Bulletproof, Waterproof, UV resistance, What Next?

June 13, 2008

I think that there are 2 closely related ideas involved here: permance and the obsession to keep things pristine or mint.

Let me illustrate my opinion with an off-topic ramble. Have you heard about go? That game that can be seen in "A Beautiful Mind"?. I'll tell you about how are made the very best japanese boards.

The wood used for the best boards are made from Kaya, a Japanese wood. The "real thing" is called "hyuga kaya" which means it comes from a very specific area in Japan where due to soil and climate this wood excels. If you've read Kawabata's _Snow Country_ you'll find a few comments about the rarity of kaya wood.

Ok, kaya trees must be 500 to 700 years old to be cut (give or take a century). Before being cut a shinto priest must be present to recite some prayers so as to keep the soul of the tree in the cut wood. After that, the tree is cut into big blocks and they're left to dry for some years until they have the right amount of moisture.

Then comes the cutting, sanding, polishing with natural wax, and finally the grid is drawn by using a katana dipped in japanese lacquer and rocked onto the boards to draw the lines.

I'll stop here; the process is much complex, and you have google . My point is that by now some of you may think that go players treat these boards like they were Fabergé eggs, right? Not that fast grasshoppers... The way go stones (the playing pieces) are held between the index and middle fingers (tetsuki) and then placed onto the board is a solid move (actually slamming) so as to produce a resonant "click". This leaves indentations on the board (goban in Japanese), which creates the washisabi, the beauty of a well used object.

I have a hyuga kaya goban; not a floor one, but a 2'5 inches thick table board, and it's battle scarred with dings, scratches, dents... the goban is a representation of a battlefield!... So my point is: nothing lasts forever, all things deteriorate (us included). Traditional fountain pen ink fades; that's the nature of ink. You get a blur if you drop water onto paper; that's the nature of ink... There's some beauty in old notes; the yellowing of the paper, dogearing, fading... Maybe it's me, but I like it; that's the way I've used my fountain pens for decades, and I find that tolerable, and fun.

One more thing: fountain pens are not for the careless. If you drop your pens from your desk, or drop water on your notes like you're Buster Keaton with a hangover, perhaps you should consider a bic pen.

Juan

June 13, 2008

Here's a view:

June 13, 2008

I think that there are 2 closely related ideas involved here: permance and the obsession to keep things pristine or mint.

I have a hyuga kaya goban; not a floor one, but a 2'5 inches thick table board, and it's battle scarred with dings, scratches, dents... the goban is a representation of a battlefield!... So my point is: nothing lasts forever, all things deteriorate (us included). Traditional fountain pen ink fades; that's the nature of ink. You get a blur if you drop water onto paper; that's the nature of ink... There's some beauty in old notes; the yellowing of the paper, dogearing, fading... Maybe it's me, but I like it; that's the way I've used my fountain pens for decades, and I find that tolerable, and fun.

Juan

You can't keep things pristine in this world. Wear from normal use can be attractive. But if you want someone else to see your game of go, your board has to be intact. That is what I am trying to do with long-lasting ink and paper; I want someone else to see the ideas; the pristine quality of the writing is not the issue.

I have writing from the middle of the 19th century - 1847, on through 1903. It was made with commonly available ledger books and iron gall and indigo "writing fluid". I would certainly call this "traditional" ink. The writing that was put down with fresh ink is still "blacker than the Earl of Hell's waistcoat". The writing put down with old ink is now dark brown, but shows no sign of fading away. The ink will probably last as long as the paper. There are a few places where, sometime in the distant past, water has dripped on a page or two. The ink did not run. This writing, mundane as it is, gives me a first person glimpse of life in those times. I want to hand it on.

I think we are heading into the leading edge of what, in far future times, will be considered a dark age. Our writing will be mostly given over to computer technology and then lost. When that happens, we will have to go back to the '70s and start over.

Paddler

Edited June 13, 2008 by Paddler

June 13, 2008

I like the eternal/waterproof type inks for the user end of the people receiving what I write. I work with kids and write quite a few Rx's every day. With non-bulletproof/waterproof inks, I tend to have to rewrite a larger percentage of them. Don't ask me what the parents and kids do with them, I've heard a ton of reasons, but when they get to the destination, they're illegible (and that has little to do with my penmanship ).

June 13, 2008

I'm a bit confused; if I'm looking for an ink with permanence is bulletproof really the only option?

No. I have tested a few other inks. Waterman black, Permanent Blue Black and Permanent Royal Blue Skrip all remain legible after an 18-hour soak in cold well water (no chlorine). After four months on an outside porch, exposed to direct sun and indirect rain, they are pretty much gone, but you can still make out the writing in very strong light. Four months in a sunny southwest-facing window (Jun - Oct) fades them to gray: Waterman black goes to dark gray; both Skrips become light gray.

Interesting. A five minute cold water rinse (running water) brought Waterman black right to the edge of legibility when I tested it. I'm not sure whether I should be surprised that the movement of the water would make that much difference.

That was the day when I stopped calling Waterman "ink". Aurora Black (never advertised as waterproof or "bulletproof") held up pretty well. Pilot Black disappeared.

Waterproofness is not the same as resistance to age or sunlight, so it may not be not a good measure of how an ink will last over time, which for me is more important to whether it will last underwater or in solvents. But the water soak is a test that can be done quickly and easily, while aging tests take time, and I can at least tell myself that maybe there's a correlation between these different types of durability.

It's a question of alternatives. I don't want to use a $1000 fountain pen that "feels" good with ink that won't last more than a couple decades. Some of my most precious moments in my life have been reading the letters of relatives that passed away before I was born. I hope that it's not too arrogant of me to think that my great-great-grandchildren might want to look through my journals or read my letters. It seems absurd to think that if I want my descendants to read my letters or look at my drawings that I'd better not use my "good" pens. If that's true, then they aren't my good pens. I may as well chuck the Edson in the trash.

Of course, there are inks that will resist fading. I consider that to be a good thing, and I'm a little annoyed that considering it to be a good thing makes me "obsessive". But that just goes back to my last post in this thread. I shouldn't bother listening to anyone else's opinions. They just don't matter.

June 15, 2008

I had never used Noodler's before, so I was skeptical of their claims and wanted to test it. I wrote something on the back of a sheet of paper that was rubbish from something I had printed on my printer. Then I soaked the paper in the soapy water with the dishes. The paper dried. It is wrinkled, and what I had printed on the printer is messed up. What I wrote looks exactly the same. I am a fan of Noodler's now!