Shimmer Inks

[inkeverywhere]

Shimmer inks such as those by J Herbin and more lately Diamine have now been around for a while, to date I have not tried them but curiosity is chipping away at me.

 

I have read a number of wonderful reviews but I wonder if anyone has had any issues with the inks being in pens long term. I store my daily use pens vertically, has anyone found vertical or horizontal storage better? Do the shimmer particles settle at all if the pen is left unused for a few days? Would I be correct in assuming the ink bottle has to be shaken quite a bit, prior to inking a pen, to evenly disperse the particles?

 

I look forward to reading any of your valued opinions.

 

 

 

Greg

[linearM]

I have J. Herbin Chivor Emerald and am using it in a pen with a converter. I shake the pen a bit before writing to bring the gold particles into suspension. I don't know if I'd use the ink in a vintage pen with a sac. I figure I can make certain the converter is clean and can use an ear syringe to make certain all of the ink is out of the feed if I wanted to change ink colors or take the pen out of rotation.

[svalcourt]

The only issue I have had was in my wife's pen. She had emerald of chivor in it for a couple months before having me clean the pen, and even after a thorough cleaning, the next (non shimmering) ink had some glitter for about a page. Then again, I'm not a fan of leaving any ink in one of my pens for that long.

[migo984]

I haven't used these inks because I really dislike those sparkly inks, and also because of potential problems, so I have no personal experience of them. However, if you do a quick internet search you'll find lots of people who love the inks, and who haven't had problems, and plenty of reports of clogging and particles lodged in feeds too.

 

According to this recent post, one manufacturer, Diamine, are aware of, and do acknowledge, the problems that can be caused

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/295646-diamine-announce-their-10-new-shimmertastic-inks/?p=3629230

 

So it's a toss of a coin and fingers crossed, whether you chance them or not.

[Nightly]

Hi,

 

I have one shimmer ink, J Herbin Stormy Gray. I've used it with one pen, the Lamy Vista.

 

When my pen was empty, I wanted to change ink and thoroughly washed out the pen and the converter. Allowed it to dry.

 

For the entire converter full of the next ink, I was getting occasional specks of shimmer. It didn't bother me, but it was there. I want to collect more shimmery inks so when I write and mail a card to someone, that's what I can use.

[Buzz_130]

I have both Diamine and J Herbin inks, and they certainly make a statement. If you leave your pens horizontal in a drawer or vertical in a cup or container, the gold flecks do settle. You can watch this is in a demonstrator. However, I haven't had any poor results, and I spend a bit more time cleaning when changing inks.

 

Buzz

[Chrissy]

I am very careful when I clean out my pens. I haven't had any problems with J.Herbin or Diamine Shimmer inks.

[Runnin_Ute]

Have used samples of about 5 of the 10 Diamine inks. Some I liked better than others. But none enough to buy a bottle. You do have to shake pen/vial /bottle to get in suspension and they are more work to keep flowing well. A wet pen and good pen hygiene is key.

[dgerson]

If you leave your pens horizontal in a drawer or vertical in a cup or container

 

Buzz

This line cracked me up, is there another way to store them? 😄😄

[Sailor Kenshin]

I love E of C! And have even had good success (following many spectacular failures) mixing my own Shimmeriffic © ® ™ inks. The key is to use a wet, cheap c/c pen and keep them for that purpose. Luckily, I have a few of those.

[senzen]

Luckily I don't see the shimmer in rouge hematite but it gunks up the nib, as you can see in my avatar. After suffering with its flow and rotating in Lamy vistas, I found that by disassembling the feed and using an exacto knife I didn't have flow problems anymore. It still produces gunk though, but it's a beautiful colour.

