Ink Odor

[Opus104]

The subject of chemical or "paint-like" odor comes up every now and then on FPN. Sailor inks are always mentioned, as are a bunch of the Bullet-Proof varieties. I have noticed that my PR Midnight Blues has developed a strong chemical smell. I even easily notice the odor when using my pen. Is this ever an indication that the ink could harm the pen in any way? I don't mind the smell that much and I love the color. I just don't want to do any damage to the feed. Any thoughts or experiences out there?

[EMM]

I always smell the ink when I open the bottle but if it smells strongely just from the pen as you write then some sort of reaction must be going on.

[magan]

local pen group members advised me to smell inks, vintage more particularly, before buying as the smell could be indicative of mold. mold which could transfer from your pen filled with molded ink, to another ink you dipped your pen into, and to your other pens you will be dipping in the second ink. i've never had a mold infestation and i actually don't know how molded ink smells, but i have smelled strong ink before. (btw, is molded the proper term for having molds??)

 

not sure about how a "good" ink smells, but for me (no expert here!) i'm fine with watercolor smelling ink.

 

and oh, i use the chemistry class technique on how to smell something from a jar -- fanning the jar's mouth with one hand, while the other holds the jar a little far from your nose.

[Opus104]

and oh, i use the chemistry class technique on how to smell something from a jar -- fanning the jar's mouth with one hand, while the other holds the jar a little far from your nose.

 

. . . and it also prevents those embarrassing inky blue noses . . .

[Fernan]

I bought an old bottle of Waterman ink a little over a year ago. When I opened it, the smell that came out strong reminded of the smell of inks of my boyhood in the fifties.

 

I've used that smell as a sort of indicator of what vintage inks ought to smell like. But I may be relying on impressions...

 

It seems to me that most recent inks, like Skrip for instance, have a sweet smell to them.

 

I have no idea what a molded ink would smell like. But I am always conscious that I may get one when I buy older bottles of ink.

[biffybeans]

Check my blog post on this subject - and be sure to read the comments - especially the last anonymous one that came from Noodler's Nathan

 

http://www.biffybeans.com/2009/05/fountain-pen-inks-to-shake-or-not-and.html

 

 

 

 

The subject of chemical or "paint-like" odor comes up every now and then on FPN. Sailor inks are always mentioned, as are a bunch of the Bullet-Proof varieties. I have noticed that my PR Midnight Blues has developed a strong chemical smell. I even easily notice the odor when using my pen. Is this ever an indication that the ink could harm the pen in any way? I don't mind the smell that much and I love the color. I just don't want to do any damage to the feed. Any thoughts or experiences out there?

[adam11]

The only ink that has distinctive smell in my collection is Dupont Noire. Great ink though.

[riff raff]

and oh, i use the chemistry class technique on how to smell something from a jar -- fanning the jar's mouth with one hand, while the other holds the jar a little far from your nose.

"Wafting," I believe it's called. A safe practice.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waft

[magan]

and oh, i use the chemistry class technique on how to smell something from a jar -- fanning the jar's mouth with one hand, while the other holds the jar a little far from your nose.

"Wafting," I believe it's called. A safe practice.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waft

 

"wafting!" thanks! i've been trying to remember what it's called.

[Ondina]

The sense of smell has been developed by Nature, among other things , to keep you safe. If your nose and your lungs tell you is hazardous, then it is. Some inks have distinctive inky smells, others, pleasant ones, and there is a third toxic waste category. Yes, they smell different because their components are different. Follow your nose.

[dcwaites]

Different inks certainly give you different smells. Vintage Parker Quink with Solv-X has a unique smell that is missing from the current, Solv-X free versions. Noodler's Baystate Blue has a sinus-clearing concentration of what seems remarkably like Formaldehyde.

 

I think it is worth smelling a new ink, and trying to remember what it smelt like when it was new. If that smell changes, then you definitely have problems.

 

As for vintage inks, it is hard to tell what it should smell like. Who knows what some ink makers put in their inks, when it was thought safe to breathe Formaldehyde, Phenol, Benzene and the like, so it is hard to tell when it has changed smell.

 

I got caught out recently with some vintage Parker Quink Turquoise that had developed a case of SITB* However, when I compared it with a good bottle of vintage Quink, it was easy to tell that the smell was wrong.

 

 

 

*Slime In The Bottle

[Possum Hill]

The sense of smell has been developed by Nature, among other things , to keep you safe. If your nose and your lungs tell you is hazardous, then it is. Some inks have distinctive inky smells, others, pleasant ones, and there is a third toxic waste category. Yes, they smell different because their components are different. Follow your nose.

Those who don't like the smell of an ink shouldn't use that particular ink, just like those who don't like the color should pick a different ink.

 

There's nothing in commercially available fountain pen ink that makes the ink dangerous. Assertions that there is aren't credible without evidence either of injury or of the presence of dangerous compounds in sufficient concentration to cause injury.

 

Despite sensational claims about the various characteristics of ink, it's all pretty much just ink.

[Ondina]

The sense of smell has been developed by Nature, among other things , to keep you safe. If your nose and your lungs tell you is hazardous, then it is. Some inks have distinctive inky smells, others, pleasant ones, and there is a third toxic waste category. Yes, they smell different because their components are different. Follow your nose.

Those who don't like the smell of an ink shouldn't use that particular ink, just like those who don't like the color should pick a different ink.

 

There's nothing in commercially available fountain pen ink that makes the ink dangerous. Assertions that there is aren't credible without evidence either of injury or of the presence of dangerous compounds in sufficient concentration to cause injury.

 

Despite sensational claims about the various characteristics of ink, it's all pretty much just ink.

