Good quality ink?

I use waterman's blue-black ink as I was told it has small ink particles
and will give good even flow. Any suggestions for a better ink?

Also, the only way I can fill a converter is to remove the nib and dip the
converter into the ink well. It seems that other's may dip the whole nib
into the ink, but this never works for me. Suggestions?

Thanks

On 2004-10-08 16:11:02 -0700, "sbsawler" said:

I use waterman's blue-black ink as I was told it has small ink particles
and will give good even flow. Any suggestions for a better ink?

Also, the only way I can fill a converter is to remove the nib and dip the
converter into the ink well. It seems that other's may dip the whole nib
into the ink, but this never works for me. Suggestions?

Waterman is already very good quality ink - but you can get something
different (not really better) if you like. How would you prefer your
ink to be different from the Waterman blue-black?

About filling the pen: Maybe you aren't dipping the nib deep enough in
the bottle?
What kind of pen do you have?

Many thanks for your kind response.

I like the Waterman ink; I've never used a different kind so I've no
standard to compare it against. What would you suggest I try for a
comparator (... just to see that it is a good ink so I can recognize a
good one when I see it...)

Filling pens: I've had troubles with Waterman's Edson (Broad nib) and
Charleston (Fine), the Parker Duofold (Medium).

To confirm: the proper way is not to separate the converter from the nib?
The whole nib is to be dipped into the ink and the convertered twisted?

On 2004-10-08 18:18:46 -0700, "sbsawler" said:

Many thanks for your kind response.

I like the Waterman ink; I've never used a different kind so I've no
standard to compare it against. What would you suggest I try for a
comparator (... just to see that it is a good ink so I can recognize a
good one when I see it...)

Filling pens: I've had troubles with Waterman's Edson (Broad nib) and
Charleston (Fine), the Parker Duofold (Medium).

To confirm: the proper way is not to separate the converter from the nib?
The whole nib is to be dipped into the ink and the convertered twisted?

With a converter, it's acceptable to do either, but it might be a
little better for the pen to dip the nib, because then it gets "rinsed"
with the new ink coming in.

To experiment: Get some water in a clear glass, and an empty pen. Try
to fill the pen by dipping the nib and turning the converter, and see
how far you need to dip to make it work. This way is easier to see than
in an ink bottle, where it's dark. :-)

Waterman ink is well-known for flowing easily and being nice to write
with. I think if anyone doesn't like it would only be because they
prefer a different colour, or a more intense shade. Aurora ink is very
nice - but it only comes in blue and black. (The black is a much better
colour than Waterman black.) Blue-black inks - some others you could
try are Parker, Pelikan, Lamy, and Mont Blanc. (But with Mont Blanc
only the blue-black is nice to write with - don't bother with their
other colours.) Red inks - I like Waterman. Parker is good also.
Pelikan red is too much like orange for me, but their other colours are
good.
And lately a new brand of ink has arrived - "Noodler's" is worth a try
if you can get it where you live.

David

"sbsawler" wrote in message
lkaboutcollecting.com...
I use waterman's blue-black ink as I was told it has small ink particles
and will give good even flow. Any suggestions for a better ink?

Do you just not like the color of WM blue-black? Some WM inks are quite
saturated (Havana and Violet come to mind) but blue-blacks are by nature
not as intense as other inks. The particle *size* isn't really the issue
with flow. Flow can be great in a very dense ink. There are numerous
factors - the pen itself, the amount of "wetting agent" in the ink, the
paper being used, etc.

There are many excellent inks out there and while there are some concerns
with using very intense inks (or what some call "saturated") there are no
inks *in production* for *fountain pens* that are "bad" inks IMO. I'm sure
some would disagree with me. So much has to do with how you handle your
pens. If you plan on letting a pen sit for some time in disuse - stick with
the less-saturated inks like Quink and Skrip. But some other inks that are
good inks are Private Reserve, Noodler's, Sailor, Diamine.

There are some inks that have a reputation for being "dry" (poor flow) -
Mont Blanc, Pelikan (same as Cross and Faber-Castell I believe).

If you want an excellent black ink - I don't think Aurora can be beat.
Aurora blue is great too - if you want a sort of purplish blue. Most of
these inks have been around a loonnng time and have been used in countless
pens with no problems. Don't limit yourself to a single brand or color
based on scary claims.

just my .02 and then some.

KCat the ink fiend.
--
For More Pen Talk, Images, Trading and Reviews: The Fountain Pen Network
http://pagesperso.laposte.net/fpnet

For Lupus Support and Info
http://www.ghg.net/schwerpt/ASLFAQ/

"sbsawler" wrote in message
lkaboutcollecting.com...
I use waterman's blue-black ink as I was told it has small ink particles
and will give good even flow. Any suggestions for a better ink?

Also, the only way I can fill a converter is to remove the nib and dip the
converter into the ink well. It seems that other's may dip the whole nib
into the ink, but this never works for me. Suggestions?

Thanks

"sbsawler" wrote in message
lkaboutcollecting.com...
Many thanks for your kind response.

To confirm: the proper way is not to separate the converter from the nib?
The whole nib is to be dipped into the ink and the convertered twisted?

Yup. David's already said it but I'm agreein'. reduces the build-up of ink
particles in the nib/feed.

some prefer to fill the converter, place it back in the pen and express a
drop or two out of through the nib.

If you want to try out new ink colors, Noodler's ink comes in an incredible
array of colors, is made by a fellow pen enthusiast and pen expert and is
priced very competitively.
I have no relationship with Noodler's Ink, I just admire the great variety
of colors and formulations that it offers.
Giovanni

"sbsawler" wrote in message
lkaboutcollecting.com...
I use waterman's blue-black ink as I was told it has small ink particles
and will give good even flow. Any suggestions for a better ink?

