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Vintage Waterman Blue-Black


Ernst Bitterman

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Viseguy: do you have any problems with Skrip BB and flow? JJBlanche's review said he had problems with flow, but I was thinking of trying out this ink. Still working for you?

No flow problems here.

Viseguy

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So it's probably an iron gall ink. If you touch the inked nib to your tongue, does it taste like rusty nails? That's my "litmus test".

 

I'm pretty sure no vintage inks were iron gall, at least no inks that were made by the Big Five (Parker, Sheaffer's, Waterman's, Carter's, Sanford's) and after about 1900. Iron gall has been reported to eat through paper where it blobbed. Any vintage inks that are still around should not be iron gall. That does not mean they are safe to use (i.e. Superchrome!), but since iron gall clogs fountain pens, I'm pretty sure a major ink company would not make an ink that didn't work in the pens they sold.

 

I'm glad to hear that you're using and enjoying old inks! As long as there's no mold and no chunks, they should be safe to use. I'm currently doing a long-term usage test on some Skrip from around 1925. So far, no problems! Oh, and by the way, that smell is how almost all vintage inks smell. Isn't it nice?

I've got a blog!

Fountain Pen Love

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I wouldn't be surprised if some "permanent" Blue-Blacks contained small bits of ferro-gallic compounds, less than what's in Lamy Blue-Black, for instance. I'm not talking about a Medieval straight-up iron gall ink but something tempered with other dyes. I really wouldn't be surprised if some pre-war permanent inks had a small bit of iron gall content.

 

Remember kids, Iron Gall != Smoking Pen of Death!

 

Also, I'd like to give some props to Mr. John Boz- I just ordered some ink from him and I wanted to share the news that I'm quite happy with it! After some bad experiments with vintage ink bought off of eBay, I felt sort of silly stubling across his site. Good prices, great ink, quick shipping, the works. Anyway, usual disclaimer- happy customer, non-affiliated, etc.

 

Aaron

WTB: Lamy 27 w/ OB/OBB nibs; Pelikan 100 B nib

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Also, I'd like to give some props to Mr. John Boz- I just ordered some ink from him and I wanted to share the news that I'm quite happy with it! After some bad experiments with vintage ink bought off of eBay, I felt sort of silly stubling across his site. Good prices, great ink, quick shipping, the works. Anyway, usual disclaimer- happy customer, non-affiliated, etc.

 

Aaron

 

 

:embarrassed_smile:

 

You're too kind...

I've got a blog!

Fountain Pen Love

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Not at all! Just happy to not have purple-black hands from tinkering with thick old inks. Add water? Instant precipitate that couldn't be washed off of Pyrex lab glassware without manual (or, digital) intervention. Water, soap, EtOH, nothing. Weird stuff. :P

WTB: Lamy 27 w/ OB/OBB nibs; Pelikan 100 B nib

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  • 11 months later...

A very late addendum to the review: I've just got my hands on a bottle of current Lamy Blue-Black, and if you want an ink that acts just like the Waterman's that this review features, that's your bargain choice. The only differences are the bottle and the smell.

Ravensmarch Pens & Books
It's mainly pens, just now....

Oh, good heavens. He's got a blog now, too.

 

fpn_1465330536__hwabutton.jpg

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A very late addendum to the review: I've just got my hands on a bottle of current Lamy Blue-Black, and if you want an ink that acts just like the Waterman's that this review features, that's your bargain choice. The only differences are the bottle and the smell.

 

Is it as grey as the vintage blue black?

http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u18/Henrylouis16/Aurora%20Talentum/IMG_3779.jpg
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A very late addendum to the review: I've just got my hands on a bottle of current Lamy Blue-Black, and if you want an ink that acts just like the Waterman's that this review features, that's your bargain choice. The only differences are the bottle and the smell.

 

Thanks you for the update, Bitterman, I also think both inks are very similar. So is MB Blue-Black. Awesome beauty taken from the old days, great performance.

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Is it as grey as the vintage blue black?

 

Er... in as much as there's any grey involved in the vintage one, yes. You'd never know them apart, side-by-side.

 

Ravensmarch Pens & Books
It's mainly pens, just now....

Oh, good heavens. He's got a blog now, too.

 

fpn_1465330536__hwabutton.jpg

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  • 4 months later...

Ernst, thanks very much for posting this. I have a sample of the new Waterman blue-black. I was very surprised to see that it isn't blue-black at all. The Waterman blue-black I remember looked exactly like your example. I will try adding some Waterman black to see if I can mix a nice blue-black.

May you have pens you enjoy, with plenty of paper and ink. :)

Please use only my FPN name "Gran" in your posts. Thanks very much!

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  • 7 years later...

This post (from Ernst BItterman with its original images) has now been moved back to Post #1.

 

Kind regards,

Mike

Edited by lapis

Ravensmarch Pens & Books
It's mainly pens, just now....

Oh, good heavens. He's got a blog now, too.

 

fpn_1465330536__hwabutton.jpg

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