Need suggestions for a water-resistant, dry ink which is easy to clean out

[Arkanabar]

I was also going to suggest Pelikan 4001 Black, as my experience with the ink is that it's well-controlled and has good water resistance, while flushing as readily as other aniline dye inks.  Pelikan Blue-Black is a mild IG ink, along the lines of R&K Salix and Scabiosa.  I would expect Platinum's Classic Line to likewise be composed of mild IG inks.  Registrar's inks, such as Ecclesiastical Stationery Supplies' Registrar's Ink (ESSRI) and Diamine Registrar's are going to have a lot more IG content.

[Mercian]

@SlowRain If you would like a brown ink that has some water-resistance, I suggest Pelikan Edelstein Smoky Quartz.

The problem with my recommendation is that Edelstein Smoky Quartz was an ‘Ink of the Year’. In this case, for 2017.
It may now be rather difficult to find, although I would expect that some retailers will still have some of it in stock.
Anyway…

Review by namrehsnoom.

 

Review by Morbus Curiositas.

Review by visvamitra.

 

I suggest it because Pelikan’s pens write ‘wet’, so their inks are formulated to be ‘dry’-writing inks.

If you do find that Smoky Quartz is now unobtainable, @Honeybadgers wrote this review of J. Herbin Lie de Thé in which he posits it as ‘the alternative to Smoky Quartz’.

 

Another suggestion is Gutenberg Urkundentinte G10 - it’s a brown-black iron-gall ink.

For more details, read this review by yazeh.

 

 

 

 

[ethernautrix]

On 2/7/2022 at 3:36 AM, A Smug Dill said:

Kiwaguro is well-known for having the effect of constraining line widths....

 

I did not know this! Thank you, ASD, for mentioning it.

 

Yesterday, I finally opened the bottle of Kiwaguro that I'd ordered several months ago and swapped out the Platinum Carbon Black in the Moonman C2 with the Pilot #10 PO nib, and lo!, my skinny lines returned! Rewelacja!

 

I really like the darky-dark darkness of PCB, but that it widens my lines... is annoying. For this, SK might have just edged out PCB as my preference (along with my stalwart favorite, Noodler's Black).

 

Also, SK dries quickly on the Hobonichi TR paper (much faster than NB).

 

Thanks again!

[A Smug Dill]

4 minutes ago, ethernautrix said:

For this, SK might have just edged out PCB as my preference (along with my stalwart favorite, Noodler's Black).

 

Alas, Sailor Kiwaguro will have some run-off on contact with moisture, whereas Platinum Carbon Black is rock solid (well, OK, until you apply friction while the ink marks are rewetted).

[ethernautrix]

4 minutes ago, A Smug Dill said:

Alas, Sailor Kiwaguro will have some run-off on contact with moisture

 

Good to know. Currently, three pens (all with Pilot nibs) and the three inks mentioned are on duty. I'm really enjoying the SK.

 

Thanks for the heads up!

[Recursion]

On 2/6/2022 at 4:07 AM, SlowRain said:

So I'm looking for a fairly water-resistant ink (some washing away is acceptable

Here some suggestions from me side:

• Akkerman #10 IJzer-Galnoten blauw zwart (iron-gall blue black) - fairly dry writer, waterproof and very easy to cleanout of my Pilot Custom 823;
• TWSBI Blue Black - fairly water resisted but quite a wet writer so a slightly wider line, a bit more difficult to clean out but quite doable;
• Mondblanc Midnight Blue – Fairly dry writer, some water resistance (mainly the black part it tends to leave you with grey letters), very easy to clean out;
• Pelikan 4001 Blue/Black – A wetter writer again so expect thicker lines, the black stay’s behind after the water and also relatively easy to clean out.

 
If you want to be slightly more adventurous there are many inks by Noodler’s that are very water resistant but are more difficult to clean out. There is an enormous number of colours and characteristics to choose from. There is a lot of noise on “the internet” about the dangers etc. of these inks, but from my personal experience they are safe to use and I never had any problems with them (used them with steel and gold nibs and with ABS and ebonite feeds in different pens of various materials). 

[SlowRain]

Success! I'd like to thank everyone for their help and suggestions. Here's what it looks like on 52gsm Tomoe River paper (white). I'll give you a couple of days to guess the ink. The only hint is that it's mentioned somewhere in this thread. Have at it!

