Permanent Inks

[PigRatAndGoat]

Hello,

 

Wondering if anyone uses MB's permanent inks in their Montblancs. I find myself requiring minimal use of a pen during the day. When I do need to use a pen, I require the ink to be waterproof. As a result, I recently let a pen with permanent blue go almost completely dry over the period of two weeks.

 

Am I in danger of destroying my pens? Should I give up on fountain pens for day to day use and stick to ballpoints?

 

Thanks

[OCArt]

No! Don't switch to ballpoints! MB's own Permanent Blue ink is great. Well behaved and a good vibrant color. Have also read good things about MB Permanent Black but I haven't tried it as I don't like black inks.

 

Hello,

 

Wondering if anyone uses MB's permanent inks in their Montblancs. I find myself requiring minimal use of a pen during the day. When I do need to use a pen, I require the ink to be waterproof. As a result, I recently let a pen with permanent blue go almost completely dry over the period of two weeks.

 

Am I in danger of destroying my pens? Should I give up on fountain pens for day to day use and stick to ballpoints?

 

Thanks

[Olya]

I think nearly drying up within two weeks of non-usage is fast.

 

In any case it is not good to have permanent inks (iron gall, ppigment) dry up in pens. Very difficult to clean out.

Dye based inks are a pain to clean out once dried in, but easily doable compared to permanent.

[meiers]

Permanent blue works well in fountain pens that serve as daily writers.

 

MB permanent inks have never given me trouble.

Edited July 29, 2019 by meiers

[carlos.q]

I love MB Permanent blue because it is waterproof and it shades beautifully. However I would recommend you flush your pen more frequently than with other inks. MB Permanent Blue will, over time, leave a residue that will darken your pen's ink windows.

[OCArt]

In case you missed it MB Permanent Black is currently being discussed here https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/254004-montblanc-permanent-black/page-1

[Zdenek]

Montblanc Permanent Grey 90th Anniversary: 149EF. Cleaning frequency: about once a year.

[PigRatAndGoat]

Thanks for the advice everyone.

 

The two weeks and drying out includes light usage, so that may account for the faster drying out.

 

I think I will persist with the permanent blue and more regular flushes. Some people make permanent inks sound like they are a death sentence for the pen and should only be used in throwaways. Glad that does not seem to be the case!

 

Thanks!

[thygreyt]

I have used perm blue on a daily basis for +1 year (nearly a full bottle) and i am currently using perm black on my "self carry pen" (the one thats always with me).

 

Perm blue: Can stain.. its a nice ink, but its dry. Needs to be flushed regularly and has to be in constant use. It has been claimed MB does not recommend this ink on their high end pens. (they told me so at a boutique, and others have reported the same). Again, the reason being the propensity to stain.

On the other hand, its a FANTASTICALLY permanent ink. little to no feathering

 

In fact, all 3 are GREATLY permanent. I am talking about blue, black and perm grey. All 3 have easily taken bleach, water, acids, vinegar, acetone, and so on, and never even faded, or moved..! It is why i continue using them. I use them for any signed document, for checks, and receipts.

 

And going back a bit: Perm black: Love it. Its BLACK. I hate black inks with shading, this one has none. Nice flow. Little to no feathering.

[RitwijMishra]

I do use Montblanc Permanent Black in an expensive pen, a Montblanc 149, on a daily basis.

 

It is one of the blackest inks available, exhibiting no shading and, if I might add, is deep and brilliant enough to appear perfectly legible against the brilliant whiteness of Clairefontaine paper under really minimal lightning (the sheen helps, too). Not that everyone in the forum lives in a country of frequent sundown power cuts, but it might make it more evident to you how deep it is.

 

The flow of Montblanc's permanent inks are adequate enough to enable a wet flow in their nibs, while enabling a flow dry enough to bring out the stubbish character of their nibs of B and larger widths. I might be mistaken, but wetter inks (Pearl Noire, for instance) render line variation in wet nibs to a slightly less pronounced degree.

 

As far as cleaning regime is concerned, I find that I have to carry it out once every three weeks. A day and a half of not using the pen has often resulted in a relatively dry flow for the first few hundred words, unless the piston was deployed to wet the feed.

