Has anyone else experienced such problems with TWSBI Blue-Black ink?

[arcfide]

That is interesting. I wonder if maybe it's not the IG that's gumming up, but something else as the ink is drying out? That something could be the thing that makes it so rich in color? 

[TSherbs]

21 hours ago, A Smug Dill said:

 

On account of the pen being as expendable as they come, I filled a translucent Jinhao 51A that has a hooded 'financial' nib with ink from her bottle. Nice colour, but the pen hard-started time and again if I paused for not even 30 seconds while I held it uncapped. I then transplanted the converter into a Picasso Pimio 916 that has a wet-writing 26mm(?) open M nib. Same thing happened; and it took several priming strokes to get the pen writing again each time.

 

In view of that, I'm not surprised that the ink would dry out quickly even inside a pen, to form a nasty sticky film or goo clinging onto surfaces.

yikes

 

not an endorsement for TWSBI Blue-Black

[arcfide]

1 hour ago, TSherbs said:

yikes

 

not an endorsement for TWSBI Blue-Black

 

Is this how all of their bottles of Blue Black are, though, or is this a one off bad bottle? 

[TSherbs]

1 hour ago, arcfide said:

 

Is this how all of their bottles of Blue Black are, though, or is this a one off bad bottle? 

dunno

[jchch1950]

Any problems with Twsbi blue ink?

[Intensity]

I wouldn't necessarily blame the ink for this but the actual pen.  I've had 2 TWSBI 580 ALRs, and they could be troublesome when it came to piston movement.  In one case the piston got completely and severely (permanently) stuck during reassembly.  I've never had such problems with my other piston fillers from Montegrappa, Pelikan, and Montblanc (vintage and modern).  I've used TWSBI Blue Black with no ill effects, however.  But I should note that it's a drier ink, and IG inks can have flow issues -- other than KWZ's which are almost too-well flowing and spreading.  I would only use IG inks with wetter feeds/nibs.

[A Smug Dill]

On 9/17/2022 at 10:17 AM, Intensity said:

I wouldn't necessarily blame the ink for this but the actual pen.  I've had 2 TWSBI 580 ALRs, and they could be troublesome when it came to piston movement.

 

Since refilling the pen with Waterman Serenity Blue after I fixed it three months ago…

 

 

 

No problem with the piston movement after not being used for two months, either. I turned the knob, and the piston plug started moving with no undue resistance.

 

Edited December 12, 2022 by A Smug Dill
Just to be clear which ink is in the pen, in case someone didn't read the previous page

[Doug C]

No problem with the blue, but the red I have stinks to high heaven. 

[A Smug Dill]

On 9/13/2022 at 12:05 AM, IThinkIHaveAProblem said:

It’s a little disappointing that the cap seal seems to be less effective than it could be. 

 

This, I must say, is excellent performance:

 

 

so either that my friend did not cap her pen properly before leaving it in a state of prolonged disuse, or there is something really off about the TWSBI Blue-Black ink she used.

 

On 9/13/2022 at 12:05 AM, IThinkIHaveAProblem said:

i don’t know that i would blame the ink. I suspect many inks would do the same if left to dry out in a pen.
 

But then, how long had it been left to dry out?  

 

[AmandaW]

I wasn't around enough when this was first posted, so I'm late in commenting.  TWSBI pens here have problems with consistently poor qc on their nibs out of the box, but they are fantastic at sealing against drying out.

 

I have two 580s and 14 Eco - some have been inked for years including with pigmented Sketch Inks with only topping up as needed. And forgotten in various sketching kits unused for months...

 

Conditions here are hot and dry which makes a hard life for any pen that doesn't seal very very well. TWSBI are among the few I trust completely. And that's why I have so many in spite of the issues with their nibs straight out of their boxes sometimes and the awful customer service I've experienced from the company. In my experience, drying out is the one issue they don't have.

[Doug C]

No, but I have the red and it smells like....

 

[A Smug Dill]

… repetition.

[AmandaW]

[Doug C]

12 hours ago, A Smug Dill said:

… repetition.

Touche.    Got me. 

[dipper]

Some years ago I investigated what happens to inks when they dry out. I had only eight inks back then! (Sorry, no TWSBI Blue-Black.)

 

The experiment was not looking at how ink dries on paper, or inside a pen. The aim was simply to observe what types of solid stuff are left behind when the volatile components of an ink have evaporated.

 

Method:

 

Small puddles of ink placed on glazed ceramic plates and left to dry for a few days. Pipette used to make puddles about one inch diameter.

 

Scraps of dry paper then pressed onto the discs of dried ink - record if any colour transfers onto the paper.

 

The discs of dried ink then poked and scaped with the tip of a knife - record the physical properties of the material.

 

The china plates were then baked in an oven at 120°C for 35mins, cooled, and tested again as above.

 

Results:

 

I observed different types of "goo" from different dried inks, and invented three descriptive labels to cover the range of results observed.

 

The three terms were...

"Clay" = Oozy paste-like stuff that becomes stiffer as it dries. Has little stickyness. When fully dry it breaks up in a soft powdery crumbly way like moist plaster or soft chalk.

"Gum" = Free flowing until totally dry. When fully dry, is hard and brittle. Maybe shiny. It shatters rather than crumbling. (Not like chewing-gum, think of dried gum-arabic or shellac.)

"Oil" = Thick and sticky. When water has evaporated the residue is not solid. It is a viscous sticky stringy glossy goo. Similar to the oil-based inks inside a ballpoint pen ink tube.

Some inks that gave an "oil" residue did harden when oven baked. One ink never hardened.

 

Categorising the inks' dry residues, these are the results I recorded:

 

Waterman Black = Clay.

 

W&N Calligraphy Matt Black = Clay.

 

Rotring Black Drawing Ink = Clay, with a hint of Gum.

 

Sumi Stick Ink = Gum, with a hint of Clay. (As expected, knowing that the ingredients are soot and animal glue.)

 

Pelikan Fount India = Gum.

 

W&N Calligraphy Black = Gum with a hint of Oil.

 

Sailor Kiwaguro = Oil - then becoming Gum after oven baking.

 

Cross Black = Oil - and remained so after oven baking.