Inks That Tend To Clog....

[chickatty]

Duh. I meant I can't see how much ink is left when using bottle ink and a lever/piston fill.

[KCat]

Duh. I meant I can't see how much ink is left when using bottle ink and a lever/piston fill.

 

Lever-fill I understand. Guess it depends on the piston-filler. My Grand Place I can't tell but the rest of my Pels are translucent or have ink-vue windows as do so many piston-filled pens. Converters, of course, are usually transparent so that's not an issue 'cept for that one pilot squeeze converter that I avoid like the plague. Okay - that's all I was confused about.

[Trebster]

I've used Private Reserve inks since they were first introduced to the market and have never seen the clogging behavior you describe. PR inks take a little - but not a lot - of extra effort to clean when I'm ready to put a pen away. But that's to be expected with a highly saturated ink such as most in the PR line. Never did have any need for any cleaning routine more complicated than tap water. That it has never happened to me does not mean it can't happen. The very thought that PR Tanzanite (for example - our baseline for extremely free flowing inks) would clog anything is contrary to my experience.

[SnowLeopard]

Carts only flow out of the pen. Flushing "in and out" using the converter to flush is the thing. You should use bottled ink+ converter... every so often to get better flow. Bulletproofs don't play well with other inks. I've never had a clogging issue with PR. Then again, I never use carts. I like their blues...American, Naples,Lake Placid, Suede,Tropical, and Sherwood Green..I've used other colors with variable results. Nothing horrific. There are better colors, 4 me, found elsewhere. Never used anything but plain cool water to clean. No real issues lifetime ...whatsoever.The only time a pen of mine has seen an ultrasonic..is when I buy a vintage pen and all the rubber needs to be replaced....done either by me or another specialist that will check out the pen. .I like to get rid of all prior users gunk to assess a pen. If it's a go, it's then reassembled with clean parts..4 me to maintain.I have a thing for Sheaffer's PFM's.My demonstrator is ultra clean. I only use certain inks that won't stain that model...as with other demonstrators.

Edited April 8, 2011 by SnowLeopard

[Lazarus Long]

I've used the following PR inks:

 

Sherwood Green - No problems. If anything, it flows a little too well and tends to be messy

Fiesta Red - No problems, but is rarely used and don't often have it in a pen.

Tanzanite - Very disappointing, seems to clog within a day of filling the pen.

 

Sampler sizes:

American Blue, DC SuperShow Blue: no problems for the one or two fills I got from the sample

Copper burst and Chocolate: no problems, but didn't use them much because I didn't really like them.

Invincible Black: Just got it, so too soon to tell, but so far no problems,

 

Tanzanite is the only troublesome ink so far. I should just throw it away so I'm not tempted to keep giving it another try.

[KCat]

 

Tanzanite is the only troublesome ink so far. I should just throw it away so I'm not tempted to keep giving it another try.

 

Very surprising because this ink is often referred to as "the Ex-lax of inks" - have you tried it in other pens to rule out that this was not a pen/ink combination that simply didn't work?

[Lazarus Long]

 

Tanzanite is the only troublesome ink so far. I should just throw it away so I'm not tempted to keep giving it another try.

 

Very surprising because this ink is often referred to as "the Ex-lax of inks" - have you tried it in other pens to rule out that this was not a pen/ink combination that simply didn't work?

 

I've tried it in a couple different Lamy Safaris. One is wetter than the other, but it clogs in both. I've tried turning the piston on the converter to force a drop out to "prime the pump". It will write for a little while, but soon stops again. If I completely empty and refill, it will work for a couple days, then quits.

[funkypeanut]

I have five PR inks in rotation right now, Purple Mojo, Sherwood Green, Electric DC Blue, Orange Crush and the copper one whose name I can't remember right offhand. I'm not having any trouble with clogging, although I think that I won't use the PM with a fine nib again because it's lost a lot of its saturation. I haven't had any trouble getting it to flow; it just looks kind of anemic.

