Crazy Shading Purple Ink Recipe

[MKB]

WARNING: This recipe has some noted issues, and as such should only be used in a potentially sacrificial pen. At this point I have had it in a pen for only 11 days. The issue appears to be that the combination of the two component inks seems to bind the darker components to each other leaving a lightly colored main ink and a strongly colored deposit upon lifting the pen (resulting in a pattern similar to many shading inks, but to a high degree). Upon cleaning nibs used in testing, a darker deposit remained on the under side of the nib that wouldn't come off with light agitation in water, but could be wiped off. This deposit is likely to remain on a feed and may eventually cause clogging; although, I haven't seen this so far. I suspect the deposit on the feed will be able to be successfully removed with a tooth brush or sonic cleaner (based on my observations with the nibs), but it's a risk at this point. I haven't seen a deposit on my converter, but that doesn't mean I won't find one inside it later.

 

IF YOU ARE STILL INTERESTED: It might be safest to regard this ink as a special purpose ink to be used for a letter or other application and then immediately washed out of the pen, or kept in a sacrificial pen. In any case, trying this out is at your own risk. For testing purposes I am leaving it in a Lamy Al Star fitted with a converter to see if there are longer term issues. I am interested to see if this is a happy accident that others can use, or if it was a one-time fluke, and difficult to replicate. I have mixed it twice from the same sources with success. One quirk is that for the first few written sentences, the ink starts out darker. Once it gets going, the lighter main part of the color tends to get lighter with continuous writing, but I have found that with pauses for reflection, the color levels out. This may be due to pointing the nib up, which I now do on purpose if the ink starts getting too light. So, if I am planning to write a letter, I generally warm up the pen on cheap paper or a napkin and occasionally invert the pen.

 

By the way, the shading seems to work pretty well on a wider range of papers than some of my other inks. It occurs each time the pen is lifted, so it shows much more with printing than cursive.

 

It has been suggested that the deposit issue may be able to be reduced by diluting the black component with distilled water before combining, or combining the components after warming them in water baths, both of which I haven't tried yet. (This is a work in progress that I wanted to share with others.) I would be interested to see whether reducing the deposits, if possible, has a negative impact on the shading qualities of the original recipe.

 

The components are:

 

1 part Noodler's - Old Manhattan Blackest Black (Fountain Pen Hospital exclusive)

15 parts Noodler's - North African Violet

 

Here are the initial results on Rhodia dot pad paper. The color and contrast has been adjusted to replicate the recipe results, but the adjustment made the North African Violet shown at the bottom of the page somewhat out of whack. Kind of crazy how light the ink is compared to the darkness of the two ingredients (no dilution was done).

 

(FYI - my scanner adds a ghost impression that you can see halfway down the page on the right side.)

 

Thanks for checking it out, and for helping if you're in on that too.

[ENewton]

Doesn't this ink look very much like Rohrer and Klingner Scabiosa?

[MKB]

Yeah, with maybe a little less red. It's slightly grayish purple in the lighter parts (once it's doing it's thing) maybe like a grayish J. Herbin Poussiere de Lune. Even if this ink turns out to be troublesome, I'm still going to keep using it in one pen, as it's captivating on the page.

Edited June 14, 2015 by MKB

[ENewton]

Interesting. Of my purples, Scabiosa is the least red, and Poussiere de Lune (the latest version) is the reddest.

[MKB]

Since I didn't have the Scabiosa, I went to look up the scans on the Goulet Pens site. Interesting that they have switched places.

[Fabienne]

black swan in north african violets. N. African + Heart of Darkness.Try looking it up on this forum .Wonderful stuff.

[MKB]

black swan in north african violets. N. African + Heart of Darkness.Try looking it up on this forum .Wonderful stuff.

 

Yep, I was just trying it with Old Manhattan while I was waiting for the Heart of Darkness to arrive, and came across this happy accident.

[Alexandra]

I really like the look of that but I don't have either of those inks. Everytime I get on this forum I have to spend more money. Have to.

[Fabienne]

Hmmm, I am going to have to try this one with Old Manhattan. I have both of the ingredients. Thanks for the recipe.

[MKB]

I really like the look of that but I don't have either of those inks. Everytime I get on this forum I have to spend more money. Have to.

If you want to try a sample and that's your PO Box in your signature line, let me know. I have a bit I could spare.

[Alexandra]

If you want to try a sample and that's your PO Box in your signature line, let me know. I have a bit I could spare.

Thanks, MKB. I PMd you.

[Miz Black Crow]

Neeeeeat. I was just browsing the forum to see if BSiNAV could be made with OMBB (I don't personally want to have to buy 4.5oz of ink to make one mix.....), and I'm thrilled to find your post! That greyish-purple is quite lovely. Now I have to acquire some NAV....

 

Any (further) clumping/clotting/etc issues with this mix over the longer haul?

 

By the way, if you like purple/blacks, I HIGHLY recommend playing around with mixing Private Reserve Plum and some Old Manhattan Blackest Black. Creates a beautiful shading ink that I haven't had a chance to post to the forum yet, but really lovely, no interactions that I've found. The OMBB makes it semi-waterproof, too....

 

EDIT TO REVERSE PRIOR EDIT. I am fickle, like the wind.

Edited December 21, 2015 by Miz Black Crow

[MKB]

It leaves a residue that needs more cleaning than usual, so I would save this mix for pens that have good access for cleaning.

[amberleadavis]

Thanks for sharing.