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Is It Time For An Iron-Gall Thread?


Nibbler

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I've been meaning to try, procrastinating for over 30 years, a rudimentary recipe: steel wool and vinegar and really strong tea (from a bunch of tea bags). I learned it on 3-2-1 Contact (PBS show magazine) decades ago as a recipe for invisible ink.

 

 

Oh that would be interesting to see the results of. Of course, you'd then have to figure out some sort of dye component. Do you remember offhand how to make the ink visible again (such as heat)? I ask because I have Noodler's Blue Ghost, which is visible under UV light.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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I'm 99% sold on KWZ Iron Gall Turquoise. My only concern is that it will stain my demonstrators. The color it turns after it dries is right where I want my ink.

 

So far, no sign of staining.

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They're all useful, some more than others. I assume that's why it's called iron-gall ink, not iron-leaf ink, not iron-bark ink.

 

If I'm understanding your thought, the amount produced by the tree would mainly affect the amount of picking and gathering. The now-understood chemical reaction tells us that more quantity (or less quantity) of tannin is irrelevant. Whatever tannin is extraneous won't react because the other iron has already been all used up. Gallic acid results in a blacker compound than tannic acid (if i'm correct). An analogy would be copper produces green rust, and iron produces red rust.

 

 

I've been meaning to try, procrastinating for over 30 years, a rudimentary recipe: steel wool and vinegar and really strong tea (from a bunch of tea bags). I learned it on 3-2-1 Contact (PBS show magazine) decades ago as a recipe for invisible ink.

 

 

Been there, done that -- https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/88592-old-fashioned-letter-writing-with-liquid-bluing-tea-etc/page-2?do=findComment&comment=873869

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“Them as can do has to do for them as can’t.


And someone has to speak up for them as has no voices.”


Granny Aching

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I'm preparing a not entirely scientific experiment to compare the corrosion different brands of IG inks. My plan is to take different nibs and immerse them in the ink for a series of intervals (probably 2 weeks at a time) & then compare the amount of corrosion on them.

 

I have 2 of the new Platinum inks (Cassis and Lavender) and a couple of KWZ (Turquoise, Blue 1, and Green 2).

I also ordered a samples of KWZ IG Light Aztec Gold, Diamine Registrar's Blue-Black, R&K Salix, and Akkerman #10.

 

My interest in this started because of how open Konrad is about the care that needs to be taken with IG inks, while Platinum really downplayed the IG factor and chose to market the new line as simply Classic - some vendors don't have it listed as an IG. (Also curious, if you go to Platinum's website, it says that the Classic line is a pigmented ink, along with Carbon Black). I started trying to find some information about how potentially corrosive Platinum's inks could be & found that there is very little information out there.

 

If this is something people would be interested in seeing, I could post a thread in Ink Comparisons.

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Oh that would be interesting to see the results of. Of course, you'd then have to figure out some sort of dye component. Do you remember offhand how to make the ink visible again (such as heat)? I ask because I have Noodler's Blue Ghost, which is visible under UV light.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

Just time, it's the same process as a iron-gall ink.

 

Very nice!

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I'm definitely going to try making some of the tea ink - I have quite a lot of steel wool which I use for woodwork. I'll sacrifice a dip pen and see what happens.

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I'm using KWZ IG Turquoise in my Jinhao at the moment. I darkens a bit, but not as much as you might expect. I goes down a medium-light teal and darkens to a medium teal.

YNWA - JFT97

 

Instagram: inkyandy

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I had a thought about preserving IG inks in the bottle. I think I have read that an IG ink becomes water resistant as the ferrous iron in the formulation oxidizes via exposure to air to form ferric ions that then form insolubles in reaction with the gallic (and tannic) acids. If so, then adding a small piece of pure iron to a bottle of IG ink should help keep the iron in its ferrous form which should then not form insolubles.

The trick then becomes finding actual chemically pure iron, which is pretty rare. Nearly everyone uses and makes steel.

 

On the other hand, I've also found those threads regarding use of ascorbic acid to clean IG / ferric tannate (described as a bluish black powder) residues: One Two

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The trick then becomes finding actual chemically pure iron, which is pretty rare. Nearly everyone uses and makes steel.

 

On the other hand, I've also found those threads regarding use of ascorbic acid to clean IG / ferric tannate (described as a bluish black powder) residues: One Two

 

Well, I know of a place about an hour from me that sells commercial grade ferrous oxide. B) Yes, you can actually buy rust.... :lol: The problem is that they completely freak when you only want a small amount (we found them a number of years ago when we were running an iron smelting workshop (complete with building a clay furnace) in our back yard. Not sure where the "muck bar" from one year's results ended up; it was close in size to a shoebox, but a little narrower (and I'm not sure how hollow it was in places, or whether they had gotten all the impurities out).

