Ink Sniffers ​😉

[USG]

I was browsing through some of my old inks and I came across a bottle of Swisher (Noodler) Midnight-Blue from 2004 that was full.  I opened it, the ink looked clear, so I tried it out with a dip pen.... 

 

(Tomoe River paper on top of Clairefontaine paper for color)

(I absent mindedly wrote Clairefontaine with an M1000 [F] and Aurora Blue ink instead of the dip pen and the ink in question)

 

 

That's when I noticed it had an ammonia smell. Not an eye watering smell, but a detectable aroma.  I have vintage Parker ink that smells like Parker ink, vintage Waterman ink that smells like Waterman ink and vintage Sheaffer ink that smells like Sheaffer ink....  I grew up with the smell of the old ink preservatives.  I have, and still use, a lot of old inks, and never came across one with an ammonia smell.  The thing is I have no memory of ever using this ink so I don't know what it smelled like when it was new.  Ammonia means it is alkaline, and I know there have been alkaline inks before, like Superchrome, so maybe it was meant to be this way.

 

Anyway, even though it looks harmless enough, I think I'm going to relegate it to dip pen only.  We don't want any corrosion or melted celluloid.  

What do you fellow ink sniffers think? 😉

 

 

 

[arcfide]

6 hours ago, USG said:

Ammonia means it is alkaline, and I know there have been alkaline inks before, like Superchrome, so maybe it was meant to be this way.

 

I have no idea as to that exact chemistry, but lots of Noodler's inks can have a pretty strong "soapy" smell, which tends to be associated with alkalinity as well. Most of the Japanese inks I know of tend towards alkaline, with many being quite alkaline for inks. 

[amberleadavis]

Unless it smells like rotten eggs, has a visible film or looks weird, I wouldn't worry.

[TSherbs]

That ink is pretty old. Do you know if you had ever opened it before? I'd be careful with it in any pen that is hard to clean or whose filling system is difficult to clean/repair. Do you own a cheap pen that you can put it in? Unless you like dip pens (which I do not, much)....

[PithyProlix]

The owner of Luxury Brands of America was responsive when I contacted them when I had different issue with an old bottle of Noodler's a few years back. Maybe he could be of help. 

[Maurizio]

I’ve always enjoyed the unique aroma of Noodler’s Black Ink. 

[Ink Stained Wretch]

I have plenty of Noodler's inks of that same vintage. In fact I have Midnight blue.

 

The ammonia odor is the result of the biocide that Nathan Tardif used in his earlier inks degrading with time. If you'd opened that bottle when it was new there would have been no ammonia odor. Exactly when the Noodler's inks began to smell of ammonia can actually be traced pretty exactly here on FPN. I recall that someone asked about it, and then I opened a bottle of, I think it was, Antietam, because it was right at hand, and it stank of ammonia. And then in pretty short order I found more Noodler's inks smelling of ammonia. Pretty soon after this discovery Nathan started using a different biocide.

 

So the odor is not caused by an outside contaminant, nor is it the result of some living thing getting into the ink. I've been using Noodler's inks that have that odor for years now and I don't think they've done anything to my fountain pens. Of course that doesn't mean that there are not some pens that wouldn't have some part that could be affected by being in contact with ammonia, but I don't see any deterioration of stainless steel nibs.

 

Once the ink gets on paper it out-gases the ammonia pretty quickly. I haven't read of any particular papers being harmed by the relatively brief exposure to ammonia.

 

I'm still using Noodler's inks that have an ammonia odor to them, and, given how many old Noodler's inks I have, I'll probably be using such inks for the rest of my life.