Nib Crud

[djpyle]

Something similar happened to me (although not nearly as drastic) with Diamine Red Dragon in my Pilot VP. I almost gave the ink away but then loaded it in my Ahab and haven't had any problems since. Crazy inks!

[mirosc]

nib creep with Black Swan in Australian Roses

 

let the Roses be, it rather looks like cauliflower.

yummy.

[Flake]

All I can think of is the red fungus from the bad adaptation of Stephen King's Dreamcatcher. It would be really fun to look at if it wasn't attached to a pen.

[SamCapote]

Looks like you were scooping out bloody caviar with the pen.

Edited April 4, 2013 by SamCapote

[Scrawler]

I had an early bottle of Noodler's 41 brown. This ink worked quite well in Parker 51s, Pelikans, Cross Solos and Montblancs. I used it an Esterbrook and the nib creep was fast and filled the cap with ink. I tried it in various other Esterbrooks with a variety of nibs, 2442, 9460, 2312, 9284, 9314-B, -F, 9668, 2668, in Js and LJs and a M2, and all had the same result, nib creep to where the cap had a lot of brown ink in it in a couple of days. Other Noodler's inks work perfectly in these pens. I concluded there was something wrong with this bottle of ink to which Esterbrook feeds were susceptible and tossed the ink.

I am having something like this, just not so pronounced, with Akkerman Hofquartier Groen with several nibs in an SJ. It grows in granules on and around the nib and feed. I wonder if some inks are too thin or rapid flowing for the design assumptions of the feeds.

[elderberry]

Fascinating picture!

I suspect the faulty pigment is a shade of yellow. This would explain why it occurs with reds, oranges, browns as well as some greens. I also read once that some bottles of yellow ink tend to grow crystals in the bottle neck which the manufacturer described as harmless and related to the pigments used.

My most prominent case of this was in a CS Dinkie with Diamine Ancient Copper (a rather orange brown ink). Interestingly enough the nib still wrote as if there weren't masses of ink crud clinging to it.

I'm rather convinced this doesn't have to do anything with fungus or bacteria. It seems to flush out fine and doesn't seem to bother the pens in any other way than aesthetics.

 

The Dinkie has airholes in the cap so maybe the phenomenon needs a supply of fresh air? I've used Ancient Copper a lot for a while in many different pens and no other pen showed this amount of crystal growth.

[Pterodactylus]

I am having something like this, just not so pronounced, with Akkerman Hofquartier Groen with several nibs in an SJ. It grows in granules on and around the nib and feed. I wonder if some inks are too thin or rapid flowing for the design assumptions of the feeds.

 

I can confirm this on Hofkwartier Groen, it shows up on the tipping of a pen which I use not very often, but nothing dramatically, one tissue wipe and the pen is ready to write again.

[iamchum]

It's like a horror movie

 

attack of the giant killer nib!

[OakIris]

Looks like you were scooping out bloody caviar with the pen.

 

Better than what I thought of - to me it looks as if he was stirring a bucket of bloody body parts....ugh!

 

From what I have read, this crystallization does no harm to the pen, just needs to be wiped off, but boy is it ugly looking, and it must indeed be pretty disconcerting when you remove the cap of your pen and see all of that "stuff" on the nib and feed for the first time! (And what prevents it from crystallizing inside of your feed system or pen converter/sac? )

 

Holly

Edited April 17, 2013 by OakIris

[Jeremiah]

You should try taming it. Remember, no sudden movements.

[AlejoPlay]

Ancient Copper does this on my pens. I just wipe it off as it's just a dye issue with Orange/Red inks.

[pen2paper]

I found crystals around the cap of PR Buttercup. I was sorry to see this ink go, but wasn't about to risk my pens to potential sludge growth.

[TassoBarbasso]

Woha... I had something like that only 10 years ago on a cheap pen filled with some strange Romanian ink... but never seen anything like this with "mainstream" inks.

 

I guess ultrasonic cleaning won't even be enough

[JefferyS]

LOL! It wiped away without incident, but it really gave me a jolt when I went to sign a "delivered" form at the post office. I'm just glad that the Department of Homeland Security didn't confiscate it.

[Edwaroth]

worst case of eyedropper burp/womit I ever saw. Hey Jeffery, can I copy that to my desktop background?

Edited April 22, 2013 by Edwaroth

[JefferyS]

I'm dismayed that nobody commented on the lovely bokeh rendered by the 35 mm Pentax macro lens.

[koofle]

Surely growing ink crystals on fountain pen nibs could become an art form?

You'd end up having inks, feeds and nibs designed to promote ink-crystal growth.

[notVirtuThe3rd]

I've never seen the pic like this. LOL

But it's really fascinating!

[mirosc]

I'm dismayed that nobody commented on the lovely bokeh rendered by the 35 mm Pentax macro lens.

 

The "Limited" series? Nice!

[JefferyS]

I'm dismayed that nobody commented on the lovely bokeh rendered by the 35 mm Pentax macro lens.

 

The "Limited" series? Nice!

Correct. I bought it for street photography, but it is worth the price just to be able to photograph nib crud.