Some Ink Tests

[Lithium466]

8 hours ago, USG said:

Comparison of new Platinum BB with 25+yr old Platinum BB

Two different nibs were used: 

• A Dry Kaigelu Long Blade nib
• A Wet <m> Pilot Dip Pen nib

The new sample looks pretty much the way I remember Platinum BB looked like. 

 

 

 

Do I see some sheen?  The comparisons looks just like what I was expecting with some 25+ old iron containing ink

 

7 hours ago, USG said:

 

As long as I still had the B5 APICA W notebook out, I though I would try a couple more inks that are fine on Cosmo Snow and Tomoe River-S.

 

 

 

Can you try Platinum BB on this paper and see if it feathers too? @Penguincollector sent me some Apica paper and I didn't notice a particularly bad behaviour, except for its "life sucking" ability.

[Lithium466]

6 hours ago, USG said:

 

I don't dislike my inks, I just like some more than others.  I love trying new inks but I end up not using the majority of them very often.  There's about 20 or 30 inks that I seem to gravitate to and out of those maybe a handful are favorites and get put in multiple pens.

 

 

That's a great analysis but I'm not like you.  Once I settle in on an a specific ink for a specific pen I'll keep it that way.  I'll go through all my turquoise inks trying to find one for a new pen but dollars to doughnuts, I'll end up picking one of my favorites.  I just did the same thing with blue blacks, looking for a dark blue ink for my Flex pens but it's hard to beat Illinois for a dark deep blue.

Another ink I keep trying to use is the light blue Tsuyu-Kusa but it keeps losing out to Florida Blue.  Elysium is another ink I like but is going to fall by the wayside.  I have it in my 629Au because it shades so well but it's not quite dark enough, so I'm thinking about trying your idea of a drop of Bilberry to spruce it up.

It's probably the "what if" that is keeping me uncertain and on my toes. Reducing the number of inks, it would be easier for me to settle on some combinations and stop moving from there.

I'm not sure I'd put Bilberry in Elysium, maybe more Sailor Shigure? 

[Penguincollector]

   I see, your setup is more of an ink laboratory with the pens being more of a precision tool than the focus. 

[Penguincollector]

11 hours ago, USG said:

 

As long as I still had the B5 APICA W notebook out, I though I would try a couple more inks that are fine on Cosmo Snow and Tomoe River-S.

 

 

  Do these inks also feather from a fountain pen on Apica, or just the dip pens? I often get feathering from dip pens, even on heavily coated paper. 

[USG]

14 hours ago, Lithium466 said:

Do I see some sheen?  The comparisons looks just like what I was expecting with some 25+ old iron containing ink

 

 

Can you try Platinum BB on this paper and see if it feathers too? @Penguincollector sent me some Apica paper and I didn't notice a particularly bad behaviour, except for its "life sucking" ability.

 

Shading, No sheen.  I'll try the Platinum BB on the APICA paper but I'm not sure what that would proves?  That some inks may not feather on APICA W Notebook paper doesn't raise the stature of APICA paper in my book.... Although I appreciate their thin notebook format and have emulated it with my notebooks.

 

14 hours ago, Lithium466 said:

It's probably the "what if" that is keeping me uncertain and on my toes. Reducing the number of inks, it would be easier for me to settle on some combinations and stop moving from there.

I'm not sure I'd put Bilberry in Elysium, maybe more Sailor Shigure? 

 

Why Sigure?  I was thinking Bilberry because you brought it up... it dilutes into some very nice shades so I thought it might work the way you described in Elysium (which has found it's way ito the 629Au)

 

10 hours ago, Penguincollector said:

  Do these inks also feather from a fountain pen on Apica, or just the dip pens? I often get feathering from dip pens, even on heavily coated paper. 

 

Hi PGC, All my feathering samples were from fountain pens.  The only one that was from a dip pen was Shin-Kai.

[USG]

15 hours ago, Lithium466 said:

Can you try Platinum BB on this paper and see if it feathers too?

 

[Penguincollector]

1 hour ago, USG said:

 

Shading, No sheen.  I'll try the Platinum BB on the APICA paper but I'm not sure what that would proves?  That some inks may not feather on APICA W Notebook paper doesn't raise the stature of APICA paper in my book.... Although I appreciate their thin notebook format and have emulated it with my notebooks.

