Black Swan In North African Violets

[crunchmaster]

Finally, here's a quick photo of a page in my ink journal. I decided to try BSiNAV in my Lamy 2000. NAV really sticks to things: I wiped down the pen with wet napkins over and over and over and if I wanted to I could still wipe off some more, though I can't really see it on the pen. I don't think adding HoD makes it worse, I think it's just NAV.

 

It shades more than the Joy and 616 do, but it still doesn't have the range of shading the Nib Creaper gives with it. I wonder if it's the Creaper's nib or its ebonite feed that does it? It's so unique compared to all my other pens. Even a hairline stroke shades from light to dark based on the speed of the stroke.

[JimB]

Just mixed up a batch, but I think it needs a drop or two more HoD, since I get some of that great shading, but not as much. Could be the Safari 1.1 nib is noit as wet or broad. But I'm liking it enough to order the inks for a big batch.

 

Thanks for this recipe!

[JimB]

Are you sure the particles aren't bubbles? I always see small bubbles on the sides of the vial--some inks and mixes tend to form bubbles more than others.

 

I just made a fresh batch and took some photos. I started with HoD this time. You can see how HoD by itself leaves some spots on the inside of the vial. Then I added NAV and shook it thoroughly. You can see how it adheres to the sides of the vial and tends to leave bubbles along the sides too. There also is a visible graininess on the sides of the vial, but I think that is just NAV itself, because I see a similar effect on the inside of my Nib Creaper and a Lamy converter when they have only NAV loaded. NAV even leaves a bubbly coating on the inner cap of the bottle from Noodler's.

 

By the way, the photo with the blue tint is from my LED flashlight shining through it--it's not really blue ink!

 

That's EXACTLY what I'm seeing. I loaded up my Safari and am very pleased with the result. But I might add a bit more HoD!

 

Again, thank you!

[The Royal Pen]

I like that one. Beautiful color plus great shading =

 

 

+1 I love that shading!

++2, I love the shading too!

[Jadie]

I like that one. Beautiful color plus great shading =

 

 

+1 I love that shading!

++2, I love the shading too!

 

As a lurker on this thread, I now proclaim the score to be +++3!

 

As a sidenote, did anyone send a scan to Mr. Tardiff yet? I would definitely buy this in a bottle.

Edited December 25, 2011 by Jadie

[JimB]

Just waiting for the Goulets to get more in stock of the NAV ink...

[JimB]

My BSiNAV ink has still not been used up in my Safari 1.1 but the colors are just as true as the first day, with shading remaining very good to excellent. I still have not ordered my bottle of NAV, still out of stock, but my sample is still in a small bottle, and maybe a penfull or two is all that remains.

 

Still I am wondering it Noodler's Black will have the same effects as HoD. Has anyone tried this replacement yet?

[crunchmaster]

januaryman, thanks a lot for sharing your findings. Is there any chance you could upload a photo or a scan? I'm very curious how it looks in your 1.1 Lamy nib. I tried it in mine but there wasn't much shading compared to the Nib Creaper. I think my Safaris are too dry to make it shade much.

[JimB]

I'll try to scan when I get back home. As for limited shading, I find my Lamy AL Star's 1.1 nib is also dry and gives very little shading with my PR Sepia, to the point that I can't see continuing to use it. That seems the problem you're seeing with the current ink under discussion. Curious. :hmm1:

[JimB]

Okay, I fudged a scan using a scanner I had that was available but only duplicates as a pdf, then screen capture, and using a jpg editor, I cropped the relevent portions... Two tests, first one on Staples Sustainable Earth notebook paper, the second on the back side of laser paper I print with lines and use as scrap paper for notes.

 

Paper and ink varies, and I saw a darkening of the ink, perhaps due to increased ink flow as the pen/ink warmed in my hand. I never noticed that before.

 

Apologies for the bad handwriting. I never seem to get much better.

 

Staples Sustainable Earth Notebook -

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7173/6600061265_21d07dbddb.jpg

 

Cheapo scrap laser paper -

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7158/6600061263_9a22929ec9.jpg

Edited December 30, 2011 by januaryman

[crunchmaster]

Wow, that looks like it looks in my Nib Creaper. Can you make the scans public on Flickr so I can see the larger versions?

 

That's very interesting how it got darker as you wrote. I don't suppose this makes sense, but seeing that and how it acted in my Creaper one time, it almost seems like the HoD doesn't entirely mix with the NAV, like it settles to the bottom; then if you get it shaken up a bit, it comes out with the NAV and makes it darker.

 

Thanks a lot for posting the scans! It's exciting to see that the shading works for other people too.

