Jump to content

Campio Marzio Roma inks revisited

Johnny Appleseed

By Johnny Appleseed
in Inky Thoughts

 Share

Recommended Posts

Johnny Appleseed Antique

Johnny Appleseed

Posted
Posted

When I first got really into fountain pens a few years ago, I picked up a couple of bottles of Campo Marzio Roma inks (violet and tobacco brown), despite the sales persons warning that they were not great for fountain pens. The bottles had visible sludge in the bottom, but I was intreagued and tried them. I have to say the sales person was right – not only did I get clogging problems, but the violet badly stained the outside of a vintage Pelikan 140. I loved the waterproofness of it – it was rock-solid waterproof – but the downsides were too much.

 

I put the ink away and reserved it for dip-pen use.

 

Earlier this month encountered a Camp Marzio Roma store in Hong Kong. I was intreagued by some of the pens they had – the silver filigree pens were to-die-for, though more than I wanted to spend for a cartridge-filled pen with an IPG nib. I ended up picking up one of their mini pens in a chrome finish, and examined several bottles of ink. Some of the bottles – especially one of the rose-colored ones – had some nasty sediment in the bottle, but the turquoise, dark-blue, green and black all seemed to pass the “flip-the-bottle” test with no sign of gunk at the bottom.

 

So I am giving them another try. I picked up green, turquoise and dark-blue cartridges and a small bottle of the dark-blue ink and have been using them both in the CMR pen and in some other ones (using various methods to get cartridge ink into self-filling pens). So far I found these colors to work without issue – but they do not have the waterproof quality of the other colors.

 

I even, after reading some of the noodlers discussions, decided to give the old CMR inks a try. Last night I took the bottles, dumped them both through a coffee filter in the hopes of getting out all of the sediment, washed the bottles out (which was not easy in the case of the violet - some persistant sediment on the sides) and re-filled the bottles. I am testing the violet in one of my most expensive pens . . . well, no, actually in a cheap Hero 330.

 

So has anyone else used their inks, especially recently? What has been your experience?

 

John

 

So if you have a lot of ink,

You should get a Yink, I think.

 

- Dr Suess

 

Always looking for pens by Baird-North, Charles Ingersoll, and nibs marked "CHI"

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 10 years later...
  • Replies 10
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • inkstainedruth

    5

  • Chrissy

    2

  • Johnny Appleseed

    1

  • Mulrich

    1

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

inkstainedruth Ancient Artifact

inkstainedruth

Posted
Posted

Sorry for necroposting. A friend of mine gave me a partly full bottle of Campo Marzio Burgundy last night and I was wondering about what the ink was like (she got it from someone who was giving it away). So I did a quickie search trying to find any info about the brand, and whether it was FP safe ink or not.

I haven't opened it yet (was kinda amused that apparently the original cap got lost and it now is sporting the cap from some liquor bottle (presumably the mini bottles you get on airplanes). There does not seem to be any evidence of SITB, but of course if it's a dip pen ink I don't want to use it in a fountain pen. If I have time today or tomorrow I'll post pix of the bottle. I'm not normally a fan of burgundy-reds for a color, but where it's sloshed up on the sides of the bottle it looks a little pinker than what I expect for "burgundy".

Thanks in advance for any and all information.

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."

Link to comment
Share on other sites
inkstainedruth Ancient Artifact

inkstainedruth

Posted
Posted

Well, the bottles in your link look very different from mine. I think I saw some similar ones to mine in a thrift store I stopped at on the way to the Baltimore/Washington Pen Show last spring, but didn't buy them because I didn't know anything about the brand (I did buy a bottle of Pelikan 4001 for an absurdly good price (I think it was the reissued stuff in the old-fashioned bottle with the old-style label and built in pen rest).

I'll try to get photos of the bottle up tomorrow or Tuesday (ignore the Laphroig cap on the bottle -- clearly whoever my friend got the bottle from had to find a replacement for the original, and that one fit... B)).

I don't read Italian at all, but I suppose I could run the text through Google Translate and see what it says. The bottle itself is fairly attractive (similar in shape to the small Akkerman bottles, but I don't think it's got the neck inkwell).

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."

