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Which Ink Is Safe For My Meisterstuck


thinkingclown

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Hi,

I'm a relative newbie to Fountain Pens and was given a Meisterstuck a few years ago, along with some black Mont Blanc ink. I've finished the bottle and are looking for a replacement ink.

I was advised by a clerk in a pen specialty store not to use anything other than Mont Blanc ink due to the Meisterstuck being a resin based pen and other inks being corrisive or there could build up in the pen.

Was this advice correct?

Is the any particular ink (or component of ink) I should seek out...or avoid?

I'm left handed, so quick drying would by nice.

 

P.S. Other than repeated rinses with filtered water is the something I could/should use to clean my pen?

 

Thanks for any friendly advice

WayneG

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I've also used Noodlers, Private Reserve, Diamine, Parker and Montblanc ink in all my Montblanc pens.

 

It's not going to hurt your pen to use about any ink, as long as you use proper pen hygiene. I flush out my pen every time I re-ink it. Saying that, there are some inks that I will NOT use in my Montblanc pens. A couple of these include Private Reserve Ebony Blue and Noodlers Baystate Blue. This is due only to certain properties about these inks that I do not find pleasurable.

 

However, your safest bet would be to use solely Montblanc ink because it has been formulated to work with your pen's materials and mechanisms. But, I would not hesitate to use other inks as long as you do your research on them first. ;)

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I'm still convinced that sellers of pens who only suggest use of that particular company's own-brand ink (if available) do so just to cover themselves. In the event of a complaint or whatever. Not necessarily worth a pinch of salt.

Imagine what would happen if car manufacturers started marketing their own 'trade-name' fuels? Or water supply companies sold taps or 'faucets'?

We'd all be in it - deep as well!

Mind you, the kayak makers would sell a s**t-load of paddles.

The Good Captain

"Meddler's 'Salamander' - almost as good as the real thing!"

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The main point is to be sure it is definitely a fountain pen ink, not India ink, technical drawing ink, dip pen ink, or other art inks.

 

These are not meant for fountain pens and many of them will corrode a pen or build up gunk - such as glitter, or metal particles (silver and gold inks).

 

But all reputable ink makers, including the small companies, clearly label ink as fountain pen ink or one of the other types.

 

With that said, some of the fountain pen inks will stain or will write less than ideally in certain pens. This is a combination of personal taste and paper properties, as well as ink and pen properties. I prefer my inks to "write wet" as it is said, meaning to flow easily and generously.

 

Buying a Mont Blanc ink is no guarantee. When I got the blue Starwalker, I was disappointed that the Mont Blanc ink I had liked for other pens had been discontinued.

 

So I paid nearly $30 for a bottle of Mont Blanc gray, only to discover the hard way that in the Starwalker, it skipped and was very hard starting. I was able to remedy this with a drop or two of clear detergent added, but I should not have had to do that with an ink that was supposed to be recommended for their own pens.

 

The Mont Blanc salesman is paid to sell Mont Blanc inks - regardless of problems with some of them in some Mont Blanc pens.

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Welcome to FPN.

 

The advice you got was standard, but considering a wealth of experience here, it overstates the risk of using other mainstream fountain pen inks.

Edited by mhosea

I know my id is "mhosea", but you can call me Mike. It's an old Unix thing.

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Hello,

 

Maintenance of your pen is far more important than the brand of ink you use. However keep in mind some well known Darth Vaders in ink world. You find topics on nearly every available ink in the inky thoughts.

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I won't bother to read the other replies, because I bet they, and I say: the clerk is a fool.

 

Use whatever ink pleases you. Do NOT use "india ink", which, you probably know, is for artists. Otherwise, almost any fountain pen ink is OK. Generally, I favor Diamine and Pilot's Iroshizuku inks, but I don't think Irisohi has any varieties of black...if that's what you want.

 

Just get a normal ink in a color you like. A few inks have special ingredients for special uses. I would avoid them for now.

