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PRESIDENT GOKU posted:How long can I expect an ink to last in a bottle? I have too many inks for as infrequently as I write. I have a bottle of Waterman's blue, Monte Verde purple, and a bottle of DeAtramentis black that is rose scented. I use my fountain pen at work as much as at home, so I like my Noodlers Aurora Borealis black or Catfish Blue for that. I'd rather not throw away perfectly full jars of ink, but I don't see myself using them before they either rot or go bad in whatever way inks go bad. From what ive read most inks will last several years as lonf as they are kept in the bottle with the top tight.
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Jun 16, 2015 17:36
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Yeah, if they close tightly you'll get years of life out of them.
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Jun 16, 2015 18:25
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I've seen it recommended to keep them out of the light as well. I keep mine in their boxes inside my desk at work.
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Jun 16, 2015 19:19
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PRESIDENT GOKU posted:How long can I expect an ink to last in a bottle? I have too many inks for as infrequently as I write. I have a bottle of Waterman's blue, Monte Verde purple, and a bottle of DeAtramentis black that is rose scented. I use my fountain pen at work as much as at home, so I like my Noodlers Aurora Borealis black or Catfish Blue for that. I'd rather not throw away perfectly full jars of ink, but I don't see myself using them before they either rot or go bad in whatever way inks go bad. Keep it in a temperature stable area, preferably cool, keep it out of sunlight, don't squirt ink back into the bottle from a pen. If you take care of ink it could last forever. I have a bottle of Schaeffer Skrip ink from the 1960s that's still usable. Unless you have some Private Reserve in which case enjoy it for the 2 weeks before it molds. 
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Jun 16, 2015 19:59
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How does ink get moldy? Do they stick bread in there?
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Jun 16, 2015 20:52
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Since the ink is water-based instead of solvent-based like sharpies, they have a wet environment with a lot of organic matter and are only stopped by antimicrobial additives, if any. Private Reserve apparently puts sugar and agar in their inks. e: but seriously Pienipple got two different bottles that both molded so badly they became carbonated and opening it sounded like opening a soda bottle. Both of them were here for less than a month each.
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Jun 16, 2015 20:56
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I had a bottle of Private Reserve Ebony Green that molded after a month, discovered that when my FAVORITE GODDANG PEN grew green fuzz from the nib. Fortunately the Safari/Vista is all ABS and you can disassemble and bleach it. Goulet sent me a replacement bottle and I opened it once to look, then set it aside. Two weeks later the cap was visibly bulging and we opened it carefully to find islands of fuzz drifting about the surface. I posted pictures of both bottles a ways back in the thread. I finally threw them out a while ago but they were on my bathroom counter for a while and periodically I'd open one to see how it had changed. The mold islands seem to die and sink and be replaced by new ones periodically. Goulet refunded us and I got a bottle of J. Herbin Lierre Sauvage instead, it shades beautifully and I've had 0 problems with it. After doing some research PR seems to have periodic problems with mold/sludge-in-the-bottle, possibly due to inadequate or inconsistent levels of biocides in their inks. May be related to many of their inks being so dye dense. The Moldy Private Reserve Saga: pienipple posted:My nearly brand new bottle of Private Reserve went moldy. pienipple posted:Sheaffer Skrip from the 60s = A-OK pienipple posted:My replacement bottle of Private Reserve Ebony Green also molded. pienipple posted:Had the first bottle less than a month when I found my Vista's nib covered in green fuzz. Opened the bottle and there were little fuzzballs floating on top. I'd transferred some to a sample vial which also molded. pienipple posted:If it had molded in a pen that wasn't completely disassemble-able without a feed that'll tolerate a bleaching, I'd be super pissed. And I never bought a PR ink again. pienipple fucked around with this message at 21:15 on Jun 16, 2015 |
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Jun 16, 2015 21:05
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WOw.. putting sugar in your ink is asking for it.. why give the mold something to enjoy? I'm no expert and I understand that because the ink is water based that there's chances for mold.. but usually mold needs something to feed on or it doesn't happen.. Like if I dropped a bit of cupcake in my ink bottle or something I wouldn't be surprised if something bad happened like mold.. but when it's just chilling there without any abuse/misuse that's a problem.
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Jun 16, 2015 21:27
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That was a joke.  However, the dyes and some additives used in inks are made from organic material, so they are eaten happily unless some form of preservative is also added, and in enough quantity.
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Jun 16, 2015 21:35
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Dyes are organic material that mold can eat, as are some of the surfactants and wetting agents. Good inks have an adequate level of preservative to prevent rancidity and some form of biocide to prevent mold or bacterial growth.
