Is Vintage Quink Worth It?

[CaptainDan]

I have decided that now would be a decent time to try out some vintage ink, specifically some vintage Quink, as I am very fond of the ribbed Art Deco bottles. However, is it worth the cost of a new old stock bottle? I have read that the colors tend to break down over time into unattractive, washed-out shadows of their former selves, and that the possibly-carcinogenic phenol in Solv-X gives off an unpleasant odor.

[Florida Blue]

I don't know if you've seen my review, but I did an overview of NOS Parker Quink blue/black from 1943. I purchased it from Pendemonium who had bought a case of these unopened bottles.

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/258287-nos-parker-quink-blue-black-ink-from-1943/

 

In my experience of this one ink, the color does seem to fade over that long period of time. In this case, the blue/black has turned gray, which I actually think looks pretty cool. However, I would imagine the ink was much darker and bluer in 1943.

 

I'd like to try vintage washable or permanent Quink Blue one day.

[jascas]

Capt. Dan,

I use vintage Quink Washable Blue from the 40's & it's as bright and blue as the day it was bottled. I also have the blue/black of the same vintage. That color has degraded to a gray. That seems to be the norm for very old Quink blue/black. I have a bottle of Skrip No. 22 blue/black which is nearly as old and it's still a nice blue/black, perhaps a little duller than it once was. You can be pretty sure the Washable Blue will still be a bright blue.

 

JasCas

[welch]

I have found that

 

- a full bottle has held its color better than a bottle that was opened

- Art deco Quink with plastic caps seems to have sealed better than the bottles with metals caps. Some of the metal-capped Quink blue went on bright blue and shifted to gray as it dried. The full and well-sealed Quink stays blue.

- Solv-X was judged harmful to ink-factory workers, but they worked with large vats of ink all day. Don't worry about the small bit of ink you find in a 2-ounce bottle. Ink is supposed to smell like Solv-X.

[dcwaites]

I was able to get 5 bottles of 1980s PQ Blue-Black w/Solv-X for $12, delivered to my door. I use it to get stuffy pens working again. Over a week, it cleans out most pens that are clogged from old dried up ink. Because I find the colour unexciting, that's my main use.

[inkstainedruth]

I happened onto a nearly full 4 oz. bottle of what turned out to be vintage Quink Brown (whether Washable or Permanent is anyone's guess, since there was no longer a label on the bottle). Liked it so much that I ended up buying a 2 oz. bottle on Ebay as a backup.

Then last summer, I got what apparently is a NOS 8 oz. bottle of Quink Violet. But I can't figure out how to get the bottle open to use the ink (short of prying out the rubber stopper and decanting the ink into some other container). When I decided to try the ink out a while back, I unscrewed the small cap on top of the stopper, only to find a sort of nipple that has two holes in it (and there is some sort of wick from the stopper down into the ink itself). I'm guessing that maybe one is supposed to have a some sort of pouring spout attachment, but have no idea where such might be acquired. I'm worried that if I try to get the stopper out of the bottle, I will either: never get it back to seal the bottle, completely (thus running the risk of some sort of contamination of the contents; or else knock over the bottle in the process and run the risk of breaking it and/or generally spilling it; or some combination thereof.

And if I do get it open safely, it's still an awful lot of ink to try and transfer into another container (and do I use glass or plastic, and if I scavenge something -- say, an empty bottle of something like vinegar or vanilla extract or something -- what's the best way to clean/sterilize the new container? Ammonia solution? Bleach? Another sort of strong sterilizer? There's stuff called B-brite, a fairly powerful but food grade oxidizer, which my husband used to use to sterilize equipment and containers when doing home brewing, as it's easier to rinse off of surfaces than bleach -- but I have no clue whether it would be safe to mix with ink on the off chance I don't get the stuff completely rinsed out (The idea of many small Nalgene bottles doesn't exactly appeal to me, and I'm also wondering whether a glass container would protect the ink better in the long run, especially if it's a clear bottle.

