Quink Black. . .

[sonia_simone]

I am sure Hawk is a nice and worthy human being, but I am not going to respond to more of his posts because to do so seems to make me insane. I wish he would not give advice as if he were an expert, but I will leave it to angelic patient souls like kissing to protect the innocent from ill-considered opinions expressed with such vigor.

 

I, also, think Lisa is on to something.

 

I am certainly grateful for Richard's presence here. Richard, write a book or something, will you? I will help if you like--you certainly don't need a copyeditor, but the organizing of books is time-consuming and you have no time. You could self publish at a reasonable cost and I bet it would sell nicely from your site. No kidding.

 

I adore you all and will spend more time on my meditation cushion and try to cultivate patience.

[MikeLip]

I for one do not take always take everything ANYONE says at face value. Richard could be mistaken. But when an acknowledged expert speaks, I will at least listen - he's more likely to be right than most people. I may then wander off and make my own mistakes, but at least I was warned!

 

You do not have to *believe* Richard, of course. But it would be smart to listen, anyway.

 

What I'm taking from this thread is: "Go ahead and try Quink black. It may work beautifully for you. But don't be surprised if it doesn't." I am NOT taking "Quink is problematic in some pens. Therefore everything Parker makes is suspect."

Edited December 24, 2006 by MikeLip

[Hawk]

I am sure Hawk is a nice and worthy human being

Your are right I am.

[sonia_simone]

I want to thank kissing for starting the thread, btw. Very interesting!

[MikeLip]

One day, some smart guy with a supercomputer is going to exactly model any FP you care to name and design, down to the molecule, the perfect ink for it. Then all these discussions will disappear.

 

On that day I will have a mission - to hunt that guy down for taking all the fun out of things!

[OldGriz]

You continue to make the statement that this ink has been made and sold to the public since 1931.  You are wrong... the ink originally developed back then was taken off the market due to problems with it hurting pens.

I'm sorry, Tom, but you have fallen into the same misconception as the author of the Wikipedia article on Quink. Parker has sold four distinct brand-named ink families:

• Quink: introduced 1931, still in production with changes in formula for forensic and environmental reasons. (E.g., the biocide used today is not the same one that was used in 1931.) The classic Parker ink for all fountain pens.
• "51": introduced 1941, withdrawn 1948. The deadly one.
• Superchrome: introduced 1948, withdrawn 1956. Slightly less deadly.
• Penman: introduced 1993, withdrawn 2001. Clog prone for many people.

As usual, I must bow my head to master and seek forgiveness for my unknowing ways

Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa, Mea Maxima Culpa

 

See, I told you all that Richard probably knows more than I will ever learn about pens and ink

[OldGriz]

If member (s) say Parker products are no good I simply don't want anything further to do with Parker.

I don't see any member here stating that Parker products are no good....

What I do see is experienced members and an extremely respected pen restorer stating that ONE particular Parker product MAY cause problems in some pens and one might wish to avoid using that product. Richard has, without a doubt, more experience with inks and pens than any 10 members of this forum combined... I have a tendency to listen when someone with that kind of experience talks.... and yes, I have disagreed with some of his findings.... usually to find out for myself some time later that he actually did know what he was talking about.

I have tried Quink Black, I had a problem with it in the particular pens (Parker 51s) that I tried it in. I did not have a problem with it in some other pens...

I switched to Pelikan Black and have not had a problem with it in any of my pens...

Therefore, instead of having different black inks for different pens, I choose to use Pelikan Black when I want to fill a pen with black ink.

[MikeLip]

Therefore, instead of having different black inks for different pens, I choose to use Pelikan Black when I want to fill a pen with black ink.

No! Only Private Reserve Ultra Black is deserving!!!!!

 

Muwahahahahahaaaaaaaa!

 

Sorry. Couldn't resist. I'm back now. :blink: :blink: :blink:

[OldGriz]

Therefore, instead of having different black inks for different pens, I choose to use Pelikan Black when I want to fill a pen with black ink.

No! Only Private Reserve Ultra Black is deserving!!!!!

 

Muwahahahahahaaaaaaaa!

 

Sorry. Couldn't resist. I'm back now. :blink: :blink: :blink:

Might have tried it, but it was not available when I switched... and I am not switching again.... :bonk: :bonk: :bonk: Not for the little bit of black that I normally use...

Besides... I had a problem with one PR color so they are all bad and I won't be buying any PR ink ever again...

[Green Maned Lion]

Just in case anyone misunderstood me: I have never said Parker pens are not good. I don't wish anyone to think I think that.

 

I find the models I listed to be uncharacterful. Some people like that I don't

 

I like flexy, shadey, firehose-type nibs. I like feedback, I like smoothness, and I like lots of line variation. (yes, these are somewhat contradictory without considerable work on the maker). The Parkers I have found have limited feedback, started scratchy (par for the course for low-price name-brand pens) although they have since smoothed themselves (with some help), are less then generous with inkflow out of the box, and are solid 2X4 grade nails. They also happen to be supremely reliable writers, exceptionally quick starters, and fairly solidly made.

