Parker Black Ink, Or India Ink?

[KateB_tps]

Hi guys,

 

A few years ago, my art teacher filled an old Parker Quink bottle with some black ink from a large bottle of ink in the art room, and gave it to me. Tbh, I don't even know if it's Parker brand! I'm curious about it and would like to use it, but I have a question:

 

I wrote a couple of lines with it with my glass pen, to compare it to the real bottle of Parker black Quink I have. With the glass pen used for both inks, I notice that the art-room ink comes out thicker, darker, feathers more than the Quink and bleeds through a lot! It is also waterproof with a good run under the tap (a bonus in my eyes!), whereas with my Parker Quink (I don't know if it's washable or permanent) being run under the tap, the writing remains, but the ink goes more blue and the back goes slightly brown.

 

I wonder if this art-room ink could actually be India ink? I know NOTHING about India ink, and I wonder if the features I describe above match the characteristics of India ink?

 

I'd like to know from your expertise before I accidentally ruin a pen with it!!

 

Thanks!

[pajaro]

Just don't use it. Why take the chance? What are your pens worth to replace?

[Vendome]

If it was India ink, that should only be used with a dip pen. Never in a fountain pen.

[joshsrn]

Yea, if you don't know, don't take the chance. Yes india ink would be thicker and darker.

 

You could save it and use it with some dip pens if you like though.

[siroast]

Hello,

You shall NEVER use India Ink in a fountain pen. India Ink is pigment-based so it contains small particles that can clog your FP. On the other side of the coin, fountain pen inks are mostly dye-based so as not to clog your pen. So never use inks that are not intended for fountain pens. Your descpription also is similar to india ink or some other ink that it is pigment-based. (Pigment-based inks tend to be waterproof while fountain pen inks are water based and tend to ware off with water presence).

Best regards,

Edmund

Edited August 28, 2013 by siroast

[Randal6393]

Might also be an iron-gall ink. But, whatever, would recommend using the old ink only in dip pens. When empty (or you get tired of the ink), be sure to clean and keep the bottle. If it has a small glass well in the corner, the Parker bottle is near irreplaceable. A good replacement ink -- my favorite -- would be Noodler's Black.

 

Best to you,

[KateB_tps]

Hi guys!

Thanks for your responses! I think it does sound like an India ink then! I may flush the ink as I have no use for it, but I'll keep the bottle

[ac12]

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Hi guys!

Thanks for your responses! I think it does sound like an India ink then! I may flush the ink as I have no use for it, but I'll keep the bottle

 

You might consider keeping it, in case you get into dip pens.

That sometimes comes a bit later in the FP addiction.

[corniche]

Hello Kateb, et al,

 

Yes, I would hang on to it too, just make sure you re-label the bottle so you don't make a dreadful mistake. It is most likely Higgins India Ink, that is the brand most schools use.

 

If you want an easy way to tell if it is India ink, see if isopropyl alcohol dissolves it- India ink is not miscible in water, BUT it is miscible in alcohol; in fact, isopropyl alcohol is the common solvent for India ink.

 

All the best,

 

Sean

[SeeksAdvice]

Run away. Run far, far away from the unknown black ink. Might even have SITB. Do keep the bottle and clean it though

 

If it's India ink, it will contain shellac, I think it is, and that's the end of the line once it hardens.

[KateB_tps]

Hi guys!

I took your advice and warnings, and decided to throw away said mystery ink! I didn't want to mistake it for f-pen ink and kill one of my pens!

I dumped it down the sink and noticed there was a thick (5mm) layer of solidified ink at the bottom of the bottle! I've never heard this in a fountain pen ink bottle, so I guess it must have been India ink!

 

I'm now frantically trying to remember if I ever used this in one of my pens. What are the effects of India ink in a f-pen?

[SeeksAdvice]

The shellac sets up. Like putting a layer of varnish/lacquer in your pen. Not sure how else to describe it. Think of it this way... it it was India ink, the insides of you pen would look like that bottle.

 

Should be able to clean that out of the bottle though.

 

The problem for pens, IMO, is that the same stuff that would clear it out would also eat the pen

[Sasha Royale]

Fountain pen ink ONLY in fountain pens. Don't expose your FP feed to unknown ink.

 

Ink is cheap.

[acharnmike]

There used to be pens specially made for india ink. They had an internal reservoir and were shaped like a slender pen, but their "nib" was more like a slender pipe--not flat. And there was a plunger one could press at the rear of the pen when necessary that would move a thin cylinder down through the "pipe" and clear away the clog. It was ideal for writing marginalia in books printed on onion-skin paper, because there was no shadowing or bleeding and yet it dried fairly quickly.

 

I haven't had one now for nearly 50 years....

[hari317]

There used to be pens specially made for india ink. They had an internal reservoir and were shaped like a slender pen, but their "nib" was more like a slender pipe--not flat. And there was a plunger one could press at the rear of the pen when necessary that would move a thin cylinder down through the "pipe" and clear away the clog. It was ideal for writing marginalia in books printed on onion-skin paper, because there was no shadowing or bleeding and yet it dried fairly quickly.

 

I haven't had one now for nearly 50 years....

you are describing a stylographic pen. also called technical pens or drawing pens.

 

HTH.

[stoof2010]

If u do want to try it grab a preppy!!! If iy gets ruined you are only out a couple bucks!!! But use it alot and several fillups just to make sure just one fillup wasnt a fluke...

Just my idea.

I use preppys all the time for weird experiments with inks. Cheap and easy.

[Karmabim]

I have experience of trying to clear out india ink from pens, some were old drawing pens I had owned for some time and a couple were from pens I bought from Ebay. In both cases nothing I tried would shift the old dried ink and the pens are effectively unusable. I even tried soaking one in methylated spirit, a solvent for shellac, and that also didn't work.

 

I would take the previous advice given and avoid india ink, except for dip pens. I have since used fountain pen ink in some drawing pens and found it works quite well with the bonus of being easy to clean.

[Chrissy]

Hi guys!

Thanks for your responses! I think it does sound like an India ink then! I may flush the ink as I have no use for it, but I'll keep the bottle

 

That is what I would so.

[eharriett]

you are describing a stylographic pen. also called technical pens or drawing pens.

 

HTH.

That's what I was thinking too. And while I haven't tried it myself, the concensus seems to be if I REALLY wanted to experiment with India Ink in a pen that isn't dipped, I should grab a stylographic one. I have one in regular use right now with Diamine Registrar's. Works great for it. But I definitely see how when the ink dries out it could damage a normal fountain pen. Things I have to do to get it to write after several days of non-use wouldn't be good with a normal pen.