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Chrissy Museum Piece

Chrissy

Posted
Posted

If it's got "Inchiostro stilografico" on the bottle then it's for fountain pens. If it hasn't I wouldn't use it in any of my pens.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Mulrich Collectors Item

Mulrich

Posted
Posted

I came across a Campio Marzio store while traveling earlier this year and bought a two bottles of ink, tabacco and dark blue. I've only inked the tabacco and it was much drier than I like (almost unusable with the Sailor nib I was using). Considering that experience I'm not sure when I'll try either Campio Marzio ink again. I have a few pens that are really wet writers but I have other dry inks I'm much more interested in using.

I think the ink was really easy to clean out, so at least it had that going for it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
inkstainedruth Ancient Artifact

inkstainedruth

Posted
Posted

If it's got "Inchiostro stilografico" on the bottle then it's for fountain pens. If it hasn't I wouldn't use it in any of my pens.

 

Well, I checked this morning, and it does say that on the label. So a good sign....

Although at the moment I have too many pens inked up (and am shortly to go on vacation) so other than getting photos of the bottle (weather permitting), nothing much is going to happen with the ink for a few weeks.

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."

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 1 month later...
inkstainedruth Ancient Artifact

inkstainedruth

Posted
Posted

Well, better late than never.... Finally got photos of the bottle done yesterday, although I have yet to try the ink -- a combination of having too many pens inked up already at the moment, and not being a huge fan of burgundy inks in general. But this one seems to be more of a ruby red (at least sloshing around in the bottle) so I have some hope....

Yes -- the bottle came to me with the Laphroig cap on it.... :P Presumably from the original owner, since my friend doesn't drink alcohol at all AFAIK....

fpn_1536447283__camp_marzio_bottle.jpg

Here's a better shot of just the label. I have no idea of how old the ink is, but I'm not seeing any SITB when I swish the bottle around -- I will try to get scans/photos up when I try the ink, but that is likely not going to be for another week or two (mostly this week I'm going to be emptying and flushing pens in anticipation of the Commonwealth Pen Show -- I get to go to the show, while my poor husband tries to get his mom's income tax paperwork done before the October 15th deadline...).

fpn_1536447421__campo_marzio_label.jpg

Any more info about the ink will be greatly appreciated.

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."

Link to comment
Share on other sites
amberleadavis Pen Dust

amberleadavis

Posted
Posted

Well, it is a pretty bottle.

Fountain pens are my preferred COLOR DELIVERY SYSTEM (in part because crayons melt in Las Vegas).

Create a Ghostly Avatar and I'll send you a letter. Check out some Ink comparisons: The Great PPS Comparison 

Don't know where to start?  Look at the Inky Topics O'day.  Then, see inks sorted by color: Blue Purple Brown Red Green Dark Green Orange Black Pinks Yellows Blue-Blacks Grey/Gray UVInks Turquoise/Teal MURKY

 

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
inkstainedruth Ancient Artifact

inkstainedruth

Posted
Posted

It is, isn't it? :D

The cap is very silly, but seems to fit. I may keep the bottle (sans cap) when I use up the ink, and keep it as a bud vase (although if I do that I will remove the label). I think the bottle would look very nice with an heirloom-variety rose or two sticking out of it (a lot of old varieties of roses have very short stems) -- most of mine have croaked, sadly, but I think the York rose (a very old variety with white blooms) is still hanging on by a thread).

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."

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 2 months later...
Quadratus Mint

Quadratus

Posted
Posted

I bought of a bottle of Campo Marzio "Tabacco" ink yesterday and am rather pleased with it. It is quite a dark sepia brown, not too dark and behaves well in the pen I have filled it up with. The bottle is attractive and, hey, as it was Black Friday, I got a 30% discount on a 150 ml bottle of perfectly acceptable sepia ink- recommended (as are some of their cartridge inks).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33583
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26772
    5. jar
      jar
      26105

  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      Links to web pages or articles about Chinese typesetting, signwriting, etc.

      By Shanghai Knife Dude · Posted

      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      Skeleton of a primer for a budding hobbyist

      By A Smug Dill · Posted

      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Skeleton of a primer for a budding hobbyist

      By adamselene · Posted

      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Skeleton of a primer for a budding hobbyist

      By A Smug Dill · Posted

      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      Skeleton of a primer for a budding hobbyist

      By adamselene · Posted

      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o

  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More

  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...