 

Durr.... someone just mentioned copper burst.

Edited April 10, 2011 by funkypeanut

[KCat]

 

Tanzanite is the only troublesome ink so far. I should just throw it away so I'm not tempted to keep giving it another try.

 

Very surprising because this ink is often referred to as "the Ex-lax of inks" - have you tried it in other pens to rule out that this was not a pen/ink combination that simply didn't work?

 

I've tried it in a couple different Lamy Safaris. One is wetter than the other, but it clogs in both. I've tried turning the piston on the converter to force a drop out to "prime the pump". It will write for a little while, but soon stops again. If I completely empty and refill, it will work for a couple days, then quits.

 

Bummer. Safaris are notoriously dry but I would still expect Tanzanite to help rather than choke it up. Still, I never had it be nearly as impressive as others find it. It was a free-flowing ink but nothing like Noodler's Texas Live Oak which is what I use in my Safari. I couldn't get any ink to behave in them but that ink in anything else practically leaps from the pen. In the Safari it (Live Oak) is perfect. Shame about Tanzanite. I don't use it because I'm past my purple stage anyway except for Violet Vote. I certainly wouldn't base your opinion of it on the Safari experience however. OTOH, if you don't care for the ink, that's all that matters.

Edited April 10, 2011 by KCat

[79spitfire]

Honestly, I wonder if the Tanzinite has STIB, and you haven't noticed yet. Take a coffee stirer and swirl it around in the bottle and see if something stringy sticks. I've (and many others have) have had STIB in this ink.

[Trebster]

Safaris are notoriously dry and Private Reserve Tanzanite clogs? My weird meter just spiked. No offense to any, but these two statements run contrary to experience.

[mstone]

Safaris are notoriously dry and Private Reserve Tanzanite clogs? My weird meter just spiked. No offense to any, but these two statements run contrary to experience.

 

All my safaris have been dry. But the only absolute generalization about them, IMO, is that they are inconsistent. I'm more than willing to believe that other people's run wet.

[Trebster]

 

But the only absolute generalization about them, IMO, is that they are inconsistent. I'm more than willing to believe that other people's run wet.

 

I'm perfectly willing to buy into the idea that Safaris are inconsistent in eagerness of flow. At the price point, one might reasonably expect that. One should not expect that of a current production high-end model, but it pays to anticipate that the big ticket item may have a dog of a nib and feed combination. Altogether I've personally had better luck with Safaris than with big ticket items. My couple of Safaris do not a statistic make, of course.

[Lazarus Long]

Safaris are notoriously dry and Private Reserve Tanzanite clogs? My weird meter just spiked. No offense to any, but these two statements run contrary to experience.

 

All my safaris have been dry. But the only absolute generalization about them, IMO, is that they are inconsistent. I'm more than willing to believe that other people's run wet.

 

I'm not sure how one judges 'wet' vs 'dry'. I have a grand total of 5 pens:

 

1 Pelikan 215 (my favorite and newest): I've only used Diamine Sherwood Green and Diamine Majestic Blue in it. Both are excellent, maybe even puts down a little too much ink. It currently is loaded with Sherwood green.

 

4 Lamy Safaris:

 

1) F: My first fountain pen. It has had every ink I have ever owned in it (PR, Noodlers, Diamin, Waterman, Parker Quink), currently Majestic Blue. Do the nibs tend to get smoother which use? In any case, it is my smoothest Safari, so it is my favorite. I used to use PR Sherwood Green in it, but it was too messy. It would drip into the cap and get all over the pen. Every time I used it my hands turned green. Tanzanite clogs it though. I had some early troubles with Noodler's Midnight Blue stopping also, but it has become much better behaved. It hasn't clogged in any of my pens for a long time now.

 

2) M: I used it primarily for Noodler's Midnight Blue and #41 Brown, because they seemed to need more than an F to get the dark color I wanted. Never had any starting or skipping problems. Tanzanite clogged here too.