 

Most important: do not let your wonderful pen sit around. Use it. Do not let the ink dry out...as any ink will if left alone for a few months or a few years. Then you willl have problems. Most often, plain water will clear out any ink. If you need cleaner than water, try a mix of about 10% ammonia and 90% water. You can buy such a mix (plus some un-named cleaning agents) from Richard Binder, at his Nashua Pen Spa. It's called J.B.'s Perfect Pen Flush, and I sayit is named after Jim Baer, a member here who was Richard's "apprentice" for a few years.

 

The story about "precious resins" is bunkum. Another name for high-grade plastic.

Washington Nationals 2019: the fight for .500; "stay in the fight"; WON the fight

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Hello ThinkingClown,

 

Welch and the others here are on the right track; however, IMHO, I just have a couple of caveats. ;)

 

Mont Blanc's "precious resin" is actually FRP - fiberglass reinforced plastic. The problem with Mont Blanc pens is they cannot be disassembled- so they are quite difficult to flush out. For this reason, (and for others), I would avoid saturated or specialty inks, (i.e., bullet-proof, Polar, Eel, etc.). Also, since the ink you were using was Mont Blanc, I would stick with another Western Hemisphere brand, these tend to be acid-based; Asian brands tend to be alkali based. You DO NOT want to mix those two; if you switch from one to the other, you have to make sure the pen is thoroughly flushed out- and that is quite a chore with a MB.

 

I would stick with J. Herbin, Diamine, Waterman, Quink, Mont Blanc, Sheaffer's, Visconti, Aurora, Akkerman's, Pelikan or De Armentus inks - these are all acid-based solutions and will be compatible with any remnants of the MB ink that is left behind in the pen.

 

I would avoid Noodler's, Private Reserve and any Asian brands. Private Reserve because they are so saturated, (although, 20-40% distilled water dilutions are an option); Noodlers for the same reason, plus some Noodler's formulas are also alkali based, (and no one but Nathan is quite sure which are and which are not), and the Asian brands because the majority of them are also alkali based.

 

I hope this helps.

 

All the best,

 

Sean :)

Edited by S. P. Colfer

https://www.catholicscomehome.org/

 

"Every one therefore that shall confess Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father Who is in Heaven." - MT. 10:32

"Any society that will give up liberty to gain security deserves neither and will lose both." - Ben Franklin

Thank you Our Lady of Prompt Succor & St. Jude.

 

 

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The main point is to be sure it is definitely a fountain pen ink, not India ink, technical drawing ink, dip pen ink, or other art inks.

 

These are not meant for fountain pens and many of them will corrode a pen or build up gunk - such as glitter, or metal particles (silver and gold inks).

 

But all reputable ink makers, including the small companies, clearly label ink as fountain pen ink or one of the other types.

 

With that said, some of the fountain pen inks will stain or will write less than ideally in certain pens. This is a combination of personal taste and paper properties, as well as ink and pen properties. I prefer my inks to "write wet" as it is said, meaning to flow easily and generously.

 

Buying a Mont Blanc ink is no guarantee. When I got the blue Starwalker, I was disappointed that the Mont Blanc ink I had liked for other pens had been discontinued.

 

So I paid nearly $30 for a bottle of Mont Blanc gray, only to discover the hard way that in the Starwalker, it skipped and was very hard starting. I was able to remedy this with a drop or two of clear detergent added, but I should not have had to do that with an ink that was supposed to be recommended for their own pens.

 

The Mont Blanc salesman is paid to sell Mont Blanc inks - regardless of problems with some of them in some Mont Blanc pens.

 

My Cool Blue Skywalker had a similar problem in that it did not like either the Diamond Blue Meisterstuck, the Johnathan Swift Seaweed Green or Purple Lavender, But it sure likes Visconti Blue. And I do too . . . . a lot fortunately. I really like MB inks but they can be a problem with dry writer pens.

 

The abmonishments of using X ink For X pen is a universal statement from pen dealers as a CYA. And it is an understandable one too. In the Old Days people probably used one ink for most of there lives and never were concerned about a particular inks character other than it wrote well. Now we got bulletproof, highly saturated, inks that don't play well with others, etc.

