Noodlers Bay State Blue Any Problems?

[MTHALL720]

I plan to use this with a TWSBI Classic and a Pilot Prera. Does this ink pose any problems? Is it fairly water resistant? Looking for a bright blue or maybe Turquoise with a bluish tinge. Really like Noodler's brand.

Thanks very much.

[gregamckinney]

Hi MTHALL720,

 

"I'm thinking about giving myself a haircut with a 45ACP. Does this ammo cause any problems?"

Mostly joking.

 

If you haven't you should start with a search of the forum regarding Bay State Blue (BSB.)

It is a beautiful ink with many strong properties (good and bad) and strong opinions about it.

 

Best Regards, and a belated welcome to the forum.

greg

[Maurizio]

I love this ink but it can be problematic if not handled properly. It is best to use it in a pen dedicated exclusively to its use because there have been some problems when it mixed with some other inks in the pen's feed, causing clogs. This is likely due to the fact that it's a super saturated ink, though there are others here who may be able to provide a better answer.

 

The ink is beautiful, a very intense indigo blue; there's really nothing else like it. Once you use it most all your other inks will seem "washed out".

 

With this beauty, brightness and intensity come special issues which must be handled with care. The ink stains most anything it touches. Bleach will get it off surfaces but if the surface is delicate you have a problem. Same for any non-white clothing. It will stain the pen inside and outside, so it's best used with a pen you don't mind getting stained.

 

I bought a square plastic bin at a .99 store just for the purpose of handling my BSB. This way even if there's a spill ( so far so good but bound to happen ) it'll be contained within the bin.

 

I currently use it with one medium nib pen, but I'm liking it so much I'm planning on buying another pen with a broad nib, again just to use with BSB.

 

Hope this helps. I'm sure others will weigh in.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Baystate Blue is BRIGHT, all right. Just dedicate a pen to that ink alone and you'll be fine.

[TheRealScubaSteve]

BSB has an undeserved and notoriously bad reputation. It stains everything it touches, but can be removed quite easily with bleach or alcohol (not recommended for most pens). It will be just fine in your TWSBI, but expect some staining if it's a clear demonstrator.

 

As far as dedicating a pen solely for it, it's not necessary so long as you clean your pen(s) well. It does not get along with other inks due to the pH, though I've never seen the separation it causes first hand. This is the brightest blue on the market. It runs on the purple side, but I only notice the purple in artificial lighting. In natural light it is "retina searing" bright.

 

It's very waterproof, but it will run a bit. Liberty's Elysium is the closest bright alternative that I know of. It's also water-resistant with minor staining.

 

Elysium is not as bright as the swab makes it out to be.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[A144]

Let me start out by saying I really love Baystate Blue.

 

It is a very vibrant and unique color. It is absurdly waterproof, and resistant to most solvents.

 

You'll read a lot of bad reports on BSB. You'll hear things like it stains everything it touches, it dissolves feeds, it melts pens, it will eat your children, etc. I'd take most of it with a grain of salt.

 

...Except the part about staining everything; that it actually does. The good news is, you can get it off of many surfaces with a bit of bleach. I actually used toilet bowl cleaner w/ bleach in it to get BSB out of my sink.

 

Performance can be iffy, especially on cheap paper. I'd actually stay away from cheap paper. It shows a bit of spread, even on good paper like Rhodia. I find a 2:1 BSB:distilled water dilution helps tremendously with that. Also, BSB needs a bit better pen hygiene than many other inks. I have a couple dedicated BSB pens, a Pilot Metro and a Lamy Safari. They only get filled with BSB. They also get cleaned between each refill or the ink flows starts to suffer a bit. I'll probably end up getting a TWSBI Eco (when they finally get released) just for BSB as well.

 

If you're using a pen with BSB then other ink, make sure you clean it extremely thoroughly. Due to the chemistry of BSB (and the other Baystate inks), it will react with other inks and cause a precipitate to form and clog everything up.

 

As I said, BSB is unique and has its quirks. It requires a bit more maintenance, but I definitely think it's worth it.

[MTHALL720]

Thanks very much to everyone. This is certainly food for thought.

[Fabienne]

I dedicated a TWSBI to it (with a broad nib). That is how much this fickle ink user likes BSB. I say it's so worth it. What a beautiful blue.