 

3) F: This one initially seemed much dryer and rougher than the first 2 but has gotten smoother. It's still a little dryer than #1, but no problems, except with the Tanzanite. It has been used mostly for Noodler's Midnight Blue, but I am currently using PR American Blue.

 

4) F: I originally got a M, but it was defective - it dumped its ink into the cap. So I exchanged for another F. This one was so dry I thought it also was defective. PR Sherwood Green looked like a dark green in #1, in this it was a pale light green. I'm looking for a water proof ink (https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/192223-on-a-quest-for-a-water-resistant-blue/) , and have been using this one for my tests. Just about all of the inks except for Heart of Darkness and Bad Black Moccasin performed poorly. Majestic Blue was ok, but is a lighter blue than in either the Pelikan or #1. Tanzanite was hopeless in it - dry and scratchy, quickly stopped.

 

As an experiment, I swapped nibs on #2 and #4, so dry #4 now has the M nib. I loaded Noodler's #41 in it, expecting it to be lighter because of the dryer pen. To my surprise, it is not - it works ok.

 

I retested the black waterproof inks samples in #2, they worked much better. I plan to retest the rest of the samples, maybe they will perform better also. I notice that this nib is still much finer than the other F nibs, including the Pelikan 215.

 

So this makes me wonder, is dryness a combination of both the nib and the feed? The troublesome F nib appears to be much finer than the others, and on Safari #4, it was REALLY dry.

 

In any case, my only conclusions are:

1)my bottle of Tanzanite doesn't work

2)Safaris are very inconsistent. But a good one (#1) is really nice.

[KCat]

Safaris are notoriously dry and Private Reserve Tanzanite clogs? My weird meter just spiked. No offense to any, but these two statements run contrary to experience.

 

well, the first statement is based on my experience with several safaris and the comments I've received from others - by no means a scientific study.

 

I have never heard of Tanzanite tending to clog so that one is new to me for sure.

[KCat]

So this makes me wonder, is dryness a combination of both the nib and the feed? The troublesome F nib appears to be much finer than the others, and on Safari #4, it was REALLY dry.

 

In any case, my only conclusions are:

1)my bottle of Tanzanite doesn't work

2)Safaris are very inconsistent. But a good one (#1) is really nice.

 

Dryness is nib, feed, ink, and even, to some extent, hand pressure (that's the least concern in most pens though).

 

I had a 1.1 italic that just wasn't working well with any ink I used in it. Someone told me the feed wasn't designed to keep up with the broadest italic nib (1.9?) and so I started wondering if this might be the issue with the 1.1. On closer examination however, it appeared the tines were really tight together so silly me, I slid a bit of film between the tines. I've done it with plenty of pens. Now it gushes and I'll have to either use a dry ink with it or toss it and get a new italic nib. or just not bother. it wasn't my favorite nib anyway since I no longer do much italic writing.

 

Conclusion, Trebster et. al. are correct, they're simply inconsistent. It's just that I have, until now, never heard the complaint that they are too wet.

[mstone]

I'm not sure how one judges 'wet' vs 'dry'. I have a grand total of 5 pens:

 

I'd say mostly by ink color. It's quite possible to have a smooth dry pen.

 

4) F: I originally got a M, but it was defective - it dumped its ink into the cap. So I exchanged for another F. This one was so dry I thought it also was defective. PR Sherwood Green looked like a dark green in #1, in this it was a pale light green. I'm looking for a water proof ink (http://www.fountainp...resistant-blue/) , and have been using this one for my tests. Just about all of the inks except for Heart of Darkness and Bad Black Moccasin performed poorly. Majestic Blue was ok, but is a lighter blue than in either the Pelikan or #1. Tanzanite was hopeless in it - dry and scratchy, quickly stopped.

 

That sounds like what I'd expect from a dryer pen--much lighter looking line.

 

As an experiment, I swapped nibs on #2 and #4, so dry #4 now has the M nib. I loaded Noodler's #41 in it, expecting it to be lighter because of the dryer pen. To my surprise, it is not - it works ok.

