New Zealand Pass Around Ink Sample Library?

[Cdub24]

http://pensivepens.com.au/ they also carry the blackstone inks and I think they may be doing KWZ inks now as well

 

If you want some samples let me know, I have Blue Sea, Blue Night, Grun-Schwarz, Bondi Blue, School Blue, Blue Denim, Kada Kada FPA Light & Kada Kada FPA Dark.

I also have a couple of Blackstone inks as well - Sydney Harbour Blue, Barrister Blue, Barrier Reef Blue

I think I might have put Grun-Schwarz (which I think is my fav) in the library if not I'll put a couple in next time.

I've just got some KWZ Iron Gall inks from Poland so will flick a couple of those in the library as well.

Cheers

[HarrietHippo]

We are going to need a bigger library!

[kelvinkeh]

Well team, I am on a plane home tonight. I have 20 bottles of Japanese inks packed in my suitcase. A few Sailor Kobe inks, a few sailor jentle, 2 Kingdom Note, iroshizuku, and the entire line of Platinum classic IG inks.

 

Cdub is right. Japan is fountain pen heaven. There are quality displays of fountain pen in every single bookshop, large or small. The larger chains have amazing spread of pens and usually some kind of proprietary formulation of inks. I was surprised that even Maruzen had their own inks (they are like a Whitcoulls equivalent I guess).

 

I spent a lot of time at Itoya and Kingdom Note, and had a quick look around Sekaido and Maruzen. Itoya in particular blew my mind. Ive been to many pen shops in Europe but this is on a different scale.

[HarrietHippo]

Sounds like a pretty good holiday! Good times -kk-

[pjo]

I have the ink samples and will endeavour to try them out, and to pass them on quickly, as I see from above posts they should be in Christchurch by April.

[HarrietHippo]

Hi pjo, by all means make sure you enjoy the box first rather than rush it off. And do make sure you hear from Kiwi_in_Oz first as to timing, end of April may work best for example ... we should be able to optimise so everyone gets to enjoy it :-)

[Cryptos]

In the voice of Roy Scheider(Police Chief Martin C. Brody):

 

"You're going to need a bigger box"

 

[Cdub24]

Or two boxes running in opposite directions

[jon126]

If anyone's still looking for Robert Oster inks, you can actually snag them off the 'new' PenclassicsNZ owner: his email's on the old site. Shipping will probably be cheaper local anyway.

[pjo]

Samples on the way to Cdub24 . They should arrive today, or tomorrow.

 

These are a great selection of inks. Most of them were good and well behaved, but a few stood out for me. Please note I tested these all inks with the same nib and the same paper so a valid comparison could be made.

 

Of the black inks the Kyn-no-oto Nur Bairo No 1 was a good dark black with very little feathering and bleed-through.

 

Of the blues the Lamy blue is still a favourite of mine ,but the Iroshizuku Kon-Peki was similar in colour and both have very minor feathering and bleed-through.

 

Lamy green is a vivid colour if you want a green (which I personally like), and is well behaved, having similar properties to Lamy Blue.

 

On of the nicest inks I found in this collection was Rohner & Klingner Scarbiosa which is a very dark brown with a strong purple tinge. Of all the inks it has the least problem with feathering and bleed-through. A thoroughly good ink.

 

As purples are among my favourite inks I was quite impressed with the J Herbin Pousiere de Lune. It is a dark purple and well behaved with very minor feathering and bleed-though, unlike Noodler's Wampum which is a very wet, dark purple.

 

Finally I do like red inks, and if these are your thing too, I think you will be impressed with Diamine Carnival which is a good scarlet with a hint of maroon. (excuse my colour descriptions ---I am no artist and rather poor at describing colours!). This ink had a good colour on the paper despite appearing to be a fairly transparent ink. Once again it had very very little feathering and bleed-through.

 

Most of the other inks had moderately bad feathering and bleed-through on a modern "average" paper (I was using a Warwick 2B5 Lecture book, -a fairly common notebook in New Zealand). I'm sure all of the inks would behave well on better paper and /or with a fine nib (which puts down a smaller amount of ink).

 

A Great collection, and thanks to HarrietHippo for organising this.

 

Peter

[pjo]

I don't know if I've breached the " rules" of this ink sample pass-around, but I have to admit that when I tested all the inks in the collection, I used a dip pen. This was because it was easier to clean between inks, and secondly it doesn't use up as much ink as filling a fountain pen.

