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Hi everyone. My boss just told me heartbreaking news today that I am not allowed to write with fountain pens or gel pens on company documents anymore! I asked him for reasons and he said that my fountain pena /gel pens cause damage to the document in this rainy season when air humidity is high. (did they soak my paper in water ?). Anyway, my company is not entirely paperless and I enjoyed using my fountain pens at work. I felt like a samurai choosing a sword when I leave my home in the morning. Do you have any waterproof ink, not too expensive, and work on cheap paper (I forgot to tell you my company uses cheap paper on half of the documents) so that I will not be fired if I insist to use a fountain pen? I appreciate all your thoughts thank you. (I know I can just Google it but I want to hear from real-world experiences too) PS. I currently use waterman mysterious blue, pelikan blue 4001, pelikan black 4001, diamine royal blue, all of these is not water resistant I assumed.

Noodler’s Mata Hari’s Cordial This is truly one of the classiest inks, I’ve ever used. Noodler's has a knack for this type of shades. Such a pleasure to write with, lovely, elegant, well behaved. I don’t why this colour was used to commemorate the fabled Mata Hari. I doubt this vintage cocktail named after her, will turn into this shade of burgundy. A bit about Mata Hari: She was born Margaretha Geertruida Zelle in Netherlands 7 August 1876 . Her father at one point was very rich but lost all his money. He was also a mythomaniac. Mata Hari, married a brutish soldier and went to the Dutch West Indies. Her husband was violent and womanizer. She divorced her husband after the death of her son, and though she gained custody of her daughter, she had to abandon her to him as she had no money. In Europe she became, an exotic dancer, a courtesan, creating a persona and constantly changing her biography, a trait inherited from her father. Her nickname was given by a friend, which means “eye of the day,” in Malay. Photo curtsey of Wikipedia She had many lovers, a penchant for men in uniform. At the onslaught of WWI, she was recruited by both the Germans and French as a spy. While she’s the inspiration of many a Bond girl, she was inept in the art of spying, unlike the famed Josephine Baker. In 1917, she was used as a scapegoat by the French government and executed by firing squad in October, 15, 1917, after 6 months of deliberation. She was 41, Several films have made about her, notably one with Greta Garbo and a French one with Jeanne Moreau. You can read more about her, here: https://www.friesmuseum.nl/en/collection/icons/mata-hari Or see this documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WF3rA8ItmY Now the ink. Lets start with the Chroma: This is delicious burgundy, very well behaved and joy to write with. While it’s advertised as fluorescent ink, I didn’t see any reaction to UV light. Writing samples: (All quotes are by Mata Hari) Dry time varies depending the pen paper. I was a bit lazy, using the Kanwrite, which is very wet, and was slightly primed. Note the different dry times. Note how the ink in a primed feed, turns black. The following poem is from the Song of Songs, translated by Chana & Ariel Bloch, with a fude nib. Photo: Hammermill 20lb copy paper. Back Ghosting is minimal Watertest: It seems this time I put the right side under-running water. The excess ink will remove, as you can see, but your document remain legible. Comparaison: And finally a little sketch, of a cat in uniform in homage to Mata Hari. · Pens used: Pilot Kakuna(Ef/Stub) Lamy Safari (Ef/F/M/B), Kanwrite Ultraflex, Jinhao 450 fude nib · What I liked: Well lubricated, classy, fast dry times, lovely in all pens. · What I did not like: Nothing much. Maybe I can grumble and say, it's water-resistant but not 100% waterproof. · What some might not like: Possible of staining transparent sections, the name · Shading: Yes, especially with wider nibs. · Ghosting: Faint · Bleed through: None · Flow Rate: Nice. · Lubrication: Excellent · Nib Dry-out: None. · Start-up: None · Saturation: Dark · Shading Potential: Depending nibs. · Sheen: None. · Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: None · Nib Creep / “Crud”: Nope. · Staining (pen): Possible · Clogging: No. · Cleaning: Normally, this shade of colour is difficult to clean, so having ink cleaning solution is always handy. Pilot Kakuna was very easy, as I could disassemble it, and Q-tip the heck out of it. Lamy needed an overnight soak and a bit more coaxing with the solution. With all permanent inks, the more the ink remains in the pen, the more time consuming it is to clean. · Water resistance: It's not waterproof, like the Polar series. A bit of excess ink will be removed. · Availability: 90 ml bottles / 3 Oz bottles Please don't hesitate to share your experience, writing samples or any other comments. The more the merrier

