Demonstrator For The (In)Famous Bay State Blue?

[Elle_]

Thanks to a very auspicious trade with another member, I got to try - and promptly fell in love with - BSB. I was all set to fill my Pelikan, warning be damned, when I realized I couldn't get the film off of my ink syringe.

 

So, after much thought and consultation, I have decided the only solution is a demonstrator, just for BSB, to show off the beauty. I want one with a decent nib, but it is BSB, so maybe not a super expensive one. And, it goes without saying, a SECURE one.

 

I am considering: a TWSBI with an after market gold nib, a TWSBI with a Pendleton Brown nib, a Pilot Custom Heritage 92 from RichardsPens, or . . . Maybe a Lamy demonstrator, but honestly, I have gotten rid of every low end Lamy I've bought. They are nice starter pens, but my job does not require sturdy pens, and I have a number of great writers, so I just don't use them. Any other thoughts? And what TWSBI? I have a TSWBI rose gold mini coming from PB soon, but I want that for a reddish pink ink I have already chosen, so it would need to be another, and likely larger, TWSBI.

 

Suggestions appreciated!

[Icywolfe]

You can always get a Pilot Crystal. It got a clear feed.

[bardiir]

Lamy Vista, buy a Fountain Pen and a Rollerball and switch the barrel from the RB onto the FP, that one hasn't got ink windows and thus if there is any kind of leak it will be contained within the second hull of the pen a bit, the ink will stick between converter and barrel then.

 

If you plug the air-holes at the end it's even possible to use the second layer as an Eyedropper, but I would not do this with BSB if you're not loving the risk of the ink creeping through sometime

Edited September 22, 2014 by bardiir

[FoszFay]

Eyedropper Platinum Preppy

http://www.gouletpens.com/Black_Fine_Platinum_Preppy_Fountain_Pen_p/plat-ppq-200-01-f.htm

 

Or the TWSBI 580 or Vac 700. Both quite a bit more expensive than the Preppy, but they do look great, and they will look even better with BSB.

 

Edit - Maybe even a Pilot Prera?

 

Tom.

Edited September 22, 2014 by FoszFay

[tonybelding]

I have used Baystate Blue in a TWSBI Diamond 530. It did indeed leave a film inside the barrel, as you can see:

 

http://zobeid.zapto.org/image/pens/bsb_haze.jpeg

 

With some bleach and scrubbing, the haze all came out, but it was a nuisance.

 

The other problem was that BSB acts almost likes an adhesive to the piston, making it sticky. However, that wasn't a show-stopper, as it never froze up completely, and it might be OK if you add more lubricant.

[Christi0469]

I really like the Pilot Custom Heritage 92, but the TWSBI is less expensive and I you can disassemble it if necessary. With the more expensive pen it would be a larger hit should the piston stick. I think BSB would like amazing the the 580-AL, or you could go with the Vac 700 in blue (which looks a bit like BSB to begin with.

 

Or you could take a chance and go the the Clear Demo Ahab and put a nice nib in it. I would test the waters carefully lest you smurf yourself.

[richardandtracy]

DON'T USE A LAMY VISTA.

 

I found the hard way that BSB eats the feed and softens it to the point the nib peels back like a broken fingernail.

 

Regards,

 

Richard

[Lou Erickson]

DON'T USE A LAMY VISTA.

 

I found the hard way that BSB eats the feed and softens it to the point the nib peels back like a broken fingernail.

 

Regards,

 

Richard

Huh. I've had BSB in a Lamy Vista without any problems. I did hear that both BSB's formulation was adjusted, and there was a bad batch of Lamy feeds, but I have no source to back either of those up.

 

Mind you, I don't like the Vista, but it's the shape of the grip, not anything the pen did wrong.

 

I'd suggest the TWSBI 580 or Vac 700. I'm considering a 580 for BSB myself; not too expensive, and it works with the TWSBI inkwell I have the BSB in. (I have the 4.5 oz bottle with the eyedropper, and didn't like filling pens from it.)

[WayTooManyHobbies]

I went the Ahab demonstrator route myself. The newer batches of Ahabs are significantly improved over the originals, in my experience. BSB did indeed leave a haze in the pen - I have it soaking now.

[torstar]

BSB

 

Enjoy the novelty of it. Then get tired of the hassles

 

Wait two months and convince myself it really is all that.

 

Enjoy the novelty of it. Then get tired of the hassles.

 

Wait two months and convince myself it really is all that.

 

 

Repeat both steps for the next 20 years....

 

Laugh at those who pretend there isn't a negative effect that matches the greatness of the colour...

[inkstainedruth]

I started out by putting BSB in a cheap Guanleming demonstrator. I didn't care if it got stained, since I was going to be dedicating a pen to BSB (I didn't want the OCD factor of having to do massive cleanup between it and any non-alkaline inks). Unfortunately the cap finial broke off (nothing to do with the ink -- I had the clip hooked on some elastic banding in a pen case and it got bent a little bit trying to dislodge the pen and the finial snapped at the threads (which were of course inside the cap...).