 

 

Why Sigure?  I was thinking Bilberry because you brought it up... it dilutes into some very nice shades so I thought it might work the way you described in Elysium (which has found it's way ito the 629Au)

 

 

Hi PGC, All my feathering samples were from fountain pens.  The only one that was from a dip pen was Shin-Kai.

  My reading comprehension is on the fritz, sorry. I misread the top example. That notebook is also on the fritz. Maybe it’s better with pencils. 

[Lithium466]

8 hours ago, USG said:

 

Shading, No sheen.  I'll try the Platinum BB on the APICA paper but I'm not sure what that would proves?  That some inks may not feather on APICA W Notebook paper doesn't raise the stature of APICA paper in my book.... Although I appreciate their thin notebook format and have emulated it with my notebooks.

 

 

Why Sigure?  I was thinking Bilberry because you brought it up... it dilutes into some very nice shades so I thought it might work the way you described in Elysium (which has found it's way ito the 629Au)

I thought I remembered Platinum BB sheening. I'll have to retest. It's not much raising the stature of Apica paper (which I don't really intend to use since it's not glorious with colour rendering), more to try to understand the "point of tipping" for feathering. Platinum BB is assimilated IG, what makes this one resist feathering while for ex R&K Ebony isn't so great? Traditional IG have high surface tension, and Platinum BB probably too.

 

Shigure because for some reason I'm picturing Bilberry being an acidic ink. That lay be wrong, I wasn't able to confirm. I wasn't able to confirm for Elysium either, so moot point! And Bilberry sheens more  

[USG]

On 12/2/2024 at 11:46 PM, Penguincollector said:

  My reading comprehension is on the fritz, sorry. I misread the top example. That notebook is also on the fritz. Maybe it’s better with pencils. 

 

Haha, "on the fritz" is an old phrase I haven't heard in a long time...

 

Speaking of notebooks on the fritz, I have another type of APICA notebook.  It's a CD11 with different lined paper than the "W" notebook.  CD11 paper is slick and shiny compared to "W" paper.  I tested it with the usual suspects and they feathered too.   INHO "W" paper is much nicer than CD11 paper.

 

 

 

 

 

[USG]

17 hours ago, Lithium466 said:

I thought I remembered Platinum BB sheening. I'll have to retest. It's not much raising the stature of Apica paper (which I don't really intend to use since it's not glorious with colour rendering), more to try to understand the "point of tipping" for feathering. Platinum BB is assimilated IG, what makes this one resist feathering while for ex R&K Ebony isn't so great? Traditional IG have high surface tension, and Platinum BB probably too.

 

Shigure because for some reason I'm picturing Bilberry being an acidic ink. That lay be wrong, I wasn't able to confirm. I wasn't able to confirm for Elysium either, so moot point! And Bilberry sheens more  

 

You're talking way over my head.  I don't know what you mean by "point of tipping" for feathering.  I also don't know what  assimilated IG inks are.  I'm guessing it means altered in some way but it's just a guess.

 

I mixed 3 drops of Elysium with 2 drops of Bilberry and the resultant was a weird ink.  It didn't write properly with my long blade dip pen, spreading out and not staying on the nib.  It worked better with a F Heartbeat nib but in both instances, it lost the properties of the parent inks.  It didn't shade or sheen.  And I got a little clumping, so something wasn't compatible as you suggested.

 

[USG]

Pen update:  I had a blue Majohn P136 with a F nib that was nothing short of fantastic, but I hated the blue plastic.  I mean really hated it, so I ordered a black one with an EF nib (LTM's influence) and figured I'd switch the nibs.  So the black one arrives and the EF nib is fabulous...  Now what?

 

I'm still experimenting with the 4 Jinhao 9016 EF Ultra Flex pens so that project is still ongoing.

 

The Asvine P20 was a turkey.  It was no Majohn P136, that's for sure.  But the ink mixture turned out to be very interesting.  The main components were equal parts of Iroshizuku Yama- Budo and Ima-Iro.  The result was a little too teal so I added some Diamine Jack Frost (form the top of the bottle) without counting the drops.  I may try to replicate it.

 

The Edelstein Sapphire in the Leonardo Momento Zero thickened in the feed and didn't want to dry.  Subsequently it smeared.  The big news was Yama-Budo sheened Gold.  I didn't notice it on Tomoe River-S paper.

[Lithium466]

3 hours ago, USG said:

 

You're talking way over my head.  I don't know what you mean by "point of tipping" for feathering.  I also don't know what  assimilated IG inks are.  I'm guessing it means altered in some way but it's just a guess.