This is my 2nd pigment ink review from this brand. The first one is here. Kala inks are based in Taiwan and make mostly pigment inks. According to https://geology.com/minerals/hematite.shtml: Hematite is one of the most abundant minerals on Earth's surface and in the shallow crust and the most important ore of iron. For what is worth Hematite (which means blood red) is one for the oldest pigments and was used for the cave painting by our ancestors These are some modern Hematite pigments. Kala Hematite resembles the top right (Blue Ridge Violet Hematite). It is dusky dream grey, purple, not as wet as Scapolite, but slightly sluggish. It is pleasing, soothing colour, especially with broad and fude nibs. Lets starts with the Chroma: Comparison It has also a beautiful green/ gold sheen on Mnemosyne paper under artificial light: Writing samples: Midori TR 68gr Photos: Rhodia Maruman Cheap paper front and back Water resistance: Note: under running water it was fine, but the moment I dried it with a paper towel, this happened and finally a fun sketch of a favorite ink character: · Pens used: Lamy Safari (Reverse Fine/ Fine/ Medium /Broad) / Kanwrite Ultraflex / Pilot Plumix · What I liked: Very easy to clean. Pleasing / tender colour. A pleasure to write with. · What I didn’t liked: It’s iffy water resistance. If you spill water, you’re ok, however, if you try to dry it up you will make a mess. · Shading: Only wide a fude nib. · Ghosting: Yes, On cheap paper · Bleed through: Yes, with absorbent papers. · Flow Rate: Good. · Lubrication: Good. · Nib Dry-out: Not noticed. · Start-up: No problem. · Saturation: Dark. · Shading Potential: Only with a fude nib · Sheen: With some papers, like Mnemosyne. · Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Not noticed · Nib Creep / “Crud”: No · Staining (pen): No · Clogging: No. · Cleaning: Very easy to clean…. · Water resistance: See for yourself · Availability: 30 ml bottles Comments appreciated but absolutely not necessary

I rarely have had so much frustration and cursing at an ink and I’m very tolerant of naughty inks. But then again, if any members like a challenge, with waterproof, pigment, unsaturated ink, go for it! (you know who you are ) I would say it could be used for sketching or writing passive aggressive letters in an EF/F nib to someone you don't like 😆 I have no ink even close to it: Writing samples I used a Pilot Kakuna Medium as a replacement for a European Fine nib and used the reverse to recreate the EF. Rhodia Midori TR 68 gr Maruman It does like cheap paper very much from Front: And not so much from behind:

The name is a mouthful. I discovered this ink thanks @christof. Another good ink for Iron gall ink lovers. They are made in Germany and exclusively sold by the maker Thomas Bergmann. https://www.kalligraphie-shop.com/ep...roducts/32000T They come in 2 colours: red and blue in De Atramentis type bottles. This is an almost black ink, in the true IG sense. If you’ve written with dip pen IG inks (Like Bach’s which turns into a glossy black), this one comes close, depending on the amount of ink concentration. Here is a comparaison with two other famous IGs. It has an interesting chroma While I enjoyed using it, I prefer the Red to this. Mostly because it has not the waterproofness of Essri (and I don't mean LizEf's endearing Snek . If you’re looking for a perfect waterproof ink, go for the big three Essri, Akkerman IG, or Diamine Registrars ( I haven’t tried KWZ blue black/ and Hero 232, so I can't comment on that). I rubbed the sample text (on the cheap paper), with a wet Q-tip. This was after 24 hours. Essri didn't budge. The blue component of Bergmann ink smudged. I also did the Q-tip test on a week old text on Tomoe River paper, the blue component smudged. Writing samples: TR 68gr Midori Rhodia Apica This I did with reverse medium Jinhao, which is close to an Ef, I hope (Paper is Rhodia) Field Notes (Not for Fps but the ink behaved flawlessly) This was done on atrocious, cheap, very thin, absorbent paper. Ink turned instantly black. While there seems to be ghosting and bleed through, it doesn't look as bad as the scan Here is a little fun sketch I did for Inktober on a Fabiano sketch pad: The background is all done with the IG ink. • Pens used: : Jinhao 450 (Medium/fude) /Jinhao X159 – F / Conway Stewart 330/ Pilot Kakuna • Shading: Yes • Ghosting: Only on cheap paper. It didn't ghost on Field Notes, an unfriendly FP paper. • Bleed through: No • Flow Rate: Wet • Lubrication: Quite good for an IG • Nib Dry-out: On the badly sealed X159 yes. • Start-up: On the badly sealed X159 yes. • Saturation: Nicely saturated… • Shading Potential: The ink turn almost black. Butshades • Sheen: None • Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Not noticed • Nib Creep / “Crud”: No • Staining (pen): No, • Clogging: Nope. • Water resistance: Good. But not as good as Essri. • Availability: 1 oz/ 30 ml bottles Comments appreciated!