[musicman123]

Most of Noodler's Baystate inks have severe issues with staining and clogs if mixed with any other lines of ink. I have used both BSB and BSCCC and both stain the pen's clear spots, but have left the nib and feed unscathed. BSB is also a pain to wash out of my white sink, as well as my white countertops. I would recommend exercising caution, both with the pen, and when filling/rinsing.

 

That said, Baystate colors look really lovely and are super vibrant/bright. I fairly enjoy both BSB and BSCCC, but have not completely dedicated a pen for them. I just rinsed my pen off and used a different ink. No problems so far, and I don't anticipate any arising in the near future.

 

Open the spoiler for swab cards of both inks.

 

 

 

 

http://inkymadness.tk/Noodlers/Baystate%20Blue%202.jpg

 

http://inkymadness.tk/Noodlers/Baystate%20Cape%20Cod%20Cranberry.jpg

 

 

 

[tfwall]

I plan to use this with a TWSBI Classic and a Pilot Prera. Does this ink pose any problems? Is it fairly water resistant? Looking for a bright blue or maybe Turquoise with a bluish tinge. Really like Noodler's brand.

Thanks very much.

 

Please consider picking up a Noodler's branded pen. They are specially hardened for use with Noodler's Ink and incorporate ebonite feeds and wetter nibs.

[JefferyS]

Bright blue, but not forever. Is it worth the baggage? Not to me. Great for grading papers with a Platinum Preppy.

[Ols67]

Revive this thread from the dead!  BSB has ruined a Waterford pen that I used it in…however…as stated above it mixed with another ink that I had used in the pen.  
 

That being said, I may get a less expensive pen to use BSB in exclusively, because it is such a beautiful blue!

 

Vr

 

Matt

[inkstainedruth]

3 hours ago, Ols67 said:

Revive this thread from the dead!  BSB has ruined a Waterford pen that I used it in…however…as stated above it mixed with another ink that I had used in the pen.  
 

That being said, I may get a less expensive pen to use BSB in exclusively, because it is such a beautiful blue!

 

Vr

 

Matt

Yep, that would be my recommendation.  My current BSB-only pen is a Noodler's Charlie for which I don't mind getting the barrel stained.  Plus, my bottle of BSB feathers like crazy on nearly all papers, so it's easy to dilute the ink about 20% (I just eyeball it) with distilled water.  

Sorry that happened to you.  There was an old thread where someone mixed BSB with Noodler's Black but didn't wait to see how the two different inks (with different pH levels) would react before putting it in a pen.  I saw the photos the person posted, and trust me when I say they weren't pretty: before the two inks interacted, they didn't mix, so part of the writing would be blue, part would be black, and some was a mix.  Then the chemical reaction happened -- and the ink started coming out of the person's pen in solid chunks!

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[kestrel]

None of the Baystate inks play well with other inks.  Precipitates are the rule.  I mixed some diluted BSB with another dilute ink in my classroom every year to demonstrate precipitate formation. 

 

I love the ink and use it fairly often but only, like Ruth mentioned, after diluting it 4:1 with distilled water to tame the feathering and only in one of two dedicated BSB pens.  Usually it goes in a Noodler's Ahab and they are a good pairing.  Sometimes I put it in a user grade Esterbrook J with a suitable nib that gets a thorough cleaning before and after being used with BSB.

 

I am sorry you had to learn the hard way on this one.  If you haven't already tried it, you might be able to clean the crud out of the nib unit with a combination of Rapido-Eze soaks, flushing with an ear syringe in both directions, and sessions in an ultrasonic cleaner.  Good Luck.

[Monophoto]

I agree with the sentiments of others - BSB is a brilliant blue ink, but it has some quirks, not the least of which is that it stains everything it touches.  But those stains can be cleared with a little hypochlorite bleach.

 

Like most Noodler's inks, BSB is highly saturated.  But more importantly, it (along with its two Bay State cousins) are chemically different from the rest of the Noodler's family.  They even smell quite different.  As a result, they should never be mixed with other inks.

 

Let me add one other quirk - the chemical composition of BSB contains something that interacts with the chemically-treated thermal paper used in various merchandising applications - sales receipts, etc.  As a result, if you write on a sales slip, over the course of a couple of hours, that something will cause the paper to darken around your writing, eventually leaving a dark cloud that almost obscures what you have written.  This has never actually caused a problem for me, but I suppose that if you sign a charge receipt for dinner and add a tip, the restaurant might have difficult discerning how much of a tip you wanted to leave if they don't look at the receipt promptly.

