Can A Wet Ink Be Made Drier?

[sidthecat]

I got a jar of Tekker custom ink - the color is really nice but it's the wettest thing going! It hoses out of my old Watermans and blurs my writing on my otherwise-bulletproof Baron Fig notebook.

Is there a substance that would make an ink write drier?

[alaskazimm]

Typically the way to make an ink drier is to dilute it with water. This sounds counterintuitive but the water dilutes the surfactants in the ink, making it write drier. Don't try to dilute the entire bottle but start small in sample vials. With a moderately saturated ink, starting at a 10% dilution should make a difference without affecting the color noticeably. Increase the dilution ratio gradually until you achieve the results you want.

[Cyber6]

Typically the way to make an ink drier is to dilute it with water. This sounds counterintuitive but the water dilutes the surfactants in the ink, making it write drier. Don't try to dilute the entire bottle but start small in sample vials. With a moderately saturated ink, starting at a 10% dilution should make a difference without affecting the color noticeably. Increase the dilution ratio gradually until you achieve the results you want.

 

+1

 

I would personally recommend finding a drier pen.

[sidthecat]

I put it in a drier pen, with ugly results. It blotted like mad or dried up completely.

That's a handy tip about dilution, but what I've done instead is add 30% of Diamine Oxblood, which I've found a very dry ink.

 

I've got this in a Sailor 1911 with a Fine nib. So far, so good: the line blots significantly less and still has a good, wet feel. I don't mind the warmer quality of the greyed-down purple I started with.

 

We'll see how it goes in the next few days

[amberleadavis]

Adam Voss did a series of tests and found that even though glycerin is a surfactant and should make the ink wetter, it made the inks he tested it with drier. You might want to test if the water does work. Like you, I have just mixed with another ink that is known to be dry.