 

I really enjoy using my Starwalker but if I hadn't of broken the rules, I would have probably sold / traded it, or go through the routine of sending it off for repair and possibly not getting the results I wanted. Hurray for Visconti.

What Would The Flying Spaghetti Monster Do?

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Well, Pelikan made a dry ink, so has a wetter/thicker nib.

Waterman made a dryer/thinner nib, so had a wetter ink.

 

Back in the real old days; there were many ink companies too...some great, others cheap.

A good quality ink was needed then as now.

 

You have to hunt and search through Noodlers and PR...inks to find out which are perfectly safe.

There are more supersaturated inks made now than before...in the says of silver money.

Parker Pennman a supersaturated '90's ink was taken from the market in the users had no idea in the world of pen hygiene.

I am sure the Euro inks, like Sheaffers :) , Aurora, Visconti, Omas, MB, Pelikan, Waterman, Herbin are just fine.(Thanks Sean....I didn't know there was such a difference between Japaneses and Western inks for incompatibly.

 

There are a few Diamine inks that cause nib crud.Most seem good. I do notice the 5 I've tired do feather.

 

I have been then lucky, that I have used no supersaturated inks in my two MB's a '50's 234 1/2 Deluxe and a modern Woolf. Both of those clean up faster than my Pelikans or Gehas. They clean up easy. By the time I've taken the nib off my Pelikan and squirted it out, ran a few barrel full of water through the nib, my MB cleans up at least a minute faster.

I was impressed how fast and 'easy' my two MB's cleaned up with regular ink.

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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Hi,

 

:W2FPN:

 

I agree that 'ink is ink' and 'pens are pens' and that MB pens can handle whatever FP ink is in the market.

 

However, somehow today I suggest that you take the time to explore several MB inks to gain some experience how your pen behaves with different inks; and that you hone your pen hygiene / ink changing regimen. That exercise will be wrapped in the confidence that you are using pen+ink combos that are supposed to give satisfactory results.

 

For example, you will see a difference when using Midnight Blue, Royal Blue and Toffee Brown. I hope that will give you some basis for choosing subsequent inks from other marques when/if that time comes.

 

Please avail yourself of the trove of examples, wisdom, opinions & humour to be found in the Ink Review Forum.

 

Enjoy!

 

Bye,

S1

The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.

 

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First off, congratulations on becoming a new membert here!

As said above, you can use any ink in any MB pen, as long as it is a fountain-pen-ink. That also applies to any other brands of either pen or ink.

MB almost always says use only their inks in their pens but that is baloney. However, if you ever have any problems with your pen and take it back to a MB boutique for service, do say "Yes, of course, I only use an MB ink in this pen".

 

Mike

Life is too short to drink bad wine (Goethe)

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However, if you ever have any problems with your pen and take it back to a MB boutique for service, do say "Yes, of course, I only use an MB ink in this pen".

 

Yes, and also give some thought on how you're going to explain to the MB technician how MB Royal Blue only looks PR American Blue and Noodler's Bullet-proof Blue when it gets clogged up inside the feed of a MB pen. :D

 

- Sean :)

Edited by S. P. Colfer

https://www.catholicscomehome.org/

 

"Every one therefore that shall confess Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father Who is in Heaven." - MT. 10:32

"Any society that will give up liberty to gain security deserves neither and will lose both." - Ben Franklin

Thank you Our Lady of Prompt Succor & St. Jude.

 

 

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(Thanks Sean....I didn't know there was such a difference between Japaneses and Western inks for incompatibly.

 

You're welcome Bo Bo; I'm just glad someone reads my posts beside me. :lol:

 

All the best,

 

Sean :)

https://www.catholicscomehome.org/

 

"Every one therefore that shall confess Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father Who is in Heaven." - MT. 10:32

"Any society that will give up liberty to gain security deserves neither and will lose both." - Ben Franklin

Thank you Our Lady of Prompt Succor & St. Jude.

