Clogging With Private Reserve Or Noodler’S Inks

[dannystr78]

Just from my limited experience, all the PR inks I've tried have performed very well. I personally really like their high saturation. Diamine's Ancient Copper, which I really like, clogs all the time no matter what pen I use it in. Even to the point where I've had to remove the nib and soak it for a few minutes. Every time I wash the feed (which I've learned must be done on every refill with this ink), little particles come shooting out of it. I have other Diamine inks that work great though. Have yet to try a Noodler's ink, but I will in time.

[dcwaites]

Can we please remove the word Bulletproof from this kind of discussion? The chemical that makes an ink bulletproof reacts with cellulose in paper. The only problem I would see with a bulletproof ink is if you have a cork piston.

 

The inks that tend to clog pens are the ones that have a relatively high concentration of dyes.

 

However, you also have to have a pen that doesn't seal properly. I have never had any ink, including BSB, several Bulletproof inks, Penman Sapphire and Ebony, and others, clog or dry up in a Platinum Preppy. That is because of the spring-loaded inner cap that truly seals the pen.

 

The other pen that behaves perfectly is my Lamy 2000. I have kept that full with Parker Penman Sapphire and also PR American Blue for months at a time without clogging.

 

I have also found a Pilot V-Pen in the garage that had been there for 10 years, and it wrote perfectly with the first stroke. Yet if I leave a V-Pen not capped properly, it will clog up overnight, and I will need to pull the nib and feed out to rinse it before it will write again.

 

SEALING is the problem, not the ink.

 

The problem that bedevilled the Penman inks, and cause Parker to withdraw them, was that they were often matched with the, then new, Parker Sonnet. Many of these Sonnets had cracks in the inner cap, causing them to dry out (this is separate from the 'breathing hole'). I know, because I have one. Penman Ebony, in particularly, used to dry up in the nib over a couple of days. Once I had repaired the problem, the nib drying problem went away. However, people blamed the ink, not the pen.

 

I have a number of pens, mostly Jinhaos, that I have to use everyday, otherwise the pens evaporate the water in the ink and they dry out and clog.

 

I had a particular problem with Rotring Skynn pens, because the cap doesn't seal at all. I now use an o-ring to seal the cap, and those problems have now gone away.

 

If you want to test a pen, fill it with water and leave it capped for a week. Check the level of water. If it has gone down, you will need to be careful using it with ANY ink, and will need to be extra careful using it with any highly saturated ink. That includes ALL black inks, no matter who makes them. All black inks are black because they have a concentrated mix of several dyes, which you need to come out black. This includes Quink Black, Parker Penman Ebony, Queen Food Dye Black, etc, etc, etc.

 

But even 'safe' inks will clog a pen if you let it dry out.

[amberleadavis]

Thank you for that explanation. I think you are correct. Inks drying out is a HUGE issue -- in fact, it has been the only issue that has consistently caused me problems.

[FatherTim]

I have used Private Reserve (American Blue) in both modern and vintage pens. It works well in my new pens (primarily Bexley) but ruined the rubber bladder in my 1960s vintage Sheaffer PFM I. The PR colors are very good and if you keep with the newer pens all is fine. (All pens should be cleaned and well cared for regardless of age.) I never let ink set in a pen for an extnded time. However, PR stays in my Bexley over the weekend frequently and there are no issues at the office on Monday morning.

 

With resoect to the Diamine, I have used the Sapphire Blue in both new pens (Bexley & Pelikan) and in my old Snorkels (made in the early 1960s) with no issues.

 

So, for me, PR is frequently used but not in the old rubber vintage pens.

 

Also, I just heard that the founder of Private Reserve has moved on to a higher life of service. His products and service have been professional. My prayers and very best wishes to his family and friends. May his family and friends continue the tradition he started.

 

Tim

[welch]

Is this the "thread that will not die"?

 

My own exerience:

 

- Richard Binder is a champ. He likes Diamine Sapphire Blue. I like the same, but arrived at it ndependently.

 

- Rick Propas handles more vintage Pelikans than anyone.

 

- Greg Minuskin is a fine nib-master

 

I'm free to consider their expertise, and then use Privaye Reserve if I want. I do. I only use Noodler's Blue Eel, since many of his colors are a bit ugly. These days, I'

me mixing vintage Quink Royal Blue (very old stuff in the art deco bottles) with current Diamine Sappire, PR Supershow Blue, and PR Lake Placid. INteresting cmbnation, and nothing has gven me probems. I like the vintage Quink for the Solv-X -- it smells like real ink -- and I like the Diamine and PR for an extra bit of color.

 

Nobody has pulled my FPN membership cardn for bending Richard's rukes a little. I even pained Rick by swapping a modern Pelikan M400 nb into a Pelikan 400NN. I didn't like the 400NN nib...combination works fine, and Rich has not come back to scold me.

[SeeksAdvice]

QSH - office loves the color, pens hate the ink. Did a bad, bad stain job on a Pelikan 140. Did nothing to my M400. Turned a TWSBI completely pink.

I might just go with Iroshizuku Momiji to get the same basic look, minus the "issues" that come with QSH.

[amberleadavis]

QSH - office loves the color, pens hate the ink. Did a bad, bad stain job on a Pelikan 140. Did nothing to my M400. Turned a TWSBI completely pink.

I might just go with Iroshizuku Momiji to get the same basic look, minus the "issues" that come with QSH.

 

Not to mention that when mixed with other inks QSH becomes sludge - cool and neat looking paint, but NOT good for pens.

[mhosea]

Ah yes. QSH, one of my abandoned inks. My other complaint with it was that it seemed to fade over time. "Fade" does not really capture it. The vibrance of the ink seems to disappear.

[ac12]

Sometimes you just have to match the ink's flow characteristics with the pen's flow characteristics.

