I have these old cartridges of Parker waterproof black that I've been using in the Parker Jotter FP that my gramma gave me. They came together, some 20 or 25 years ago, and from using them together I came to realize that I absolutely love the Parker black -- I'd like to pick up a converter for the Jotter and get a bottle of the Parker black ink.

But the ink I'm using is so old, that I'm worried...

Should I expect differences? Is the formula the same? Has the ink changed at all? Will it be the same black with the same awesome, smooth feel and black coverage?

Advice appreciated!

The only reason to be worried is if there is a large air gap in the cartridge. This will mean that water has migrated out of the cartridge over the decades and the ink in them is thicker than it should be. I have one new and 5 cartridges several years old, and they all have a gap of about 7 mm.

Cartridges that are two decades old will have Solv-X in them, which new cartridges don't.

I think that the mix of dyes in the current Quink Black is different from what it was in the Solv-X days, but not much.

The main advantage of all the Quink inks is that they are very slightly on the dry side. They work well in pretty well any pen. However, if you let them dry out in a pen, particularly the Black, it can be tedious cleaning out all the old, dried ink. You may need a soak and flush in 10% ammonia:water solution, followed by many rinses with clean water.

Quink Black is not the blackest of blacks. If you want a blacker black in a 'standard' or 'common' ink, then once you have your converter, get a bottle of Sheaffer Skrip Black. The dye mix in this is almost identical with the fabled, but troublesome Parker Penman Ebony, but without the problems of that ink.

Are you saying that the new Sheaffer Skrip ink is a particularly dark black ink? I've never tried it, primarily because I had assumed that it was a grayish black like Waterman and Montblanc.

I was worried that the old ink has gotten thicker and blacker. What's a good way to select an ink? I'd hate to buy ink that I ended up not liking (which I've already done!)...

It's not as deep a black as Noodler's Heart of Darkness or Old Manhattan, but it is deeper than Parker Quink. How black it comes out will depend on your pen and how wetly it writes.

It will only have gotten thicker if there was noticeable evaporation from the cartridge. It the air gap bubble is less than 1 cm, there won't have been effective thickening.

Have a look at the Ink Reviews section, but ultimately you have to bite the bullet and buy what you think will be appropriate.
Don't forget there is the ink trading system as well.

You should be fine, but I didn't like Quink 25 years ago because it was too light, and it's still too light today for a black. I find Skrip Jet Black of similar vintage to be even lighter (which is why I still have a bottle -- too much trouble to re-fill carts for the washed out look).

Use it if you like, Quink blackin bottles is readily available and office supply stores. Don't get Higgins India on the suggestion of the staff, though --it's NOT fountain pen ink!

You can get a converter to use instead of cartridges, but it won't hold as much ink.

Peter

I have an old bottle of Quink black. I don't think it goes back 25 years, though. The formula did change probably sometime in the last ten years or so. The old stuff I have is made of many different colors: blues, reds, oranges, etc. The modern ink is just black -- no other colors. They both look the same to me when I write with them.

Paddler