Thinking of dedicating inexpensive pens for iron gall inks

[PBWilson1970]

When I started collecting fountain pen inks, I was overly concerned with using waterproof/resistant inks. (I've since changed my stance.) I wasn't overly worried about modern iron gall inks ruining any pens I have (all under $40) so I bought bottles of Platinum Forest Black, Citrus Black and R&K Salix and Scabiosa. I used each for a while in a few different pens and can't say that I had any nib etching or damage. The only thing I did notice was that Salix and Scabiosa seemed to corrode the steel ball in the Platinum ink cartridges that I refilled and the pens took a little bit more effort to clean out. Each was in their pens for a month, maybe two.

 

I've since gathered more inks and a bunch more pens and I like to have them inked up all at once. I use them every day at work (schoolteacher who like paper notes instead of everything on my laptop) and enjoy the variety of colors I can have available. My students like it too when their papers come back with notes in surprising colors.

 

I'm wondering if others have dedicated an inexpensive pen for prolonged iron gall inks. I'm thinking about using a Preppy or Kakuno or something in that price range so if I forget the pen for a while, I won't have to feel too bad if the pen is damaged. I'm not worried about it, but wondered if anyone else does this in a "just in case" situation.

[tim77]

I've noticed that the iron-gall inks in my collection cause heavy insoluble staining.  That makes me think that they could ruin a pen that was allowed to dry out by coating the feed or jamming the ink reservoir.

 

I've decided to confine these inks to Safaris because

a) they can be disassembled completely, so there's a reasonable chance a dried-up pen can be cleaned out

b) it's easy and inexpensive to replace the converter or the whole pen

c) they write quite nicely anyway so I don't mind that I'm not using a more expensive pen

 

The same reasoning goes for carbon ink.  Safaris aren't the most resistant to drying-out, so there may be better options.

 

[Mercian]

I use Salix and Scabiosa in most of my pens. And Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black too.

No problems so far (except when I once let some Salix dry-out in an aerometric Parker "51" - it was a right pain to clean out afterwards!).

 

That said, when I bought my bottle of ESS Registrars' Ink (aka ESSRI) I decided to buy a pen to dedicate to it (the ink contains a lot of iron-gall).

 

The pen that I chose is a Parker 'UK Duofold'.

Link →  https://parkerpens.net/ukduofold.html ← here.

 

In my opinion, these are the ideal pens to use with iron-gall ink:

• They were designed in the era when iron-gall inks were the only 'permanent' inks for business use;
• They have ebonite feeds into which ink-channels were cut, rather than being finely-moulded, so they write very 'wet' (this makes flow reliable, and ESSRI cures to completely black, but it does still give shading ♥);
• They have 14k gold nibs - these are their only internal components that are made of metal;
• They were made in several sizes, and various colours, so you ought to be able to find one that suits your hand/tastes.

They were made from the early 1930s to the late 1960s, so can be had with Parker's 'Vacumatic' filler, or with the 'Aerometric' filler that was designed for use with the very corrosive inks that were developed for the Parker "51".

 

I chose one with the 'aerometric' filler, because it requires less maintenance, and is more-robust.

The 14k nib is a bit 'bouncy'. It isn't a 'flex' nib, but it does give a bit of natural line-variation as one writes with it.

 

The largest ones that were made  - the 'Maxima' - can be rather expensive.
But (at least if you are in the UK) these pens can be found for not very much money.
My own cost me less than £30.

 

I wish you good luck in your quest

 

Slàinte,
M.

[Penguincollector]

  From what I understand, ferrogallic inks eat away at metals, which is why most early fountain pens were made with gold nibs, which aren’t reactive. If you like Platinum pens, look around, there are a few used with gold nibs for around $35-40. Many were used for years with platinum BB. 

[PBWilson1970]

Thanks for the responses everyone. 

Looks like I ought to take a look at some older pens one of these days!

[yazeh]

It is my understanding that Platinum and R&K IG inks are not, that corrosive than the old school/ real IG inks (Essri, Diamine Registrars, Tintenlober etc.). 

I used Essri in the Pilot Varsity for a few years. The downside was that at the time I didn't know my ink had precipiated and no matter what I could save the pen.  (It's very difficult to clean Varsity feeds). All I can add is that you need pens have a good seal.  

[es9]

Rather than dedicate an “inexpensive,” pen, I chose one that’s simple, easy to service, and doesn’t have non-14k metal. (Only gold can be sure not to corrode.) I went with a Sheaffer TD/TM. Cleaning/re-sacking is easy and the only metal is the 14k nib. They’re less sought than snorkels, so you can get one without breaking the bank. 