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Jun 16, 2015 21:35
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I had a bottle of Lamy blue-black go bad after nine years (got really grey and sludgy -- not moldy, just condensed, like) and several bottles of Private Reserve that got serious SITB (slime-in-the-bottle) but other than that, out of hundreds of bottles of ink in the house, none have gone bad. All the suggestions from upthread are good: cap them tight, keep them in a cool and dark place, and don't empty ink back into the bottle. Now cartridges? They condense -- after a couple of years, they're often only half-full and they write super oddly. They're a much more time-limited form of ink.
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Jun 16, 2015 21:57
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When it comes to colors Diamine, DeAtramentis, and J. Herbin have large selections and are reliable brands. Richard Binder recommends against Noodler's and Private Reserve on his ink page. Largely because they're both so dye heavy they're prone to clog pens. I've used samples of various Noodler's and none were really to my taste, either too dry or too runny, or they're permanent but run like mad if the page gets wet which was not at all what I was expecting. I definitely wouldn't use either in an expensive pen. I've tried the DeAtramentis Document inks (just the blues and blacks) and those were completely waterproof and didn't run at all even when I soaked the page. The blues had hellacious nib creep that lead to finding ink in the cap, but the blacks were pretty well behaved. Haven't tried any of the other Document colors.
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Jun 16, 2015 22:39
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I just ordered this monstrosity. I will submit a trip report on how well it functions for any other amateur calligraphers, since this is the first I've heard of a slant nib and frankly I'm very excited.
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Jun 16, 2015 22:44
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DA Document Fuschia is the poo poo, just saying.
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Jun 17, 2015 00:21
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Just bought a Pilot Metro with a fine nib. It will swap between work and journaling with my Lamy Safari.
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Jun 17, 2015 01:55
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pienipple posted:I've tried the DeAtramentis Document inks (just the blues and blacks) and those were completely waterproof and didn't run at all even when I soaked the page. The blues had hellacious nib creep that lead to finding ink in the cap, but the blacks were pretty well behaved. Haven't tried any of the other Document colors. I find the DeAtramentis Document Black to be a longer drying Heart of Darkness. I'd do comps, but I don't have anything inked with HoD at the moment.
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Jun 17, 2015 01:58
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PRESIDENT GOKU posted:Just bought a Pilot Metro with a fine nib. It will swap between work and journaling with my Lamy Safari. I love how fine the metros are.. like writing with a hair.
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Jun 17, 2015 02:08
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howe_sam posted:I find the DeAtramentis Document Black to be a longer drying Heart of Darkness. I'd do comps, but I don't have anything inked with HoD at the moment. When I used HoD it ran like crazy when I got the page wet, even long after it was dry. Document black didn't, and didn't take a noticeably longer time to dry. Both used in an M Metro.
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Jun 17, 2015 02:16
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Is there any way for me to get just a Pilot Metro fine nib without ordering a whole new pen? I haven't been able to find something like that, but my google fu may just be weak.
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Jun 17, 2015 02:34
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Thirst Mutilator posted:Is there any way for me to get just a Pilot Metro fine nib without ordering a whole new pen? I haven't been able to find something like that, but my google fu may just be weak. Nope, but replacement nibs for most pens run $15 - $25 for the nib alone so it's kind of a steal.
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Jun 17, 2015 02:42
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Thirst Mutilator posted:Is there any way for me to get just a Pilot Metro fine nib without ordering a whole new pen? I haven't been able to find something like that, but my google fu may just be weak. A Pilot Metro with an F nib is $15. A replacement nib for a Lamy Safari is $12.50. You aren't saving much even if they did sell the nibs separately. e: or buy a Kakuno from Jet Pens. They're $13.75 and you get either a smiley or winky face on your new nib! ;·)
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Jun 17, 2015 02:53
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pienipple posted:When I used HoD it ran like crazy when I got the page wet, even long after it was dry. Document black didn't, and didn't take a noticeably longer time to dry. Both used in an M Metro. I've soaked a bunch of pages with HoD on it and it's never run. Maybe it depends on the paper? I've done most of my tests on lovely laser jet paper at work that i was about to toss in the shred bin. However, I do agree that some of the so-called bulletproof Noodlers inks aren't as waterproof as they claim. As for dry times, this is Document Black vs Nooder's EL Lawrence (the only black Noodler's ink I have on hand).  Oh, and the Document was written with my Lamy 2000. It's close, but the Document Black definitely takes a little longer to dry. I'm also incredibly picky about dry times. So ten seconds to you might not be a big deal, to me it's oh god oh god i want to get onto the next page.
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Jun 17, 2015 03:00
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It was staples sugarcane paper. Maybe I can do a comparison tomorrow.