 

 

[squirrels]

On 2/14/2022 at 10:14 PM, SlowRain said:

I'll give you a couple of days to guess the ink.

Going to guess Pelikan Edelstein Smoky Quartz. Looks like slightly darker Lie de Thé to me.

[arcfide]

On 2/14/2022 at 11:14 PM, SlowRain said:

I'll give you a couple of days to guess the ink.

 

My guess would be one of the IG green or brown inks, but I'm not sure which. Maybe the Akkerman? Either that or maybe Forest Black, but that's a little wet for Forest Black. 

[SlowRain]

The answer is indeed Pelikan Edelstein Smoky Quartz.  It's still pretty wet, and it bleeds through on Rhodia 90gsm, but the feathering is less than with the Pilot Black.  Had I known it was going to be like this, I may have gone with a <F> nib.

[Karmachanic]

3 hours ago, SlowRain said:

I may have gone with a <F> nib.

 

Wing Sung 699.   It'll be our secret.

[SlowRain]

That's an interesting thought.  Maybe I can get one of the Chinese PLA pilots who keeps invading Taiwan's ADIZ to dropship me one.  😁

 

Seriously, though, I have no problems with the pen per se.  I'm just surprised at (what I think is) the extreme wetness of the <M> nib.  I'm not really a fan of Japanese <F> nibs, though, preferring Western <F> instead.  Papers like Midori MD, Tomoe River, and Clairefontaine all handle it with aplomb, but Rhodia 90gsm doesn't make the cut.  That's unfortunate for me because they make notebooks and notepads in so many different varieties, whereas the others are a bit skimpy with their variety--or at least what's available to me locally.

[welch]

On 2/5/2022 at 10:07 PM, SlowRain said:

I just bought a Pilot Custom 823 <M>.  So far I've tried Pilot Black and Pilot Blue-Black in it.  I find it a little on the wet side (the Blue-Black does well in my Diplomat Aero <M>, though).  So I'm looking for a fairly water-resistant ink (some washing away is acceptable, just so long as something decently legible gets left behind) which won't gunk up a vac filler and which is a bit on the dry side so it won't feather and bleed the way the Pilot Namiki inks seem to be doing.  I'd just like something to tame this wet medium nib.  It's difficult to say what color I'd want, but I think brown would be a safe bet.  Recommendations for a manufacturer, one of their lines, or specific inks are most welcome.  Thanks!

 

 

It sounds like you want vintage Sheaffer Skrip Permanent Blue, Blue-Black, or Black. It will be in the classic "topwell" bottle in a blue-and-yellow box. Sheaffer and Parker made permanent inks that resisted being rinsed away. You could get rid of them by dropping their pages in a pail of water and soaking for a while, or using soap, but they were a bother when they got onto your clothes. Mothers in the 1950s and '60s insisted that their kids use washable inks, and both companies made washable versions of their colors. Out of curiosity, I tried some Sheaffer Royal Blue -- old enough that the box advertises the Snorkel -- and it was stubborn bout my hands and a sheet of paper. 

 

Of course, Skrip and Quink clean out of pens.

 

Note that these inks do not bind themselves to the paper. That is a very new sort of "permanent", one that the market must not have wanted very badly, at least not when fountain pens were the main personal writing instrument. 

 

- Here is Sheaffer Blacj: https://www.ebay.com/itm/265557213998?hash=item3dd471832e:g:s4gAAOSwMTBiEPUV

 

- Here is Blue (an auction): https://www.ebay.com/itm/144417178035?hash=item219fef41b3:g:t4oAAOSwTqViDTuy

 

- Here is a "master bottle" of Blue-Black (auction): https://www.ebay.com/itm/203832352543?hash=item2f755adf1f:g:wPUAAOSw1LliCpPF

 

[GokChe]

I'd definitely agree with @ASmugDill! Never disappointed by Platinum Carbon Black -as a professional clumsy coffee-spiller and romantic yet forgetful rainwalker! 🤣😂

On 2/9/2022 at 1:39 PM, A Smug Dill said:

 

Alas, Sailor Kiwaguro will have some run-off on contact with moisture, whereas Platinum Carbon Black is rock solid (well, OK, until you apply friction while the ink marks are rewetted).