Iron Gall Ink

[jbb]

I've been having tons of fun playing around with the new Iron Gall ink from Old World Ink . This is the ink being made by fellow FPN member DavidSpitzer. https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...p;#entry1011485

 

Remember this is a DIP PEN ONLY INK and not for fountain pens.

 

The amazing thing about iron gall ink is that it allows you to get extremely fine lines in your dip pen line variations. I never realized how much finer my nibs could go until I used this ink. It is another factor that makes your handwriting more like 19th century handwriting so it's fun to see. The color is a nice, rich dark black.

 

 

 

Unlike fountain pen inks on a dip pen, iron gall ink leaves more residue on your nib and needs to be cleaned frequently. The ink is water soluble however so your nibs can be rinsed in water. The ink can also be diluted if some evaporates -- a common inkwell problem.

Edited April 10, 2009 by jbb

[asimplemaestro]

Thank you! I've been wanting to see this reviewed. Nice handwriting btw.

 

-Marcos

[Russ]

I am in total awe. Wow. Great script!

 

I too received a bottle this week and I'm having a great time discovering that I CAN write as well as people two or three generations ago. I wrote eight pages today on Mark 16, the short resurrection account, and had a wonderful time. The ink behaves very well. It is remarkable how light it can go down, yet darken in just a little while.

 

Simple people ... simple pleasures.

 

 

[nickyd]

I find that it feels as though the letters are lightly embossed on the paper. It would appear,therefore,that it doesn't 'feather'.

Good ink,this,and worth experimenting with.

N.

[DanF]

I've been having tons of fun playing around with the new Iron Gall ink from Old World Ink . This is the ink being made by fellow FPN member DavidSpitzer. https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...p;#entry1011485

 

Remember this is a DIP PEN ONLY INK and not for fountain pens.

 

The amazing thing about iron gall ink is that it allows you to get extremely fine lines in your dip pen line variations. I never realized how much finer my nibs could go until I used this ink. It is another factor that makes your handwriting more like 19th century handwriting so it's fun to see. The color is a nice, rich dark black.

 

 

 

Unlike fountain pen inks on a dip pen, iron gall ink leaves more residue on your nib and needs to be cleaned frequently. The ink is water soluble however so your nibs can be rinsed in water. The ink can also be diluted if some evaporates -- a common inkwell problem.

 

Very nice hand --- what nib are you using? Are you using an offset or straight pen holder?

 

Dan

Edited April 12, 2009 by DanF

[jbb]

Very nice hand --- what nib are you using? Are you using an offset or straight pen holder?

 

Dan

 

Thank you Dan. The three nibs I'm using lately are Esterbrook Penesco 543 & 505 plus something called a 292 School Pen (with no other brand name on it.) It was one of those but since they're all on my desk at all times I don't know which one I grabbed to write this. They're all similarly sharp but flexible nibs. I use a straight pen holder.

 

[Marsilius]

Nice review and handwriting.

I just received my bottle in the mail and find it excellent. Now those very thin upstrokes make sense, and the final embossed look is wonderful.

Very nice!

Best,

Mars

[Pen2009]

Is there a list of "iron gall" based ink? I want to avoid it because it corrodes the nibs. I use MB Black, MB Racing Green, MB Violet, Aurora Blue, and Waterman Florida Blue.

 

Wiki entry

Quote:

 

Warning

 

Iron gall ink is not suitable for fountain pens as it will corrode them very quickly (a phenomenon known as flash corrosion). Instead one should use modern surrogate formulas such as Montblanc's bottled blue-black, or Lamy blue-black, or Diamine Registrar's Ink, which has a very small amount of the ferro gallic compounds, or Rohrer & Klingner "Scabiosa" and "Salix" inks, both of which require the fountain pen to be flushed out regularly with water.

Edited June 14, 2009 by Pen2009

[ZeissIkon]

Is there a list of "iron gall" based ink? I want to avoid it because it corrodes the nibs. I use MB Black, MB Racing Green, MB Violet, Aurora Blue, and Waterman Florida Blue.

 

Wiki entry

Quote:

 

Warning

 

Iron gall ink is not suitable for fountain pens as it will corrode them very quickly (a phenomenon known as flash corrosion). Instead one should use modern surrogate formulas such as Montblanc's bottled blue-black, or Lamy blue-black, or Diamine Registrar's Ink, which has a very small amount of the ferro gallic compounds, or Rohrer & Klingner "Scabiosa" and "Salix" inks, both of which require the fountain pen to be flushed out regularly with water.

 

Generally, if you get an ink that's labeled as "for fountain pens" it'll be fine with, at most, regular cleaning of the pen. For whatever it's worth, iron-gall won't hurt most rubbers or plastics, and won't do anything significant to gold or the "iridium" tipping; it's really only steel parts you need to worry about (and modern stainless steels shouldn't be bothered either). The real problem with traditional iron-gall inks is that, being made for a quill or dip nib, they're too thick for a fountain pen, and will clog the feed.

[stevo]

Is there a list of "iron gall" based ink? I want to avoid it because it corrodes the nibs. I use MB Black, MB Racing Green, MB Violet, Aurora Blue, and Waterman Florida Blue.

 

Wiki entry

Quote:

 

Warning

 

Iron gall ink is not suitable for fountain pens as it will corrode them very quickly (a phenomenon known as flash corrosion). Instead one should use modern surrogate formulas such as Montblanc's bottled blue-black, or Lamy blue-black, or Diamine Registrar's Ink, which has a very small amount of the ferro gallic compounds, or Rohrer & Klingner "Scabiosa" and "Salix" inks, both of which require the fountain pen to be flushed out regularly with water.

 

Generally, if you get an ink that's labeled as "for fountain pens" it'll be fine with, at most, regular cleaning of the pen. For whatever it's worth, iron-gall won't hurt most rubbers or plastics, and won't do anything significant to gold or the "iridium" tipping; it's really only steel parts you need to worry about (and modern stainless steels shouldn't be bothered either). The real problem with traditional iron-gall inks is that, being made for a quill or dip nib, they're too thick for a fountain pen, and will clog the feed.

 

 

Originally, iron gall ink is seen as the villain, but pH that is the real issue. True, iron gall inks tend to be acidic, but Aurora Blue at pH 2.8 is just as bad and it's not iron gall as far as I know. I'm guessing that a pH of 3.2 or lower will eventually invade the metal on steel nibs. MB Black is also in that pH range (3.4). So already, you're using two inks that are as acidic as modern inks seem to get. Remember that MB is not that concerned about corrosion since they have gold nibs and I suspect they make their pens to withstand their own ink. Also, I have no idea how long it takes for modern inks like this to invade steel nibs, but I would guess that it's a time vs. pH plot. Keep in mind that pH neutral inks will not hurt pens.

 

S