 

I don't think they are bad pens. Toyota's are a great car, nothing will beat them for reliability, but few things are nearly as bland, either. I'd rather have my clatter-box, smokey, smelly, shakey Mercedes diesel over a Toyota/Lexus any day. I will never tell anyone that Toyota makes a bad car, but I will say they are boring and I wouldn't personally want one. The Parker is sort of like a Lexus. A good pen, but boring, and I don't want one.

[MikeLip]

I have a new Sonnet Cisele I am thinking of trading for those reasons. Its reliable, looks great, writes well, but doesn't turn my crank. I am hesitating because it's very pretty!

[RLTodd]

[*]Quink: introduced 1931, still in production with changes in formula for forensic and environmental reasons. (E.g., the biocide used today is not the same one that was used in 1931.) The classic Parker ink for all fountain pens.

just triggered one of those off the top of the head thoughts..

 

..except that... Its made in a different country so the water was changed, probably using a different dye supplier, the biocide is different and probably comes from a different source, the suffacant is probably comming from a different source and is most likely a different chemical... Other than that the Quink you buy today is exactly the same as the Quink you would have bought in 1931...... :ltcapd:

[BillTheEditor]

If anyone ever wondered what a conversation between Rosie O'Donnell and Donald Trump about fountain pen ink would be like, all they would have to do is read this thread!

 

Merry Christmas, y'all!

[sonia_simone]

If anyone ever wondered what a conversation between Rosie O'Donnell and Donald Trump about fountain pen ink would be like, all they would have to do is read this thread!

Thanks for the spitload of tea all over my monitor, Bill.

[Richard]

Its made in a different country so the water was changed, probably using a different dye supplier, the biocide is different and probably comes from a different source, the suffacant is probably comming from a different source and is most likely a different chemical...  Other than that the Quink you buy today is exactly the same as the Quink you would have bought in 1931......

Water: distilled. Manufacturing locale: irrelevant.

 

Dye: specified by formula; probably changed for forensic reasons. Identity of supplier: irrelevant except insofar as concerns its ability to conform to specification.

 

Biocide: different as I have noted, for environmental reasons.

 

Surfactant: probably different as I have noted, for forensic and/or environmental reasons.

 

Now then. What I said was that the product called Quink has been on sale continuously since its 1931 introduction. What is in it has definitely changed; and for this reason I won't speculate whether modern Quink Black performs the same way as vintage Quink Black (of which there have been at least two known variants, "ordinary" and "Microfilm Black" for use on WWII-era V-Mail).

[Viseguy]

If anyone ever wondered what a conversation between Rosie O'Donnell and Donald Trump about fountain pen ink would be like, all they would have to do is read this thread! 

Are you saying that Hawk and Richard planned this discussion in advance?

 

Merry Christmas, y'all! 

And to all a good night!

[Margana]

Like Tom I don't use black often and having only a single bottle would be greatly to my liking. If I that one would work well in just about any pen in my rotation, I'd be pleased indeed.

 

So far there have been two inks, Pelikan Black and Private Reserve Ultra Black, mentioned as being good for a variety of pens. Would these be good in both vintage and modern pens? Are there any other black inks worth mentioning that would do double duty?

[jsonewald]

Like Tom I don't use black often and having only a single bottle would be greatly to my liking. If I that one would work well in just about any pen in my rotation, I'd be pleased indeed.

 

So far there have been two inks, Pelikan Black and Private Reserve Ultra Black, mentioned as being good for a variety of pens. Would these be good in both vintage and modern pens? Are there any other black inks worth mentioning that would do double duty?

Aurora Black is recommended fairly often.

[Richard]

Margana, if you can be satisfied with a black that is not heavily saturated and is also not bulletproof, try Waterman, which I consider overall to be the most reliable brand going. If you need intense black, try Aurora. If you require a bulletproof ink, you have no choice but Noodler's -- in this case, be prepared to flush your pen about twice as frequently as you would do with an ink that isn't bulletproof.

 

(Edited for typos)

Edited December 25, 2006 by Richard

[BillTheEditor]

Are you saying that Hawk and Richard planned this discussion in advance?

Of course not. What I'm saying is that this has been another thread that started off with good intentions and lots of interest, that became extraordinarily tiresome in an astonishingly short time.

 

Also that it's Christmas. You know ... peace on earth. Good will. God bless the master of this house, the mistress also, and all the little children that round your table grow. An apple a plum a pear a cherry any good thing will make us all merry.

 

I've got a couple quarts of Christmas Cheer around here somewhere, if the elves haven't finished it off already. Anybody care to join me?