Badger Ink Mixer Review

[fiberdrunk]

I discovered this nifty little gadget in a calligraphy catalog (Paper & Ink Arts). It's the Badger Mixer, presumably designed for airbrush paints, but I find it works well with blending my homemade ink ingredients (iron gall, etc.) It is hand-held and battery-powered (2 AA batteries). It's designed to work in 1 to 4-ounce size ink bottles. It mixes very well without making a mess. Price is around $12.95.

 

The best use I've found for it is for my homemade "cooked down" black walnut ink. Over time this ink forms a pigmented sludge at the bottom of the bottle that is very hard to mix back in (it's thick, almost like peanut butter). The Badger Mixer is able to blend it right back into the liquid, no problem. It's a great little gadget and it's not too expensive.

 

 

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Edited December 4, 2012 by fiberdrunk

[amberleadavis]

OOH that is so cool!! Thank you!!

[fiberdrunk]

You're welcome! I'm thinking this could also have a use for those who like to blend inks to make custom colors, too, or it could be used to help reconstitute an ink that has thickened, with a little water.

[inkstainedruth]

Neat. It looks like a teeny tiny stick blender -- am I right in that? How big is the head on it? I'm estimating about 3/8" inch diameter (haven't used my airbrush in a really long time -- not since college, so I'm trying to remember the diameter of the paint cup).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[fiberdrunk]

Neat. It looks like a teeny tiny stick blender -- am I right in that? How big is the head on it? I'm estimating about 3/8" inch diameter (haven't used my airbrush in a really long time -- not since college, so I'm trying to remember the diameter of the paint cup).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

Yes, it's like a miniature stick blender, and the head is just a wee bit over 3/8".

[lapis]

Seriously, it might be just right for mixing a Martini or a Whisky Sour.

[PJohnP]

Seriously, it might be just right for mixing a Martini or a Whisky Sour.

 

 

Hmmm... Mix the drinks and then mix the inks ?

 

This sounds like the perfect device for the next major Pen Posse meeting !

 

 

 

John "Make mine a straight single malt" P.

[Liyalla]

That looks awesome. Reminds me a little bit of one of these.

[amberleadavis]

Let us remember that not all inks are equally tasty. (BSB comes to mind).

Edited December 10, 2012 by amberleadavis

[kwzi]

Is this gadget forms "well" during mixing? Aeration of some inks is not recomended, especialy Iron gall inks - excess of oxygen may cause the unstability of ink.

I'm using homemade magnetic stirrer for mixing my inks, or gently stirring in closed vessel - without shaking. I'm relying rather on pure chemical reagents than natural source, so my inks are more determined and safe to use in fountain pens. I have also found that air bubles prevent or at least slow down significantly precipitation of sediment which always shows up when IG ink is based mostly on tannic acid, then on gallic acid. Such precipate is always pain to remove from the liquid cause it low dimensions and because IG ink clog up fine filter paper.

[fiberdrunk]

Is this gadget forms "well" during mixing? Aeration of some inks is not recomended, especialy Iron gall inks - excess of oxygen may cause the unstability of ink.

I'm using homemade magnetic stirrer for mixing my inks, or gently stirring in closed vessel - without shaking. I'm relying rather on pure chemical reagents than natural source, so my inks are more determined and safe to use in fountain pens. I have also found that air bubles prevent or at least slow down significantly precipitation of sediment which always shows up when IG ink is based mostly on tannic acid, then on gallic acid. Such precipate is always pain to remove from the liquid cause it low dimensions and because IG ink clog up fine filter paper.

 

The mixer is speedy in its mixing so I don't think it causes too much aeration for an iron gall ink. It only takes a few seconds to mix anything. I'd be more worried about the type of metal on the mixer. I don't know if it's stainless steel or not. It doesn't state it on the box. I haven't seen any tarnishing on it... yet. Metal can prematurely age the ink.

 

I like the idea of using a magnetic stirrer... I've been eying those. Does the magnetic stirrer have any problems with the iron sulfate sticking to it?

Edited March 23, 2013 by fiberdrunk

[kwzi]

Even shaking the ink have some influence on further ink stability, especialy when ink is fresh and iron is not complexed completely. After few days ink gains stability due to formations of various iron complexes with tannic acid or gallic acid which in solution are highly resistant to oxidation.

I had been adding iron dust to some batches of my ink but it had no effect on ink stability.

 

Magnetic stirrer does not interact with iron sulfate or almost any other compound of iron, the metal is magnetic its salts not. Homemade magnetic stirrer cost few $, stirring element may be made from any iron material - mine are made from paperclip coated in polyethylene.

 

You can easly coat mixer with polystyrene or polyethylene. If you have in home plastic bags made of polyethylene, as thin as possible, wrap the end of mixer with small sheet of foil and heat it up a bit, just so the plastic starts to melt, allow it to cool, then wrap again two or three times more - ethylene is highly unreactive, and much cheaper then mixers made of PTFE.

[Christi0469]

That looks awesome. Reminds me a little bit of one of these.

 

 

I bought something very similar to this at IKEA.