I then got one of the FPC Creapers (the Cobalt, which is a demonstrator, although not a clear one), but the ink feathers badly coming out of that nib. I keep hoping that there is some inexpensive way to repair the cap on the Guanleming (the pen was only $5 + shipping), and the hooded nib I think controlled BSB's more exuberant tendencies. And it looked great -- that bright blue in the clear plastic pen. I do want to use BSB (although it's not my favorite light blue), but I don't want to have problems like the person a couple of years ago who thought that mixing BSB with Noodler's Black would get the "perfect" blue black; it wasn't -- it didn't really mix well, and then congealed in the pen.... Not pretty.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[shawndp]

I tried BSB in a Preppy - it looked cool and worked well till one day it decided to explode and my hands looked like something of a Smurf snuff flick! Now the BSB is restricted to my Pilot Metro because I an strip down and rinse the pen once a week. That said, it is an amazing colour.

[Komitadjie]

My dedicated BSB pen is a Preppy, and it's given me nearly a year of solid, continuous service now. The only time it was ever un-inked with BSB was for that quick thread I did on BSB-stains and cleaning. As far as I can tell, it still writes just as well as it did when I got it, and it is now by far my longest-continually-inked pen that isn't flushed and cleaned fairly regularly.

 

I also managed to LOSE an AlStar inked with BSB about eight months ago, and my fiance' found it down between the console of my truck, and the passenger-side seat rail, after a whole summer sitting in the truck, with temperatures in the daytime cycling up into the 130F mark inside the cab. Needless to say, it was completely dried out. I flushed the bajezus out of it, then popped it into the ultrasonic tank after pulling the feed. After about ten minutes using a mild chlorine solution, the entire thing was nice and clean agian. I disassembled the converter before it went into the tank, and let the tube-bit of the converter sit there with the rest, of course. Aside from a little bit of a blue stain remaining on the feed, I can't find any sign at all that the pen was inked up. I've seen the same kind of persistant staining on my Lamy feeds from DCSSB and PR Electric Blue, so I'm not particularly concerned. It was an interesting experience, and one that I won't be trying again! It DID re-enforce my belief that BSB is definitely a higher-maintainence ink than most, but isn't the ink of the devil, either!

[Floreat]

I tried BSB in a Preppy - it looked cool and worked well till one day it decided to explode and my hands looked like something of a Smurf snuff flick! Now the BSB is restricted to my Pilot Metro because I an strip down and rinse the pen once a week. That said, it is an amazing colour.

Scary - I've got my BSB in a Preppy! Were you using it as an eye dropper or with a converter?

[BT-7274]

A Kullock 51 demo. Lucite doesn't really stain that easily, and considering what the stuff was designed for...To quote bruce, it's like lamb tears compared to superchrome.

[Lou Erickson]

A Kullock 51 demo. Lucite doesn't really stain that easily, and considering what the stuff was designed for...To quote bruce, it's like lamb tears compared to superchrome.

Hee hee. Total overkill. Might be fun to do just to make some of the purists wince, though.

 

One of the cooler demonstrators I ever saw was a 51 Vac demo.

[mooshi]

DON'T USE A LAMY VISTA.

 

I found the hard way that BSB eats the feed and softens it to the point the nib peels back like a broken fingernail.

 

Regards,

 

Richard

I thought they changed the feed material a few years ago and this is no longer a problem??

[Komitadjie]

Hee hee. Total overkill. Might be fun to do just to make some of the purists wince, though.

 

One of the cooler demonstrators I ever saw was a 51 Vac demo.

 

My 51 Aero is the one pen I have absolutely no qualms putting whatever ink I want in it (FP inks, of course, I'm not INSANE). If it'd survive Superchrome and 51, it'll survive Noodler's and Private Reserve! lol

[Lou Erickson]

 

My 51 Aero is the one pen I have absolutely no qualms putting whatever ink I want in it (FP inks, of course, I'm not INSANE). If it'd survive Superchrome and 51, it'll survive Noodler's and Private Reserve! lol

My concern with putting BSB in a 51 - or any other vacuum-filler - is that it'll be hard to clean it all out. The 51's collector and feed will be full of the stuff, and it turns to gunk when it hits other ink.

 

I've put it in pens which I can take apart and clean really well. I haven't got an ultrasonic cleaner, but if I did you know I'd use it after BSB.

[shawndp]

Scary - I've got my BSB in a Preppy! Were you using it as an eye dropper or with a converter?

 

It was very likely something I did - my desk is in direct sunlight for a large portion of the day and I try to keep pens in a closed tin but I suspect this one got a little too much exposure and like any eyedropper burped. The other Preppy that went on me was from a crack on the body where I may have tightened it beyond what I ought to. Fear not, and keep enjoying the Preppy with BSB - I would!