I discovered this ink thanks to one of Nick Stewart’s videos. This is one of the double dye inks, belonging to the same family as General of the Armies and the now discontinued lovely House Divided. This one has a purple dye below the beige/yellow coloured one. To quote Nathan: "Rome Burning” has a bulletproof patrician core color of Caesar’s purple with the colors of the inferno that wash away from it with excess liquidity. As it dries there are shades of brass that can actually shine on some paper grades and can halo the darker core when using the right nib/feed combination. On very absorbent cellulose paper the patrician core can be seen in the center as the fire surrounds it – as if an eclipse of the sun." Here you go, its magic when applied on wet watercolour paper: When smudged with a wet Q-Tip, the yellow component washes away to leave the purple colour: Also when you rinse the pen, the dominant colour in the sink is a rich purple I have nothing like this ink. It’s a wet, fast drying ink on most papers but, Midori/ Tomoe River 68gr papers. With some wide nibs the purple dye is visible for a split second. It’s the type of ink I really like, murky, fast drying and dependable. I thought the purple dye would be difficult to wash out but in the end in the end I used only water. I read that it stains convertors but it didn’t do mine. So be careful if you're fussy about stains It’s a pity Nathan changed the name of this one. It was so evocative. I used quotes from notable Romans, and the infamous Nero, to whom this ink alludes. Writing samples: Rhodia TR 68gr Midori Codex Mnemosyne Apica · Pens used: : Kaweco Perkeo Fine/ Pilot Kakuna Medium, Jinhao 450 /Fude Nib · Shading: Lovely · Ghosting: On cheap paper,depending nib, probably. · Bleed through: depending nib, probably. · Flow Rate: Wet · Lubrication: Good · Nib Dry-out: Not noticed · Start-up: Not noticed · Saturation: Nicely saturated… · Shading Potential: Only with Fude nib on Midori/ TR 68 gr papers. · Sheen: Nope... · Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Not noticed · Nib Creep / “Crud”: Not noticed... · Staining (pen): I’ve read that it can stain convertors, but it didn’t mine. · Clogging: Nope. · Water resistance: The yellow component washes away and leave a purple line · Availability: 3 oz/ 90 ml bottles

Here is a brief review of a double concentrated Pilot Blue-Black ink. A prelude. Or a kind of I have always been fascinated with this ink. For a bunch of reasons except one: it is rather lifeless. Then I used it in my modern Duofold (with the damn hole in the cap causing evaporation) and found out this ink can be gorgeous with a lot of gravitas, beautiful shading and some sheen... if evaporates a bit. Pilot Blue-Black standard concentration properties summary A couple of positives of this ink (in the normal 100% concentration): 1) VERY cheap if you get a 350ml bottle from Japan, it costs there roughly $12, 2) VERY water resistant, 3) (unlike most Blue-Black inks) when exposed to water it stays purely blue instead of black/grey, 4) flows well in any pen, 5) safe, 6) no strong smell, 7) while it stains, the stains disappear fully if well soaked/filled with a soapy (dish detergent) water with no other treatment required at all; it is also very easy to wash from clothes, leaving no stains. Aren't these 7 wonders of the ink? Well, yes, but despite all the positives this ink normally isn't what one would expect of a solid blue black. Honestly, it is quite dull. Say no to the dullness - let it evaporate So what did I do? I bought a 350ml bottle, filled my empty Edelstein Sapphire bottle (actually not the most lively ink either), folded a kitchen paper towel in 8 layers and fixed it with a rubber band to the bottle. Then put it in my desk (the place that is dark and dry - just like my soul). I had been checking it regularly, but cannot remember how long did it take to evaporate a half of the bottle, but roughly 2 weeks. And... see the result below. A lovely navy ink, very water resistant, with a sheen and shading. With no misbehaviour. And still very cheap. For this process the wider the open surface of the bottle is the faster is the evaporation. Sailor old style 50ml round bottle (reminding jar) would fit the best. On the contrary heating or exposing to sunlight would not be the best idea. Testing The paper used is Oxford 90g A4 optikpaper notepad (a coated paper like Rhodia etc.). The pen used is MB 146 from early 90s (1st gen. plastic feed) with M(edium) feed - a bit broadish but not the wettest. The photos were taken in a natural light (direct sunlight/2 sorts of a shadow). You can see the comparison of the ink in 100% and 200% concentrations, written with the same pen. The writing sample was kept in the notebook for 24 hours before performing the water test. It was left for 30 second under a tap. I went quite hard with cotton swabs, it even damaged the paper surface. UV resistance results (notebook vs. summer window) will be updated in 2 weeks. The inks does not bleed (except the cheapest paper in almost a toilet paper quality), does not feather. Conclusion While the standard Pilot Blue-Black is a very good ink it is not the best choice if you need a serious business ink. The double concentration will do the job. What a lovely colour, isn't it?! What a performance! And very, very cheap. As for the price, while the ink is cheap the shipping is tricky but for instance Mercari now and then offers discounts on shipping or even a free international shipping, like recently.