 

I know the purpose of this collection is for fountain pens, but I have found that some dip nibs can be compared to fountain pen nibs. The one I used for this purpose on this occasion was a "Joseph Gillot's stainless steel super orb" nib. This is a firm, medium nib with a very smooth "orb" point that doesn't catch the fibres of the paper, and behaves much like several of my fountain pens.

 

The other problem I have with using a fountain pen in this trial is that I have have too many to choose from!!! And as they all behave so very differently with any particular ink, my findings for any one pen are of little use for another. So if an ink feathers badly in my dip pen trial (for example), then I know it can only be used in a fountain pen that is dry and with a fine nib, preferably with good quality paper.

 

I would be interested to know how others judge the properties of a good/bad ink, as it is so very much dependent on the ink/nib/paper/ and feed rate combination. There are variable enough to give a huge range of results.

 

Peter

[Cryptos]

Might I suggest, if you have such a beast, an Esterbrook dip-less pen? It is dipped like a dip pen but has a feed like a fountain pen. For shortish writing samples it works quite well. However, as you state, testing these inks for their in-pen properties rather than just the colours is problematic when it depends on the pen in large part.

[pjo]

Thanks for your helpful comments Empty_of_Clouds, I don't have such a pen but will keep my eyes open for one.

 

I presume I could use any fountain pen as a dip pen (ie without filling it) for the purposes of testing ink. Enough ink would soak up into the feed so the pen would write for a sentence or two? That's set me off thinking about new ways of using fountain pens which I use only intermittently.and don't want the bother of a full clean of the ink sac as well as a way to not have rarely used pens constantly drying out on me.

 

I have also done a test with about 20 different paper types available in NZ with three different inks, and the only variable being the paper written on. I should post the results but I am a bit stupid/ignorant when it comes to knowing how to post photos here. (I will have to brush up on that sometime). Interestingly the most expensive papers were not always the best for fountain pen ink. Of course some inks were good on just about any paper, but very "wet" inks are a different matter. Iron gall inks were by far the best but of course these are the lease kind (most corrosive) to the fountain pen.

 

Lots to think about.

 

Regards

Peter

[Cryptos]

You could use any fountain pen the same way, though the beauty of the Esterbrook is the ease of cleaning the screw in nib unit. Now that I've said that, any fountain pen with such an easily removable nib unit would work. Obviously I am not talking about pulling nibs and feeds out, it has to be a simple screw in.

[jmcollis]

You could use any fountain pen the same way, though the beauty of the Esterbrook is the ease of cleaning the screw in nib unit. Now that I've said that, any fountain pen with such an easily removable nib unit would work. Obviously I am not talking about pulling nibs and feeds out, it has to be a simple screw in.

Hmm, you've got me thinking now. I have an older Platignum pen, that doesn't work as it needs the sac replacing - however it would work rather well as a dip tester given that the nib is a screw-in affair.

[deloreantrails]

Hello fellow NZ stylophiles,

 

Sorry to interrupt the ink thread, but thought this might be the best place to ask.

 

Can anyone recommend an affordable paper available in NZ that is reasonably well behaved with fountain pen ink? I do have stocks of Clairefontaine and Rhodia paper, but for large volumes of notes it starts to become quite expensive.

 

Thanks!

[Cryptos]

I've had good results with Clairefontaine Triomphe paper. Bought by the ream from The Warehouse Stationary. I don't have a very wide selection of nib types or ink brands, so I cannot make a more comprehensive statement than that it works with what I've got!

[pjo]

Hello fellow NZ stylophiles,

 

Sorry to interrupt the ink thread, but thought this might be the best place to ask.

 

Can anyone recommend an affordable paper available in NZ that is reasonably well behaved with fountain pen ink? I do have stocks of Clairefontaine and Rhodia paper, but for large volumes of notes it starts to become quite expensive.

 

Thanks!

 

I too have been searching for good cheap paper. After testing several dozen different papers in New Zealand, I have come to the conclusion that paper behaviour with a fountain pen is as much to do with what ink you are using and the amount of ink the pen leaves on the paper as it is with the quality of the paper. By this I mean that a wet ink will bleed and feather with even the very best paper if the nib is putting down a lot of ink, and/or is very sharp and scoring the paper surface.