 

 

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Sean, that is really interesting about the pH of the inks. Wish I'd known that before I tried my sample of Iroshizuki in my new vintage Pelikan 140 :(

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Hello Tex, et al,

 

Sorry to hear if you had problems with your vintage Pelikan. :(

 

Typically what happens when the two inks are used, is that they interact with each other and have a chemical reaction with a tendency to congeal, (even worse things can happen, but I won't get into that here). This results in ignition, skipping and even clogging problems, depending on a lot of different variables; on rare occasions, nothing happens. :huh:

 

However, the incompatibility between acid and alkali based inks is epitomized by the Noodler's BSB saga, the latter ink being quite alkaline, (whereas most of the Asian brands are moderately alkaline on the pH scale), and as such, it magnifies the incompatibility of the two classes of inks.

 

This problem is eliminated by a thorough flushing out of the pen between change-overs, but this is difficult to do with MBs because NOTHING comes apart on those pens. That is why I do not recommend mixing the two classes of inks in pens like Pelikans and MBs.

 

All the best,

 

Sean :)

 

EDIT: I DO WANT IT KNOWN- that I AM NOT BASHING any of these inks; they are ALL fine- in their place. I use Noodler's and Private Reserve inks all the time; however, I typically only use them in pens like Noodler's Ahabs, etc., that can be completely disassembled and thoroughly flushed out. :)

Edited by S. P. Colfer

https://www.catholicscomehome.org/

 

"Every one therefore that shall confess Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father Who is in Heaven." - MT. 10:32

"Any society that will give up liberty to gain security deserves neither and will lose both." - Ben Franklin

Thank you Our Lady of Prompt Succor & St. Jude.

 

 

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Nothing wrong with it and hopefully nothing will be (knocks wood). Definitely will clean it out well soon.

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However, the incompatibility between acid and alkali based inks is epitomized by the Noodler's BSB saga, the latter ink being quite alkaline, (whereas most of the Asian brands are moderately alkaline on the pH scale), and as such, it magnifies the incompatibility of the two classes of inks.

 

 

I don't know what the pH of BSB is. The only thing I found with a brief search was "8-9 range", but that seems fairly low. Two of Sam's measurements of Iroshizuku inks came in over 9.5.

Edited by mhosea

I know my id is "mhosea", but you can call me Mike. It's an old Unix thing.

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I don't know what the pH of BSB is. The only thing I found with a brief search was "8-9 range", but that seems fairly low. Two of Sam's measurements of Iroshizuku inks came in over 9.5.

 

Hello Mike,

 

That does sound low; I recall it running higher than that, but that was several years ago and my memory is a little hazy about it's range, (so you may be right); however, there are many other variables that can cause the problems it does. That said, the basic principle remains the same: the two classes of ink should not be mixed together. ;)

 

All the best,

 

Sean :)

Edited by S. P. Colfer

https://www.catholicscomehome.org/

 

"Every one therefore that shall confess Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father Who is in Heaven." - MT. 10:32

"Any society that will give up liberty to gain security deserves neither and will lose both." - Ben Franklin

Thank you Our Lady of Prompt Succor & St. Jude.

 

 

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Nothing wrong with it and hopefully nothing will be (knocks wood). Definitely will clean it out well soon.

 

Hello Tex,

 

If the pen is performing well and you're using it regularly, I would not worry; if it starts to skip, hesitate at ignition and things of this nature - then flush it out immediately with a 10% CLEAR ammonia solution. But chances are the pen was flushed out already by the seller or hopefully by you when you first got it. ;)

 

It is also quite possible the original owner cleaned it out before he sat it aside; some people did bother to read their owner's manuals in the old days and they flushed their pens and changed their oil, (especially with the upper echelon marquees). ;)

 

All the best,

 

Sean :)

Edited by S. P. Colfer

https://www.catholicscomehome.org/

 

"Every one therefore that shall confess Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father Who is in Heaven." - MT. 10:32

"Any society that will give up liberty to gain security deserves neither and will lose both." - Ben Franklin

Thank you Our Lady of Prompt Succor & St. Jude.

 

 

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