Drawing Inks vs. Fountain Pen Ink

[Rlowenote]

I have several batches of inks I've acquired and I don't want to use the wrong stuff in my pens.

 

I have some Higgins with eyedroppers that I'm sure should be for dip pens only. But some of the other inks I'm not 100% sure of. My feelings are that the Speedball and Pelikan inks are for dip or technical pens and maybe the Osmiroid inks will be ok in Fountain Pens. Is that a correct assumption?

 

I've included photos of the inks in question.

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_vFnQe_sqHGo/SvG87vFG2eI/AAAAAAAAAWA/_PE10S0_ZEQ/s800/PB040001.JPG

 

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_vFnQe_sqHGo/SvG9AlOc6GI/AAAAAAAAAWE/0fhGcmaGS5k/s800/PB040004.JPG

 

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_vFnQe_sqHGo/SvG9EidcOcI/AAAAAAAAAWI/Rwa2BrTPt3o/s800/PB040005.JPG

 

Ralph

[Chthulhu]

Ralph,

 

I've learned the hard way that drawing inks marked "for fountain pens" are best used only in fountain pens that are designed for drawing or calligraphy. These inks tend to have suspended particles and binders that will usually clog a fountain pen that was designed for writing; inks designed for writing-type fountain pens are water and dye based, and should not clog any pens with normal use.

 

Keep those inks you showed us for dip pens and keep your fountain pens safe. :-)

[Biber]

I put some Higgins Calligraphy sepia in an old Shaeffer School pen just yesterday and was quite please with how it writes. Can't say that I would do it with a more expensive pen though.

 

b

[virtual67893]

This is good to know - just incase I accedentally put calligraphy ink in one of my pens, my pens aren't 'expensive' but I still wouldn't want to ruin them.

[jmkeuning]

I put speedball India in a pelikan last night. This morning it was clogged.

[Rlowenote]

Well I most certainly won't do that. India ink won't get near my fountain pens.

 

Ralph

[David V]

Higgens makes some other types of ink as well, such as their non-waterproof calligraphic ink and their Eternal Permanent ink. I'm eyeing some for sale currently. Does anyone know if those types are, as they say on the bottle, "great with all fountain and calligraphic pens because of the flee-flowing nature of the ink"?

[Biber]

I put some Higgins Calligraphy sepia in an old Shaeffer School pen just yesterday and was quite please with how it writes. Can't say that I would do it with a more expensive pen though.

 

b

 

 

Three days out and no evidence of clogging or otherwise drop in writing quality. Pen starts right up.

 

b

[Chthulhu]

When I was just getting (back) into fountain pens, the only inks I had on hand were drawing inks, and I knew they weren't considered safe for use in fountain pens. A couple of calligraphy inks were marked "for fountain pens" as well as for dip/calligraphy pens, and while awaiting a bottle of Noodler's Black I experimented a bit.

 

I tried Higgins Fountain Pen India, but found the flow in the particular pen I was using became worse each day, so I flushed the pen and now only use the ink with dip pens. Another pen in which I tried Hunt/Panache Exceptionally Red ink, labeled as safe for fountain pens, ended up in the trash, although a Pilot Varsity I refilled with the stuff is still working after a couple of months, probably due to the nature of its feed.

 

Just be aware that there IS risk involved, and experiment only with pens you don't care about. Otherwise play it safe and only use true fountain pen inks; there are many of them readily available on-line.

[David V]

Readily available, but from what I've seen, usually a bit more money, hence the question of whether these other inks are safe... Thanks for the info. BTW, do Varsitys have something unusual about their feed system, beside the fact that they are one sealed unit that isn't easily dissected?

Edited November 5, 2009 by David V

[Chthulhu]

Readily available, but from what I've seen, usually a bit more money, hence the question of whether these other inks are safe... Thanks for the info. BTW, do Varsitys have something unusual about their feed system, beside the fact that they are one sealed unit that isn't easily dissected?

 

The Varsity pens I've dissected have a fibrous wick rather than an open feed channel beneath the nib; I think that helps prevent the ink from drying as fast in the feed. Dissection is simply a matter of getting a good grip on the nib and feed and pulling them straight out of the section.

[David V]

I've only made it as far as pulling the unit out of the body of the pen. Since I was only refilling, I didn't try taking the rest of it apart, but it didn't look like it would appreciate the efforts... A fibrous wick, eh? That explains why it writes so well without a proper breather. Veeerrrryy interestink!

[Possum Hill]

Readily available, but from what I've seen, usually a bit more money, hence the question of whether these other inks are safe... Thanks for the info. BTW, do Varsitys have something unusual about their feed system, beside the fact that they are one sealed unit that isn't easily dissected?

 

The nib is easily removed from the feed, either intentionally or by accident.

[Chthulhu]

I've only made it as far as pulling the unit out of the body of the pen. Since I was only refilling, I didn't try taking the rest of it apart, but it didn't look like it would appreciate the efforts... A fibrous wick, eh? That explains why it writes so well without a proper breather. Veeerrrryy interestink!

 

Nothing else really comes apart, other than the color buttons on the cap and barrel. The barrel and section appear to be one piece with paint over all of the barrel portion except the ink windows.

[David V]

One of the nice things about those pens, their simplicity (that and the fact that they work really well at about $2 apiece).