...

So this makes me wonder, is dryness a combination of both the nib and the feed? The troublesome F nib appears to be much finer than the others, and on Safari #4, it was REALLY dry.

 

For the safaris, in my experience, it's mostly the nib, but the feed can contribute as well. I've had good luck widening the slit to increase flow, but that's something you want to do very slowly (much harder to make it smaller than to make it wider) and make sure you know what you want before starting. On the other hand, safari nibs are fairly cheap so they make good test subjects. Best is brass shims, but you might not have those lying around. You can also experiment with double edge razor blades or other very thin metal. Some people recommend film (e.g., 35mm) but you need to get the emulsion off or you'll gunk the nib. In any case you start at the hole and move toward the tip. For a safari, I take the nib off an inked pen, and just widen a little at a time, putting it back on and testing after each iteration. Best with washable ink.

[Rafael Macia]

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?

 

You might look into "Ink Safe" additive from Tryphon Enterprises.

I use a drop or two per bottle of Noodler's Old Manhattan Black, ( a bulletproof black, made for the Fountain Pen Hospita)

Also the sticky thread on dilution has some fine ways of fixing dry writing issues.

[Penache]

I've never had an issue with PR inks clogging. You might try diluting the ink slightly and see if that does the trick.

[Inka]

Tanzanite is the only troublesome ink so far. I should just throw it away so I'm not tempted to keep giving it another try.

 

Very surprising because this ink is often referred to as "the Ex-lax of inks" ...

 

I agree with KCat, PR Tanzanite was one of my first-ever fountain pen inks and it always flowed w/o any issues.

The fact you state it's happening in multiple pens, even though you're keeping your pens clean, only makes this more unusual.

I gave my Tanzanite to a good friend who absolutely loved it, only because he'd wanted to try it, and because I'm not overly fond of purples as I once was [Taz' being more of a cobalt-blue than purple, actually].

Tanzanite was one of, if not the best flowing ink I've ever used, and to-date I've used a lot of different inks [mostly Noodler's] including about 3 PR inks including DC SSB and Velvet Black.

My very first fountain pen after 20+ years was a hand-made South African Knob-wood "kit" pen made for me @ Christmas 200[8] {see Avatar for actual pen example}, it came with PR carts and never once clogged on me.

My second fountain pen was a Levenger Plumpster [i mention this because a Levenger was in your list of pens that clog on you], I'd used PR Tanzanite/ DC Super-Show Blue/ Velvet Black in it and never experienced any flow problems at all.

I've also tried every color that Levenger puts into their sampler packages, got the sampler not long after getting the Plumpster, found Levenger Cobalt Blue to be very similar in color to PR Tanzanite and again never had flow issues with those either.

While I don't have the full range of experience using PR inks as many others here, the ones I have used had always performed extremely well for me in a variety of fountain pens, so this does indeed strike me as odd that you're having such difficulties.

 

On another note:

Squeezing ink carts to get those first few drops to flow can be a bad idea, I speak from my own [albeit a bit embarrassing] personal experiences.

When I first began using carts, an initial squeeze seemed like a good idea, then I began having ink flow stoppages I thought were caused by nibs/ feeds/ inks/... took me weeks to discover it was my squeezing...

One day I'd examined one of the carts I'd been squeezing very closely, lo and behold and almost unseen were found several micro-fissures in the soft translucent plastics, cracks so fine that without close scrutiny were unnoticeable.

I'd thought if there's found any cracks in the carts that ink would be pouring out, yet I'd found just the opposite to be true, then once swapping to a new cartridge, in a pen I thought was clogging due to really bad skipping and dryness, NOT squeezing the cart but just allowing the ink to flow on its own, remarkably the problem was solved.

As embarrassed as I am admitting openly that my habit of squeezing carts to get pens started had caused me such grief I do hope my lesson-learned can help others by sharing my experiences.

I hope this helps. or you find out what's going on if this isn't the answer for you.

Edited April 13, 2011 by Inka