Comparison Of Traditional Iron Galls

[silverlifter]

These are the Iron Gall inks that I curently use. I thought people new to IG inks might find it helpful to see how they look, especially compared to each other.

 

I haven't included Scabiosa or any of Konrad's colours because I tend not to use them, and also because the colours themselves distinguish them adequately, in my view.

 

I am still waiting on a couple of bottles of Hero 232 to arrive, and will update the image when I have had a chance to try it.

 

All lines have thoroughly dried/cured. Paper is Rhodia Dot Pad 80 gsm.

 

 

 

 

The image is a pretty good reproduction of the colours, with the exception of the difference between 4 and 5. The IG Blue #3 does have a distinctive blue hue.

Edited March 1, 2020 by silverlifter

[Eclipse157]

Thank you for the useful comparison. I have 3 and 7 on your list and they look spot on color-wise. I just love Salix

[Tas]

What a lovely collection (and handwriting) you have

Thanks for sharing.

[inkstainedruth]

Interesting comparison. I have a number of these (but not all). Oddly, your batch of Ijzer-Galnoten looks more like the sample I tried of Diamine Registrar, and vice versa....

My favorites are #4 and #5, KWZ IG Blue-Black and IG Blue #3. Haven't tried IG #5, and wondering now whether I should (or whether it's close enough to Salix that I can hold off for the time being (I have Salix in one of my Parker Vectors at the moment).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[silverlifter]

IG Blue #5 has more of a teal finish than Salix, and is a little darker. It is also noticeably wetter, as are all Konrad's inks.

[Thymen]

just to nit-pick: it's IJzer-galnoten, not Ijzer-galnoten.. The 'IJ' (or 'ij' in lowercase) in Dutch writing used to have it's own key on typewriters with Dutch lay-out. It is not a combination of i and j, but a special character with less spacing in-between (kerning). But these days with computers the i-j combo is used.

Edited March 11, 2020 by Thymen

[silverlifter]

just to nit-pick: it's IJzer-galnoten, not Ijzer-galnoten.. The 'IJ' (or 'ij' in lowercase) in Dutch writing used to have it's own key on typewriters with Dutch lay-out. It is not a combination of i and j, but a special character with less spacing in-between (kerning). But these days with computers the i-j combo is used.

 

Thanks! I knew it was written like that (I didn't know why), but I find it almost impossible to type or write it that way

[BaronWulfraed]

just to nit-pick: it's IJzer-galnoten, not Ijzer-galnoten.. The 'IJ' (or 'ij' in lowercase) in Dutch writing used to have it's own key on typewriters with Dutch lay-out. It is not a combination of i and j, but a special character with less spacing in-between (kerning). But these days with computers the i-j combo is used.

U+0132 in Windows Character Map, using the Unicode encoding IJ (Latin Capital Ligature ij) [if you cursor over, you should find that IJ is treated as a single character)

[inkstainedruth]

just to nit-pick: it's IJzer-galnoten, not Ijzer-galnoten.. The 'IJ' (or 'ij' in lowercase) in Dutch writing used to have it's own key on typewriters with Dutch lay-out. It is not a combination of i and j, but a special character with less spacing in-between (kerning). But these days with computers the i-j combo is used.

 

Thanks for the heads up. I love this site because I learn stuff all the time -- and a lot of the stuff I learn is not remotely pen related.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[silverlifter]

Updated with Hero 232 now it has finally arrived:

 

[Qoan]

Thanks a lot for the comparison.

 

I have No 2 and 7, and it's indeed nice to see them compared next to other iron gall inks.

 

Out of curiosity, what pen/s did you use to write the samples?

[silverlifter]

Out of curiosity, what pen/s did you use to write the samples?

 

2-9 were with the same pen (once I had worked out that I was going to add more ) - a Lamy 27 with an OF nib

 

1 was a Lamy 2000 with a MCI

[TheDutchGuy]

I adore Platinum Blue-Black. Very well-behaved in many different pens and on many kinds op paper, awesome shading, a nice darkish blue colour, just wonderful. And now for the bad news: for some inexplicable reason, Platinum does not sell bottles of this ink in Europe. Cartridges only! I’d have to import a bottle from some faraway place, but I can get the cartridges just around the corner.

[Qoan]

 

2-9 were with the same pen (once I had worked out that I was going to add more ) - a Lamy 27 with an OF nib

 

1 was a Lamy 2000 with a MCI

 

Thanks for the info! I'm not much familiar with Lamy nibs (I must be one of the few oddballs who don't even possess a Safari ^^') but those nibs look very interesting -your amazing handwriting may be part of the reason!-. Do these inks behave well in those pens? I haven't had very good experiences using them in many fountain pens, even Platinum Blue-Black tends to dry and produce hard starts...

[silverlifter]

A dry nib and iron gall ink is never a happy combination. Almost all of my pens write quite wet so they are perfect for iron galls.

 

Other than that, iron galls in my experience are extremely well behaved, it is one of the reasons I favor them over other inks.

[amberleadavis]

Thank you, Silverlifter. I like comparisons a lot.

[Michael F]

IG Blue #5 has more of a teal finish than Salix, and is a little darker. It is also noticeably wetter, as are all Konrad's inks.

I agree, the IG Blue #5 has noticeable teal in it and did not seem much like an ordinary IG ink at all. Personally I can't stand the vanilla smell either (which lingers in the pen even after a good cleaning), but some people like it.

 

I am a big fan of Platinum Blue Black. I believe Platinum BB to be one of the finest inks for everyday use as it handles all sorts of paper and doesn't feel quite as dry as the other IG inks. It's also noticeably bluer than other IG inks, even after fading with time.

[silverlifter]

Personally I can't stand the vanilla smell either (which lingers in the pen even after a good cleaning), but some people like it.

 

My sense of smell is not what it was. I only notice it when my nose is right over the bottle while filling, and I don't find it unpleasant, just sort of incongruous, in that vanilla is the last thing I would expect an iron gall to smell like...

[Bristol24]

Updated with Hero 232 now it has finally arrived:

 

So, Silverlifter, I am curious to know what you think of Hero 232 and how it compares to Platinum Blue Black. Does 232 do as well on the lighter weight papers one would find out in the wild? The only KWZ I have is IG Blue #1 which goes on a light dusty blue and turns a dark blue black in 3-5 days. 232 darkens slightly over time. What about Platinum Blue Black? Does it darken with time? Do any of the other IG inks you use darken noticably?

 

 

Cliff

Edited March 25, 2020 by Bristol24

[silverlifter]

All of the inks were allowed to dry for at least 24 hours prior to the photo (first one) being taken. The Hero was also allowed to cure, but by that time the other inks had been on the page for weeks. The quality of the image is not that great, but none of them have really changed that much in the intervening time.

 

I would rank the Hero as very similar to the Platinum is terms of performance: it probably goes on slightly darker, but they dry to a very similar shade.

 

The most dramatic colour change is undoubtedly DRI. It also happens quite quickly.