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

[Misfit]

5 hours ago, Baka1969 said:

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 

Thank you for making me laugh. Yes out loud. Neon blue sewage!

[SLinkster]

BSB seems to fall into the "love it or hate it" category of things, along with cilantro, fajita seasoning, and exercise. My definition of "quality paper" in this context is pretty much irrelevant, as I passed on the remainder of my sample vial and have no plan to add a full bottle of the stuff to my stash. 

 

Since you shared some writing samples, here are mine. Paper info was written with a Preppy 02/EF and Noodler's Sequoia.

 

KTC just stays where it's put, no further blather from me about that.

 

To me the BSB feathering is naked-eye visible on Rhodia 80gsm (which seems to be a "quality paper"), Midori (70, 80, pick one, I'm not sure), Kokuyo 64gsm and on "old" Moleskine of unknown weight.

 

I have to take off my spectacles and put my nose nearly on the paper to see feathering on Kleid OKFools 98gsm (the feathering blends into the 2mm grid), ThinkNote 81gsm, Daiso/Croquis sketch paper (which might be Kokuyo but I haven't been able to find any definitive info), and Neenah 24# 25% cotton bond.

 

I see virtually no feathering at all on Mohawk (Neenah) SuperFine, Tomoe River 68gsm, Astrobrights 24#, HP Premium 24# & 32#, or Iroful. I also tested on Bienfang Parchment, but it's not something I generally write on so don't much care either way how the inks behave.

 

But again, I don't plan to buy a bottle of BSB. I've got plenty of feathery blue inks already. I sampled, found it lacking. Moving on now

[txomsy]

40 minutes ago, SLinkster said:

BSB seems to fall into the "love it or hate it" category of things, along with cilantro, fajita seasoning, and exercise.

On that, we have to fully agree 🙂

 

Oh, and you can add to the list salmiak. Which I find sort of, kinda, well, can't make my mind if I like or not, mostly yes.

 

Maybe, BSB appreciation is also an acquired taste.

[Baka1969]

2 hours ago, SLinkster said:

BSB seems to fall into the "love it or hate it" category of things, along with cilantro, fajita seasoning, and exercise. My definition of "quality paper" in this context is pretty much irrelevant, as I passed on the remainder of my sample vial and have no plan to add a full bottle of the stuff to my stash. 

 

Since you shared some writing samples, here are mine. Paper info was written with a Preppy 02/EF and Noodler's Sequoia.

 

KTC just stays where it's put, no further blather from me about that.

 

To me the BSB feathering is naked-eye visible on Rhodia 80gsm (which seems to be a "quality paper"), Midori (70, 80, pick one, I'm not sure), Kokuyo 64gsm and on "old" Moleskine of unknown weight.

 

I have to take off my spectacles and put my nose nearly on the paper to see feathering on Kleid OKFools 98gsm (the feathering blends into the 2mm grid), ThinkNote 81gsm, Daiso/Croquis sketch paper (which might be Kokuyo but I haven't been able to find any definitive info), and Neenah 24# 25% cotton bond.

 

I see virtually no feathering at all on Mohawk (Neenah) SuperFine, Tomoe River 68gsm, Astrobrights 24#, HP Premium 24# & 32#, or Iroful. I also tested on Bienfang Parchment, but it's not something I generally write on so don't much care either way how the inks behave.

 

But again, I don't plan to buy a bottle of BSB. I've got plenty of feathery blue inks already. I sampled, found it lacking. Moving on now

 

I look at your writing samples and think to myself Damn that Baystate Blue is a great looking color. 

 

4 hours ago, Misfit said:

Thank you for making me laugh. Yes out loud. Neon blue sewage!

 

Hey man, don't be messin' with my watches. Them's fightin' words. 

.

.

.

I did manage to lighten the stains on the Matte Rose Lamy. You helped come up with the idea. I used Polywatch. It's gentle enough not to ruin the pen's finish yet removed most of the stains. A little dab will do ya. Great stuff.

[inkstainedruth]

6 hours ago, Misfit said:

Thank you for making me laugh. Yes out loud. Neon blue sewage!

Then, depending on where it was, Norfolk Southern could be blamed for it and have to do an EPA monitored cleanup....

I have a bottle of BSB but I almost never use the ink.  I really don't like the color that much (I *WAY* prefer Noodler's Baltimore Canyon because it's not so "neon-blue" looking and doesn't stain everything it comes into contact with).  

BSB gets relegated to a Noodler's Charlie eyedropper where I don't care if the pen stains (formerly it was in a cheap $5 US Chinese demonstrator, but I accidentally snapped the cap finial off when the clip got hooked on the elastic in a pen case) -- and because of the clear barrel, I can eyeball topping the pen off with distilled water, which helps alleviate the feathering issues a LOT....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[SLinkster]

2 hours ago, Baka1969 said:

 

I look at your writing samples and think to myself Damn that Baystate Blue is a great looking color. 

It is an awesome shade of blue. If it stayed put like KTC I'd be all over it! 

[SLinkster]

3 hours ago, txomsy said:

salmiak

Ugh no thanks. I know the salt on selmiak isn't table salt and brings it's own flavor to that particular candy, but nothing improves licorice, which is a whole class of nasty by itself. 

[Penguincollector]

  The color is absolutely gorgeous. It’s my favorite shade of blue. I would love to find something like it safe for all of my pens. Maybe we need to do a big search like folks have done for PPS. I did see a Pennonia blue that seemed close.

[inkstainedruth]

@SLinkster Yeah, that's the difference between BSB & KTC.  BSB is not remotely lightfast, although it is pretty water resistant.  And it isn't cloggy.