I keep meaning to try and get pix of the cap assembly posted, but my camera has been acting wonky recently, and I don't know if I can get a clear enough and close enough image with my phone. Also, at this point I'm behind on stuff I really need to do before the weekend. So photos aren't going up anytime soon anyway. I mostly just wondered if anyone out there had experience with this type of bottle; when sloshed up against the side of the bottle, the ink looks like it will a very nice color.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[amberleadavis]

I happened onto a nearly full 4 oz. bottle of what turned out to be vintage Quink Brown (whether Washable or Permanent is anyone's guess, since there was no longer a label on the bottle). Liked it so much that I ended up buying a 2 oz. bottle on Ebay as a backup.

Then last summer, I got what apparently is a NOS 8 oz. bottle of Quink Violet. But I can't figure out how to get the bottle open to use the ink (short of prying out the rubber stopper and decanting the ink into some other container). When I decided to try the ink out a while back, I unscrewed the small cap on top of the stopper, only to find a sort of nipple that has two holes in it (and there is some sort of wick from the stopper down into the ink itself). I'm guessing that maybe one is supposed to have a some sort of pouring spout attachment, but have no idea where such might be acquired. I'm worried that if I try to get the stopper out of the bottle, I will either: never get it back to seal the bottle, completely (thus running the risk of some sort of contamination of the contents; or else knock over the bottle in the process and run the risk of breaking it and/or generally spilling it; or some combination thereof.

And if I do get it open safely, it's still an awful lot of ink to try and transfer into another container (and do I use glass or plastic, and if I scavenge something -- say, an empty bottle of something like vinegar or vanilla extract or something -- what's the best way to clean/sterilize the new container? Ammonia solution? Bleach? Another sort of strong sterilizer? There's stuff called B-brite, a fairly powerful but food grade oxidizer, which my husband used to use to sterilize equipment and containers when doing home brewing, as it's easier to rinse off of surfaces than bleach -- but I have no clue whether it would be safe to mix with ink on the off chance I don't get the stuff completely rinsed out (The idea of many small Nalgene bottles doesn't exactly appeal to me, and I'm also wondering whether a glass container would protect the ink better in the long run, especially if it's a clear bottle.

I keep meaning to try and get pix of the cap assembly posted, but my camera has been acting wonky recently, and I don't know if I can get a clear enough and close enough image with my phone. Also, at this point I'm behind on stuff I really need to do before the weekend. So photos aren't going up anytime soon anyway. I mostly just wondered if anyone out there had experience with this type of bottle; when sloshed up against the side of the bottle, the ink looks like it will a very nice color.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

Well, I'd love to try some.

My guess would be to use glass and sterilize like you would when making jams.

[Florida Blue]

I happened onto a nearly full 4 oz. bottle of what turned out to be vintage Quink Brown (whether Washable or Permanent is anyone's guess, since there was no longer a label on the bottle). Liked it so much that I ended up buying a 2 oz. bottle on Ebay as a backup.

Then last summer, I got what apparently is a NOS 8 oz. bottle of Quink Violet. But I can't figure out how to get the bottle open to use the ink (short of prying out the rubber stopper and decanting the ink into some other container). When I decided to try the ink out a while back, I unscrewed the small cap on top of the stopper, only to find a sort of nipple that has two holes in it (and there is some sort of wick from the stopper down into the ink itself). I'm guessing that maybe one is supposed to have a some sort of pouring spout attachment, but have no idea where such might be acquired. I'm worried that if I try to get the stopper out of the bottle, I will either: never get it back to seal the bottle, completely (thus running the risk of some sort of contamination of the contents; or else knock over the bottle in the process and run the risk of breaking it and/or generally spilling it; or some combination thereof.

 

A good trick I have used it to remove stubborn caps is to run them under warm water. Those bottles originally did have spouts. They were purchased to decant into smaller bottles or ink wells and would have been used in schools, offices, banks etc. Anywhere there was a large amount of inkwells that needed to be filled frequently.

 

Quink Violet is a hard-to-find and sought after color so I think it would be well worth trying to open it up and maybe post a review. I bet there are some on FPN who would be interested in a decant of it.

 

Also, on a side note, Quink Brown was a permanent ink as was Quink Violet (in case you spill any ).