Better Flow - Organics Studio Manganate

[WirsPlm]

Inker's note: When I say 'about' I mean 'this is a guesstimate'.

 

I've just gotten my ink experimentation supplies in, so I want to put up my attempts to create a smoother, low-shading version of OS Manganate. Hopefully this is helpful or interesting to someone, or at the very least means other people don't need to repeat so many tries.

 

1st try, more !!SCIENCE!! than scientific; 1 drop of Cascade Rinse Agent in about 3 mL of Manganate. Turned out much darker, looked beautiful, but also had a stupidly long dry time.

 

2nd try: Added about 2 mL to the earlier experiment. Ink now looks like old Manganate, but is smoother and has a bit less shading, possibly because more ink is getting on to the page in general.

 

Upcoming:

3rd try: 1 drop of PhotoFlo & 1 drop of Phenol to 4 mL of Manganate

Edited October 4, 2013 by WirsPlm

[fiberdrunk]

Glad to see someone making ink from scratch! I hope you'll post samples. A little alcohol might help it dry faster.

 

Have you seen the Open-Ink wiki? It'd be awesome if you could post there. It was designed for ink-makers, but I seem to be the only one posting anything (and I only do old-fashioned recipes typically meant for dip pens). I'm sure the owner of Open-Ink would love to see more of the kind of thing you are doing here (i.e. inks for fountain pens). The original thread about it is here.

Edited October 4, 2013 by fiberdrunk

[WirsPlm]

Glad to see someone making ink from scratch! I hope you'll post samples. A little alcohol might help it dry faster.

 

Have you seen the Open-Ink wiki? It'd be awesome if you could post there. It was designed for ink-makers, but I seem to be the only one posting anything (and I only do old-fashioned recipes typically meant for dip pens). I'm sure the owner of Open-Ink would love to see more of the kind of thing you are doing here (i.e. inks for fountain pens). The original thread about it is here.

It's great that you read my post, but I think you've misunderstood. I'm adding things to Organics Studio Manganate ink to improve it's characteristics. I'm not making ink from scratch.

Edited October 5, 2013 by WirsPlm

[fiberdrunk]

Oh, ok! Carry on!

[WirsPlm]

OK, I think I have a mix for this that I like.

 

Rough proportions:

 

3:2:1 Manganate:Noodler's Black:Noodler's X-Feather. Add a drop of PhotoFlo (or other wetting agent such as glycerine) and lubricate to taste. I'm still tweaking, but this is much better. If you want a thinner ink, don't add the X-Feather and just lubricate to taste.

 

And for anyone suffering with a Noodler's Polar ink, I found that adding Noodler's Black in a (roughly) 1:2 Black:Polar ratio made the experience a lot better (as always, lubricate to taste). X-Feather was also a good addition instead of the Black. The color of my Polar Brown turned into a much deeper brown, the shading was more subtle and the feathering was cut drastically. Still tweaking this so that I can get exact ratios, but it was roughly 1:2.

Edited November 27, 2013 by WirsPlm

[Sinistral1]

What is PhotoFlo?

[WirsPlm]

What is PhotoFlo?

A nice wetting agent (they lubricate the ink and make it smoother), originally designed for developing film but some FP people have repurposed it for ink mixes because it's not gummed up with detergents and things like some other common wetting agents (ex, rinse aid) and works slightly better than straight glycerine. I'll edit my post to make that clear.

Edited November 27, 2013 by WirsPlm

[Wile E Coyote]

Thanks for the PhotoFlo tip. It never even crossed my mind.

 

Any adverse effects from it's use?

[Sinistral1]

Boy, an alchemist degree would come in real handy right now!

 

Where does one locate PhotoFlo?

[Wile E Coyote]

Boy, an alchemist degree would come in real handy right now!

 

Where does one locate PhotoFlo?

 

Anywhere you can purchase darkroom supplies. I'm sure Amazon has it and B&H Photo in NYC (online sales).

[WirsPlm]

Thanks for the PhotoFlo tip. It never even crossed my mind.

 

Any adverse effects from it's use?

None that I've noticed so far, it definitely works much better than the rinse agent I was using (rinse agent definitely had unwanted side effects). Some people dilute the PhotoFlo but I use it straight up for better lubrication without as much dilution of the ink. Here's a few threads about lubricants that convinced me to try PhotoFlo (another recommendation is glycerine, which you can get from art supply places):

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/229403-surfactants-in-ink-for-improved-flow/

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/199472-in-praise-of-dish-soap

 

Boy, an alchemist degree would come in real handy right now!

 

Where does one locate PhotoFlo?

eBay is where I got mine (search for Kodak PhotoFlo), or I think it's also on Amazon, and probably a film-photography store will have it or be able to order it.

[sitnstew]

Boy, an alchemist degree would come in real handy right now!

 

Where does one locate PhotoFlo?

 

Right here.

[amberleadavis]

OK, I think I have a mix for this that I like.

 

Rough proportions:

 

3:2:1 Manganate:Noodler's Black:Noodler's X-Feather. Add a drop of PhotoFlo (or other wetting agent such as glycerine) and lubricate to taste. I'm still tweaking, but this is much better. If you want a thinner ink, don't add the X-Feather and just lubricate to taste.

 

And for anyone suffering with a Noodler's Polar ink, I found that adding Noodler's Black in a (roughly) 1:2 Black:Polar ratio made the experience a lot better (as always, lubricate to taste). X-Feather was also a good addition instead of the Black. The color of my Polar Brown turned into a much deeper brown, the shading was more subtle and the feathering was cut drastically. Still tweaking this so that I can get exact ratios, but it was roughly 1:2.

 

 

Thank you for this tip. I pulled out my polar black and did some mixing.

[SteveE]

It may be total blasphemy, but a while back I had a pen that I really liked but none of my inks would flow well in it. I became ungodly frustrated one day and added some Formula 409 to a part of a bottle of PR Midnight Blues. Super-Flow! Didn't notice any bad side effects, but I only used it in a c/c pen with a plastic feed. I'd never use this in an important pen or one that would be hard to dismantle and service, nor would I use it in a vintage pen with unknown tolerance for solvents, but it worked for me.

 

I figured that if we could use dish soap, why not a near-industrial cleaner?

 

Don't try this at home, kids, unless you are prepared to trash the pen if it turns to mush.

[WirsPlm]

 

 

Thank you for this tip. I pulled out my polar black and did some mixing.

Glad to be of use, and good luck!

[amberleadavis]

I'm jonesing for my new order of OS's flow fixer. As soon as I have it in my hot little hands. I'll update you.