Sheaffer Skrip Blue-Black Review

[Sailor Kenshin]

Nice review!

 

I have the VINTAGE BB, and I almost gave it away because I didn't like the bottle. I caught myself just in time.

 

I don't know about the new formulation but the old has this greeny, blacky, grayish cast that I really like.

 

You don't like that nifty built-in inkwell? I think it's neat. I have a vintage Skrip bottle (empty) and I think it's a very novel idea.

 

 

No, I LIKED the inkwell. But the cap was so big (still is!) that I had trouble opening. Weak hands.

 

That's one of the reasons I like the J Herbin bottles. Never had a problem opening one!

[ticoun]

i compared my old blue black carts to the new one that was in my friend's nononsense(i used a sheaffer 330 stub btw). the old formulation is definitely bluer than the new one. still a great blue black, but i don't like that greenish shade in the new mix.

 

the other day, i found a speedball calligraphy booklet that my dad signed and dated in 1979. it was signed with the 330 stub in question with some sheaffer blue black. it faded a bit, but it's still completely legible.

 

ps. forgot to say that i really like the shading of this ink when used with a stub/italic nib. now i miss writing with my 330!

Edited April 6, 2011 by ticoun

[ThirdeYe]

I think it's strange that you're finding a green tint to your new Skrip Blue-Black... I don't see any green at all when I use mine. Just a gray/black/blue. I see green in my Quink Blue-Black however...

[pmsalty]

This and Parker Blue-Black Quink were the first inks I ever used in grammar school back some almost half century ago. I use the modern version now in several pens. I have never had any drying issues with it. But then I live in the California desert, low humidity, and I am left handed and this ink has never seared on me. Nice review on a common but nice ink.

PMS

[futhark]

This is really OT, but wondered how well you like your Parker Challenger? I think some of the models are very neat looking pens, and but I've wondered how they write. I am sure the nibs are variable, but how is the filling system in use?

[ThirdeYe]

The Challenger De Luxe is very smooth and wet. The filling system is effective, but the button is a little "stiff" so it requires two hands to push it down usually. One to grip the pen tight and one to push the button down. It has a two-sided nib so one side is medium, one side is fine. I find that the medium side writes much more smoothly. Mine has a fairly small ink capacity, but that is likely due to the fact that mine is the smaller sized verzion (ladies size?) or because it lays down such a wet line. The nib also has a little bit of spring to it to give your writing a bit of writing variation. It isn't a nail, but it isn't fully flexible either, if I remember right. I'll have to check that again to see if my memory is serving me correctly. I haven't used the pen in a few months.

 

Regarding the review of Skrip Blue-Black, I did a water resistance test a few weeks back using standard copy paper and found it to be fairly water resistant as well. Much more so than Quink Blue-Black. It was still completely legible after running water over it and soaking it, even trying to smudge it with my finger. Just a little more faint, but would hold up for writing on envelopes that could get wet, etc.

Edited April 15, 2011 by ThirdeYe

[ticoun]

I think it's strange that you're finding a green tint to your new Skrip Blue-Black... I don't see any green at all when I use mine. Just a gray/black/blue. I see green in my Quink Blue-Black however...

 

there is a bit of green in the new one, but it is only apparent with very dry nibs.

[Weiss.ar]

I notice that this ink flows really heavily from my Pelikan m200 - but that everything except for Pelikan ink flows pretty heavily from my m200. This ink feathered and flowed really heavily on cheap paper. Has anyone else had unpleasant experiences with this Sheaffer ink on cheap legal pads? (It does seem to be better, though still quite wet on my nice composition notebooks.)

[ThirdeYe]

I haven't had any issues with it on cheap paper. Then again, I tend to use it in fine nibbed pens that don't tend to output a ton of ink.

[Weiss.ar]

I haven't had any issues with it on cheap paper. Then again, I tend to use it in fine nibbed pens that don't tend to output a ton of ink.

 

Ah ok. I'm still a big newbie when it comes to all things fountain pen related, but basically it could be the nib that's causing the flow in addition to the type of ink it is?

 

Which has the greater impact on the results: the ink, the nib, or the paper?

 

Thanks so much for your help.

 

Cheers.

[ThirdeYe]

I haven't had any issues with it on cheap paper. Then again, I tend to use it in fine nibbed pens that don't tend to output a ton of ink.

 

Ah ok. I'm still a big newbie when it comes to all things fountain pen related, but basically it could be the nib that's causing the flow in addition to the type of ink it is?

 

Which has the greater impact on the results: the ink, the nib, or the paper?

 

Thanks so much for your help.

 

Cheers.

 

All 3 can have an equal impact on the results. Yes, a nib can cause more flow.

[JazzDoc]

I find Sheaffer Skrip Blue-Black (modern edition) to be an excellent (and relatively inexpensive) blue-black ink.

It does have a noticeable component of gray in it, but that appeals to me and, I think, underscores its shading qualities. Like a nice tweed suit!

To my eye its color falls somewhere between Diamine's Prussian Blue and Iroshizuku's Shin-kai.

 

Personally I haven't noticed any delay in drying on Rhodia, Clairefontaine, G.Lalo Vergé de France, nor flow abnormalities with the various fp's I've inked with it. As with everything, YMMV. Just my 2¢.

[georges zaslavsky]

Looks like a lot to diamine prussian blue, maybe I should give it a try. Thanks for the review

[merurino]

Hello guys, first of all sorry for my english, I'm a foreigner and I don't speak English very well.

 

I just purchased this ink and I'm wondering if it is washable or not, since there's no information on the site or on the bottle itself I'm worried of leaving the pen unused for a long period of time (once I forgot to use my Lamy Safari for an entire month, but since I was using Parker Quink Washable ink I had no problems, but I have a friend that almost lost a vintage Parker because of non washable ink, since here in Brazil is not very easy to find someone to do maintenance on fountain pens). Is there a test I can do to detect if this ink is washable?

 

Thanks a lot.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Write some lines on paper, let them dry, then rinse with water?

 

I don't know if Skrip Blue-Black is 'washable' but I'm pretty sure it's a fairly safe ink to leave in a pen.

[Vendome]

Hello Merurino

 

I've never used Sheaffer Blue/Black, but the regular Sheaffer Blue cartridges and my bottled Waterman ink are erasable with an ink eradicator pen, (the same as using it on Quink Washable Blue) so I would say that they are washable.

My eradicator pen won't work on my Quink Blue/Black, so I would say err on the side of caution and say that the Blue/Black mix is not a washable ink.

 

However, for a definitive answer, best to contact Sheaffer direct. I've put a link on for you below that has a few e-mail contacts.

 

http://sheaffer.com/en/contact

 

Jason

[merurino]

I sent an email asking about it. As soon as I get the answer I'll post it here.

[Vendome]

Nice one. Ta mate.

[ThirdeYe]

Sheaffer Skrip Blue-Black is not considered a washable ink. However, it should rinse out of a pen even if you let it dry in it. I've used it many times, and in pens that dry out on me and they always wash out thoroughly without staining or ruining the pen. I use it in an OS Sheaffer Balance Vacuum filler and it takes me months to run it out of ink, and it still flows very well. If you get it on your clothes, it would not likely wash out (that's mainly what they meant by Washable). It is fairly permanent on paper, even if you run it under water. Some of the ink washes away, but what remains is still legible.

[mrcharlie]

Back in the day when Sheaffer Skrip was all labelled as either Permanent or Washable, Blue Black was Permanent. Which just means that it wasn't guaranteed to wash out of clothes just using a soak in laundry detergent and water.