Back to Basics?

[bugsydog55]

I am the same way, have tons of colors but keep most of my pens inked with practical inks.  Have become an ink collector because the term "hoarder" seems so unkind.  I've found that I have a real affinity for black inks and have enough to paint a small house after I prime it with blue black.  Then I can do the neighbor's in murky green.  Yeah, I know where the OP is coming from.  Having inks that have some of the finer things, except shimmer-can't cope with it, the majority of my collection is dedicated to inks that are practical and geared to everyday usage.  They come from all over the world and that's where they become special.  It's the everyday, every man connection that works for me.  So, it's a deeper point than we started out with but it makes me happy every single time I can ink a pen and write a line.  Getting older, the clock is ticking so that makes it more important.  

[RJS]

I've always been quite practical with my main inks- blue blacks, some blues, and MB Irish Green. I rotate around 40+ unusual colours and a few sheening or shimmering inks, but I enjoy the basics the most. My partner bought me a handful of German inks recently, when she was up in Berlin with work, as I'd not been buying much for myself. If fountain pen inks were a video game I'd feel like I'd have completed "easy" mode by now. 😅

 

It's hard to find an ink that doesn't feel like a variation of something I already own, so enjoying my favourites has become more important than sampling everything.

[Baka1969]

Speaking of basics. At the Philly Pen Show I picked up these bulletproof inks.

 

[inkstainedruth]

I think I may have a sample of the Carbon Black, but haven't had a chance to try it yet (and don't use black inks a lot just in general).  

Not familiar with the Pigment Blue.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Baka1969]

14 minutes ago, inkstainedruth said:

I think I may have a sample of the Carbon Black, but haven't had a chance to try it yet (and don't use black inks a lot just in general).  

Not familiar with the Pigment Blue.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

The Carbon Black is just a shade lighter than Heart of Darkness but seems less temperamental. The Pigment Blue dries to a more washed denim look. I would really prefer if it dried darker. 

 

I am going to do a comparison between Carbon Black and Heart of Darkness. I'll also do a Pigment Blue vs Baystate Blue sometime soon. 

 

I will be on a continued quest in search of waterproof/bulletproof inks that look nice on paper.

 

I am really losing my patience with the vast majority of inks that run or smudge by just looking at them. Even after they dry. With 90% of fountain pen inks out there you cannot address an envelope with for fear that it might get rained on or smear. 

 

This is the most frustrating part of the hobby. For example; I love the color of Organic Studios Nitrogen. Yet it's less stable than nitroglycerin (pardon the pun). To the point of being impractical for use other than swatching or shoving a journal in an airtight vault petrified it might come in contact with moisture or humidity. 

 

/rant for now.  

[inkstainedruth]

It's interesting that you think of HoD as being "temperamental".  I have had had pretty much no issues with it (and prefer it over Noodler's Black because it dries faster).  

Of course, there *is* variation between batches of the Noodler's inks -- Nathan Tardif treats that as a "feature" (in that you can ID variants as to when the writing was done) -- but I'm not convinced that it's a plus for the most part (although I did prefer the full bottle of 54th Massachusetts over the sample I tried, color-wise).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[XYZZY]

26 minutes ago, Baka1969 said:

I am really losing my patience with the vast majority of inks that run or smudge by just looking at them. Even after they dry. With 90% of fountain pen inks out there you cannot address an envelope with for fear that it might get rained on or smear. 

 

 

"The vast majority" is, I think, a statement based on what the individual owns.  I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that you've been chasing high-sheening inks?

 

For me, the vast majority of inks do not smudge.  But I'm over-writer and slow drying inks aren't welcome here; that excludes most high-sheening inks, which excludes the high-smudging inks.

[Baka1969]

17 minutes ago, inkstainedruth said:

It's interesting that you think of HoD as being "temperamental".  I have had had pretty much no issues with it (and prefer it over Noodler's Black because it dries faster).  

Of course, there *is* variation between batches of the Noodler's inks -- Nathan Tardif treats that as a "feature" (in that you can ID variants as to when the writing was done) -- but I'm not convinced that it's a plus for the most part (although I did prefer the full bottle of 54th Massachusetts over the sample I tried, color-wise).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

I might be slightly hyperbolic. That said, comparing both HoD and Carbon Black to each other by adding a drop of water to a writing sample the Carbon Black acts like water off a duck's back. HoD blurrs a bit, removes some of the top layer of pigment. Both will resist being washed away but Carbon Black, once dried, doesn't budge at all.

 

3 minutes ago, XYZZY said:

 

"The vast majority" is, I think, a statement based on what the individual owns.  I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that you've been chasing high-sheening inks?

 

For me, the vast majority of inks do not smudge.  But I'm over-writer and slow drying inks aren't welcome here; that excludes most high-sheening inks, which excludes the high-smudging inks.

 

Although I do like my sheening inks, even inks like Waterman Serenity Blue are not bulletproof nor truly waterproof. And Serenity Blue is considered the industry standard blue by many.  

 

I think an ink should stand up to being used to address an envelope and make it to its recipient without washing out or smearing. 

[inkstainedruth]

Again, I'm surprised -- my experience with HoD is that it's pretty water resistant/waterproof.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Baka1969]

1 minute ago, inkstainedruth said:

Again, I'm surprised -- my experience with HoD is that it's pretty water resistant/waterproof.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

Direct comparisons soon to come.

[XYZZY]

I was responding to your comment "the vast majority of inks that run or smudge by just looking at them".  I would not have thought you meant "bulletproof" or "waterproof" by that statement.  Smudging is not the same thing is not be waterproof.

