Kyo No Oto turning purple?

[LizEF]

I was gifted a bottle of Kyo No Oto Aonibi, almost full.  The ink in the bottle looks like the normal grey-blue color.  I put it in my Visconti Homo Sapiens London Fog and the first fill was normal.  When it ran out, I refilled (no cleaning between), and it was fine for a while, but over the past week to 10 days, the ink in the pen has been turning more and more purple until right now, it's totally purple.

 

I'm pretty sure it's not a former ink in the pen - that should have shown up in the first fill, and I'm very thorough about cleaning.

 

Has anyone else seen Aonibi age into dusky purple?

[yazeh]

In my experience it's the feed that has kept some residue. Last night I was reviewing an ink, which had been thoroughly cleaned with cleaning solution and I started seeing a reddish residue oozing out from the most unusual place.   I would suggest that it might have been the same with you. 

The other suggestion might be that Smoke dipped your  pen in one your many samples 

[LizEF]

2 hours ago, yazeh said:

In my experience it's the feed that has kept some residue. Last night I was reviewing an ink, which had been thoroughly cleaned with cleaning solution and I started seeing a reddish residue oozing out from the most unusual place.   I would suggest that it might have been the same with you.

I usually clean this pen very thoroughly, including leaving it soaking in water (inside the lid to a butter dish, which is exactly the right size for the pen.   This time, I'll run it through the ultrasonic, which should do an excellent job at dislodging anything that's stuck.  Last night I began to wonder if perhaps Aonibi would qualify as a "cleaning ink" - just one that needs more time (2 fills) than the more famous cleaning inks...

 

Technically, I could remove the nib unit, but it's the 23k palladium nib unit, and I'm loathe to do that - the nib is so sensitive - easy to misalign, hard to align...

 

2 hours ago, yazeh said:

The other suggestion might be that Smoke dipped your  pen in one your many samples 

If that little turkey had opposable thumbs, I'm sure he would - I keep my pens and inks in safe places to ensure he can't try.  (Moments ago I heard something smashing into the window and knew before going to see that it was Smoke and he'd forgotten there was a window between him and the birds outside...   The window's fine.  Smoke seemed undisturbed.  The birdies came back after several seconds....)

[LizEF]

Here's a photo with the color change.  Left it large so you can zoom in to get a good look. I kept the whole page because more colors gives you a better idea of color accuracy on your screen.  The first fill was in April, but I failed to note the second fill - sometime between then and now...

 

[Sailor Kenshin]

Whoa.  In the scan, your formerly blue ink looks like the Kaweco purple or Pelikan Violet.

 

I'm waiting for the sonicator results!

[LizEF]

8 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Whoa.  In the scan, your formerly blue ink looks like the Kaweco purple or Pelikan Violet.

Exactly!  I mean, it morphed gradually and took at least a week, probably longer, to get there, but it's no longer Aonibi (even though it's still Aonibi)...

[Lithium466]

What does it look like in another pen? 

(Is it the pen, the paper, the ink?)

 

I bought some pens once from someone who used Platinum carbon black extensively, and while with most inks everything was fine, with some other inks (not especially known to clean) I had some grey black leaching out for months... but what you are showing is quite an extreme shift!

 

My money is on a large scale Smoke and Klaw conspiracy, decanting inks and mixing away, playing with samples and stickers, to take over the food and catnip supply.

Or like I already said, another option would be that Japanese ink rebeling against not being used with an appropriately EF nib.

[LizEF]

4 minutes ago, Lithium466 said:

What does it look like in another pen? 

(Is it the pen, the paper, the ink?)

I've never had it in another pen for so long.  Remember, I first filled the Visconti on 06 April, then refilled it at some point between now and then - presumably in May, and it's only after the second fill that it slowly morphed into the purple you see in the photo.  In the bottle, as of yesterday, the ink looked like Aonibi should look.  I've never had Aonibi do this before, but as I said, I've never had Aonibi in a pen for this long.  A reddit user says he's had it in a Prera for most of this year and it's gotten darker, but never changed color.

