Sumi Inks

[MoonMan]

I started using Sumi ink and love the way it looks. I got Yasutomo Traditional Chinese ink Ultra Black which is waterproof.

It starts out great, looks fantastic but soon, my nib clogs up. I dip it in alcohol, wipe clean, (those alcohol prep pads are great for this)

Is this the waterproof component of the ink causing my nib to clog? Makes a mess of my Brause Rose and #66, has rendered 2 NIKKO G’s impossible to write with without soaking for hours in ammonia

Am I better off with Best Bottle Sumi or Moon Palace Sumi from John Neal Bookseller?

Jerry

[smk]

Hi Jerry - Sumi inks are pigmented and use natural binders that tend to deposit on nibs. Some brands are more prone to this than others. Moon Palace Sumi apparently is one of the better behaved ones. I have never used it so I can't comment on it.

 

BTW one can get perfectly black and waterproof results from diluted Noodler's Black which is a very well behaved ink for using with pointed nibs. Since flexible nibs dump a lot of ink onto the page, I dilute the ink heavily with water (about 50%). The resulting writing is still quite black with nice hairlines and it dries waterproof. The ink will smear if you don't dilute it as only the part in contact with the paper will react with the Cellulose - the ink on the top surface won't quite dry even after a week.

 

Pelikan Black with some Gum Arabic also makes a good pointed pen ink but it is not waterproof.

 

- Salman