Do Some Inks Really Nuke Good Pens?

[Garvey]

While researching what inks to put into my pens, I stumbled across some threads discussing how certain inks may (or may not as the debate goes) can damage the internal mechanisms of a pen. I understand the arguments levied against the permanent inks regarding staining -- but can inks really cause a Parker 51 or Vacumatic to melt down? What about the impact on newer pens?

 

It also seems that Noodler's and Private Reserve take much of the criticism -- is the criticism warranted?

 

And how do you determine what ink to put into your best pens?

 

Thanks for helping me sort out this conundrum....

[Parkermaniac]

Neither of those inks have ever given me any problems with any pen. They all write wonderfully. The "51" Vacumatic may melt if you put hydrochloric acid in it.

 

-Nate

[Thornton]

No problems with Noodler's Baystate Blue in my 51 Vac. With the exception of BSB which is so very different from other Noodler's and certainly PR inks, these more saturated boutique inks work quite well for me as long as I follow proper pen maintenance.

[79spitfire]

I use PR and Noodler's inks in various pens, so far no problems. As far as I know those inks are supposed to be Ph neutral, so the only damage I could think of would be from ink drying in the pen, so perhaps damage could be caused by the "extremity" of the cleaning process?

[Possum Hill]

While researching what inks to put into my pens, I stumbled across some threads discussing how certain inks may (or may not as the debate goes) can damage the internal mechanisms of a pen. I understand the arguments levied against the permanent inks regarding staining -- but can inks really cause a Parker 51 or Vacumatic to melt down? What about the impact on newer pens?

 

It also seems that Noodler's and Private Reserve take much of the criticism -- is the criticism warranted?

 

And how do you determine what ink to put into your best pens?

 

Thanks for helping me sort out this conundrum....

Look at Richard Binder's web site, particularly the article Inks: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. (Lots of other good info there, too.)

[psfred]

The only currently available inks that would be any worse for a Parker "51" than the ink it was originally designed for would be iron-gall inks, and they are only a problem if allowed to dry out in a pen. Regular use shouldn't hurt anything, although an occasional vintage stainless steel nib may not hold up.

 

Parker "51" ink, on the other hand, nicely dissolved Parker SS nibs, the silver breather tube in the Aerometric model of "51", and dries into completely insoluble crud if allowed to dry up and age in a pen.

 

Dip pen (drawing) inks, however, will make quite a mess if they dry out in a fountain pen, as they all become completely water insoluble upon drying.

 

Note that I do not consider ink simply drying out and clogging a pen to be damage. A pain, perhaps, but any dye based ink will cause the same sort of problem, this is not an issue with only "boutique" inks.

 

Peter

Edited April 16, 2010 by psfred

[79spitfire]

While researching what inks to put into my pens, I stumbled across some threads discussing how certain inks may (or may not as the debate goes) can damage the internal mechanisms of a pen. I understand the arguments levied against the permanent inks regarding staining -- but can inks really cause a Parker 51 or Vacumatic to melt down? What about the impact on newer pens?

 

It also seems that Noodler's and Private Reserve take much of the criticism -- is the criticism warranted?

 

And how do you determine what ink to put into your best pens?

 

Thanks for helping me sort out this conundrum....

Look at Richard Binder's web site, particularly the article Inks: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. (Lots of other good info there, too.)

 

Great! My two favorite inks are going to slowly kill my pens

 

suppose I'll just have to write with them more to use it up

 

Advantage: cheap pens...

 

Or I guess I could just buy more Pelikan inks..

Edited April 16, 2010 by 79spitfire

[Feanor]

...

can inks really cause a Parker 51 or Vacumatic to melt down?

 

No.

 

What about the impact on newer pens?

 

Lamy had a bad batch of feeds, no other reproducible reports.

 

It also seems that Noodler's and Private Reserve take much of the criticism -- is the criticism warranted?

 

No. Those two are more saturated and might clog up your feed if you let them dry out in a pen, but so will every other ink.

 

And how do you determine what ink to put into your best pens?

 

Any ink that you like, put in any pen you like. Occasionally you will find that the flow properties don't work well together (wet nib + wet ink = really wet pen, dry ink + dry pen = skipping), but that's pretty much unavoidable. Eventually you'll learn the properties of pens and inks, and won't think twice about it.

 

I think most of the hysteria with BSB (and it is mostly hysteria, aside from the aforementioned bad batch of feeds) is because one person said, "Look what BSB did to my Lamy feed!" and then everyone who read that and had a problem of any sort with any pen that ever had BSB in it attributed the problem to BSB. Pretty standard psychological fallacy.

[Possum Hill]

Great! My two favorite inks are going to slowly kill my pens

 

Worse yet, you're going to die eventually yourself.