 

8 minutes ago, Lithium466 said:

I bought some pens once from someone who used Platinum carbon black extensively, and while with most inks everything was fine, with some other inks (not especially known to clean) I had some grey black leaching out for months... but what you are showing is quite an extreme shift!

Well, a red-leaning brown might explain this...  The more I think about it, the more I suspect that it's long-dried ink somewhere deep in the nib unit (nib units are harder to get clean than loose nib and feed designs, and a pen can seem clean and still have ink somewhere inside)...

 

Working backwards:

06 Apr 2024 - Aonibi (and it's been in the pen ever since) (this is from the gifted bottle; all previous Aonibi fills are from a sample)

 

HUGE GAP (recognition of this huge gap made me resolve to keep this pen always inked - it's too enjoyable not to use - it's in my top 2 pens!)

 

24 Nov 2022 - Robert Oster Gold Antiqua

24 Apr 2022 - Robert Oster Bass Straight

 

19 Aug 2021 - Robert Oster Caffe Crema

sometime before 13 Aug 2021 - Kyo No Oto Aonibi (apparently I forgot to record it on the day I inked it; would have been the last of my sample)

28 Jun 2021 - Diamine Eau de Nil

 

23 Nov 2020 - Kyo No Oto Aonibi

 

HUGE GAP (2019 was a dark year )

 

31 Aug 2018 - Robert Oster Aussie Brown (I remember believing this may have stained the titanium rod near the knob-end of the pen, but wasn't sure - resolved not to put this or any other reddish ink in the pen)

21 May 2018 - Robert Oster Blue Denim (my ink log doesn't go back further than this, but this ink was in this pen a lot from the time I got the pen and the ink...)

 

23 minutes ago, Lithium466 said:

My money is on a large scale Smoke and Klaw conspiracy, decanting inks and mixing away, playing with samples and stickers, to take over the food and catnip supply.

I wouldn't put it past them!  Smoke would have initiated it.  He's already informed me twice, since I started this reply, that I need to stop typing and come play with him...

 

24 minutes ago, Lithium466 said:

Or like I already said, another option would be that Japanese ink rebeling against not being used with an appropriately EF nib.

If so, apparently it's patient and will tolerate the occasional single fill, but objects to being forced to take two turns in a row...

[yazeh]

Wow what a change. Whenever, I'm filling a pen with a light colour, my first though is will there be any residue. 

There's nothing more satisfying when you dunk a pen in a vial filled with cleaning solution and 10/15 minutes later the solution has changed colour  

One of the reasons I dislike piston-fillers  it is because cleaning them is a pain. Each time I filled one for a review, it has been a pain cleaning them

 

I heard once of two naughty cats, who learned how to open the hamsters cage, and once when the owner had left managed to make it disappear . All that was left were a few tufts of hair and an empty cage

 

[LizEF]

3 hours ago, yazeh said:

One of the reasons I dislike piston-fillers  it is because cleaning them is a pain. Each time I filled one for a review, it has been a pain cleaning them

I agree.  The vac filler isn't as bad as piston fillers, but still not so easy.  On the other hand, the London Fog is gorgeous as all get-out and the nib is a dream come true, so, it's worth it...  If I can get back to Aonibi being its normal color, it'll become a permanent resident and then I won't have to worry about how hard it is to clean...

 

3 hours ago, yazeh said:

I heard once of two naughty cats, who learned how to open the hamsters cage, and once when the owner had left managed to make it disappear . All that was left were a few tufts of hair and an empty cage

Oh dear!  Thankfully, if any rodents appear in my house, I'll be happy if the cats make them disappear!  I'm not sure Klaw would know what to do with it, but Smoke's hunting instincts are stronger than I've ever seen in a tame cat.

[Sailor Kenshin]

What I don't get is how the ink could turn into a LIGHT purple.

[LizEF]

1 minute ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

What I don't get is how the ink could turn into a LIGHT purple.

Well, Aonibi isn't dark.   Perhaps it's mixed with a teeny bit of Gold Antiqua (the previous ink). And that was enough to change the color, without any darkening...  It could also be that I didn't open the knob before scribbling that, so it would have been a drier flow of whatever was left in the feed - I don't remember...

