Freshness Of Ink...

[welch]

Freshness of ink...is this really a factor?

 

No. At least, don't worry about a sell-by date that seems to be on MontBlanc ink bottles. An ink should be good unless it has clumps, as people have said. I routinely use Sheaffer ink from the '50s, blue&yellow boxes with an advertisement for their Snorkel..."Takes the dunk out of filling". A 60 year old ink might have lost some water -- evaporation -- but that's not a big deal.

 

Ink that's five years old should be fine.

[welch]

Hi Chrissy, Tamiya and others

I have a Parker Quink from 2014, and have just received a Parker Frontier FP (fine nib).

I also have Pelikan Turquoise ink on the way (next Monday) and another fountain pen.

I am sorely tempted to try the new pen with the old ink, but am not sure if I should.

I also have the Pilot Namiki black ink cartridges.

Do I try out either of them? And once I get the new ink how do I clean up the old ink (parker/pilot) off the new ones?

With Warm Regards,

 

Ink from 2014 is not old. Don't worry about age of the ink.

[Runnin_Ute]

Not counting the vintage bottle of Sheaffer Skrip Emerald Green I have (bottle with the well), I have used with no problems inks as old as 10-15 years old. It was a bottle of Levenger Raven Black. I regularly use my Sheaffer Emerald Green without issues. I have only had one ink that regardless wouldn't play nice. It was a KWZI ink and was dry as the sahara. Drier than the driest IG ink I have ever tried. Added surfectants to try and get it to cooperate even. No dice. So I dumped it.

[amberleadavis]

I am still using inks that are older than me. (I am much younger than dirt).

[Buzzie]

ALOHA - Our Honolulu Pen Club meets mid-March around St Pat's Day so the theme is "anything green". I pulled out a bottle of 1944 Quink Permanent Green. Only 73 years old. I wrote a sample page with a variety of my Greens:

 

1. Noodlers Cactus Greune Eel; in Montblanc 366 piston
2. Conway Stewart Green cartridge in Waldmann's .925, 18K nib (ink old but not vintage)
3. Edelstein light green cartridge; in 1950's Montegrappa .925 Vermeil
4. Private Reserve Ebony Green; dip test with Bock nib in vintage German no-name pen
5. 1944 vintage Quink Permanent Green 73 years old; loaded in matching Parker vacumatic WWII era

Because of the differences in nibs, flow, etc., this is not "apples to apples", BUT the old 7+ decades aged Quink perm green shows just as nicely as any, flows as well, looks great. My browns are lighter, but still quite usable, and no performance issues. Blacks are the same. All are 50 to 75 years old. Stored in original bottle, in original cardboard box in a drawer, room temperature. All Sheaffers are fine. The Permanents are slightly more saturated than Washables, but may have been so fifty years ago, too. The V-Mail has faded with age more than the permanents, but is still functional. Violets are fine, too. Green is pristine. None are over the hill.

 

WARNING: avoid the old original Parker "51" INK absolutely. Mine were so crusty, rusty, gummy and flakey that it could not be stuffed in a pen with a jackhammer, but are a "cool" relics on the shelf. Problematic when brand new, too.

 

Happy New Year!

 

 

[inkstainedruth]

Wow -- you should post the scans or a photo. I don't think I've seen what vintage Quink Green looks like. I love vintage Permanent Violet, though.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[amberleadavis]

Oh yes yes yes. Pictures please, Buzzie.

[Chrissy]

Darned, no such luck. Accrding to my shopping records, the 2oz bottles of 4001 I snaffled are:-

 

Brilliant black

Royal blue

Brilliant brown

Brilliant green

Blue black

Brilliant red

 

so I'm missing Turquoise & supposedly there's a newer Dark Green too

 

Indeed there is a newer Dark Green. I remember reviewing it at around the same time as I reviewed Edelstein Aquamarine, so they must have come out fairly close together.

[vjones]

I suspect age of ink may now be a factor with the more modern formulations, which I've heard are using fewer biocides and preservatives (or whatever it is they add to preserve ink). If that's the case, we might reasonably expect a shorter useful lifespan for newer inks.

Edited January 9, 2018 by vjones

[Buzzie]

OK - Here is a Two-Minute-Drill that will allow you to get an impression of the Parker Quink 1944 Permanent Green in a same age Parker Vacumatic, both pen and ink are WWII era. The Vintage Quink is header and first on the page.

[Buzzie]

I suspect age of ink may now be a factor with the more modern formulations, which I've heard are using fewer biocides and preservatives (or whatever it is they add to preserve ink). If that's the case, we might reasonably expect a shorter useful lifespan for newer inks.

Well, at my advanced age, I don't have to worry about an ink spoiling during my lifetime .

[tvradio]

Freshness of ink...is this really a factor?

 

It apparently can be. Check out this Youtube ink review by VittaR of a 1-year-old sample of DeAtramentis Giacomo Puccini purple ink that had been in her pens (Pilot Metro M and a Jinhao X450 B ) for a day. She diplomatically says “I’m sure when it’s fresh it’s fantastic.”

 

She also refers in the video to what she calls "DeAtramentis syndrome" where ink starts to get aggressive, with feathering and bleed where you wouldn’t expect to see it, which she sees when that brand ink is left in her pens for several days.

Edited January 11, 2018 by tvradio

[amberleadavis]

OK - Here is a Two-Minute-Drill that will allow you to get an impression of the Parker Quink 1944 Permanent Green in a same age Parker Vacumatic, both pen and ink are WWII era. The Vintage Quink is header and first on the page.

Thank you for the pictures. I love it.

[dadoody]

I've never had ink mold over or anything.

[inkstainedruth]

That vintage Parker Green is seriously not too bad a color.

Swell. Another vintage ink color to be looking for now.... This place is just too dangerous for my wallet....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Jerome Tarshis]

I regularly use vintage Parker Quink Permanent Blue Black from the 1940's with no problems. Then again, I've had "new" ink go bad with SITB within a few months; although that is a rare problem. I've also used a fair amount of vintage Waterman's and Sheaffer inks - all with no problems.

 

 

 

But this is exactly the point. Those inks from the 1940s are protected by strong biocides. Your "new" ink, if made under EU rules, is not. That is a real difference. Right now we don't know how long those inks can be expected to last. Our experience with inks of the 1940s does not address today's question.

 

The Japanese are still permitted to use phenol, it seems. The smell is noticed and complained about, or celebrated. With those inks, not the same need to worry.

[Olya]

 

But this is exactly the point. Those inks from the 1940s are protected by strong biocides. Your "new" ink, if made under EU rules, is not. That is a real difference. Right now we don't know how long those inks can be expected to last. Our experience with inks of the 1940s does not address today's question.

 

The Japanese are still permitted to use phenol, it seems. The smell is noticed and complained about, or celebrated. With those inks, not the same need to worry.

This is a good thought and excellent advice.

This is likely the reason why even the longtime players like Pelikan and Montblanc have had issues with their inks, from the 1990s onwards...

I'm always shunning (or trying to!) stuff that is considered to be a carcinogen, but boy, I wish phenol were still used..

[JakobS]

I am not concerned at all. The first inks I bought back in 2007 all look as perfect as the day I bought them, no mold, fungus, color shift, or noticeable evaporation. These inks include Diamine Golden Brown, Monaco Red, Woodland Green, and Violet, Pelikan 4001 Black, Waterman Black, Lamy Black, and Noodlers Polar Black. Eleven years is far longer than many people need a bottle to last, but if you are still worried, investing in more writing time, or a collection of 3B nibs will help you along at a quicker pace!

Edited February 8, 2018 by JakobS