Inks That Tend To Clog....

[chickatty]

I'm new here (hello!) so forgive me if you've already pecked this to death.

 

I love Private Reserve inks because of their saturation and variety of colors. HOWEVER, it seems to be very cloggy. Frequrently, even if I've just cleaned the nib, the pen will stop writing even though there is still plenty of ink remaining in the cartridge. (I use almost exclusively cartridge v. bottle due to portability.) I can tap, tap,tap (gently!) the nib, squeeze the cartridge, LICK the nib -- and it just won't flow.

 

Currently I have a Michael's Fat Boy, Waterman Edson, Levenger, Laban and Delta who ALL, though recently cleaned, refuse to write.

 

All I can think of is that PR ink must be VERY fast drying within the nib, resulting in a clog.

 

Comments?

[mturk]

Are you using PR "fast-drying" ink or the standard colors? Which colors are you using? I've had some trouble with Black Magic Blues, but that's about it. The fast drying ink got tossed because it turned a XXF nib into a triple broad and feathered like a chicken.

[ImolaS3]

Sorry, not experienced this with PR inks but I only have a half dozen colours. I do use mostly medium and broad nibs though.

[Strang]

I've used a lot of Private Reserve inks and never had a clog (which I can't say for all brands.) Are you completely flushing the pen between cartridges? It might be okay to switch to another cart of exactly the same ink but, even within brands, I would carefully and completely flush between carts.

[kenmc]

PR wins my vote for clogging. I usually have to rinse the nib slit under water to get them started. Quite a shame too since they have so many nice colors. Some though are better than others for me, Naples for one.

[mateo44]

I've never had a hint of trouble with PR American Blue. But my experience is limited to that PR color.

[KCat]

My Laban and Levenger were very picky pens. My Laban still is and I've put it aside until I can find time/energy to either have someone adjust it or work through it myself. The Levenger was adjusted and now it's so wet I had to find a very dry ink for it. The other shouldn't be an issue however. PR, like many other inks, has variation within the brand as far as flow and saturation. I avoid the browns and reds, find the dark blues a bit finicky, love the medium blues and all the greens (in terms of behavior, not necessarily color).

Edited April 5, 2011 by KCat

[psfred]

Fill the cap of the pen with water and see if it drains out of the area where the nib should be sealed when the pen is capped. If the inner cap does not hold water indefinitely, the pen will give you fits, especially with Noodler's or PR or other saturated inks, as water loss from the ink results in dry dye clogging the pen.

 

You should also make sure you force water through the pens when changing inks -- not all inks play well together, and mixing incompatible inks in the feed can clog it with slime or crumbs of undissolved dye that resist going back into solution.

 

Peter

[Surnia]

PR Avacado, and Spearmint have been excellent inks for me, absolutely no issues thus far. Wrote some exams in Avacado too, stayed inked for the entire month in my TWSBI with no clogs.

[sadiemagic]

I have used a number of PR inks and never had a clogging problem.

 

I recall reading somewhere, however, that it's harder to fully flush the nib and feed when you use cartridges a lot. As you fill and flush with water, piston fillers, button fillers, lever fillers and even converters will force more water through the nib and feed unit than you can get by just running the nib unit under water.

 

YOu may want to soak your nib unit in water for awhile, or if you have a converter that will fit, try flushing it using the converter.

 

Claudette

[Dino71]

I've had some trouble with Black Magic Blues, but that's about it.

 

Same here. Black Magic has been problematic in my pens. When the ink reservoir on my Pelis hits the halfway mark, I start to get skipping. This does not happen with other inks (even the other PRs I use) in the same pens.

 

American Blue is better behaved, for me at least. DC Supershow and DC Electric did not give me any of the headaches of Black Magic Blue either.

 

What I have noticed is that the PR inks are a little more difficult to flush out. As such, I limit the PRs to pens that are easy to disassemble (Pelikans and Parker 45s,) and I clean after every fill. I flush the pen, screw the nib out and soak that overnight. In the morning, I'll flush again and let the pen dry. Sounds a little tedious but even after the soak, I can still shake some ink out of the nib (or in the case of the 45s, the section/collector.) Hence, the rather lengthy routine.

[lapis]

IMO PRs include some of the most clogging inks. Many other inks clog less, like Herbins, Skrips (today's) CdAs, Most Diamines. Many PR inks also clog much less, like Sherwood Green, Tanzanite, so it's hard to generalize here. Inks clog partly because they are quite saturated and partly because they are likely inuffisciently lubed (surfactants, tensides, detergents etc). I don't know of any other ink factors which would promote clogging. But... IME clogging is more a "fault" of the pen than a fault of the ink. Take PR's Ebony Purple, but also e.g. D's Red Dragon, Pelikan's Blue-Black, Levenger's Cobalt... etc... These are all relatively saturated inks but they never clog in my wettest pens. They clog a lot in some of my other pens. All pens well-washed and all with M or B nibs.