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Jun 17, 2015 03:02
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howe_sam posted:However, I do agree that some of the so-called bulletproof Noodlers inks aren't as waterproof as they claim. I always got the impression that the waterproof bit of Noodler's more or less meant "You can still read this after it's been soaked," more than anything. That and most of the waterproof inks are only as waterproof as the black component in them (at least with things like Red-Black, which I think is listed as "semi-bulletproof"), so the color'll mostly wash off, leaving just the black. Then again, I've never really bothered to test it on any level beyond "poo poo, I've dripped coffee on this." For all I know, that's doubly-intended as an indicator that someone's been loving with whatever you've written. That's exactly the sort of feature I'd expect from the sort of person who comes up with laser-proof inks, at any rate.
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Jun 17, 2015 03:13
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cobalt impurity posted:A Pilot Metro with an F nib is $15. A replacement nib for a Lamy Safari is $12.50. You aren't saving much even if they did sell the nibs separately. ooo, I am a sucker for that kind of thing. I'm guessing the nibs between the Kakuno and the Metro are similar/the same?
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Jun 17, 2015 04:17
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Only superficial differences. I put a Kakuno F in my metro and I love the way it writes. The smiley face is just a nice bonus because I'm a dork that likes cute stuff.
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Jun 17, 2015 04:47
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Thirst Mutilator posted:ooo, I am a sucker for that kind of thing. I'm guessing the nibs between the Kakuno and the Metro are similar/the same? They fit interchangeably, as do nibs from the Plumix.
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Jun 17, 2015 06:25
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NeurosisHead posted:They fit interchangeably, as do nibs from the Plumix. And also from the Prera, but there's kind of no point in doing this since the nib options for the Prera are exactly the same as the Metro's (fine and medium).
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Jun 17, 2015 07:17
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tater_salad posted:I love how fine the metros are.. like writing with a hair. Yikes, I hope it's not that fine! Might have to get the medium nib.
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Jun 17, 2015 12:44
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They're like writing with a fresh pencil... Thats a fine pilot compared to a jainhao medium. Im new to fountain pens but I feel loke the pilot fine loses some of the character I got into fps for. Its a bit rough due to how small the point is, and the line doesnt really vary with strokes. tater_salad fucked around with this message at 12:56 on Jun 17, 2015 |
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Jun 17, 2015 12:52
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Oh god dammit, isellpens.com is going on vacation. He's still taking money but he's not shipping until next Monday. Just give me a refund then so I can order from somewhere else.
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Jun 17, 2015 13:28
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PRESIDENT GOKU posted:Oh god dammit, isellpens.com is going on vacation. He's still taking money but he's not shipping until next Monday. Just give me a refund then so I can order from somewhere else. just order from somewhere else too 
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Jun 17, 2015 14:25
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Yea but its eight bucks  . That's an over priced lunch for me!
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Jun 17, 2015 15:11
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pienipple posted:It was staples sugarcane paper. Maybe I can do a comparison tomorrow. Do work, or do ink comparisons? Is that even a question? Staples laser copy paper, both written with a soft fine Falcon   The HoD washed out a little, but the paper was tearing more than the ink was smudging. I was wrong about the dry times though, at least with this falcon they're pretty much the same.
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Jun 17, 2015 19:12
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Huh. Maybe it's the sugarcane paper. I tried HoD in my metro because delivering mail I'd get water and snow on my hands and then on the pages, I was pretty ticked when the slightest bit of moisture made it smear like crazy. On Rhodia paper the Documents ran not a tiny bit. On sugarcane paper it's practically sliding off. HoD is also running a lot but still easy to read. I also just had to wash dried up 6 month old HoD out of said metro because I haven't used it since I was hospitalized in February and lost my job.
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Jun 17, 2015 20:22
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PRESIDENT GOKU posted:Yikes, I hope it's not that fine! Might have to get the medium nib. I like using a Metro with an EF nib I cannibalised from a Pilot Penmanship. Not too scratchy, and you can circle the individual molecules on the paper with it. I just like writing stupidly small.
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Jun 17, 2015 22:02
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Goulet just put out a video/blog post about the Pilot Vanishing Point getting a stub nib. I think I know what I'm going to ask Santa for now. edit: aaaaaahhhh  new sparkly J. Herbin 1670 ink coming out this summer too: Emerald of Chivordrat that looks pretty. Everything Burrito fucked around with this message at 23:10 on Jun 18, 2015 |
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Jun 18, 2015 23:06
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Looks pretty but what will that reflective material do to pens?
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Jun 18, 2015 23:24
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I wasn't a fan of Stormy Grey but that is gorgeous.
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Jun 18, 2015 23:28
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PRESIDENT GOKU posted:Looks pretty but what will that reflective material do to pens? It can cause clogs if it builds up in the feed, it's recommended to use it with a juicy nib (so you can actually see the sheen) in a pen that's easy to flush and can be taken apart if you really need to. IIRC it is very fine actual gold dust, so it's pretty inert and won't cause a chemical reaction.
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Jun 18, 2015 23:34
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