Noodler's amazes me. The color options, the shading, the water resistance (some-but-not-all inks). I have nothing but respect for Mr. Tardif. This thread is one of wonderment, amazement, and homage. One thing that irritates me, however, is that he does not offer a true bulletproof CYMK set (with the obvious exception of Black.) This means that the inks I want to make for myself won't be bulletproof. And bulletproofness is a sticking point for me, or at least water resistance. (I don't write anything worth forging anyway, so for the time being let's throw out bleach/acetone/ammonia/..... resistance.) So for the chemists in the room: how can one make a water-resistant, dye-based ink? The dye retailers I've called don't think it can be done. (They mostly retail to cloth dyers, so their lack of expertise in inks isn't surprising, but cellulose reactivity is cellulose reactivity; all cellulose-reactive dyes I've come across require activation with a base like soda ash or NaOH, and then are unstable in a bottle. ) The closest I've come to an explanation of Tardif's dyes on this forum is this: Unfortunately I saved the quote but not the link in my notes. I believe Chemyst stepped in and countered that yes, they are reactive dyes. We know that water resistant CYMK inks are possible, because De Atramantis makes them too. (Unfortunately they're very expensive here in the US.) So. Who wants to take a stab? What makes Bulletproof Black so bulletproof? How can one make a water resistant ink from a dye base? I'll offer some clues, or at least properties of Noodler's that I've noticed: --He offers (at least partially) water resistant blacks, and purples, and browns. (Though usually the water resistant component is black...) --He DOESN'T offer truly water resistant yellows or oranges. (Operation Overlord*) --He USED TO offer essentially CYMK inks from I think Swishers (Goldfinch for yellow, which he was "permanently sold out of" at one point, Hellbender Red, Brittania's Blue Waves -- see the Noodler's CYMK thread). He no longer does so. Is this lack of interest, or a change in availability, or....? --Noodler's likes to form bubbles in my bottles, indicating he uses A LOT of surfactant. This is also evidenced by the degree to which it nib creeps. So far I've: --Done patent searches related to inks (I still haven't found a single patent related to fountain pen inks; the ONE I was able to find seemed to talk about a "ball point fountain pen ink" which was odd.) There are lots of patents related to inkjets and ball points, but none specifically related to FPs. Most of the inkjet patents are pigment-related, but not all. --Done MSDS searches for major ink makers. I've learned some about what other stuff goes in ink, but the only actual dye I've found was a direct dye used in Pilot's rollerball inks. --Called Pro Chemical and Dye, DharmaTrading, and Keystone; the first 2 have no idea what I'm talking about (and think it's impossible); the last hasn't called me back yet. --Done general dye research, especially at . A list of threads worth reading if this topic encuriouses you too: Fabric Dye as a Basis for Ink: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/269610-fabric-dye-as-a-basis-for-ink/ Make Your Own Ink https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/2183-make-your-own-ink/ The Open Source Ink Project: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/227894-open-source-ink-project/ Physics Articles Related to FPs: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/288121-fountain-pen-ink-behaviour-fountain-pen-physics-journal-articlesreferences/ Mixing Glycerine In Ink: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/257406-mixing-glycerine-in-ink/ Surfactants in Ink for Improved Flow: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/229403-surfactants-in-ink-for-improved-flow/ So.... thoughts?