 

I mixed 3 drops of Elysium with 2 drops of Bilberry and the resultant was a weird ink.  It didn't write properly with my long blade dip pen, spreading out and not staying on the nib.  It worked better with a F Heartbeat nib but in both instances, it lost the properties of the parent inks.  It didn't shade or sheen.  And I got a little clumping, so something wasn't compatible as you suggested.

 

Yuck, sorry to see that! Now you have an excuse to try with Shigure? I'm currently contemplating buying some Noodler's inks...not the first time, but I always resisted. If course we're also past freezing here so any Noodler's bottle filled to the brim wouldn't resist that.

 

Back to Platinum BB, it is my understanding (and I could be very wrong) that it is not using gallic acid in the formula (hence can we call it iron gall? And hence my "assimilated" which is probably stupid), which would be why it does stay mostly blue.
I think it should be able to sheen under the right circumstances, but that would be the auxiliary dye (blue), and maybe it's hard to balance the formula with enough auxiliary dye for it to sheen (same with ESSRI and Diamine Registrar, I am unfortunately out of Büroservice Bergmann night blue to see, this one was the best)?

 

Apica CD11 looks like ballpoint paper in your tests 😕 But I'm glad to hear that you're liking the P136 EF nib! I almost bought one during the recent black Friday "sales", eventually to go with a Wing Sung 698 instead. Which is now stuck in the postal service strike, hopefully not forever as someone there will have an early Christmas buffet.

[USG]

15 hours ago, Lithium466 said:

Yuck, sorry to see that! Now you have an excuse to try with Shigure? I'm currently contemplating buying some Noodler's inks...not the first time, but I always resisted. If course we're also past freezing here so any Noodler's bottle filled to the brim wouldn't resist that.

 

Back to Platinum BB, it is my understanding (and I could be very wrong) that it is not using gallic acid in the formula (hence can we call it iron gall? And hence my "assimilated" which is probably stupid), which would be why it does stay mostly blue.
I think it should be able to sheen under the right circumstances, but that would be the auxiliary dye (blue), and maybe it's hard to balance the formula with enough auxiliary dye for it to sheen (same with ESSRI and Diamine Registrar, I am unfortunately out of Büroservice Bergmann night blue to see, this one was the best)?

 

Apica CD11 looks like ballpoint paper in your tests 😕 But I'm glad to hear that you're liking the P136 EF nib! I almost bought one during the recent black Friday "sales", eventually to go with a Wing Sung 698 instead. Which is now stuck in the postal service strike, hopefully not forever as someone there will have an early Christmas buffet.

 

I bought 9 or 10 Noodler's inks 20 years ago.  All of the bottles are still full.  I don't remember exactly why I never used them.  Besides none of the colors endearing themselves to me, spreading and feathering comes to mind.  I bought Elysium because the sample shaded so well, but in actuality, from the bottle, it's a very wet ink and with my current interest in EF nibs it makes them write like fines or mediums.  I dip tested it in one of the 9016-EF Ultra Flex Franken pens and it made it write like a medium...  not what I was looking for.  I could have just as well been satisfied with a sample for all I'm going to be using this ink.  OTOH maybe it 'settles in' to a better color like Shin-Kai does.

Speaking about BB, is there any reason to skip Diamine Reg. ink?  Does it clog or anything?  I'd like to try it in my M1000.  What do you think?

 

The black P136 is a really great pen.  I like it as much as the 629Au and the Sailor 1911L which have softer nibs.  They're very similar pens.

 

P136, 629, 1911L

 

WAIT:  What's this with a 698 😱  LOL, No one told MissedTheBoatMe about 698s. 

 

[Penguincollector]

4 hours ago, USG said:

WAIT:  What's this with a 698 😱  LOL, No one told MissedTheBoatMe about 698s. 

  I swear I’ve brought them up before. They’re the ones with the Lucky soft fine nibs. I have the demonstrator. 

[USG]

1 hour ago, Penguincollector said:

  I swear I’ve brought them up before. They’re the ones with the Lucky soft fine nibs. I have the demonstrator. 

 

Ha, look who's on the fritz now.  I remember.  I think you said it had a #5 nib, right?

 

As long as I have you here, do you have any experience with Sailor Ink Studio #973.  I was looking for a brown that's not so dark.  Without magnification it looks very similar to 2 other inks I have.

