Help? Wrong Ink?

[SammieNelson]

I'm a fountain pen newbie. I have a fountain pen with a 1mm nib (this was actually a pen that came with a calligraphy set from Barnes and noble...I know, cringe) But, it is a good pen that writes very well. It came with standard international ink cartridges. I purchased a bottle of Higgins ink labeled "calligraphy," but it said it could be used in fountain pens.(I also purchased a converter) I chose the waterproof pigment-based ink because I wanted a secure ink for writing checks and such, also for journaling so that if I spill water, the ink won't completely bleed off the page. I watched a YouTube video from the goulet pen dude that mentioned that pigment-based inks could clog fountain pens. I possibly have time to change my ink order to a non-waterproof dye-based Higgins ink, but will this be secure? Or I could get the Higgins eternal ink, which is a permanent non-waterproof Carbon writing ink. Please help! Which ink won't mess up my fountain pens? Thank you (I'm only stuck on Higgins because it's the cheapest I've found...feel free to suggest another brand, but stay on the cheap side please)

[Padawan]

If you are a FP newbie I would suggest NOT to use any permanent inks unless you understand all the RISKS related to such inks like PERMANENT stains on cloths and other environment, even your skin.

"(bleep) happens" (© Forrest Gump) while normal usage and pen maintenance.

 

If you still want to use "secure" (FP + inks) I would suggest Platinum Century pen + Platinum Pigment ink in cartridges.

Edited February 8, 2016 by Padawan

[carlos.q]

Calligraphy inks are not suitable for fountain pens. They will clog your pen's feed.

Since you bought a converter look into Noodler's Bulletproof Black or Montblanc Permanent Blue (or Black)

[Arkanabar]

There's nothing wrong with cheap calligraphy pens. I have a bunch. But I don't think I'd have used Higgins in any of them, no matter what they say on their bottle. Their core business is selling ink to the brush and dip pen crowd, for whom adding shellac to an ink is a virtue. I don't know if they understand or care about the needs of fountain pens, which are absolutely destroyed by any ink with shellac in it.

 

Secure inks are also always high-maintenance inks. The lowest-maintenance, high-security ink around is (IMO) Noodler's Heart of Darkness. Bear in mind that it's only sold in a 4.5oz bottle accompanied by a pair of really inexpensive eyedropper pens (you never know whether they'll be converted Platinum Preppies, plain-barreled Noodler's Charlies, or the older Noodler's eyedroppers with colored blind caps, reviewed here as "Noodler's Ink Nikita Eyedropper Pen" -- cos 4.5oz bottles of Noodler's Nikita were sold with them for a while). HoD has always readily rinsed off of any plastic surface it was on, for me at least, including pen parts. I have a Hero 616 I kept filled with HoD for the better part of a year, before switching over to Borealis Black, and its clear parts are only minimally stained, and it almost never gave me trouble with either ink. In contrast, the sac on my Dad's "51" (of which the Hero 616 is a clone, or a clone of a clone), looks like it's made of black butyl rubber. For 25-30 years, he only ever filled it with Parker Permanent Quink with Solv-X, widely regarded as one of the safest inks around. But I tend to doubt he cleaned it much, if ever.

Edited February 9, 2016 by Arkanabar

[KyleKatarn]

There are some pigmented base inks that are safe for fountain pens, but I do not think Higgins is among those. I think you should change your order while you can. The safe pigmented inks that I know of are all japanese and they use nano pigment particles, i.e. they are so small they won't clog the feed or nib of your pen. In the blacks range you have Sailor Kiwaguro or Platinum Carbon black. There are other color options with these brands, blues and blue blacks, or Sailor's Storia line. Why don't you try an IG ink? Modern iron gall inks don't pose much risks and there are a number of options, in brands like Diamine, Rohrer & Klingner, Montblanc and so on. If you want a really good and funny IG ink to use give a try to KWZI. You can order it from Vanness Pens in the US, or maybe even from Poland, if you place an order in the KWZ site (where you can read a very good article about iron gall inks and the maintenance issues you should be aware of.

[tonybelding]

I'm a fountain pen newbie. I have a fountain pen with a 1mm nib (this was actually a pen that came with a calligraphy set from Barnes and noble...I know, cringe) But, it is a good pen that writes very well. It came with standard international ink cartridges. I purchased a bottle of Higgins ink labeled "calligraphy," but it said it could be used in fountain pens.(I also purchased a converter)

 

 

WHO said that? I've never heard of any calligraphy ink that can be used in fountain pens. Most of them will ruin a pen very quickly.

 

If you want a waterproof security ink that is safe to use in fountain pens, then you have multiple options, but I'd put Noodler's at the top of the list. Noodler's Black is a mainstay ink for many of us, and it's basically indestructible once it soaks into paper.

[webgeckos]

I have used Higgins a lot for pen and ink drawing, but only in a dip pen. I would never put it in a fountain pen.

 

There is nothing wrong with cheap pens!

[Sasha Royale]

Fountain pen ink ONLY in fountain pens !

Is violation a capital offense ? No ! Various "art" inks are beautiful. Many have a lovely sheen. That is due to the presence of lacquer. Lacquer will clog your fountain pen nib and feed. I know of one Higgin's ink that is for fountain pens -- Higgin's "Fountain Pen India" . This is not the same as Higgin's "Eternal". I found it at "Michael's" craft shop, on the self, with the other Higgin's inks. 50 ml bottle - - $5.49 .

Edited February 9, 2016 by Sasha Royale

[jabberwock11]

I like Higgins for dip pen use, but their inks are NOT fountain pen safe. They have mostly removed these claims from their own web site, but there are still many stores and Web sites that continue to make the claim that Higgins inks are fountain pen safe (and even have poorly informed employees who do the same). Even Higgins Fountain Pen India ink has been shown to cause serious issues such as clogging and staining (from what I can gather it was originally intended for use in radiography pens).

 

De Atramentis, Rohrer & Klingner, and several others make permanent dye based archival inks for fountain pens. Noodler's Ink makes "bullet proof" fountain pen inks that resist various methods to remove the ink from checks and documents. Any of these are a better choice than Higgins.

Edited February 10, 2016 by jabberwock11

[Abner C. Kemp]

I would suggest buying a fountain pen specific ink. Noodler's Black is waterproof and fade resistant -- Platinum Carbon Black would also be a good choice.

[Randal6393]

And another point of view: If you get hit with the Higgins Calligraphy, get a good dip pen or two and a holder, total cost fairly low. Then you can investigate the wonderful world of dip pens. People have been known to say, "Wow! What a great way to try all the inks and writing and drawing techniques I want!"

 

Enjoy,

[dcwaites]

The Black Carbon pigmented inks that are available are - Sailor Kiwaguro Nano Carbon Black, Platinum Pigment Black and Pelikan Fount India.

Blue pigmented is Platinum Pigmented Blue

Cellulose Reactive Black - Noodler's Black or Heart of Darkness, Private Reserve Invincible Black.

Cellulose Reactive Blue - Private Reserve Invincible Blue

Other Permanent Black - Pilot Black, Koh-i-Noor Document Black

Other Permanent Blue - Pilot Blue, Koh-i-Noor Document Blue

 

The above inks are all truly permanent, and are all Fountain Pen safe.

 

Others will mention other inks, especially the various Iron Gall inks and the Mont Blanc Permanent inks

 

However, they are all fairly saturated inks, with a lot of dye in solution, so don't let them dry out in your pen. This applies to all highly saturated inks, not just the permanent ones.

Flush thoroughly when changing inks.