more PR inks to try out because the difference was dramatic.

(Mnemosyne paper with a plastic sheet under the page)

 

I'm hoping all PR inks have similar properties.

 

The DC blue also works very well in the Daedalus.

Edited May 3, 2017 by Bordeaux146