How does it taste?

[professionaldilettante]

I have this weird curiosity... I wonder what ink taste like. I've had this curiosity before, with fish flake food, and found out it tastes.... bland. Not much taste to it, like eating the rice paper that comes on some candies. Now, am I mistaken, but I think I've heard of people sucking on nibs to get them started, and that got me wondering... what does ink taste like? I suppose that some of it is nontoxic, but I don't want to try just in case it is not. Am I wrong about people licking nibs? or is it with dip pens?

[2Hearts]

Oh no, I never thought of licking a nib, but now this has piqued my curiosity! And now I am very tempted, but I won't.

[kushbaby]

I've done it when I don't have a little water handy to drip a drop on a dry nib. Doesn't taste so great to me.

 

I now keep a half-filled glass of water on my desk instead.

[WendyNC]

I've been known to do it when I didn't have a cup of water handy in which to dip the nib. Some combinations of pen and ink can be slow starters even after a day or two, but that problem can often be cured by applying a minuscule amount of moisture to the nib. You could get enough by a wet lick of your finger and then touching the nib to the finger. But then you'd have ink on your finger!

 

The contact is so minimal that it doesn't taste like anything. It's probably a bad idea to use saliva as a pen lubricant, but they always told me that about contact lenses, too.

 

It's my understanding that any ink fit for a fountain pen is non-toxic. I'm sure one might become queasy after drinking several bottles in quick succession, and I suspect that a heavy dye load can't be good for one's system, but random encounters with tiny amounts of ink are no problem. Folks having more than random encounters and with larger quantities probably have other, more significant issues.

[Paddler]

It's a dip pen thing. You can lick a nib to remove the oily film from it so the ink will coat it evenly. You only do this once, before you dip the first time in the writing session.

 

I don't know what ink tastes like. Try it. Report back.

 

Paddler

[JMX]

From my school days I remember old Pelikan 4001 royal blue as kind of metallic-tasting, a bit weird, but not too awful. No idea what the new formula tastes like.

Edited February 4, 2010 by JMX

[The Grim Sheaffer]

Most times you dont taste the ink at all. Most are quite neutral, blue scrimp is the worst.

[holgalee]

You're not alone in wondering! My Namiki/Pilot blue inks smell like Sakura poster paint from my childhood. The Pilot Iroshizuku Yama Budo smells faintly of grapes, unless my nose is playing tricks on me. I wonder which inks are the safest to try tasting? :roflmho:

[FrankB]

I can remember seeing kids lick nibs in school. Whenever I saw it, I could only think to myself, "Ewwwwww! Yuck!" No one ever dropped dead, but I can't speak to the taste.

[ladyambrosia]

No real taste that I have been able to tell in any of my nib touches.

[AD356]

Licking Nibs and Sucking on them is mainly for Dip Pens. When you buy a Box of Dip Pens they come with a protective coating on them to keep out all moisture, this includes ink. So you must get them off. I used to use tooth paste and a tooth brush brushing one way towards the point it will remove the coating, but takes too much time. Now I just pop them in my mouth and suck on the pointy bit while I am getting my self set up. The best way to get rid of the coating is to use your saliva and ink then wipe it off a few times. Then lick the nib or a paper towel and wipe the nib with it. It really helps it take ink.

 

It doesn't taste like anything really, but it hurts with you pook your tongue with the point , I have never lick a Nib with INK on it, so I don't know what that taste like.

 

I have found out that licking a paper towel then using that to wipe ink is one of the best ways to remove ink from anything!

[blackangus]

Mix Old Manhattan Black 3:1 with sweet vermouth, a dash of bitters, and a cherry, then let us know.

[karmakoda]

Really don't know why I'm admitting this, but yes, I have licked the nibs of a few pens to get them flowing. It works, but as others have pointed out, a handy cup of water will do the same thing.

And that's better than standing at a counter buying your cat food, wondering why the check out girl is so suddenly fascinated with you, only to find, when you return home, a Noodler's Baystate Blue stain in the corner of your mouth. Well, mine was actually Noodler's Green Marine.

She liked me for my ink.

 

Ink taste? Seems slightly metallic, in some cases slightly salty.

Tempting, black angus, but I won't be trying that particular version of the Manhattan martini.