Iroshizuku Has Ruined An Urushi Finish...

[Brettman]

Today I wrote this to NIB.com as they rep Dani Trio now, but i post it here to see if anyone else has experienced my challenge...

I am very upset and hope that we can figure out how to solve my problem.

I have a Dani Trio Mikado Round top Shu-Dame that i purchased from Kevin (WineDoc) around 8 years ago. It is one of my most loved pens. I have used it without challenge for all of those years. Three weeks ago i filled the pen with Iroshizuku ink and have had it with me during normal business hours during that time. 4 days ago i removed the cap, noticed there was a few drops of ink on the section, wiped those drops away and was STUNNED to find that those drops had raised dots on the urushi on the section... i left the pen on my desk speechless and shocked of what to do for two days, i opened the cap again and there were a few more drops on the section and THEY also have created raised dots on the section!! I immediately rinsed the pen...

Has anyone else seen or heard of such a thing from Iroshizuku inks??

Brettman

[freakman]

I have 5 used Namiki emperors and all of them have dots on the back of the urushi feed. Only one of them have dots on the section which was caused by high temperature and water vapor during shipping.

[Lloyd]

That's horrible! Which Iroshizuku ink?

[ArchiMark]

Ink may have exacerbated issue, but as I recall, due to nature of urushi, a natural material, it is not a non-permeable material. In other words, it is not water or liquid-proof. So, prolonged exposure to liquids would likely be absorbed by urushi and impact it.

 

Also, urushi pens should be kept away from direct sunlight as I recall.

[freakman]

Ink may have exacerbated issue, but as I recall, due to nature of urushi, a natural material, it is not a non-permeable material. In other words, it is not water or liquid-proof. So, prolonged exposure to liquids would likely be absorbed by urushi and impact it.

 

Also, urushi pens should be kept away from direct sunlight as I recall.

It's somewhat water-proof. But solvent and constant temperature change will damage the hardened protection layer and then cause damage to the base layers.

Edited September 20, 2017 by freakman

[Algester]

Urushi is a fickle thing UV will only cost it to discolor but other factor play in as well however it doesnt mean they are impervious material, hardy yes but not exactly bullet proof and then there's also the time how Urushi deteriorate when not stored in a proper way in a long time

the raised dots mean that something has attacked the deeper layer however I do not know how danitrio does their pens since some of them are Eye droppers and some of them are cartridge converters Urushi over metal, Urushi over Ebonite?, Urushi over plastic?

exageration of a previous imperfection? you can send it back to danitrio if you are willing to wait

Edited September 22, 2017 by Algester

[Lloyd]

They're urushi over ebonite.

[gerigo]

I personally have seen this on a new Nakaya. I purchased one during one of my trips to Tokyo. Luckily I caught the problem before I left and was able to make a swap. Yes it does happen, but it be good to know how to manage the problem so that it does not occur in pens.

[freakman]

Urushi is a fickle thing UV will only cost it to discolor but other factor play in as well however it doesnt mean they are impervious material, hardy yes but not exactly bullet proof and then there's also the time how Urushi deteriorate when not stored in a proper way in a long time

the raised dots mean that something has attacked the deeper layer however I do not know how danitrio does their pens since some of them are Eye droppers and some of them are cartridge converters Urushi over metal, Urushi over Ebonite?, Urushi over plastic?

exageration of a previous imperfection? you can send it back to danitrio if you are willing to wait

I think it's because Iroshizuku ink is easy to evaporate. I got water bubbles all over my Sailor pens when I carry them a round, filled with iroshizuku ink.

And the condensing/evaporating process will keep changing the surface temperature of the urushi. And cause any small defects on the surface to grow.

The evaporated liquid may also contain some organic solvent.

[Algester]

well one thing is certain here you can send it back to danitrio... from there I don't know what you are going to do next it may also have something to do with geographic location as well

[JonSzanto]

And then there is something else to consider: do we honestly expect an object that is in near constant use to last for years and years (over 8 years at the least in this case) to NOT exhibit any changes? I consider the slow evolution of a pen, even one kept in good use and storage, to be one of the most personal aspects of the world of writing instruments. Life happens, even to pens.

[Anachronos]

Have you tried contacting Pilot to see if they have had any complaints or inquiries about this problem? I have a Nakaya that I have been using ina-ho exclusively in and I immediately cleaned out the pen and won't use iroshizuku in any Urushi pens until I see something in a follow up to this topic that will make me feel comfortable using it again. I know Danitrio may use a different process, but I don't want to take any chances with one of my grail pens.

Thanks for the heads up.

[Algester]

I mean at this point much like celluloid nitrate, Urushi is a live material at least doesnt gas nasty stuff that can corrode gold plating

[Poision Pen]

I use Iroshizuku almost exclusively in all my pens including all my Nakaya urushi pens. I have never experienced this phenomenon.

[Inkling13]

I am not surprised that this doesn't happen more often. I have some urushi laquerware, and the care instructions that came with it explicitly that it should not be kept wet, but just wiped with damp cloth. For something to be almost constantly bathed in ink, or any water all the time, i'm surprised it doesn't occur more often with other inks. However, with all handmade things have their inherent inconsistencies, and I'd take it up with the maker to see if a replacement could be hel

[hellokloh]

If I remember right, at least some Iroshizukus are basic -- which ink color was this? (But no, this hasn't happened to me, I haven't noticed any reactions between any inks and my urushi pens)

[Donald2]

Do the Pilot pens like the Elite, Prera and Vanishing Point have this issue with the Iroshizuku ink too??

[Inkling13]

Do the Pilot pens like the Elite, Prera and Vanishing Point have this issue with the Iroshizuku ink too??

Not that it’s ever been reported. Those are made almost entirely out of plastic anyways.

[BigCHrome]

I prefer to inject my cartridges / converters with a syringe instead of dipping the pen in the bottle so things like that cant happen.

[MYU]

Do the Pilot pens like the Elite, Prera and Vanishing Point have this issue with the Iroshizuku ink too??

 

I use Iroshizuku inks in my PILOT VP Raden and PILOT Custom 845 (Urushi), as well as Custom, Elite and others... no problems. But then, the urushi coated parts have a good distance away from where the ink is.