Iron Gall Inks Damage Vintage Pens? (Rohrer & Klingner Salix)

[SuperNib44]

For the past couple weeks I have been ferociously trying to find a perfect dark blue ink to replace the bottle of American Blue I finished (which was absolutely perfect except for the lack of water resistance). The ink I am really thinking about getting is Rohrer & Klingner - Salix. The only restraint I have is that the ink is an iron gall. I was wondering if someone could briefly explain what this is? I thought I read somewhere that iron gall inks could damage metal? I am reluctant because the fountain pens I have are vintage (1920's and 1940's both lever fillers) and are family heirlooms and therefore I want them to be around for a l-o-n-g time. I limit myself to only have 2 bottles of ink at a time I want to be sure it is safe for extended use. What is your opinion? Should I buy this ink or be wary of potential hazards to vintage pens?

[Pickwick]

True Iron Gall inks are very corrosive, definitely not for fountain pens, and reasonable care is needed when dip pens are used. I have used Rorher and Klinger inks with fountain pens, and not found any problems.

[bardiir]

Iron galls are corrosive. So they eat up metal basically. But the Rohrer & Klinger ones are very mild. If the pens got gold nibs you're perfectly fine. Use it and you got a very great performing ink. If it is a steel nib you might want to be careful. I haven't had issues yet but the modern steel nibs I'm using are a lot less prone to getting attacked.

 

Aside from that the iron galls do tend to sediment in very rare occasions and clog up the pen. But that can happen to you with a lot of non iron gall inks too. Just flush the pen every once in a while and you're fine.

[Ron Z]

A bit of a correction as the statement is a bit broad. True, iron gall inks can corrode steel nibs, and to a lesser degree stainless steel nibs, but it won't effect gold nibs. If the pen has a 14K nib, it should be safe. Most of the permanent inks used in the 1920s and for decades after were iron gall inks, blue/black in particular, and they held up quite well.

[Venemo]

Iron galls are indeed corrosive, but if you have a stainless steel or a gold nib, you have nothing to worry about.

I personally use ESSRI (you can find reviews about it on FPN) in a Parker Jotter and sometimes an Esterbrook J - both have stainless steel nibs and haven't had any issues with ESSRI.

Edited November 1, 2014 by Venemo

[SuperNib44]

A bit of a correction as the statement is a bit broad. True, iron gall inks can corrode steel nibs, and to a lesser degree stainless steel nibs, but it won't effect gold nibs. If the pen has a 14K nib, it should be safe. Most of the permanent inks used in the 1920s and for decades after were iron gall inks, blue/black in particular, and they held up quite well.

Yes the two pens I have do sport 14K nibs, good to hear it should be ok. I realized after posting the thread that this is not at all an ink review but I was not sure where to post this.

 

I know iron gall inks have iron derived components, but what is it exactly and what would make Rohrer & Klinger iron galls mild?

[fiberdrunk]

Yes the two pens I have do sport 14K nibs, good to hear it should be ok. I realized after posting the thread that this is not at all an ink review but I was not sure where to post this.

 

I know iron gall inks have iron derived components, but what is it exactly and what would make Rohrer & Klinger iron galls mild?

 

Most commercial safe-for fountain pen iron gall inks are made with gallic acid rather than both tannic and gallic acid (traditional iron gall ink for dip pens have both and are more archival). So there is less acid in the fountain pen type to corrode metals. (eta: greetings fellow LDS member!)

Edited November 1, 2014 by fiberdrunk

[plumeau]

german and french inks are indeed corrosive (for example pH=2.7 for Pelikan 4001 Blue, pH=3.0 for Waterman Blue-Black, Waterman Blue.

[setriode]

For an iron gall ink, Salix is benign in the sense that a Pelikan M 200 filled with it and left unused for several days starts up right away and there is no difficulty with allowing the pen to be used intermittently in this way over several weeks. In use, it is little different from a conventional ink. However, Salix is susceptible to fading.

 

My experience with ESSR (which I adore) is that it has a much greater tendency to dry out, become sticky and to stain a converter: at any rate in a Pilot Custom 74 with a CON 70 converter. A CON 20 converter gives much better results.

 

I have been reluctant to use ESSR in vintage pens but Ron and Venemo have given me the confidence to try it in other pens and particularly those which are easy to clean. I will begin by filling a Pelikan M 200 and see how it performs.