KTC, on the other hand, is badly behaved coming out of a pen, but the color is amazing (I have not been able to find anything like it colorize) -- and I describe it to people as being "EVERYTHING-proof").

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[SLinkster]

6 minutes ago, inkstainedruth said:

KTC, on the other hand, is badly behaved coming out of a pen,

Not my experience, but I haven't been using the stuff nearly as long as you have. Except for an occasional hard start it behaves well for me in a Jinhao 992 with a fine nib. 

[Misfit]

7 hours ago, Baka1969 said:

I did manage to lighten the stains on the Matte Rose Lamy. You helped come up with the idea. I used Polywatch. It's gentle enough not to ruin the pen's finish yet removed most of the stains. A little dab will do ya. Great stuff.

Aw, I’m so glad you credit me with helping. Must have been the watch reference. It’s good the Polywatch helped lessen the stains. That Studio is now a survivor of BSB. 

[RJS]

BSB was an ink I was interested in buying as soon as inks became a hobby (for the longest time, since childhood, I typically just used Pilot Blue Black), but reviews warned me off it. I still got hold of a sample, and man that stuff is destructive. Yikes. It practically scared me off Noodlers entirely. I should give some more of their inks a chance, though...

[tommym]

On 1/28/2024 at 7:01 PM, Baka1969 said:

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

 

That would be De Atramentis Document Ink Fog Grey. I was looking for a grayish ink with a wetter flow than my Izoshizuku Kiri-same, and this was one of the suggested inks. It worked like a charm! The only downside was the staining on the nib and converter after a couple of weeks of use. I pulled and disassembled the nib unit, and what I found is shown in the images below. The "staining" was etched into the finish. The nib and feed are back in service, with another ink, and don't seem any worse for the wear. I still use De Atramentis Document Ink Fog Grey, but only with dip pens.

 

Tommy

 

 

[thx1138]

I had bsb in a safari with a broad nib for more than two years. Kept forgetting it, a bit of a splash of water on the nib and it would write again.  

 

The pen has suffered no damage that I can see. The ability of bsb to stain polished stainless steel is, however remarkable. As is its ability to stain skin, fabric, wood, melamine, and almost every substance known to mankind.

 

On the plus side it is a great colour and has no noticeable feathering. 

 

I would caution against tipping a full bottle down the drain. The local water authority is likely to track the source of the contamination back to you and levy a significant fine. They would just have to follow the trail of bright blue sewer pipes back tou your house. If you have a septic system it would probably create a huge ground water plume.

[Baka1969]

1 hour ago, thx1138 said:

I had bsb in a safari with a broad nib for more than two years. Kept forgetting it, a bit of a splash of water on the nib and it would write again.  

 

The pen has suffered no damage that I can see. The ability of bsb to stain polished stainless steel is, however remarkable. As is its ability to stain skin, fabric, wood, melamine, and almost every substance known to mankind.

 

On the plus side it is a great colour and has no noticeable feathering. 

 

I would caution against tipping a full bottle down the drain. The local water authority is likely to track the source of the contamination back to you and levy a significant fine. They would just have to follow the trail of bright blue sewer pipes back tou your house. If you have a septic system it would probably create a huge ground water plume.

 

That's why you wait until you go to your frienemy's house and flush it down their toilet.*

 

 

 

*This is not real advice. 😉

[AceNinja]

On 1/31/2024 at 2:44 AM, Penguincollector said:

  The color is absolutely gorgeous. It’s my favorite shade of blue. I would love to find something like it safe for all of my pens. Maybe we need to do a big search like folks have done for PPS. I did see a Pennonia blue that seemed close.

through my various reading online, mostly from reddit, when people ask for replacement for bay state blue, close colour to BSB but more well behaved.  A lot of times people would recommend Diamine Blue Velvet, with Diamine Sapphire Blue close behind.  Blue Velvet is from Diamine's 150th anniversary edition, so it may be a little pricey.  Sapphire blue is regular ink so should be easy to obtain it.

 

I don't have BSB and Blue Velvet, but have the Sapphire Blue.  I would say it is indeed a very 'punchy' blue.  Both are not water resistant though.

[Lithium466]

I bought blue velvet and sapphire blue in hope of replacing BSB, but they don't come close to the vibrancy of BSB.
They are both well behaved and pleasant to use, but a BSB replacement? Sadly no. BSB has a "presence" on the page that's hard to beat, probably because it's closer to acrylic ink...I have a bottle of acrylic ink (forgot the brand, not to use in fp anyway) that's as punchy as BSB, perhaps even more.

 

Next on my list of BSB replacement would be Platinum Aurora blue. I know I won't get the "presence", but I'm hoping at least the colour will be close.

[txomsy]

If that's what you are looking for...

 

If what you are looking for is the ability to stain everything and the kitchen sink, then Koh-I-Noor Dokument Blue is a fair match, and as difficult to clean except with bleach.

 

The color though is no match. It starts as a clear teal blue, and if you let the ink oxydize in the converter, it gradually darkens to a dark blue (not a blue black).

[caduceus]

On 1/29/2024 at 11:20 PM, Baka1969 said:

 

I take full responsibility. 

 

Wow, what a gorgeous pen! Have you tried the recommended 10% bleach solution on it? If so, I guess it's just a gangsta pen now, kind of like scars on Capone's pretty face.

[Baka1969]

2 hours ago, caduceus said:

Wow, what a gorgeous pen! Have you tried the recommended 10% bleach solution on it? If so, I guess it's just a gangsta pen now, kind of like scars on Capone's pretty face.

lol I used a dab of Polywatch and it did a decent job of removing the BSB.