Most permanent black ink in international short cartridges

[Surlyprof]

I have a pocket pen with a Jowo #6 nib that takes international short cartridges as many do (It is also eyedropper ready).  I'd like to use it for the base drawings for watercolors.  This means I need to find the most waterproof ink I can find.  I've tried J.Herbin Pearl Noir and found that it was barely water resistant.  In other pens I've been using Platinum Carbon Black, Sailor Kiwaguro and Noodler's Black pretty successfully for water fastness.  My questions are:

(1) Are there any dye-based black inks that are truly waterproof in international short cartridges?  I thought this might reduce maintenance.

(2) If I used the eyedropper capability I could use any of the pigment-based inks I already like.  Will that cause any maintenance headaches in the future? 

(3) Does an eyedropper pen travel alright without leaking due to airplane pressure changes?

 

Thanks in advance for any suggestions you may have.

John

[A Smug Dill]

32 minutes ago, Surlyprof said:

I've tried J.Herbin Pearl Noir and found that it was barely water resistant.

 

Funny you should say that, because I was just testing Herbin Perle Noire not ten days ago, to decide whether to get a large 500ml bottle of it from Amazon. Of course it isn't waterproof, in that some black-stained liquid will run off when dried ink marks get rewetted; but it has very good water resistance, and writing done in Perle Noire remains perfectly legible after the sheet of paper has been soaking for >48 hours.

 

By the way, Sailor Kiwaguro is not nearly waterproof either; there is also run-off from it when the ink marks are submerged or worked over with a wet brush.

 

32 minutes ago, Surlyprof said:

(1) Are there any dye-based black inks that are truly waterproof in international short cartridges?  I thought this might reduce maintenance.

 

Uh, if your pocket pen uses "international standard" short cartridges, then just refill the cartridge shell using a syringe with the ink of your choice, even if you truly can't buy an ink converter that fits inside the pen barrel's cavity.

 

The work you put into that kind of filling reduces the maintenance effort for the pen itself, if you're going to use an uber-permanent ink that has the potential to cause trouble in a eyedropper-filled pen.

 

32 minutes ago, Surlyprof said:

Does an eyedropper pen travel alright without leaking due to airplane pressure changes?

 

That depends on how much air is inside the pen barrel, how you carry and orient the pen, and how effective the feed is at trapping and retarding surges in ink flow from the reservoir. 

 

Welcome to FPN, by the way.

[I-am-not-really-here]

2 hours ago, Surlyprof said:

1) Are there any dye-based black inks that are truly waterproof in international short cartridges?  I thought this might reduce maintenance.

DeAtramentis Document ink is available in cartridges.  

[Surlyprof]

 

9 hours ago, A Smug Dill said:

Uh, if your pocket pen uses "international standard" short cartridges, then just refill the cartridge shell using a syringe with the ink of your choice, even if you truly can't buy an ink converter that fits inside the pen barrel's cavity.

Thanks for the feedback.  I will go ahead and refill the cartridges for now.  I had bought some syringes two weeks ago to do just that.  I felt a little too new (again) to fountain pens to be confident with the eyedropper fill.  I bought the syringes for filling the cartridges and figured they could always pull double duty for eyedropper filling if I cared to venture there.

 

9 hours ago, A Smug Dill said:

That depends on how much air is inside the pen barrel, how you carry and orient the pen, and how effective the feed is at trapping and retarding surges in ink flow from the reservoir. 

I may just empty before getting on a plane and refill upon arrival.  I have a 30+ year old bad memory of a ruined jacket from my very first fountain pen.

 

7 hours ago, I-am-not-really-here said:

DeAtramentis Document ink is available in cartridges.

I have had this ink in my Goulet cart since Sunday.  Thanks for the confirmation!

 

I really appreciate the feedback from both of you.  Thank you.

John

[A Smug Dill]

20 minutes ago, Surlyprof said:

I may just empty before getting on a plane and refill upon arrival.  I have a 30+ year old bad memory of a ruined jacket from my very first fountain pen.

 

If it gives you peace of mind, and you don't actually need to use a fountain pen in-flight, then it's the safest way to go.