 

Without any evidence to support that anything that stinks dangerously is innocuous, take assertions as not credible. Self test is evident; uncap some of your inks, and see how long do your lungs take inhaling ones then the others. Which ones will you feel safe to be used by your kids?

[Possum Hill]

The sense of smell has been developed by Nature, among other things , to keep you safe. If your nose and your lungs tell you is hazardous, then it is. Some inks have distinctive inky smells, others, pleasant ones, and there is a third toxic waste category. Yes, they smell different because their components are different. Follow your nose.

Those who don't like the smell of an ink shouldn't use that particular ink, just like those who don't like the color should pick a different ink.

 

There's nothing in commercially available fountain pen ink that makes the ink dangerous. Assertions that there is aren't credible without evidence either of injury or of the presence of dangerous compounds in sufficient concentration to cause injury.

 

Despite sensational claims about the various characteristics of ink, it's all pretty much just ink.

 

Without any evidence to support that anything that stinks dangerously is innocuous, take assertions as not credible. Self test is evident; uncap some of your inks, and see how long do your lungs take inhaling ones then the others. Which ones will you feel safe to be used by your kids?

I don't think it's been established that any fountain pen ink has a dangerous stink. Do you have a specific ink in mind? Who determined that its stink was dangerous?

[Inka]

Inks are primarily water, the dies they contain from many sources such as plants and minerals.

Everything in nature has an odor, even some rocks if you rub them and take a whiff, so why not inks?

Sure some inks contain surfactants, mold-inhibitors, even anti-bacterial components, so smells or odors will vary.

What I don't care for are "scented" inks, just a personal preference, as to me anything deliberately added to change an inks odor will only serve to cover up the "natural" smell of components.

To me scented inks are akin to scented and/or flavored coffee, the flavor is typically added to inferior product to cover up the poor taste or to add taste to those lacking in the same.

I wouldn't be concerned about an ink having an odor causing pen damage, unless that odor changes in state from when an ink is fresh, even the molds others have mentioned will typically clog feed channels and not normanlly break down materials.

After all, inks are made to be used and so are fountain pens, combining the two is the only way you're going to get one or the other to work.

ANALOGY: If you don't like the smell of gasoline then don't fill up your tank, see how far your car will take you when the tank is empty.

[Opus104]

I had forgotten about the post on the Beanmeister's Blog. I think this smell is normal, and has likely increased once the bottle has been exposed to the air. Damage is not likely.

 

The rest is personal preference. And on that score - the smell bugs me, so I am willing to miss out on a nice color to avoid the odoriferous emanations. Much like I have also identified myself as a nib creep-o-fobe in the latest nib creep thread, and choose my inks accordingly.

[Inka]

Agreed that if an odor is offensive, the offending item/s should be avoided whenever and if at all possible.

I need gas to drive my car, or I would not use it due to the smell alone, not the best analogy and I'd only mentioned it because the engine won't run if I don't provide the foul-smelling liquid.

The same can be said of some inks, if they all smelled bad to me than it's time to stop using a fountain pen and turn to other resources, since without ink in a pens' "fuel tank" it will not write.

If certain inks turn your stomach or just cannot be tolerated, then just avoid them, it could very well be your body trying to say you have a sensitivity to the contents and they need to be avoided.

 

As Opus says, damage due to a malodorous ink is not likely and I agree, adding that just because a certain ink has an unpleasant odor does not mean it will be damaging to nib/feed/pen [it depends].

Certainly valid questions, wondering if the nasty smelling substance/s can cause as much damage to a pen as the offending odor would seem to indicate.

I still pay it little mind, when having a pen that has a full "tank" is preferable to an empty one, having one that writes means more to me than the odor any ink may or may not give off.

To this day I've not had a pen become damaged by any ink/s, not to say that it can't happen only that it hasn't happened to me and it's also usually a good idea to flush a pen clean once in awhile regardless.

It's also best not to mix inks unless you learn about their properties and find out if they are or are not compatible, another topic yet still somewhat relevant, since certain substances should not be mixed including some inks.

 

I'd say if it stinks to you then flush it out, not because it may damage your pen but because the experience of writing itself is being damaged by an offensive odor.

I enjoy writing with a fountain pen, I wouldn't enjoy it if my pen was turning my stomach each time I used it, that's for sure.

Regardless of what an ink may do to my pen, even though I've not had issue as yet, my health and well-being involving the writing experience take priority over being able to write.

So write with what you enjoy and enjoy what you write.

[le chat serein]

...I have noticed that my PR Midnight Blues has developed a strong chemical smell. I even easily notice the odor when using my pen. Is this ever an indication that the ink could harm the pen in any way? I don't mind the smell that much and I love the color. I just don't want to do any damage to the feed. Any thoughts or experiences out there?

 

I'm pretty sure I've noticed this same odor in MY Midnight Blues. It honestly didn't even occur to me that it might be harmful to the pen it's in (Pelikan M200), so I didn't remove it/refill it/whatever. I can tell you unequivocally that as long as your smell isn't radically different from mine (obviously we don't know, but for what it's worth, I guess), it doesn't seem to be dangerous to the pen at all. My M200 is doing just fine.

 

I not only love the color, but I confess I'm a big fan of the smell too. Every time I take the cap off that pen or the lid off the jar, I take a moment to enjoy the smell. Don't know what it is, but no complaints here.

[LedZepGirl]

All inks smell a little different. I think some Noodler's inks smell like Froot Loops, lol I don't think their is anything to worry about as long as it doesn't smell mouldy.

[stevo]

The sense of smell has been developed by Nature, among other things , to keep you safe. If your nose and your lungs tell you is hazardous, then it is. Some inks have distinctive inky smells, others, pleasant ones, and there is a third toxic waste category. Yes, they smell different because their components are different. Follow your nose.

 

So my own pits after a long run in the summer would be cause for alarm...

 

S