• Waterman ink is wet (watery)
• Cross/Pelikan ink is dry (thicker)

Example1 is a dry pen. Cross ink would hard starts and skip. Switch to Waterman ink and all is fine, the ink flows.

Example2 is a wet pen. Parker Quink would drip out of the nib onto the paper. Switch to Cross ink and the dripping stopped.

 

Granted the OP was a year ago, but in his case case, I would try switching to Waterman ink.

 

If you WANT to use a particular ink in a pen where the flow characteristics of the ink and pen do not match, you will have to adjust the nib and/or feed for the ink. I did this to my Baoer 388 to get it to flow Cross ink well.

Edited May 5, 2014 by ac12

[Morbus Curiositas]

I, living in Germany chase Continental European inks....I've not just got my basic 50 but not the needed 100, so I've not chased Diamine yet.

Pelikan, Herbin, Lamy, MB, R&K, the DA inks that shade (DA does make saturated inks too.), are to me as easy as Waterman. Because those are imported to the US, and have custom's duties, are more expensive than Noodlers or Private Reserve.

 

(Well I don't know what Pelikan 4001 inks cost in the States but they are the cheapest in Germany at @€3.80; Lamy is close to that price. Pelikan Edelstine, MB at €13....DA can be as high as 15 or low as 9.50 depending on the particular ink. Its been a few years since I ordered any Waterman, that was €7.50. )

If you think of the price of a cocktail or two, European ink is not that expensive and sure lasts longer.

 

Noodlers inks cost €9.50...of course they have larger bottles. I do have two Golden Brown and Apache Sunset. Ottoman Azure strikes my fancy, as soon as I get around to it.

I still have quite a large amount of inks and a few more Continental European inks that I don't have, like Aurora, Akkermann, a Swiss company, Omas, Visconti and that Famous Slovakian ink Sheaffers.

 

Richard didn't mention it, but he makes a safe ink too; Gateway I think it's called.

Hi Bo Bo

 

Long time ago.... DA is DeAtramentis? Whatare the highly saturated DA inks?

 

Regards Peter

[WilsonCQB1911]

The ink that have stained my pens beyond recognition were all Diamine. Diamine Grape and Noodler's Demonstrators do NOT play well together (yes, I should have seen that coming).

 

Some inks are just --- finicky --- for example, BSB and QSH, but others have been trouble free for me for YEARS (Blue Eel and Midway Blue). Yet, I can tell you that in my pens, BSB had nothing on J. Herbin Anniversary ink for clogging my TWSBI. I've had 20+year old MB and Skrip ink behave beautifully, and had Pelikan ink clog my pen (and a friend's pen).

 

Bottom line, any ink will give you grief if you let it dry out in your pen (which happens easily when you live in the Nevada desert). Proper pen hygiene is essential.

 

Stormy Grey clogged up my Delta 82 in just a few lines. Didn't have this problem in other pens, but maybe just happened to get just enough of the gold in this fill and had a pen with a feed that didn't like it. It's a beautiful ink, but that was enough to make me no longer want to use it ever again.

 

The only issues I've had other than that that I can remember are with Noodler's Kung Te-Cheng. Left it in a metropolitan for a week without use and it completely dried up in the feed. I had to use ammonia flush to free the pen up again. Beautiful ink though.

[EricaTX]

No problems with Noodler's but I just bought my first bottle of PR this past weekend and, after using it for multiple days, noticed the clogging/deposits on the nib. Bummer. J Herbin 1670 Hematite Rouge clogs up my feed, as well.

[mhosea]

I haven't had any clogging problems that I remember, but I will say this about J. Herbin Rouge Hematite. I left it in a vintage pen (oversize Sheaffer Balance) for more than my customary 2-3 weeks before flushing. Man, did I pay for it! If that ink is still wet, it cleans out without any unusual effort (for a red), but when some of it dries? It's like the pen was inked and forgotten 50 years ago. From now on, it's 2 weeks at a time, max.

[Abner C. Kemp]

Here's my take.

 

Noodler's and PR makes some VERY saturated and VERY specialized inks (bulletproof exc.). With such properties the chances of clogging are more likely. That said, it has a lot to do with the pen you are using. I've had issues with Noodler's inks in certain pens and absolutely no issues in other pens. While I have never had an ink completely clog a pen I have certainly run into some issues from time to time.

 

If you want a "safer" ink the answer is pretty simple. Stick to inks that are made my pen manufacturers. For the most part, such inks will be less of an issue. Also, keep in mind that Noodler's and PR make plenty of inks that are not prone to clogging at all. That is why it's helpful to read reviews before purchase.

[amberleadavis]

I often think I'd be better off with buying just one ink that I'm happy with and then telling everyone how this ink never bleeds, clogs, leaks, stains... and then extrapolate it to every ink released by that brand.

 

I totally understand.

[amberleadavis]

Here's my take.

 

Noodler's and PR makes some VERY saturated and VERY specialized inks (bulletproof exc.). With such properties the chances of clogging are more likely. That said, it has a lot to do with the pen you are using. I've had issues with Noodler's inks in certain pens and absolutely no issues in other pens. While I have never had an ink completely clog a pen I have certainly run into some issues from time to time.

 

If you want a "safer" ink the answer is pretty simple. Stick to inks that are made my pen manufacturers. For the most part, such inks will be less of an issue. Also, keep in mind that Noodler's and PR make plenty of inks that are not prone to clogging at all. That is why it's helpful to read reviews before purchase.

 

I disagree, strongly.

 

The safest ink I own - is Noodler's eel Rattler Red - it removes stains left from other inks. I have hundreds of ink. I'm not giving up my Noodler's inks. (I'm not planning on giving up any other brands, but my Noodler's inks are some of my favorites.)