 

[Lithium466]

9 hours ago, USG said:

 

I bought 9 or 10 Noodler's inks 20 years ago.  All of the bottles are still full.  I don't remember exactly why I never used them.  Besides none of the colors endearing themselves to me, spreading and feathering comes to mind.  I bought Elysium because the sample shaded so well, but in actuality, from the bottle, it's a very wet ink and with my current interest in EF nibs it makes them write like fines or mediums.  I dip tested it in one of the 9016-EF Ultra Flex Franken pens and it made it write like a medium...  not what I was looking for.  I could have just as well been satisfied with a sample for all I'm going to be using this ink.  OTOH maybe it 'settles in' to a better color like Shin-Kai does.

Speaking about BB, is there any reason to skip Diamine Reg. ink?  Does it clog or anything?  I'd like to try it in my M1000.  What do you think?

 

The black P136 is a really great pen.  I like it as much as the 629Au and the Sailor 1911L which have softer nibs.  They're very similar pens.

 

P136, 629, 1911L

 

WAIT:  What's this with a 698 😱  LOL, No one told MissedTheBoatMe about 698s. 

 

Diamine Registrar is a perfectly fine (and lovely, if you like the style) IG! Make sure to get a fresh bottle, cause it has reduced shelf life (I think they say 3 years? Maybe that's for ESSRI).

It has the possible tendency of forming clumps, don't suck them up while filling  These could also form in the pen and in worst case scenario can get stuck between barrel and piston seal, causing some grittiness there. For a M1000 I wouldn't be too concerned since nib unit and piston are removable.

 

WS698, with the "Lucky" nib. Apparently the nib is nice and soft! It's the same shape as the Pilot nibs type 78G or Kakuno, I think. I have a WS something with the same body as the 698 (with a steel nib) and to me it was super meh and cheap, but it's possible I got a fake. During the recent sales the 698 with Lucky nib was too cheap not to try! If the pen body itself sucks, I have a 78G+ demonstrator with the flimsiest plastic ever to put the nib in  

 

 

Did you try GvFC Hazelnut Brown? I remember liking it, and then my bottle was stolen by a sneaky family member. Poof.

[Lithium466]

5 hours ago, Penguincollector said:

  I swear I’ve brought them up before. They’re the ones with the Lucky soft fine nibs. I have the demonstrator. 

Ah, there you go!

You've been tempting me with yours for ages! I'm wondering about the Lucky nib engraving, seems reminiscent of something very vintage, and the nibs are said to be NOS, but can't be that old? I wonder when Pilot came out with this shape of nibs.

[Penguincollector]

5 hours ago, Lithium466 said:

Ah, there you go!

You've been tempting me with yours for ages! I'm wondering about the Lucky nib engraving, seems reminiscent of something very vintage, and the nibs are said to be NOS, but can't be that old? I wonder when Pilot came out with this shape of nibs.

  I found this quote by FPN member Seele when I was looking for information on it:

“Based on the images of the 14K nib, it's very plausible that it's the same as those made by Wing Sung/Lucky before its closure and originally fitted to models such as 275, 504, 2005, and perhaps others.”  
  There’s a few threads on this pen here. I have to say that I really enjoy using it. It just started to run out of ink and I filled it in July. It showcases shimmer and sheen beautifully, but is fine enough that my writing is legible without having to deliberately make it bigger.   I can take pictures of both the pen and a writing samples if you’d like to see them. 
 

  Your poor ink samples, I was just thinking of them. I’m glad that I separated the paper this time, at least one thing will still be ok. 
 

[Penguincollector]

17 hours ago, USG said:

Ha, look who's on the fritz now.  I remember.  I think you said it had a #5 nib, right?

 

As long as I have you here, do you have any experience with Sailor Ink Studio #973.  I was looking for a brown that's not so dark.  Without magnification it looks very similar to 2 other inks I have.

  The nib fits all of the Pilots that use the same nib: Prera, Penmanship, Metropolitan, Plumix/inix. If those a #5, then yes. I think someone in a thread replaced a #5 with a Lucky nib, I don’t recall who. 
 

  I have yet to dip my toe into the Studio line, truth be told. I think Amazon carries them now, so some may end up in my cart. I know that I would like to explore the blues.

[USG]

22 hours ago, Lithium466 said:

Did you try GvFC Hazelnut Brown? I remember liking it, and then my bottle was stolen by a sneaky family member. Poof.

 

I tried Monteverde Brown Sugar and Scotch Brown and DeAtramentis Sepia Brown, all three were too dark from my Pilot dip pen.