Monteverde Fire Opal - Nib Crud Again

[KLscribbler]

Recently, I got myself a bottle of Monteverde Fire Opal - because I liked the colour, but also because I hoped that it might finally prove to be that rare ink in this particular colour range to be free of nib crud issues.

 

Alas, I have now found that it suffers from the same sort of nib crud that users of similar-coloured inks like Diamine Ancient Copper will be familiar with. When used in pens with a less-than-perfect cap seal, the usual frothy crud builds up. The same happens during long writing sessions - crud gradually builds up along the length of the nib slit and the nib-section and nib-feed interfaces, and needs to be wiped off every now and then.

 

After having owned and used three inks from different manufacturers in this colour range - Diamine Ancient Copper, Private Reserve Orange Crush, and now Monteverde Fire Opal - and having experienced nib crud issues with all of them, I have now resigned myself to the understanding that, so long as I am using a rusty/coppery-coloured ink of this particular type, there shall be no escaping nib crud.

 

It's just a cosmetic and convenience issue, but still rather annoying.

[A Smug Dill]

... a rusty/coppery-coloured ink of this particular type...

Hmmm, how about J.Herbin Rouille d'Ancre? (No, I haven't tried it yet myself.)

[KLscribbler]

Rouille d'Ancre - I have a 10ml bottle of it and quite like the colour. No nib crud with that one, but it's also a pretty different colour from Fire Opal / Ancient Copper / etc.

 

I don't think it really falls into the "rust coloured" category, it has a lot more pink tones than any other rust-coloured ink; I tend rather to consider it a dusty pink ink. It's a really unique shade.

 

But nope, not a good substitute for Ancient Copper or similar, colour-wise.

[A Smug Dill]

I was merely going by the name of the ink, which is literally Anchor Rust, and not the hue or chroma of the colour or how ferric it looks.

[ScarletWoodland]

I had no cruddy problems with Monteverde Copper Noir across a week in various pens (with average at best cap seals). I'm not sure what others' experiences have been like mind you.

[Uncial]

Not sure if it's still available but I've never had ink crud with KWZ Monarch.

[DrDebG]

Robert Oster Copper - no nib crud - also a lot less orange - more copper colored.

[KLscribbler]

In my most recent round of ink purchases, I spent a lot of time deliberating between Fire Opal, Copper Noir, and Diamine Blood Orange, eventually deciding upon the former. Perhaps my next ink purchase should include the other two - hopefully one of them will turn out not have crud issues.

 

KWZ Monarch looks beautiful; I was not aware of that ink before, might get some once my stock of rusty-coloured inks falls below the "do you really need so many similar inks" guilt threshold. Robert Oster Copper's a little too pink for me. I don't typically go for inks with that much pink in them, Herbin Rouille d'Ancre being the sole exception to date.

 

(Gosh, you people are evil - one can hardly ruminate a little on an issue on FPN before one's future shopping list mysteriously grows by several items... 'tis Financial Perdition Network indeed. )

 

TBH this whole nib crud business has led me to wonder why inks in this colour range are so prone to the problem. It's certainly not an issue with any specific manufacturer, as I've experienced similar crud issues with inks from three companies. The most likely explanation would be that it's caused by the dyes used in these inks - most likely certain yellow, orange, or red dyes. Perhaps the offending dyes have surface tension altering properties that cause fluids to more readily form micro-bubbles at points of evaporation? After all, when inspected closely, the crud seems to be nothing more than a dense foam, which thickens as evaporation progresses.

 

(If the same crud formation happened in, say, a bubblegum pink or purple ink, it could even become a feature, lol. Could be called "Signature Cotton Candy Ink" or some such. )

[A Smug Dill]

Given the very wide range of Sailor-manufactured ink colours, have you identified one (irrespective of branding, whether it's a shop-exclusive or otherwise) that is in the rusty/copper colour range in which you're interested, so that you can test whether it also exhibits the crud issue?

[Karmachanic]

My understanding is that nib "crud" can be attributed to a combination nib creep and a pen that does not seal when closed, in combination with certain saturated inks, Redish/Brownish/Coppery in particular.

 

From Mr Binder: Nib Creep. The spontaneous accumulation of ink on the top surface of a nib; the ink is said to “creep” up out of the slit. Some inks are more prone to creep than others, but the root cause of the phenomenon is a nib slit that is either damaged or manufactured with insufficient attention to finishing; nicks, scratches, etc., can create a capillary path across the edge between the slit wall and the top surface. (Shown below is an 18K nib whose slit was left rough after being sawn.) Platinum-plated nibs are more prone to nib creep than are unplated nibs because platinum is more wettable than gold.

 

So if you wish to use Ancient Copper/Copper Noir/Fire Opal and so on, you'll need to use a pen that seals and/or a different nib. Either that or accept it and continue to wipe the nib as required.

 

I and many others use these inks without crud issues. Don't give up!

[chromantic]

No confined to just oranges, I had crud issues with Oxblood, too.

[PAKMAN]

The Copper Noir from Monteverde and LE Copper from Lamy are both inks that don't seem to cause the typical orange ink crud.