[Karmachanic]

2 hours ago, Baka1969 said:

I think an ink should stand up to being used to address an envelope and make it to its recipient without washing out or smearing.

 

Been corresponding internationally with whatever ordinary ink that's around since 1962.  All of which made it to the recepients.  Much ado ....

[A Smug Dill]

2 hours ago, Baka1969 said:

I think an ink should stand up to being used to address an envelope and make it to its recipient without washing out or smearing.

 

I used to think so, but now having tried hundreds (and seen online photos, reviews, anecdotes, etc. of easily over a thousand in total), one must conclude that such an expectation is simply not in alignment with the views of either the industry, or the bulk of the consumer base that hold the purse strings. It is a specialised requirement not representative of what other ink users (across all their purposes and applications of putting pen to paper) demand; and it therefore requires one shop carefully and specifically, and even be prepared to pay a premium to have that box ticked.

 

3 hours ago, Baka1969 said:

I will be on a continued quest in search of waterproof/bulletproof inks that look nice on paper.

 

I am really losing my patience with the vast majority of inks that run or smudge by just looking at them.

 

1 hour ago, XYZZY said:

Smudging is not the same thing is not be waterproof.

 

Personally, I make the clear distinction between waterproof — i.e. not affected or changed by exposure to water — and smudge-proof. Specifically, conclusive testing for waterproofness logically excludes the rewetted ink marks being physically touched (by anything other than just water); and I really don't care what the individual's use case is or demands, in making that assessment and consequent statement of waterproofness. Application of friction, by fingertip or brush bristle, must be specifically excluded from the scope of that testing. If a user requires the ink marks to be waterproof and abrasion-resistant, that is against more specialised, more onerous, and “should be” harder to find/achieve and something the supply side has cause to ask a higher price to satisfy.

 

[Schaumburg_Swan]

Yes, many inks came my way...

Now there are the basic ones I use most: Strong blue-black iron gall inks, Diamine Registrar's, ESSRI. At least one pen has brown-black Guttenberg G10 ig in it.

 

From time to time green inks, Diamine Green-Black or murky colors (Oster Bronze, Pelikan Smoky quartz).

 

Rarely some fun inks like Diamine Autumnal Oak, Oster Burgundy.

 

So basically I could live with seven inks...

 

Best

Jens

[PolarMoonman]

I have become a lot more practical recently. I currently have Noodler's Eel: black, blue, green and red. And I find that the black and blue or various mixes of the two are what are in my pens everyday. The green gets used a lot less (even though I do like it) and the red gets used even less. 

[Baka1969]

 

@inkstainedruth

 

I've compared Noodler's Heart of Darkness, Platinum's Carbon Black, Noodler's Baystate Blue and Platinum's Pigment Ink Blue against each other to see which was the better waterproof ink. 

 

Spoiler Alert: All four are water resistant to at least one degree or another. 

 

I added water drops to three different portions of each respective color. On the right with the |||| vertical and horizontal grid lines I added a single drop and blotted off the water after 30 seconds. On the far right # lines added one drop of water and blotted it dry after 2 minutes and 30 seconds. The two above tests were after the ink had dried for between 7-9 minutes. The middle ///\\\ pattern was given a drop of water and was immediately rubbed with my index finger for 5 seconds with medium pressure after the ink of each had dried for 15 minutes. 

 

As you can see from the results the Heart of Darkness was the least resistant of the four. The other three were fairly similar and were very water resistant.

 

 In terms of color saturation the difference between the black inks are minimal with the HoD being blacker than CB. The two blues, however, are quite a bit different. The BSB being much more saturated than the somewhat faded PIB.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

[A Smug Dill]

35 minutes ago, Baka1969 said:

The middle ///\\\ pattern was given a drop of water and was immediately rubbed with my index finger for 5 seconds with medium pressure after the ink of each had dried for 15 minutes. 

 

Have you satisfied yourself now that Platinum Carbon Black is waterproof, as long as you don't touch the ink marks? In my own testing, blotting the wet puddle sitting atop ink marks made with Platinum Carbon Black does not stain the paper towel used even the least bit, and no black pigment is dislodged or removed as long as there is no friction applied laterally across the paper surface.

[Baka1969]

2 hours ago, A Smug Dill said:

 

Have you satisfied yourself now that Platinum Carbon Black is waterproof, as long as you don't touch the ink marks? In my own testing, blotting the wet puddle sitting atop ink marks made with Platinum Carbon Black does not stain the paper towel used even the least bit, and no black pigment is dislodged or removed as long as there is no friction applied laterally across the paper surface.

 

I agree with this. Carbon Black didn't transfer any of its pigment. Excellent stuff!

[RJS]

I'll have to test Carbon Black again, as I remember being surprised when I could smear it a bit even after dry, when rubbing a finger across it. Would have been Clairefontaine paper I tested it on.

[Baka1969]

1 hour ago, RJS said:

I'll have to test Carbon Black again, as I remember being surprised when I could smear it a bit even after dry, when rubbing a finger across it. Would have been Clairefontaine paper I tested it on.

 

That's an excellent question. I will test the inks on Rhodia and Clairefontaine and see how the results differ. The paper I tested on is Emshoi paper. Which I use quite often for a number of reasons. It's fairly fountain pen friendly and is quite cost effective. Since I scribble a lot, expensive paper is just more than I'm willing to spend. Of course I have other papers that I like to use. Yet the Emshoi is my daily paper and my note taking paper.