Best Ink For Flexible Dipping Nib?

[GeeBee]

I am in the market for some dipping pen ink, I have been having a quick play with my Fountain pen inks but they fail as the tines separate larger amounts, so what is the best black ink for a very flexible nib such as the Leonardt Principal?

Cheers

[jgrasty]

Give Aurora Black a try.

[bsunde]

Higgins Eternal all the way.

[pharmacist]

Iron gall ink: best flow from flexible nibs, does not drip and very fine hair lines.

[jbb]

Iron gall ink: best flow from flexible nibs, does not drip and very fine hair lines.

I like iron gall ink too although it seems to corrode my nibs faster than other inks.

[Cynomys]

I would recommend Higgins Eternal as your first ink. It is very inexpensive and widely available. And it will give you a base line of comparison for other inks. Another ink well worth trying is McCaffery's Penman's Ink. I believe this is an iron gall ink. Both are formulated for dip pen usage. Do not use them in your fountain pens - they are too viscous and may gum up the works. And don't use fountain pen ink for dip pens. They won't ruin the nib, but the FP ink is too runny for dip pens.

 

I have used the Principal EF, as well as Nikko G and Gillott 404 with the Higgins Eternal.

Edited April 17, 2011 by Cynomys

[Mickey]

Moon Palace Sumi ink and McCaffrey Iron Gall are my favorites, so far: good flow and fine hairlines. The ink from a fresh bottle of McCaffrey's goes on fairly pale (still quite visible) but darkens very quickly (minutes) when exposed to air. (Fun.) It dries pretty quickly.

 

The Moon Palace is wonderfully black and glossy after it dries, which can take a while for wide swells on Clairefontaine. If you prefer matte black, you might try the KY series sumi ink from Yasutomo. This ink dries quickly and is supposedly waterproof when dry. It's a great bargain. Two ounces is $5.00, but the large economy size bottle, 60 ounces, is only $58. Compare that to a couple of bottles of Iroshizuku. (For now, you probably want to avoid Yasutomo KF series which is glossy, and supposedly pretty corrosive.)

 

These inks are available from Paper and Arts and from John Neal, Bookseller websites.

[Mickey]

Iron gall ink: best flow from flexible nibs, does not drip and very fine hair lines.

I like iron gall ink too although it seems to corrode my nibs faster than other inks.

 

So far, I'm confining my iron gall use to G nibs (Nikko and Zebra) as the chrome plating should offer some protection. I'll let you know if I learn otherwise.

[Edwhatever]

Anyone heard or have used speedball's Indian ink for dip nibs?

I see people in videos use these Indian inks, but don't see it recommend here, does it have a negative long term effect to the nib?

Thanks.

[GeeBee]

Thanks for the replies, I have shot off an order of to John Neal Bookseller for some Higgins Eternal and a number of other goodies, no one down here seems to sell it.

I noticed Diamine have dip pen inks as well, anyone tried them?

[Cynomys]

Anyone heard or have used speedball's Indian ink for dip nibs?

I see people in videos use these Indian inks, but don't see it recommend here, does it have a negative long term effect to the nib?

Thanks.

 

As I understood the thread, the discussion refers to replacable dip pen nibs (such as the Leonhardt Principal EF, the Nikko G, etc) and not the nibs on fountain pens. I presume this is what you mean as well.

 

Highly skilled practitioners of pointed pen work will be replacing their nibs fairly regularly as they can tell the difference between a new nib and one which has been used for some time. For those, such as myself, who are not so highly skilled, it takes a good bit more wear before it becomes noticable, but even then the nib is periodically replaced with a new one. Thus, long term, the nib is replaced anyway.

 

As to how well the India inks work with such nibs, I can't say. I just wouldn't worry about the long term effects of this, or any other, ink on the nib which costs only about 80 cents to begin with and will soon enough be replaced. The real question with such nibs is when does it become so worn as to need replacement.