India Ink With Methyl Hydrate - Safe For Fp ?

[h_s_shrivastava]

Got this article for making India Ink safe for fountain pen. Is this workable ?

 

Quote: "We know that India Ink can get stale. It still looks black and liquid, but it clogs our pens. We blame our pens, change the nibs, but the problem remains. I guessed that the shellac was forming particles, too small to see, but still enough to clog a pen. A little bit of methyl hydrate added to the ink revitalized it, and it would flow. In fact, I found that I could even put India Ink in a regular fountain pen if I thinned the ink with methyl hydrate."

 

Link: http://www.hyoomik.com/images/technique1.html

 

[amberleadavis]

Shellac is not safe for fountain pens. I'm sure others around here can explain why.

[Runnin_Ute]

I would say neither is Methy Hydrate:

 

Methyl Hydrate is used for:

• Thinning shellac
• Cleaning brushes that have been used with shellac
• Cleaning windows, when mixed with water
• Defrosting air line hoses on tractor trailers & commercial vehicles during extreme cold temperatures
• Fondue fuel
• Fuel for marine unpressurized alcohol stoves
• Dissolving gums, resins, and celluloid (all products used in the manufacture of fountain pens)
• Source: http://www.recochem.com/products/paint_thinners_solvents/methyl_hydrate

The fact this manufacturer of Methy Hydrate classifies it with its paint thinner and solvents should tell you everything you need to know as it relates to fountain pens.

 

It is also called Methanol: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methanol

Edited July 19, 2015 by Runnin_Ute

[Frank C]

Methyl hydrate is another name for methyl alcohol or methanol. It is a solvent for shellac. Shellac is a natural polymer. The problem with using india ink in a fountain pen is that it clogs it. Thinning the ink would make it less likely to clog. My question is: Why bother? There are many fountain pen inks that come very close to india ink nowadays.

 

Also, as Runnin_Ute points out, it will dissolve celluloid. It can also dissolve some plastics used in pens.

[Algester]

Methyl hydrate is another name for methyl alcohol or methanol. It is a solvent for shellac. Shellac is a natural polymer. The problem with using india ink in a fountain pen is that it clogs it. Thinning the ink would make it less likely to clog. My question is: Why bother? There are many fountain pen inks that come very close to india ink nowadays.

 

Also, as Runnin_Ute points out, it will dissolve celluloid. It can also dissolve some plastics used in pens.

actually the only ink that would come close to india ink is the Kobe's Boku-kaoru but eh... its only made in limited batches per year... you can probably add kiwaguro for permanence so not only will it smell like sumi ink it will also be permanent like sumi ink Edited July 20, 2015 by Algester

[ac12]

As was said by others, why bother with india ink at all, just use fountain pen ink and avoid the hassle to begin with.

 

If you want to use india ink, use a dip pen.