Ink For Everyday Writing

[Paganini]

Hi Dip n Scratch,

 

I don't think light resistance is a factor. That is to say, I hadn't really thought about it before now. I don't think it is because I mostly write in notebooks or on documents / paperwork (forms, etc.). I don't have anything on display.

 

I keep coming back to Pilot Blue-Black. I've enjoyed all of the inks I've tried so far, and for most any one of them, there will be some one thing that it does better than Pilot Blue Black. (For example, I really like the color of Waterman "Mysterious" blue, and also of Noodlers Blue Black.) But Pilot Blue Black seems to be a sort of most consistent hitter. It's not as waterproof as Carbon Black, but it's pretty waterproof. It's color is not exceptionally moving, but it shades a bit and has a nice hue. It's not as anti-feather as R&K Salix, but it does OK.

I think the Salix looks really nice after the fact. It's not much fun to use though, especially in my F nib, because it writes so dry.

[Dip n Scratch]

I have a Moleskine notebook, which is my 'little black book' of photographic alchemy.

For an expensive book the paper is not fountain pen friendly.

To my interpretation show-through is where you can see odd bits from the other side.

In that case Moleskin paper is serious bleed-through.

Unless you used iron-gall ink.

But pure iron-gall ink is nasty stuff. It was corroding steel dip pen nibs unless scrubbed immediately after use. That pure stuff was a historical recipe with Oak galls to make a Tannic Acid & Ferrous Sulphate.

An IG based ink is not for everyday use unless you have an array of expendable pens or you adopt a rigorous routine of flushing the pen daily. You get precipitates in the channels of the feed & if you can't dismantle the pen.............

It's up to you. Your taste in ink is a personal thing, like clothes are.

I mix inks to get the colour I like if there is nothing close that's ready made.

Bottled blues I keep are Camlin Royal Blue and some old Parker Super Quink Permanent Blue.

I also have a pen inked with Private Reserve DC Supershow Blue, which is a bit more exciting.

I tried Noodlers Baystate Blue, but it stains pens, & the sink where you do the cleaning.

It's a stunning colour, but maybe not for business use. the Camlin & the Parker ink I mentioned are much safer shade for business usage.

[Paganini]

Hi Dip N Scratch,

 

Your experience with Moleskine notebooks matches mine. Their marketing guys say how they're the "notebooks of Hemingway." I guess they're the notebooks of Hemingway when Hemingway felt like writing in pencil...

 

For clarification, personally, when I say "bleed-through," I mean that the ink has passed all the way through the paper and is possibly even showing on the next sheet.

 

If it's just that I can see the writing on the obverse when looking through the converse, I call that "ghosting" or "show-through." So, Moleskine paper and tomoe-river paper both have lots of ghosting in my experience (including even with ball-points and gel pens). On the other hand, tomoe-river paper rarely bleeds, while Moleskine paper rarely *doesn't* bleed!

 

Opinions about IG inks seem to be about evenly split, ranging between "they will kill any pen you put them in within days" and "modern IG inks are fine as long as you wash your pen out with water once a month or so."

 

The truth is, I do sometimes let a pen sit unused with ink in it for a while, either through laziness or forgetfulness. That's one reason I like the Plaisir. The idea that if, for example, I go out of town for a week or two for work (which I do pretty regularly), forgetting to clean my pen before I go will result in my pen being permanently damaged, is a point against IG and even pigment inks, for me.

 

The waterproof ink guide on Jetpens lists the best dye-based inks at 3 of 5 (where 5 is totally waterproof). I was thinking that that is probably waterproof enough for addressing envelopes and postcards to mail. All of the more waterproof inks seem to be IG or pigment based, or supersaturated Noodler's inks.

 

-N