Edited December 30, 2011 by crunchmaster

[JimB]

I usually don't make FPN scans public, but for you, no problem. Love the shading. I'm thinking of adding some Noodler's Black to my Sepia that has not enough shading to please me. Thanks for the recipe, it was brilliant.

[crunchmaster]

Thanks. Wow, I wish it looked like that in my Safari.

 

I hope we can get some feedback from some ink experts or chemists or something like that. It seems like a very unusual effect.

[raging.dragon]

Thanks. Wow, I wish it looked like that in my Safari.

 

I hope we can get some feedback from some ink experts or chemists or something like that. It seems like a very unusual effect.

 

I'd guess the effect comes from the black ink soaking into the paper (feathering) more than the purple ink, most likely due to differing surface tension, molecular polarity, and molecular size, of the different dyes.

[JimB]

Using the ratio of 7.5:1 I drew up a chart of mixture amounts that will let me determine, in the last column, the resulting final size bottle I would need when shaking up various amounts of the BSiNAV cocktail. I ordered HoD just for this recipe, since I like it so much I did not want to mess with the ingredients.

 

So here's my chart, pasted from Excel, sorry, cell borders and formulas don't show up.

 

NAV ml HoD ml TOTAL ml

7.5 1 8.5

15 2 17

22.5 3 25.5

30 4 34

37.5 5 42.5

45 6 51

52.5 7 59.5

60 8 68

67.5 9 76.5

75 10 85

82.5 11 93.5

90 12 102

97.5 13 110.5

105 14 119

112.5 15 127.5

 

:hmm1: So to make the NAV bottle all BSiNAV, one would extract 15 ml from the NAV and inject 10 ml of HoD for a total of 85 ml in a bottle that holds 90 ml (3 ounces). Or you can throw caution to the wind in experimentation -- just throw in that extra 5 ml if you feel daring, since the Noodler's bottles are always full to the brim!

 

The Goulets sent an update, and NAV is back in stock. After I just finished ordering HoD from them! Double shipping charges!

 

As before, this is done by a C student in Math, but an A student in Lit. Please feel free to correct me if I screwed it up again.

 

Edit- Wow - the formatting is really screwed up. I needed a screen capture. I'm working on it right now. Stay tuned.

Edited January 4, 2012 by januaryman

[JimB]

Okay, I hope this is easier to see.

 

First Column: Noodler's North African Violets ink

Second Column: Noodler's Heart of Darkness ink

Third Column: Total result of BSiNAV ink

 

All numeric values represent amounts of ink as measured in milliliters. I use the syringes for ink that I bought from the folks at the Goulet Pen Co. (no affiliation)

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7020/6634485869_f8d8315116.jpg

BSiNAV by januaryman, on Flickr

Edited January 4, 2012 by januaryman

[Jadie]

Wow, that's convenient.

 

Unfortunately, I'm not much of a math whiz either, so I can't check your numbers, but I do appreciate all the time and effort you've put into making a what-if into a why-not.

 

I'm sorry about your double shipping charges, but hey, maybe if you wait a while, something will go into clearance/bottom shelf and give you a nice incentive to order?

[JimB]

Wow, that's convenient.

 

Unfortunately, I'm not much of a math whiz either, so I can't check your numbers, but I do appreciate all the time and effort you've put into making a what-if into a why-not.

 

I'm sorry about your double shipping charges, but hey, maybe if you wait a while, something will go into clearance/bottom shelf and give you a nice incentive to order?

There's ALWAYS a reason to buy more stuff! I know I need new o rings for my Ahab. My Pen Flush looks saturated and about wore out. New notebook? I only have five left! I have to stop. Really. :bonk:

 

BTW- I used about an 8:1 ratio in my test ink of which I posted the above scans. That seems to work either the same or about as well as crunchmaster's, since the ratio of HoD to NAV is still so small. Mixing one huge batch means you're limiting your experimenting with alternated ratios/recipes.

[Shawn Ghost]

So I just mixed up a batch of this substituting the HoD for Bullet-Proof Black. From the quick and messy swab it looks great but just a bit less shading than the original mixture. I'm cleaning out my M nib Safari as I normally use EF or F and don't think that it would give a proper evaluation for the shading. Will post a pic a bit later today for those that were curious.

[jsph]

YES!!! shawn ghost: i was just about to bump this thread and ask again if anyone has done this with bulletproof black instead of heart of darkness! way to go! thanks in advance for the pictures -- very excited. just about to get some north african violet but hopefully won't have to get heart of darkness, too, since i have plenty of bulletproof black already. nice job!