 

In the two years of using this ink in the 149, I have never observed any staining, to any degree, of the ink-view window. However, I once found, that after five minutes of having posted the cap (with condensed ink sitting in innards of the cap) upon the piston rings, the rings got tarnished more heavily than they would in the days of Pearl Noire. Wetting the treated end of a jeweler's cloth and applying elbow grease for a couple of minutes repaired the damage, but it taught me to never let the ink on the hardware (which is a rare enough possibility, in any case).

 

With the attributes in view, a little caution is bound to be worth it.

[txomsy]

Same here. Have been using MB permanent inks for decades with no issue. Even before I learnt pens had to be cleaned out from time to time!

 

As for ink drying out, it is not because of the light use. And it is too fast. Does your pen have a breather hole in the cap? If not, may be the cap is not tightly closed to the body when the pen is not in use.

 

I have had a 149 with permanent ink forgotten for some years without the ink drying. Not that I advise that now that I know better.

[fc2462]

I have two 149's, one inked up with permanent blue and the other with permanent black all the time. Because I do most of my writing in black, the pen with blue can literally sit for weeks and I have not had a problem with drying out or staining or anything. I love both inks equally.

[Tom Kellie]

Same here. Have been using MB permanent inks for decades with no issue. Even before I learnt pens had to be cleaned out from time to time!

 

As for ink drying out, it is not because of the light use. And it is too fast. Does your pen have a breather hole in the cap? If not, may be the cap is not tightly closed to the body when the pen is not in use.

 

I have had a 149 with permanent ink forgotten for some years without the ink drying. Not that I advise that now that I know better.

 

~ txomsy:

 

Like you, I initially wasn't aware of the necessity of cleaning fountain pens.

It was here in the FPN Montblanc Forum where I learned what to do.

My initial 149 M, a gift from a friend, sat unused for over two decades.

When I finally took it out to use it, nothing happened.

Soaking it in lukewarm water, after several minutes a colorful cloud of dark blue ink filled the small glass.

After that, it worked well. In fact, it's presently inked with Montblanc Royal Blue, sitting on my writing desk.

BTW: I use both Montblanc Permanent Black and Permanent Blue, both without any untoward effects.

Tom K.

[PigRatAndGoat]

Thanks for all the insight, definitely very reassuring. I am pretty sure that I tightened the cap all the way . Hopefully it was a one off.

 

I am generally not a fan of black inks but all this generous praise for the permanent black makes me want to give it a try.

 

I am trying to use a Heritage spider FP as a daily as I recommit myself to regular fountain pen use. I picked the pen hoping that the body will hold up to the rigours of daily carrying better than a black resin pen body. If things work out well and I miss the massive nib of a 149 enough, I might have to look into getting a second 149. Also relearning that I need to carry a spare BP with me to avoid awkward standoffs.

Edited August 1, 2019 by PigRatAndGoat

[omarcenaro]

I love the Montblanc Permanent inks (Blue & Black). I wish I had tried them before. Compared to other permanent or non permeant inks it does not feather and does not bleed through. The black is Black black and the blue is a great color with shading. Both are well behaved inks. I have used it in my Montblanc 144r, 147 and 320 and all my other pens both piston filler and convertors. No issues.

Blue test

Black test

 

[Mr.Rene]

I love the Montblanc Permanent inks (Blue & Black). I wish I had tried them before. Compared to other permanent or non permeant inks it does not feather and does not bleed through. The black is Black black and the blue is a great color with shading. Both are well behaved inks. I have used it in my Montblanc 144r, 147 and 320 and all my other pens both piston filler and convertors. No issues.

Blue test

Black test

 

I do not know if Montblanc has changed formula but I had a bad experience with MB permanent Black one..bought 2014 year.. it was like an indian ink and very fast dry in my pens..annoying perfomance...Regards

[omarcenaro]

I don't know if the formulation is different. However, since Montblanc redid there ink lineup the labeling is different on the permanent ink. Before the bottle had a white label. So maybe it is different, but I would not suggest letting this ink or any ink for that matter dry up in a pen.

 

I've had no issues so far with normal to little use of the two pens I have the ink in.

Edited August 4, 2019 by Ozzy1

[CS388]

Thanks, Ozzy1. The bleed test is most useful.

[aurore]

I wonder how the old bottles of MB blue-black IG are keeping up after years. Is it reasonable to a buy a 30 years old bottle of this ink?

Edited November 18, 2019 by aurore

[Michael R.]

Usually very good!

The color might have turned a little bit to the gray side. Check for solids though.

Cheers

 

Michael

Edited November 18, 2019 by Michael R.