Also, the only way I can fill a converter is to remove the nib and dip the
converter into the ink well. It seems that other's may dip the whole nib
into the ink, but this never works for me. Suggestions?

Thanks

sbsawler wrote:

I use waterman's blue-black ink as I was told it has small ink particles
and will give good even flow. Any suggestions for a better ink?

Also, the only way I can fill a converter is to remove the nib and dip the
converter into the ink well. It seems that other's may dip the whole nib
into the ink, but this never works for me. Suggestions?

Thanks


Well, Mr or Ms. Sawler, you've received some good advice
from David, Kcat, and Giovanni. But let's be certain about
one thing, fountain pen inks do not have "particles" in
the normal sense for 99.9% of fountain pen inks, including
every single color of Waterman (a good quality ink among
many). Let me explain through an analogy.

A pinch of salt dropped into a glass of water dissolves
completely, leaving you with a glass of salty water with
no "particles" in it. If you'd let that water evaporate,
the salt would reappear as the original crystals dropped
into the water. Yet if you added water to those crystals,
they'd disappear in solution once again. This is exactly
how the dyes in fountain pen inks work.

If you fill a fountain pen with ink, leaving it sit unused
long enough, some of the crystals will reappear as the
water evaporates. But fill the pen and the crystals will
dissolve again. This assumes that you haven't repeatedly
let all the water evaporate between fillings. It's also
the reason why the pen should be filled through the nib
rather than the convertor. This simple process allows any
dye crystals to "flush out" through dissolution or
reabsorption.

So let's get to your problem. David was right that the pen
has to be dipped far enough into the ink in order to fill
the pen. All of the nib *and* the end of the section has
to be dipped into the ink to ensure ink will be drawn into
the convertor. Otherwise air will be drawn in instead of
the ink. If this is the procedure you're using, then there
is another problem.

Since you've told us you can fill the convertor
independently of the pen, we know the convertor isn't your
problem. One possibility, among many, is that the feed is
plugged.

Try removing the convertor. Hold the section with the nib
down, then fill the open end of the section with water
from the faucet. Turn the faucet off, and water should
drip out of the nib. If it doesn't, there could be some
sort of obstruction.

In this case, you might try forcing water through the feed
by placing your lips around the end of the section and
blowing. I know this sounds really yucky, and, from
personal experience, you will look rather ridiculous (My
advice is to try this in the bathroom [or loo] with the
door closed :0). But if you are like most folks, as I am,
you did a lot worse when you were a child, and it sure
isn't going to cause you any harm. Whatever you do, just
don't inhale. :0)

If water still doesn't pass through the feed, try soaking
the section and nib in cool water. This may or may not
dissolve a possible obstruction. Repeating the above steps
will tell you whether you've had success.

Another possibility is that the convertor doesn't seal
properly around the nipple where the ink cartridge would
sit. The easiest way to test this is to try another convertor.

One way or another, keep us posted on your progress. Also,
it might help to know which pen you're having trouble with
and what type of convertor you're using.

With best wishes for your success,
Mark Z.

"sbsawler" wrote in message alkaboutcollecting.com...
I use waterman's blue-black ink as I was told it has small ink particles
and will give good even flow. Any suggestions for a better ink?

Also, the only way I can fill a converter is to remove the nib and dip the
converter into the ink well. It seems that other's may dip the whole nib
into the ink, but this never works for me. Suggestions?

Thanks

My favorite ink is to mix 2 parts Parker Quink Black with 1 part
distilled water, then add 1 or 2 small drops of Ajax dish detergent
per bottle. This really increases ink flow, and Parker is so smooth
and rich that the ink looks darker not lighter, because so much more
of it gets onto the paper.This mixture resembles the old Skrip, before
it was reformulated and ruined.This mixture combats the tendency of
most modern pens (all the ones I've tried) to write dry.

Waterman Black flows well, but is a little washed-out. A mixture of
equal parts Quink, Waterman and distilled water with detergent is also
nice. But I like Quink best. It's the cheapest too. kingpen.net has it
for $4.90 a bottle in black, blue-black, blue, red or green. quill.com
has the black and blue-black for only $4.50. Pelikan, the new Skrip,
Lamy, Osmiroid, HIggins etc are too scratchy and thin for me. I use
Xerox ivory copy paper most of the time. On cheap notebook paper and
the like the modern pens write just fine - not too dry. Maybe the pen
makers assume that most fountain pen people will write on cheap,
highly absorbent paper meant for ballpoints.

The only other color I use much is red. But I still have some of the
old Skrip red, so I haven't tried Quink red yet.

I once had a rather expensive Sheaffer Targa-like affair from the
early 90's with a aerometric converter that you had to fill by putting
the converter directly in the bottle. If I just dipped the nib in the
bottle, only a few drops of ink would be drawn into the converter. The
pen was a miserably dry writer. The only pen I ever broke in a fit of
rage.

For addressing letters I use Noodler's black, which is waterproof and
quite reasonably priced to boot.

Many thanks for your suggestion; this has helped visualize the process, but
I still cannot fill the converter through the nib (in either the charleston
or the duofold).

I rinse nibs throughly in cold water each day (I use about a cartrige of
ink a day) so I can't imagine they're clogged. Also, the Duofold is just
two weeks old; it's suspicious that three different pens have the same
problem. I suspect it's me; the commonality linking the three.

Again, many thanks for your advice.

Scott