[SashK]

What I've read is the new iron gall formulas are much milder than the old stuff. So nothing you use should harm your pens. They have made them for modern pens. And especially IG inks from pen makers like Pelikan, Platinum are very safe. Buy a cheap metro or curidas pen and try this out for yourself. 

 

In the days of our grandparents, people had one pen and one preferred ink and never really cleaned them very often, they simply refilled. Those inks also did not destroy their pens, the inks are made to be compatible. Now I might change the ink and pen many times in the same week.

 

Iron gall inks are a strange and far-off sub genre for us, and so we see many warnings that date back to the very early days of making the ink. 

[Dillo]

The modern iron gall inks do damage steel nibs still. I have used them a lot. Pick something with a plastic or ebonite body and a gold nib and use that instead. If you use it with a pen with a gold nib and no metal in the ink path or where it may get exposed to ink, it will work fine.

 

Where my mother is from, we used Platinum Blue Black a lot. It is extremely common to find steel nibs corroded and pitted from it. In my modern pens, I have seen the same thing happen many times with modern iron gall inks. I would not use them in pens with steel nibs.

 

I have repaired pens almost 20 years. I've seen a lot of damage to metal from modern iron gall inks, however if you have a modern pen with a gold nib, it is generally safe in those pens. I have a Lamy ABC that I have a Lamy gold nib in that I use iron gall inks in and I have used them for more than 10 years in that pen without any issues whatsoever. I also have two Lamy Vista with the Lamy gold nibs in them. I would not put the inks in a Lamy 2000 because of the steel grip section. It would cause the grip section to pit.

[tim77]

14 hours ago, Dillo said:

It is extremely common to find steel nibs corroded and pitted [...]

 

That's very interesting.  Steel is such a variable material that I'm wondering if you've seen any steel nibs which did *not* get damaged, even when using ink that would have damaged other pens.

[SashK]

Wow very cool thanks for the clarification. I suppose it wouldn't matter very much with a cheap steel pen, that's the point of a cheap pen, but if you want it to last, go with gold. So I guess that iridium is safe from iron gall as well? Since that is what most tipping is made of? 

 

And thank you for the Lamy 2000 tip I will keep iron gall inks away from it, though I think I've only inked up Pelikan BB 4001 once with it. Pelikan claims it that "During development, we made sure that the concentration of iron gall is low enough to avoid corrosion." I suppose we could agree the wording is just vague enough to take it the way you want, but it certainly does not say "corrosion-free or will not corrode, regardless of pen and nib materials."

 

Why don't you try the Sailor nano-pigment inks? They come in black and two blue-blacks but they are pretty much bulletproof. 

 

[Mercian]

7 hours ago, SashK said:

Why don't you try the Sailor nano-pigment inks? They come in black and two blue-blacks but they are pretty much bulletproof.

I've got the black (Kiwa Guro), and I think it's great stuff
It causes 'nib-creep', but then every waterproof black ink that I have tried (Noodler's Black, ESSRI, Kiwa Guro) does.

Its only 'downside' for me is in terms of appearance on the page - it cannot replicate the uniquely lovely, rippling shading that i-g inks give (even ESSRI from a very 'wet' pen).

And I don't think that either Sei Boku or Sou Boku will be able to either (although I cannot say that with certainty, as I don't own either of them).

[Dillo]

On 4/2/2025 at 12:16 PM, tim77 said:

 

That's very interesting.  Steel is such a variable material that I'm wondering if you've seen any steel nibs which did *not* get damaged, even when using ink that would have damaged other pens.

Even 316 stainless which is one of the most resistant alloys used for nibs pits with these inks. 304 pits even faster. I haven't seen any stainless nibs survive particularly well.

[Mercian]

@SashK further to what @Dillo said about the Lamy 2000 and i-g inks, here ↓ is a thread...

 

...which includes a warning about what can happen if one is not very, very careful 😱

[SashK]

@Mercian You are correct, the Sei and Sou Boku do not have nib creep. They appear like normal inks with normal sheen, but even under a running tap the ink won't budge at all. It's pretty cool to test it out. I'm pretty sure that Kiwa guru rehydrates some but mostly stays bonded with the paper fibers. 

[sajiskumar]

Try any inexpensive Indian Eyedropper fountain pen.

[Bo Bo Olson]

I don't have any red inks.

Like purple inks, any IG ink I use is cleaned out when empty, no re-filling. Therefore, I have no problems with IG inks.

 

 

I Assume that the 'normal' '50-70's inks from MB, Pelikan, and so on were stronger with IG than now, yet they recommended cleaning only once every three months.