Baystate Blue Sitb, Chemical Or Biological?

November 15, 2016

I am happily the newest owner of one of Amberlea's favorite inks, Noodler's Baystate Blue. I got it used on eBay and unfortunately there appears to be some sediment along the rim on on the dropper.

I was not very successful at trying to capture an image of it but here is what I got anyway,

I see three main possibilities:

Natural separation of some components of the ink as this is a highly concentrated ink
Chemical reaction to the introduction of some other ink. I have read this can happen with BSB and poor pen hygiene
Something biological (bacteria/fungi) growing in the ink

Anyone have an opinion on what is most likely with this ink and the appropriate measures to take?

November 19, 2016

Hmm, I did have an old (as in, when it was released) 3oz bottle of BSB go moldy, but it was pretty obvious something was wrong. In normal conditions, it can leave stuff sticking to the sides of the bottle that doesn't easily go back in solution. Poor test, but is the crust easily water soluble?

Anyway, IDK, buying used I guess you can't just get a replacement. If it were me, since I use pretty cheap and easily cleaned (with moldstat if need be) pens like the Pilot 78G for BSB, I'd just use it and if it gets worse, clean & disinfect.

If you have time, pour it into another bottle, maybe through a filter (I've even used a coffee filter for this, dunno if that's a great idea), and see what that does over a few months. I did that with my moldy bottle and it did re-grow. I used the same manual-pour cone coffee filter holder that I use for my morning coffee, out of sheer pique at the reputation of this ink. Outside, though. It's not just a rumor that your sink or counter will change color if this stuff gets on it.

If you can't wait to use some now, get a syringe and a 0.2 micron filter to grab a few micro-filtered mL.

http://i.imgur.com/s1Yy4kc.jpg

Edited November 19, 2016 by radellaf