 

A 4–5ml sample vial with (an O-ring inside) a screwed-on cap, that you have tested in normal atmospheric pressure conditions — by standing it upside down for a few hours, wrapped in a paper towel to both detect leaks more readily and makes any mishaps easier to clean up — to seal tightly would be good for so several reasons: you can just pour the ink from the sample vial into the wide barrel opening of an eyedropper-filled pen and vice versa, you can show airport security officials the see-through vial of ink if anyone asks, and you can more easily contain a sample vial inside a zip-lock bag with a paper towel to reduce the impact of any potential mishaps, without worrying about how the object you're carrying may be oriented at any point in-flight or while in the airport.

 

[Bristol24]

I fully understand the quest for a permanent black in the short international cartridge. That search is what brought me to the use of bottled ink which then led to vintage lever fillers.  During the years prior to our 1800 mile move from California to Texas, I flew back and forth quite often.  The ink sample viles never leaked and were never questioned domestically nor were they back in 2019 at Heathrow or Amsterdam.  I agree regarding J. Herbin Pearl Noire.  It may even be better that Quink Permanent Black.  One day I will do comparison testing...

 

Cliff

[Runnin_Ute]

Levenger Raven Black is listed as "semi-permanant" on their website. Not 100% sure what they mean by that, but it is a good black. 

[dragondazd]

If it were me I would experiment with refilling cartridges with platinum carbon black. 

[Surlyprof]

7 hours ago, dragondazd said:

If it were me I would experiment with refilling cartridges with platinum carbon black. 

I think I will.  I'm really enjoying that ink for sketching.  I'll just need to get a cleaning bulb or syringe for cleaning it with.  I also want to try out the DeAtramentis Document ink that I-Am-Not-Really-Here suggested.  Just need to rack up enough purchases in the cart to provide free shipping.  I'd rather support a dedicated pen shop than pad Bezo's pockets anymore than we already have to.

[dragondazd]

22 minutes ago, Surlyprof said:

I think I will.  I'm really enjoying that ink for sketching.  I'll just need to get a cleaning bulb or syringe for cleaning it with.  I also want to try out the DeAtramentis Document ink that I-Am-Not-Really-Here suggested.  Just need to rack up enough purchases in the cart to provide free shipping.  I'd rather support a dedicated pen shop than pad Bezo's pockets anymore than we already have to.

Fountain Pen Day (today) is a good day to fill a cart. Anderson, pen chalet, Vannesa have sales to help inspire purchases. Anderson suggests $4 shaping for up to 9 samples. Their samples are great deals.

[austinwft]

Montblanc Ink Cartridges Permanent Black...

 

Montblanc Ink Cartridges Permanent Black - Dromgoole's Fine Writing Instruments (dromgooles.com)

 

...is my go-to short international permanent ink cartridge to put into my fine-nibbed Kaweco Sport when I need a pocketable on-the-go pen to use on paper of lesser/unknown quality.

[Surlyprof]

Thank you.  I have some De Artramentas Document headed my way.  I may give these a try as well.  Some of the reviews stated that the Montblanc may dry fairly slow which can be a problem for me, a left-handed overwriter. Have you find it to dry fairly slowly?

 

[Surlyprof]

On 11/2/2022 at 11:28 AM, I-am-not-really-here said:

DeAtramentis Document ink is available in cartridges.  

 

Great suggestion.  Thank you.  I started using this ink in my titanium Gravitas pocket pen yesterday.  I've tried wetting it down after a couple of minutes and could barely see any shift in the lines.  It flows very nicely as well.  I may have to pick up a bottle for one of my 2000s during the black friday sales.

 

Thanks for the suggestion.

John

[Sailor Kenshin]

On 11/3/2022 at 11:00 PM, Runnin_Ute said:

Levenger Raven Black is listed as "semi-permanant" on their website. Not 100% sure what they mean by that, but it is a good black. 

… if you're fond of feathering….

[I-am-not-really-here]

2 hours ago, Surlyprof said:

 

Great suggestion.  Thank you.  I started using this ink in my titanium Gravitas pocket pen yesterday.  I've tried wetting it down after a couple of minutes and could barely see any shift in the lines.  It flows very nicely as well.  I may have to pick up a bottle for one of my 2000s during the black friday sales.

 

Thanks for the suggestion.

John

Glad it worked for you, so far at least.