[empliau]

An oldie but a goodie - be sure to read Neil's follow-up post:

 

 

[TSherbs]

12 hours ago, inkstainedruth said:

Yep, that would be my recommendation.  My current BSB-only pen is a Noodler's Charlie for which I don't mind getting the barrel stained.  Plus, my bottle of BSB feathers like crazy on nearly all papers, so it's easy to dilute the ink about 20% (I just eyeball it) with distilled water.  

Sorry that happened to you.  There was an old thread where someone mixed BSB with Noodler's Black but didn't wait to see how the two different inks (with different pH levels) would react before putting it in a pen.  I saw the photos the person posted, and trust me when I say they weren't pretty: before the two inks interacted, they didn't mix, so part of the writing would be blue, part would be black, and some was a mix.  Then the chemical reaction happened -- and the ink started coming out of the person's pen in solid chunks!

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

@inkstainedruth Where do you get your distilled water? I cannot find any in ANY store around me: not in pharmacies, not in hardware stores, not in grocery stores, not at Home Depot or Lowes...). I've kind of stopped trying (my wellwater is very hard, but it's all I got). 

[inkstainedruth]

5 hours ago, empliau said:

An oldie but a goodie - be sure to read Neil's follow-up post:

 

 

 I knew he was an FP user, but hadn't known about this (I don't do Twitter and am barely on Facebook at this point).

I have a bottle of BSB, but I'm not overly enamored of the color (Noodler's Baltimore Canyon very nice and almost as water resistant and doesn't have that neon-purple undertone BSB has -- and which sort of sets my teeth on edge...).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

ETA: Do you mean when he told people that were suggesting he use ballpoints?  That was a HILARIOUS response!

[inkstainedruth]

4 hours ago, TSherbs said:

@inkstainedruth Where do you get your distilled water? I cannot find any in ANY store around me: not in pharmacies, not in hardware stores, not in grocery stores, not at Home Depot or Lowes...). I've kind of stopped trying (my wellwater is very hard, but it's all I got). 

Where do you live?  I've had no trouble in the past finding it in the Pittsburgh-local grocery store chain (Giant Eagle) -- including the dinky store down the hill from me that doesn't always even have gallon jugs of 1% milk in stock.  In fact, they often have in boxes of 3 one-gallon jugs, in the bottled water aisle (although you have to make sure you're grabbing the right stuff and not just regular bottled water).  In fact, I was planning to run out tomorrow because I'm most of the way down on my last gallon jug.

I just checked, and neither Sam's Club nor BJ's Warehouse Club list it on their websites.  Tried to check Costco (which we do NOT have a membership to, for a variety of reasons) but I can't get on because I "block cookies" on my computer (you're d*mned right I do!). And I tried Restaurant Depot as well but their log-in page is always a major PITA -- even though we have a membership to that (you need proof that you run a business to walk in the door, but a friend's son got into the local one by "begging and pleading").  Plus they don't show stuff like that on their website in general -- just commercial restaurant equipment.  

Thinking maybe a scientific supply?  I know that my dad used to work at IBM and would bring home small containers of distilled water so my mom could use it in her steam iron.  I don't know if you can mail order it, though (and betting that would be expensive due to the weight).

All I can suggest besides that is that you also try doing a Google search for your area (although even with "distilled water" in quotes in the search window you may get REALLY flaky and useless results.  Because Google....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

ETA: Here's another thought!  Target (if you have one near you).  The location closest to me carries a brand called Ice Mountain, in gallon jugs, for under $2 a gallon, and if you have one near you, you may be able to order it for pickup.  Walmart's website has another brand listed, something called "Parent's Choice" that's even cheaper (just over a dollar a gallon) but you may have to check around to see if a local location has it or can get it in for you.

[TSherbs]

@inkstainedruth Thanks. I have no memberships at box stores, and I live in southern Maine, third rock from the sun.

 

I have checked Walmart, Target, Ace, Home Depot, Lowe's, grocery stores, CVS, and Walgreens, and Rite Aid. 

 

Nada.

 

Next time I'm in Target I'll ask about ordering something. Thanks for the tip. <wave>