Inky T O D - Nib Crud - What Causes It, How To Stop It And Does It Hurt The Pen?

[amberleadavis]

Nib creep is when the ink hangs out on the nib, it isn't pretty, but it's not the end of world. In contrast, nib crud freaks me out. I start hyper-ventilating and swearing at the same time. I search for matches to scorch the dreaded plague that has come to my beloved pen.

 

Okay, well, that's not quite what happens.... Mostly I get anxious and I dump the ink.

 

So, here are some examples - I will find the Diamine Ancient Copper which looks different. Let me say that the first picture looks like mold or something really terrifying. The later ones are less scary. Most of the samples I have seen are orange inks, but I found two very yellow greens which did the same. So, I'm thinking the yellow dye has something to do with this issue.

 

Orange

 

 

Diamine Orange

 

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2893/10158669164_2b04c648f0_b.jpg

 

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3364/3493707223_6bbdda1d76.jpghttp://farm8.staticflickr.com/7032/6721127831_e6d11916ba_m.jpg

 

 

So, now that I've scared you too, have you had nib crud? What did you do to solve it?

 

Is it harmful to the pen?

 

What causes it?

 

As always, we love pictures.

[ac12]

I remember reading a post I think on FPN that someone contacted Diamine and they were going to change their ink formulation to reduce/eliminate that.

 

Yeah, its one thing to form, its another thing if it attacks and damages the nib.

Edited August 29, 2014 by ac12

[Icywolfe]

What th......

 

I never seen that before. Then again I clean thoroughly when I refill my pens, even if I use he same ink.

[risingsun]

I've never had crud with my Ancient Copper (thankfully, as it's one of my favorite inks) but I get it badly with Diamine Pumpkin. I am hoping that my recently received Diamine Autumn Oak doesn't make the crud, but I haven't tried it out yet, other than a dip.

 

For the record, I have never found it to be problematic or harmful for the pen, other than the fact that it stifles flow. A quick rinse or wipe and the crud is usually gone.

 

I've had it with one of my other Diamines, but I can't recall which one. I vaguely remember brown or reddish crud.

[Icywolfe]

I've never had crud with my Ancient Copper (thankfully, as it's one of my favorite inks) but I get it badly with Diamine Pumpkin. I am hoping that my recently received Diamine Autumn Oak doesn't make the crud, but I haven't tried it out yet, other than a dip.

 

For the record, I have never found it to be problematic or harmful for the pen, other than the fact that it stifles flow. A quick rinse or wipe and the crud is usually gone.

 

I've had it with one of my other Diamines, but I can't recall which one. I vaguely remember brown or reddish crud.

Because you experienced crud. What is the crud exactly?

[risingsun]

It's dried ink. Some inks are more saturated and precipitate out the crud more easily... At least that's my theory. It dissolves in water very easily...

[knarflj]

The only ink I've seen it with is Ancient Copper, but my ink collection is small. I haven't even had the AC very long, but it seems to me that the crud develops faster or worse when I'm writing something that involves lots of little pauses short enough that I don't bother to cap the pen. I just wipe it off when it gets really noticeable and keep writing, and I don't keep refilling the same pen with that ink without a good flush in between.

[penswordnoassemblyrequired]

I had that with Ancient Copper. I flushed the pen and switched inks. For me, Ancient Copper isn't all that and a bag of Doritos.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Nib creep is when the ink hangs out on the nib, it isn't pretty, but it's not the end of world. In contrast, nib crud freaks me out. I start hyper-ventilating and swearing at the same time. I search for matches to scorch the dreaded plague that has come to my beloved pen.

 

Okay, well, that's not quite what happens.... Mostly I get anxious and I dump the ink.

 

So, here are some examples - I will find the Diamine Ancient Copper which looks different. Let me say that the first picture looks like mold or something really terrifying. The later ones are less scary. Most of the samples I have seen are orange inks, but I found two very yellow greens which did the same. So, I'm thinking the yellow dye has something to do with this issue.

 

Orange

 

 

Diamine Orange

 

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2893/10158669164_2b04c648f0_b.jpg

 

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3364/3493707223_6bbdda1d76.jpghttp://farm8.staticflickr.com/7032/6721127831_e6d11916ba_m.jpg

 

 

So, now that I've scared you too, have you had nib crud? What did you do to solve it?

 

Is it harmful to the pen?

 

What causes it?

 

As always, we love pictures.

 

Ur nib crud, I haz it.

 

With one ink only: Chesterfield Fire Opal (which I suspect is Diamine Orange).

 

How do I handle it? Rinse nib in water. Wipe.

 

Which is why that particular ink only goes in a five-dollar Jinhao 599. With an exactly-matching-Orange-Crush barrel.

[Octo]

I've had a small amount of that from Sailor Jentle Apricot. It looks odd, but rinses right off. Perhaps caps that allow ink to dry cause more to form?

[lgsoltek]

Eww that first pic looks horrible... When I used Diamine's Yellow on my Lamy Vista I noticed that there was some crud around the nib, but just a little, not as much as shown in these photos. I noticed that my bottle of R&K Helianthus has some crud around the bottle cap and the edge as well. I guess it's dried ink? It seems to happen to yellow inks.

[AllenG]

That looks like the zombie mold infected bugs that Elise Andrew (IFLS) posts on FaceBook.

 

Knock on wood, not something I have experienced.

[watch_art]

Diamine Kelly Green and PW Akkerman #28 both do this for me. Pen low on ink and crud big on nib.

[amberleadavis]

Diamine Kelly Green and PW Akkerman #28 both do this for me. Pen low on ink and crud big on nib.

 

Yep, those are bright yellow greens.

[amberleadavis]

Hmmm...

Thank you, Vossad01!

I followed the link and that Liqueur looked like nib crud. Sorry I couldn't link the picture.

[SeeksAdvice]

Never had anything that bad. Some Noodler's inks leave a black film behind for me.

I could see the buildup doing damage long-term if it got thick enough.

[mallymal1]

 

How long is it taking for this crud to form?

 

Is it because the pen is not in regular use?

 

I use Ancient Copper, and have not seen anything like this.

[alexander_k]

Diamine Orange and Ochre can grow like that in my experience but strangely not in every pen. Some are more affected than others, presumably depending on factors like feed capacity and cap ventilation. So far I've had no problems that couldn't be resolved by dipping the nib into some water and wiping it with a rag, with the exception of a vintage orange pen where the crud seemed somehow to travel all over the closed cap and cover the inside of the cap and section, giving me brownish fingertips every time I grabbed the pen forgetting to wipe it thoroughly. That pen was slightly stained by the crud.

[mhosea]

When I conducted a dry out experiment with Noodler's Heart of Darkness, this is how it behaved. It didn't dry in situ, rather wicked out onto the nib. It's dried ink, I think, nothing more, nothing less. What causes this physical phenomenon to be more likely with some inks than others, I don't know, but while I've never seen it on a pen that I wasn't trying to dry out with ink in it, I have no fear of it. I'd probably figure it's time to flush an reload, though.

Edited August 30, 2014 by mhosea

[Runnin_Ute]

I don't recall having experienced this with anything at this time. Apache Sunset has a lot of yellow in it, haven't seen it there. Pen/ink combo maybe?