[welcmhm]

I've used quite a few shimmery inks and especially love Emerald of Chivor. I was also very worried about what the particles in these inks would do to my pens, specifically the more expensive ones. I first only used these inks in cheaper pens, a couple of TWSBI Ecos. I haven't had any trouble with these pens, especially since they can be disassembled. I have since used these inks in a couple of Pelikan m80Xs, with no issue other than maybe a bit of shimmer in the first few lines of writing with the next ink I loaded up. The only significant issue I've had is that recently I used one of Diamine's shimmering inks in a Noodler's Ahab and I appear to have stained some of the plastic with gold. Before disassembling the pen, it appeared as though the ink was evaporating, leaving a thicker, more saturated fluid with lots of shimmer. I haven't tried anything other than a flush of water and a quick soak, so I don't know how permanent the staining might be. However, I haven't had this issue with any other pens.

[DrDebG]

I haven't used these inks because I really dislike those sparkly inks, and also because of potential problems, so I have no personal experience of them. However, if you do a quick internet search you'll find lots of people who love the inks, and who haven't had problems, and plenty of reports of clogging and particles lodged in feeds too.

According to this recent post, one manufacturer, Diamine, are aware of, and do acknowledge, the problems that can be caused

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/295646-diamine-announce-their-10-new-shimmertastic-inks/?p=3629230

So it's a toss of a coin and fingers crossed, whether you chance them or not.

+1

[IrishEyes]

I keep J.Herbin Rouge Hematite in a beautiful vintage gold filigree eye-dropper pen with a gorgeous gold super-flexy nib pretty much at all times. Yes, it clogs, sometimes, and, yes, prior to each refill, the pen, nib, and feed all get a good flushing (I always put the same ink back in, though, so it's not getting as thoroughly flushed as it would if I was putting another color in it). However, it never clogs badly, and a quick rinse in a cup of clean, cool water, followed by a gentle wipe with a paper towel or soft cloth, takes care of any buildup w/in a minute or less.

 

Yes, you'll want to shake the bottle up before filling your pen with it. Yes, when you're ready to write with the pen, you'll want to give it a gentle shake to get the glittery bits back into suspension, as otherwise they'll quickly sink into whatever direction is "down".

 

It's all well worth it to have Rouge Hematite--one of 2 of my favorite inks, the other being Apache Sunset--available in one of my 3 or 4 favorite pens at all times :-).

Edited May 24, 2016 by IrishEyes

[sandy101]

No problems, just remember to shake the pen before writing, or you will get some really shimmering sentences and then little because the particles do settle.

 

I use them in a Parker Frontier - and not had problems.

[Uncial]

My experience with all of the shimmering inks in the Herbin range has been good. I haven't had a single pen clog, they are all fairly easy to clean out and it sometimes leaves a few stray particles that appear later in other inks, but nothing really to worry about.

 

Diamine have been a bit of mixed bag for me. Some of them seem to clog very badly and very quickly. Shaking hasn't always shifted the clog. The colours are quite nice, but one in particular - Diamine Golden Sands - had a kind of gritty texture when writing with it that put me off using it for fear of long term damage to the nib. I now only use them in cheap gushers. Some of them seemed to dry up (although it could have been a degree of clogging) and not flow very well and they can be stubborn to clean; but they do clean out without staining. Of the five I have Night Sky is probably the most successful, with fewer clogging issues and very good lubrication. Easily cleaned too.

[ian1964]

Completely underwhelmed by the Diamine "Shimmer-tastic" range and think they should be renamed "Blob-taststic"! I have removed the offending "shimmer" partials from my 3 bottles and now have some very nice well behaved inks.

[gryphon1911]

I had 2 samples of the diamine shimmers and they both had issues with clogging the pens I used. Both were broader nibs with wet feeds.

 

I think my next strategy will be to use the shimmer inks with a glass pen. Go back to the old dip method.

[inkeverywhere]

Thank you so much to all who have given time to respond. Your comments have been truely welcomed and have headed in the direction I suspected they would.

 

Despite the negative stuff temptation is still building inside me to give these inks a try but carefully!

 

 

Greg

[bogiesan]

Do you know Massdrop? currently running a deal on Diamine shimmertastic inks, two bottles for about $30 including s&h. Ends four days from this post.