 

So if you get a dry ink and a moderately fine smooth nib you can just about write on any paper (except possibly some news print paper??).

 

When it comes to good cheap paper I don't think you can beat Canon "Office" which is a "colour-laser" white copy paper and can be bought on-line and from shops (and when on special) for as little as $4.50 a ream of 500 pages, ( though more typically $5 to $6), It is the usual 80 gsm paper. I think it is comparable in behaviour to 80 gsm Clairefontaine Triomphe paper.

 

If you are willing to spend a little more ($25 to $35 per ream) and don't mind 100 gsm or even 120 gsm paper then two of the best papers I have found are HP Colour Laser 100gsm, and Canon Top Colour 100gsm. ( However Canon Office 80gsm is not that far behind). These heavier ("presentation") papers usually have a very nice smooth surface but still take fountain pen ink exceptionally well.

 

The very best paper I have found was "Offset Print" 120gsm paper from a Printing Company in Wanganui who buy it in large sheets (A0 or bigger?) by the pallet load from a Palmerston North wholesaler. They were happy to cut it into A4 and A3 reams of 500 sheets for me. This commercial print paper takes all fountain pen inks brilliantly with no feathering or bleeding, even with the wettest ink. I imagine any commercial printer could supply you with a similar paper.

 

I really recommend you to try different inks with the cheaper paper and I think you may be pleasantly surprised. Iron gall (IG) inks are typically the driest and write well on just about anything. They have the added bonus of usually being permanent and waterproof, but being somewhat acidic, some people don't like using them in their precious fountain pens.

 

When it comes to lined paper pads, good ink is essential, and it's just a matter of trying the many brands out there. None are great in my opinion. I found Whitcouls lined A4 writing pad was tolerable, but only with dry ink. A tip that I use is to look carefully at the sharpness of the printed lines on these pads. Really sharp printed lines tend to indicate a more reliable paper, but this rule is not infallible.

 

Good luck with your search for good cheap paper, and please keep us all informed.

 

Peter

[deloreantrails]

@pjo: Thanks very much for that information. Very helpful.

 

I should have specified I am looking for lined or dot paper. If I can't find anything suitable after more hunting, I think my plan now will be to buy a ream of the Canon or HP paper you recommended and get a printer to print a line/dot guide on them.

 

I like your hint for looking at the sharpness of the lines for shop paper.

 

I have R&K Scabiosa and Salix, a couple KWZ IG inks and Sailor Kiwa-guro which I find very good at managing crappy paper. Still, I would like something that is at least pleasant to write on and doesn't show through too much so I can use both sides.

 

I'll let you know how I go.

 

Thanks again.

[pjo]

@pjo: Thanks very much for that information. Very helpful.

 

I should have specified I am looking for lined or dot paper. If I can't find anything suitable after more hunting, I think my plan now will be to buy a ream of the Canon or HP paper you recommended and get a printer to print a line/dot guide on them.

 

I like your hint for looking at the sharpness of the lines for shop paper.

 

I have R&K Scabiosa and Salix, a couple KWZ IG inks and Sailor Kiwa-guro which I find very good at managing crappy paper. Still, I would like something that is at least pleasant to write on and doesn't show through too much so I can use both sides.

 

I'll let you know how I go.

 

Thanks again.

 

 

Hi deloreantrails. The Canon Top colour can be a bit difficult to get hold of, so I get mine from stationaryonline.co.nz where Canon OCE Topcolour 100gsm reams (500 sheets) are NZ$16.31 ; the 120gsm is NZ$21.28 + GST. (there is also 160gsm and 250gsm). They sell Canon Office 80gsm for NZ$4.05 + GST, which is as cheap as I've seen it. Delivery is free if you buy over $100 worth, but under that delivery is still very cheap.

I have bought my HP Colour Laser paper from Warehouse Stationary (who also sell the Clairefontaine Triomphe in various gsm grades).

 

Of all the lined papers I have tried few have been acceptable to me. So I print the pattern (lines or dots) on copy paper. The 100 + higher gsm grade papers are quite good for being able to use both sides.

 

Patterns/templates for lines and spacing, (particularly for Copperplate and Spenserian calligraphy) are available on line and can be easily printed very faint grey if you want a non-obtrusive lines.

 

Good luck

Peter