Waterman black very dry

[BambinoFortunato]

Hi, folks. I'm traveling and had a pen run out of ink, so I went to the stationery shop across the street and bought some Waterman Intense Black. I used it to fill my 1970s Platinum 3776. It's usually a nice wet medium with a bouncy gold nib and some subtle line variation (I previously used Sailor, J. Herbin, and Iroshizuku in the pen). Now, with Waterman Intense Black it writes extremely dry and line width is more like an extra fine or even a needlepoint. Has anyone else had this problem?

[Sheesh09]

The pen may need a good flush with some water or fountain pen cleaning fluid if you have it. I haven't had experience with waterman inks. I've heard that when you change inks they can mix and go all gloopy. I'm not sure but just things I've heard. 

[arcfide]

Compared to Herbin, Sailor, and Iro inks, particularly their colored varieties, the Waterman Black ink can be "watery" meaning that it isn't very lubricated and can feel dry on the nib. It's technically probably a decent viscosity, but it might also have a high surface tension, which can contribute to a dry feeling. See this thread:

Additionally, Waterman inks tend to be acidic while Iro and Sailor inks tend to be explicitly alkaline or closer to that range. If those to inks mixed, then it is quite possible to have some interactions that could be inhibiting flow. If you are getting completely poor flow, then it's likely that you've got some sort of obstruction going on rather than the ink, as Waterman ink shouldn't result in a complete loss of flow or nearly loss of flow the way that you are seeing. 

[LizEF]

I just put Waterman Intense Black (in a short cartridge) in my Waterman Laureat today.  I would not call it dry, or poorly lubricated (though I haven't tried it in my EF nib yet, where I'll be able to better judge where it falls on that scale).  FWIW.

 

50 minutes ago, arcfide said:

Additionally, Waterman inks tend to be acidic while Iro and Sailor inks tend to be explicitly alkaline or closer to that range. If those to inks mixed, then it is quite possible to have some interactions that could be inhibiting flow. If you are getting completely poor flow, then it's likely that you've got some sort of obstruction going on rather than the ink, as Waterman ink shouldn't result in a complete loss of flow or nearly loss of flow the way that you are seeing.

This is worthy of serious consideration, IMO.

[arcfide]

2 hours ago, LizEF said:

I would not call it dry, or poorly lubricated

 

I'd call it relatively dry compared to the equivalent Sailor Black or Pilot Iroshizuku Take-sumi, those two inks are exceptionally slick and "wet" IMO, whereas Waterman Black is certainly not as dry as some inks I've tried, but if I were used to mostly Sailor Black, for instance, I'd be pretty shocked at the different feel of Waterman inks. I definitely think that something more is going on, though, than just a difference in ink wetness. 

[InesF]

Thanks @arcfidefor linking the alternative wetness thread!

Visual appearance of 'wetness' and the amount of ink laid down by the fountain often correlates quite well, but not in all cases. Especially black and other dark or highly saturated inks deceives the eye. If an ink combines high surface tension (it should be dry - and it is so, based on ink amount laid down), long dry time and dark colour it looks like 'a lot' is put on the paper - but isn't.

While most Blue and Blue-Black inks are acidic, at least the three Black inks I measured so far are all close to neutral (Aurora, P4001 and P.Edelstein). I guess, I should acquire and measure Waterman Black as well...😉

 

@BambinoFortunato, refilling a fountain pen with another ink while there are still residues of the previous, may cause some strange effects. Although possible, rarely the pen will be clogged, most of the standard inks of the bigger brands are mixable. Be careful with waterproof, pigmented, highly saturated sheeny and glitter inks. And, as @arcfidealready mentioned, try to avoid mixing acidic with alkaline inks.

[LizEF]

7 hours ago, arcfide said:

 

I'd call it relatively dry compared to the equivalent Sailor Black or Pilot Iroshizuku Take-sumi, those two inks are exceptionally slick and "wet" IMO, whereas Waterman Black is certainly not as dry as some inks I've tried, but if I were used to mostly Sailor Black, for instance, I'd be pretty shocked at the different feel of Waterman inks. I definitely think that something more is going on, though, than just a difference in ink wetness. 

Ask me again in a week after I've reviewed it.  (The Laureat was the seal-breaker of the cartridge.  Later today a pipette will suck some of the ink out of that cartridge and transfer it into a Pilot converter... )

[arcfide]

3 minutes ago, LizEF said:

Ask me again in a week after I've reviewed it.  (The Laureat was the seal-breaker of the cartridge.  Later today a pipette will suck some of the ink out of that cartridge and transfer it into a Pilot converter... )

Exiting stuff! I get excited by people playing with and reporting on the "boring inks" sometimes more than the exciting ones. 🙂

[LizEF]

2 hours ago, arcfide said:

Exiting stuff! I get excited by people playing with and reporting on the "boring inks" sometimes more than the exciting ones. 🙂

Apparently you're not the only one - it rose pretty quickly in the "next ink" poll.