Help: Modern Sheaffer Blue/Black Cartridges

[LizEF]

Is the ink from these supposed to look green?  Is this ink iron gall?  This, from Anderson Pens, is what I got (packaging looks the same - below).  I got it at Christmas.  I inked it last night in my Sheaffer Icon for the first time, and it looks green.  A Sheaffer Turquoise cartridge was used previously, at Christmas, and the pen was thoroughly cleaned, left to dry, and stored until last night, so I'm reasonably sure it's not contamination from another ink.

 

Maybe my eyes are being weird today.  I'll get a scan and photo in a while.  Other reviews for this ink are pretty old, so I thought I'd ask if anyone has used it recently and what it should look like - it's my next review ink and I'm not sure what to do about it...

 

 

[LizEF]

Here's a scan of the swatch card:

[LizEF]

Here's the chroma - the green line at the bottom is what my eyes see on paper, whereas the blue-blackish dye that moves is what I expected to see.   Given this, and the fact that images of writing on paper look blue to the camera, I'm just going to go ahead with the review and it'll be whatever it'll be...

 

[Sailor Kenshin]

I have a ton of ancient Skrip carts.  Most of the blue-black ones seem to have a grayish cast to them instead.

[LizEF]

8 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

I have a ton of ancient Skrip carts.  Most of the blue-black ones seem to have a grayish cast to them instead.

Hmm.  Well, at first, I thought it went grey as it dried, but when I looked under better light, it was definitely green - the green of that line at the bottom of the chroma.  No idea if there's something wrong with my cartridges - my ink looks nothing like the online swatches (except when wet).   I assume all my cartridges are from the same batch, and there's nothing from the look of them to make me think they're damaged or otherwise "gone bad".

 

So, I'm proceeding with the review, even though it seems like it may not be of much use - unless the cartridges are completely different from the bottled ink.

[Sailor Kenshin]

How 'old' are yours?  Because mine are really ancient.  They came in a thin card box, no plastic, when they came in a box at all.  So it's possible the formula of all the BB inks changed to have a green undertone.  
 

My bottled Skrip BB ink on paper looks … just like the old carts.

 

I might find some time to do a dip test and chroma later.

 

PS: Doing them now, will post in a bit, but it is as I thought, no green.

 

Maybe someone else has a newer bottle than mine?

[LizEF]

9 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

How 'old' are yours?

Per the OP - I got them last Christmas, and they're in what looks like a current blister-pack.  They're from Anderson Pens, so I doubt they've been sitting in a basement under a shelf for two decades.

 

9 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

So it's possible the formula of all the BB inks changed to have a green undertone.  
 

My bottled Skrip BB ink on paper looks … just like the old carts.

Probably not any time soon, but I may get a sample, just to see if it's different.

 

9 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

I might find some time to do a dip test and chroma later.

Certainly no need on my part - I'm trying to figure out the current Blue/Black and whether mine is normal or unusual.

 

Thanks for the comments, though.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Too late.  You got me INVOLVED.  😜

 

Shaky hands from hoeing and knitting all day.

 

 

Paper towel flower chroma shows no green.

[LizEF]

42 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Too late.  You got me INVOLVED.  😜

Thank you!

 

Your picture is what I expected of the ink.  Makes me wonder if I'm the only person on the planet using these cartridges....

 

Best wishes for a successful garden and pleasing knitted stuff.

[amberleadavis]

The last time I mixed SS Blue and SS Black that color that green color is EXACTLY what I got.

[LizEF]

9 minutes ago, amberleadavis said:

The last time I mixed SS Blue and SS Black that color that green color is EXACTLY what I got.

Thank you!  That's very helpful.   I've been worried I'd be presenting a review of a defect.  But if that's just the way it is, then I'll be presenting a review of the real thing, regardless of what online swatches look like...

[bunnspecial]

It's been a little while since I've used conical made-in-Slovakia Skrip, but the tealish lean is what I remember.

 

I'll try to get my bottle out tomorrow. Way back when I first was getting into this, it was actually the first blue-black I bought(and opened the door to a whole lot more). I'm almost positive this is strictly a dye ink and is not IG.

[LizEF]

Just now, bunnspecial said:

It's been a little while since I've used conical made-in-Slovakia Skrip, but the tealish lean is what I remember.

Thanks!   More confirmation.

 

Just now, bunnspecial said:

I'll try to get my bottle out tomorrow.

If you have time, I'll be very grateful.

 

1 minute ago, bunnspecial said:

I'm almost positive this is strictly a dye ink and is not IG.

That's been my assumption.  I asked about IG because I've read that IG BBs can go greenish when they oxidize too much.

[amberleadavis]

No, my vintage SS BB IG is blue leaning not green at all.  I mays get it inked up tomorrow.

[LizEF]

30 minutes ago, amberleadavis said:

No, my vintage SS BB IG is blue leaning not green at all.  I mays get it inked up tomorrow.

Well, unless it's gone bad (that was the suggestion - when it goes bad, it turns green), it wouldn't.  I have a feeling the new, or perhaps just new cartridges, Sheaffer BB is different from the vintage...  (Hate it when BBs aren't BB.)

[amberleadavis]

A lot of BBs are Green leaning.

[LizEF]

9 hours ago, amberleadavis said:

A lot of BBs are Green leaning.

Yes.  I try to avoid those.

[PithyProlix]

I have a recent Sheaffer BB cartridge in a pen - I'll take a look tomorrow and let you know what I see. My not-so-good memory is that it looks similar old Parker BB. (And if my not-so-good memory fails to remind me to look & report back tomorrow, please don't hesitate to give me a holler.)

[LizEF]

1 hour ago, PithyProlix said:

I have a recent Sheaffer BB cartridge in a pen - I'll take a look tomorrow and let you know what I see. My not-so-good memory is that it looks similar old Parker BB. (And if my not-so-good memory fails to remind me to look & report back tomorrow, please don't hesitate to give me a holler.)

Thank you!

[PithyProlix]

16 hours ago, PithyProlix said:

I have a recent Sheaffer BB cartridge in a pen - I'll take a look tomorrow and let you know what I see. My not-so-good memory is that it looks similar old Parker BB. (And if my not-so-good memory fails to remind me to look & report back tomorrow, please don't hesitate to give me a holler.)

 

OK, I did some writing and harvested a little ink from the cartridge to make a 'swatch' and my Sheaffer Blue Black cartridges (shipped to me by Pure Pens this past January) look pretty much the same as your swatch card scan. I can't recall but I think they came in a blister pack with five cartridges - I trashed the packaging. I'd call it a grey-blue/green - definitely more green than blue, to my eye. Very similar to my old bottle of Waterman Bleu Nuit (also labelled blue black) and some old Parker Quink Blue Black cartridges I used to have. Almost in Herbin Gris de Payne territory but not quite that green, to my eye. But I could definitely get how some people might see it as more blue than green. 

 

I think it is a very attractive color, by the way - I really like the ink.