[Feanor]

...

Or I guess I could just buy more Pelikan inks..

 

Pelikan makes some great inks. I love their Violet and Green, and I've heard good things about their red and turquoise.

[Fountainbass]

I've never had the slightest problem with PR inks.

[OiRogers]

I've never had the slightest problem with PR inks.

 

+1.

And, I've also had good luck overall with Noodler's products.

 

I have had a few inks that creeped a bit too much for my tastes, a few too "wet" and a few dry enough to cause skipping issues in a few pens... but for the most part, I've found good pens can handle the modern vivid inks of Private Reserve, Noodler's, Herbin, etc...

 

I do follow a bit more rigorous cleaning schedule with these inks, but that is purely a preventive act on my part... more to satisfy my OCD cleaning impulses than any physical need for extra cleaning.

[mediocrechris]

Great! My two favorite inks are going to slowly kill my pens

 

Worse yet, you're going to die eventually yourself.

:roflmho: :roflmho: :roflmho: :roflmho: :roflmho: :roflmho: :roflmho:

[JBat]

While researching what inks to put into my pens, I stumbled across some threads discussing how certain inks may (or may not as the debate goes) can damage the internal mechanisms of a pen. I understand the arguments levied against the permanent inks regarding staining -- but can inks really cause a Parker 51 or Vacumatic to melt down? What about the impact on newer pens?

 

It also seems that Noodler's and Private Reserve take much of the criticism -- is the criticism warranted?

 

And how do you determine what ink to put into your best pens?

 

Thanks for helping me sort out this conundrum....

Look at Richard Binder's web site, particularly the article Inks: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. (Lots of other good info there, too.)

 

Great! My two favorite inks are going to slowly kill my pens

 

suppose I'll just have to write with them more to use it up

 

Advantage: cheap pens...

 

Or I guess I could just buy more Pelikan inks..

You forgot to read on. As long as you engage in proper and regular pen maintenance, you'll be fine using those inks.

[razr]

...

Or I guess I could just buy more Pelikan inks..

 

Pelikan makes some great inks. I love their Violet and Green, and I've heard good things about their red and turquoise.

 

Since I've been using FPs (years ago now) I've only used the following inks:

 

MontBlanc blue/black

Pelikan blue/black

Pelikan royal blue

Pelikan violet

 

Never had problems with any of these inks.

[Garvey]

I appreciate the responses on this thread and the PMs people have sent.

 

The verdict? I'm sticking with the PR Velvet Black as my "go to" ink for my Visconti Wall Street LE and use Pelikan and Waterman inks in my vintage pens. I still am gunshy about the BSB and staining -- I guess I'll need to find a "dedicated pen" to use the ink.

 

And of course, I will be vigilant on the care and upkeep of my pens. Is every 5th fill too frequent?

[Feanor]

...

And of course, I will be vigilant on the care and upkeep of my pens. Is every 5th fill too frequent?

 

I assume you mean flushing every fifth fill, and if anything that's less frequent than I would recommend. I tend to flush and dry every pen after nearly every fill, but that's more because I enjoy taking them apart, and I always have another ready to go. With those inks, it's unlikely to matter, but I recommend flushing your pen and letting it dry every two or three fills.

[bgray]

I think that one of the reasons the PR and Noodlers get dumped on is that they are used a lot.

 

If you inquire about being a distributor of PR or Noodlers, all you need to do is pay an appropriate amount to get started with a minimum order. They are not picky. On the other hand, becoming a distributor of Diamine, Herbin, Waterman, Aurora, Sailor, etc is more difficult. It's easy to dump on the more common brands, and then lift up the more elusive or less used ones.

 

Because of the ease of getting a distributorship, they are everywhere, inexpensive, and easy to get. They are in-turn used a lot, and when there's a problem, it might be more likely that these inks are being used. These inks are also popular with beginners, who might not be as well versed on proper pen maintenance.

 

Don't get me wrong, there are some PR and Noodlers flavors that I absolutely hate and would not put in my pens...but most of their lines are fine inks and not harmful in any way when used properly and not allowed to sit in a dormant pen for a year.

 

I do like Waterman, Aurora, and Sailor better then PR or Noodlers, but there's nothing wrong with most of their lines...my opinion.

Edited April 17, 2010 by bgray

[Garageboy]

A lot of higher dye concentration inks stain up clear Parker 51 ink sacs and the ink windows on many celluloid pens.

On a modern pen, I honestly don't care, but on a vintage, I REALLY do

[psfred]

Too late for all but one or two of my Parkers -- the sacs were completely opaque long before Noodler's or PR were made!

 

Lots of inks stain them, including "51" and Superchrome.

 

Peter

Edited April 20, 2010 by psfred