[yazeh]

44 minutes ago, LizEF said:

I agree.  The vac filler isn't as bad as piston fillers, but still not so easy.  On the other hand, the London Fog is gorgeous as all get-out and the nib is a dream come true, so, it's worth it...  If I can get back to Aonibi being its normal color, it'll become a permanent resident and then I won't have to worry about how hard it is to clean...

Good plan! It's good you have pen that you love so passionately as day one, live a pet 😸 

44 minutes ago, LizEF said:

Oh dear!  Thankfully, if any rodents appear in my house, I'll be happy if the cats make them disappear!  I'm not sure Klaw would know what to do with it, but Smoke's hunting instincts are stronger than I've ever seen in a tame cat.

🐁 

 

[Sailor Kenshin]

@yazeh, see, this is why one pen, one color.  Especially pistons!  Where it pays to have a lot of cheepies. 

 

PS: Quote function ain't workin', 🤬

[LizEF]

I have cleaned the pen as thoroughly as I can without any disassembly...  rinsing the nib and feed under the faucet, fill and expel until the water runs clear, fill then submerge it in water to soak a while, flush with pen flush, fill with pen flush and ultrasonic a few times, rinse the pen flush out, fill with water and ultrasonic, rinse a few more times...

 

Only after the first ultrasonic was there any color to the water.  Everything thereafter was overkill.  Just for more overkill, I'm soaking the pen in water (and filled completely with water) overnight.  If the water is still clear in the morning, I'll empty it, let it air out for a while, then try Aonibi again.

[amberleadavis]

@LizEF I haven't been to London ... but isn't real London Fog prone to change of depth and color?

 

Sorry this is happening to you.  I look forward to finding out if this is actually a left over ink issue.

[LizEF]

6 minutes ago, amberleadavis said:

@LizEF I haven't been to London ... but isn't real London Fog prone to change of depth and color?

  Probably so.  (I have been to London, but didn't see any fog while I was there - probably because it was July.)

 

6 minutes ago, amberleadavis said:

Sorry this is happening to you.  I look forward to finding out if this is actually a left over ink issue.

Thanks!  I'm still working on my first fill after having deep-cleaned the pen.  No sign of purple in the barrel, but I imagine we have a couple months to go before I can say anything definitive.

[LizEF]

Well, I had filled the pen with Aonibi on 29 June.  I used it nearly every day until last week when I got very busy (not sure how much I did / did not use it last week).  Today the ink is purple - both in the barrel and coming out the nib.  I'm going to go ahead and clean the ink out of the pen because I can only believe that it's reacting with some part of the pen and I don't want it doing any more damage (if damage has been done).  Bummer, cuz it was the perfect ink for this pen.

[Lithium466]

So strange. Can the titanium rod act as a catalyst or something? You need to buy another HS to compare. Alternatively but less fun, someone with a HS that would be ready to test.

A HS is on my buy list, but toward the bottom. Maybe in a few years.

[LizEF]

36 minutes ago, Lithium466 said:

So strange. Can the titanium rod act as a catalyst or something?

Very strange.  Titanium, other materials, glue?  I dunno.  In addition to putting some other ink into this pen (perhaps the one that has spent a lot of time in the pen, with no problems - just to see if there's something new going on), I should probably put Aonibi into another pen and see if it turns purple there - if so, it's this bottle and something about aging...

 

39 minutes ago, Lithium466 said:

You need to buy another HS to compare.

Wish I could afford that.  Of course, to be an equal comparison, it would have to be another London Fog, making it even less affordable!

 

39 minutes ago, Lithium466 said:

Alternatively but less fun, someone with a HS that would be ready to test.

But I think I'd have to send them my bottle of Aonibi for it to be a good test.

 

40 minutes ago, Lithium466 said:

A HS is on my buy list, but toward the bottom. Maybe in a few years.

If the palladium nib were still an option, I'll tell you to hike it to the top of the list.