 

Glad to have on board. Don't worry, save your money, and buy lots of inks (not just pens).

 

MIke

[welch]

I have never had a PR clog. For that matter, I've never had any other ink clog a pen, including Diamine, Noodlers and Iroshizuku. I've had a nib dry out after being left a few days, but that varies by pen. I only use blue, of many types).

[KCat]

one question to chickatty - are you using each pen daily? or at least every other day? I have found that with some of the inks, regular use is pretty important to good flow and that sitting for more than 3 or 4 days because of focusing on one pen or the other can result in a hiccoughing pen. As lapis said, this is often pen dependent. My Pelikans rarely have this problem nor do do my Sailors. Some of my other brands or pens within those brands are more picky. My medium nib VPs never fail to start up no matter how much I've neglected them and I keep a variety of inks in them but my VP with a fine nib stutters after a few days of neglect because of the already rather strangled flow of the nib. I don't wish to change that though - I use it for marginalia on thin paper)

 

There are just so many factors that impact how an individual ink behaves - from the ink formula to the pen it's in to the paper it's on to the way the pen is being handled that extrapolating that to an entire ink line without having used the entire ink line is unfair at best.

 

KCat

[chickatty]

Thanks for the feedback. Now that you mention it, my favorite colors that I use the most are Midnight Blue and Black Magic Blue. Can't say I've had as much trouble with Tanzanite, Sherwood Green or Velvet Black.

 

Does using cartridge vs. bottle ink make any difference?

 

My old stand by, my sterling Waterman Edson with a B nib has NEVER clogged before. Now it's clogging within a couple of days of being cleaned with the ultra sound. Would switching to bottle ink and putting up with the mess and not being able to judge how much ink is left be of any help?

[chickatty]

Another issue: When I complained about clogging at my local pen purveyor, they asked if I was cleaning with an ultra sound -- so I bought one. But I notice than none of you who have responded and mentioned cleaning have referred to an ultra sound cleaner.

 

Any opinions?

 

Thank!

 

ChickAtty

[mathguy]

PR Avacado, and Spearmint have been excellent inks for me, absolutely no issues thus far. Wrote some exams in Avacado too, stayed inked for the entire month in my TWSBI with no clogs.

 

I've had the opposite problem with PR Avacado-it's ssssllloooowww to dry and usually ends up on my hands.

 

Richard Binder has a great write-up on this issue in the reference page titled, Inks: the good , abd and the ugly.

[Possum Hill]

Another issue: When I complained about clogging at my local pen purveyor, they asked if I was cleaning with an ultra sound -- so I bought one. But I notice than none of you who have responded and mentioned cleaning have referred to an ultra sound cleaner.

 

Any opinions?

 

Thank!

 

ChickAtty

I always use an ultrasonic cleaner. I generally try to flush out as much loose ink as I can quickly before popping it in the bath. Works great and it's fast.

[KCat]

Thanks for the feedback. Now that you mention it, my favorite colors that I use the most are Midnight Blue and Black Magic Blue. Can't say I've had as much trouble with Tanzanite, Sherwood Green or Velvet Black.

 

Does using cartridge vs. bottle ink make any difference?

 

My old stand by, my sterling Waterman Edson with a B nib has NEVER clogged before. Now it's clogging within a couple of days of being cleaned with the ultra sound. Would switching to bottle ink and putting up with the mess and not being able to judge how much ink is left be of any help?

 

why wouldn't you be able to judge how much ink is left?

 

I only use my U/S cleaner when I'm making a major color change (blue to yellow for example) or if I'm sending the pen off to someone. Otherwise I'm just a "flush until clear-ish" type.

 

I guess I don't see bottled ink as much of a mess but that's a personal thing. I've made just as much of a mess pushing a recalcitrant cartridge into a pen as filling a lever-filler. And no mess filling a piston-filler (my preference in this hobby). All in what you get used to and what you're comfy with. Bottled is so much cheaper (in most cases).

[blemt]

I'm not an expert. But is it possible that you've got a group of balky cartridges? Maybe they got exposed to extreme heat and are a bit thick? I've used PR Midnight Blue from the bottle and found it my most reliable starter. My mom on the other hand has been using a cartridge pen and always has start up problems.