Baystate Blue is evil... Yet I can't help myself.

[Baka1969]

I hate Baystate Blue. It's the super evil villain ink of the fountain pen world. It practically ruins everything it touches. Just less than an hour ago I'm swapping nibs from one Lamy Studio to another. I stained my Matte Rose Studio making the switch. Probably permanently. 

 

Like most super evil villains hell-bent on seeing the world burn to the ground, they have a charisma that sucks you in even though you know you're going to get singed. Or worse. Incinerated. 

 

Am I being hyperbolic? Absolutely not. Baystate Blue feathers in almost every pen and almost every paper. It stains everything. Gets everywhere. In the above example I swapped a Studio with a 14k fine nib to an extra fine 14k nib just to get the ink to stop throwing a tantrum. 

 

Yet I can't help but love the ink. The color (to me) is amazing and is very eye catching and vibrant. It is one of my favorite blue inks and just pops off the page. Plus it's more or less waterproof. Unlike most other inks. I recently got Platinum Pigment Blue, and even though it is a waterproof ink, it dries to a faded denim color that I just don't care for. Yes the Platinum is a much better behaved ink compared to the BSB, but it's a far cry from the Noodler's personality. 

 

I'll continue to use BSB because I can't help myself. The evil empire wins this round because I refuse to do the right thing and banish Baystate Blue to the bottom of a well somewhere. 

 

Do you have a nemesis? If so, what is it and why? 

[lapis]

"If in doubt, discard" -- Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Research Department.

"Nothing is completely useless. You can always use it as a bad example " -- Origin unknown.

[txomsy]

I've settled for Montblanc Permanent Blue as my substitute ink for BSB, but can only agree with you, BSB is gorgeous in hue. For me, if it weren't for the too wet flow and feathering, it would be my go-to ink. I do not care that much for staining, not on C/C pens and anyway I have devoted a couple of Noodler's Creapers to it. The feathering and bleeding are the only aspects I dislike. And like you, love BSB.

 

Staining? Koh-i-Noor Permanent Blue also stains the kitchen sink and requires bleach to clean... but once you know how to remove it, that's not a problem as long as you don't use BSB in bleach-sensitive materials.

 

No other nemesis that I can now think of.

[lapis]

Getting down to brass tacks, I have to agree with Txomsy. I use that MB very often (especially because it isn't as neon-searing as BSB). Also -- maybe even more often -- Horizon Blue. Another "nice" blue is Noodlers' "Blue" but the trouble there is that it really takes too long to dry.

[Baka1969]

46 minutes ago, lapis said:

Getting down to brass tacks, I have to agree with Txomsy. I use that MB very often (especially because it isn't as neon-searing as BSB). Also -- maybe even more often -- Horizon Blue. Another "nice" blue is Noodlers' "Blue" but the trouble there is that it really takes too long to dry.

 

I'm a fan of the neon-searing color of BSB. It's sort of its charm for me. 

[IlikeInksandIcannotlie]

I think I kind of like Kung-Te-Cheng (I bought a full bottle of it without a sample). It smells pretty nasty (the smell is very noticeable after a fresh fill), and it dries up quickly in the nib, but the permanence and that colour might be winning me over.

[Baka1969]

[Baka1969]

[SLinkster]

I have BSB in a ... Some pen. Maybe a Recife of some sort. Can't say how glad I am that I was able to foist the rest of the sample vial off to somebody at pen club 😕 Can't say how happy I'll be to use up the approximately 0.5cc in the pen. I've met chickens that have fewer feathers than a single word written with BSB on quality paper. Oy.

[Baka1969]

10 minutes ago, SLinkster said:

I have BSB in a ... Some pen. Maybe a Recife of some sort. Can't say how glad I am that I was able to foist the rest of the sample vial off to somebody at pen club 😕 Can't say how happy I'll be to use up the approximately 0.5cc in the pen. I've met chickens that have fewer feathers than a single word written with BSB on quality paper. Oy.

 

Baystate Blue

[AmandaW]

17 hours ago, Baka1969 said:

I recently got Platinum Pigment Blue, and even though it is a waterproof ink, it dries to a faded denim

Sounds perfect!

 

Is the little bird really that blue? Is very cute. (Unless someone dunked it in dye... then not cute.)

[Baka1969]

51 minutes ago, AmandaW said:

Sounds perfect!

 

Is the little bird really that blue? Is very cute. (Unless someone dunked it in dye... then not cute.)

 

Ask Google. lol 

[SLinkster]

2 hours ago, Baka1969 said:

 

Baystate Blue

*Cackle*

[AmandaW]

5 hours ago, Baka1969 said:

 

Ask Google. lol 

That's a bit harsh.

[Baka1969]

18 minutes ago, AmandaW said:

That's a bit harsh.

 

Actually that's how I found the birdie. I Googled birds that are blue and I chose that one for its dramatic color and frizz.  It seemed topical. 

[Misfit]

But what about your matte Rose Studio pen?  Please post of photo of the staining. I need to see it to know if I can shame you away from BSB. I’m already plotting some what ifs. (Evil laugh)

[Baka1969]

12 minutes ago, Misfit said:

But what about your matte Rose Studio pen?  Please post of photo of the staining. I need to see it to know if I can shame you away from BSB. I’m already plotting some what ifs. (Evil laugh)

 

I take full responsibility. 

 

[Misfit]

Oh @Baka1969 poor Matte Rose Studio. Just imagine if BSB got on one of your watches. Oh the mischief it could wreak on a watch.  And how long have you had the Matte Rose Studio?  Not long if I recall your post on getting one. Ok ok, didn’t mean to nag. 

[Baka1969]

16 minutes ago, Misfit said:

Oh @Baka1969 poor Matte Rose Studio. Just imagine if BSB got on one of your watches. Oh the mischief it could wreak on a watch.  And how long have you had the Matte Rose Studio?  Not long if I recall your post on getting one. Ok ok, didn’t mean to nag. 

About a month I believe. 

 

If BSB got on one of my watches I'd flush that stuff down the toilet so fast the entire sewage system in the state would be neon blue in a matter of seconds. Tidy Bowl Man eat your heart out. I have my limits after all. lol 

[txomsy]

11 hours ago, SLinkster said:

I've met chickens that have fewer feathers than a single word written with BSB on quality paper.

 

Maybe (only may be) you should consider redefining your concept of "quality paper".

 

The following is BSB on an A6 recycled, yellow paper notebook I was given at the Puerto Rico stand in a fair:

 

 

There is some noticeable feathering in the picture, mainly because of the zooming in, but it is minor in real life. The text on the back side was written with Noodler's X-feather, black, and shows some see-through as can be seen. If I turn the page, then the BSB text is no more noticeable than X-feather from this side.

 

 

Anyways, the following is BSB on white 80gsm Rhodia paper, on an A5 notebook. No feathering at all that I can see with naked eye, not even when looking at the original picture full size or zooming in. No see through, bleeding or anything on the other side (except for part of the gush blob at the top of the page).

 

 

I apologize for the bad quality of the pictures, I took them in a whim just to write this. And obviously, color doesn't make justice to the real-life vibrancy of BSB (oddly, MB Permanent Blue seems to look more brilliant in pictures -not in real life). Both pictures have been resized down to a more forum-friendly size and an unsharp mask was applied to try to highlight any feathering.

 

The point is, "quality" paper may not be necessarily the standard one is used to these days.

 

 

Added: note that there is no second intention in the choice of the quotes, they are just the firsts I came by when preparing this post.