The first year, the guy didn't realize we were actually showing up -- and that we only wanted a couple hundred pounds... (it's normally sold by the truckload as scrubbers to line smokestacks). Another time, the guy wanted to know whether we were making our own fireworks... :o and I had trouble getting hold of my husband, because he was at work and the place was in a cell phone dead zone.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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You can buy copperas in 500g lots at garden centres in Aus. for about $5~$6.

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“Them as can do has to do for them as can’t.


And someone has to speak up for them as has no voices.”


Granny Aching

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R & K Salix and Platinum Blue black. I find the Platinum to be darker and wetter. I flush clean after every empty converter. If the nib removes safety, I q-tip clean that well too. No problems. At work I like the extra waterproof they have.

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R & K Salix and Platinum Blue black. I find the Platinum to be darker and wetter. I flush clean after every empty converter. If the nib removes safety, I q-tip clean that well too. No problems. At work I like the extra waterproof they have.

Two excellent choices for the office.

If you do not allow these inks to dry out inside your pens & you flush them out with water, then with a vinegar solution followed by water, finally an ammonia solution followed by water, you will not need to remove your nib unit to do any more cleaning.

** Removing screw-in nib units may cause your nib or feed to shift inside its collar. I only remove these type of nibs when I want to change to another size or style of nib (say from a conventional M to a 1.1 italic).

Enjoy. :)

*Sailor 1911S, Black/gold, 14k. 0.8 mm. stub(JM) *1911S blue "Colours", 14k. H-B "M" BLS (PB)

*2 Sailor 1911S Burgundy/gold: 14k. 0.6 mm. "round-nosed" CI (MM) & 14k. 1.1 mm. CI (JM)

*Sailor Pro-Gear Slim Spec. Ed. "Fire",14k. (factory) "H-B"

*Kaweco SPECIAL FP: 14k. "B",-0.6 mm BLS & 14k."M" 0.4 mm. BLS (PB)

*Kaweco Stainless Steel Lilliput, 14k. "M" -0.7 mm.BLS, (PB)

 

 

 

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Two excellent choices for the office.

If you do not allow these inks to dry out inside your pens & you flush them out with water, then with a vinegar solution followed by water, finally an ammonia solution followed by water, you will not need to remove your nib unit to do any more cleaning.

** Removing screw-in nib units may cause your nib or feed to shift inside its collar. I only remove these type of nibs when I want to change to another size or style of nib (say from a conventional M to a 1.1 italic).

Enjoy. :)

Nice cleaning tip, thanks. BTW - That Platinum is very waterproof - amazing.

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I'm using KWZ IG Turquoise in my Jinhao at the moment. I darkens a bit, but not as much as you might expect. I goes down a medium-light teal and darkens to a medium teal.

 

I agree. I expected it to turn blue black like in this review by the pen habit: http://penhabit.com/2015/11/18/ink-spot-kwz-iron-gall-turquoise/

 

I didn't want to come on here and say my turquoise was not what I expected because it was too turquoise, but I think Matt got the wrong bottle or something.

 

I ended up liking the color, it's a lot like the Lamy Petrol ink. Also it smells really nice.

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I agree. I expected it to turn blue black like in this review by the pen habit: http://penhabit.com/2015/11/18/ink-spot-kwz-iron-gall-turquoise/

 

I didn't want to come on here and say my turquoise was not what I expected because it was too turquoise, but I think Matt got the wrong bottle or something.

 

I ended up liking the color, it's a lot like the Lamy Petrol ink. Also it smells really nice.

Agree.

 

I also like the colour, but I was expecting something a bit bluer...

YNWA - JFT97

 

Instagram: inkyandy

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I want to be able to 'like' posts in this thread! I have learnt so much. I haven't managed to order anything yet, but think I will start with the R&K Salix and see where that gets me. I've sadly lost my fav pen - Pilot VP - somewhere and so will charge a Jinghao to begin with - when I next touch base...

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I want to be able to 'like' posts in this thread! I have learnt so much. I haven't managed to order anything yet, but think I will start with the R&K Salix and see where that gets me. I've sadly lost my fav pen - Pilot VP - somewhere and so will charge a Jinghao to begin with - when I next touch base...

The R & K is great, as is the Platinum. The R & K is a bit drier and has a nice dusty look. Just clean after every empty cartridge and you'll be more than fine. They are so amazingly waterproof. Have fun. Best, Ron

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  • 2 months later...

Just a quick update:

 

It's taken me a long time to get round to it, but I've acquired some KWZ IG Orange and some R&K Salix. The orange was a bit of a whim and I just can't decide if I really love it or not. That sounds strange, but I love the colour change: very novel, but I'm not overwhelmed by the final colour, which is a mid brown, but doesn't really have shading.

 

The Salix I LOVE! It is up there with Shin-kai as one of my favourites. I don't find it too dry, it has lovely shading and is such a stormy blue/black when it's finished oxidising. Really lovely ink.

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