Sailor Sei-Boku Causes Clogs?

[Venemo]

I got a sample of Sailor Sei-Boku from the Writing Desk. I love how it looks on reviews, so I figured it would be nice to try it. So I filled my Esterbrook J (9550 nib) with it. It did not write, so I thought maybe I forgot to clean that pen. So I pulled out my other Esterbrook J (9461 nib) and filled that. It wrote nicely. But next day when I tried to write with it, I noticed that the nib unit is clogged. It did not write at all. So I emptied the pen and cleaned it thoroughly. Now the pen works, but I'm not sure what to do about Sei-Boku. I have not dared to try it with other pens.

 

What do you guys think? Is it normal for Sei-Boku to clog a pen, or does it just hate Esterbrook Js? What kind of pen would you try Sei-Boku with?

[Chrissy]

Sailor Sei-boku ink is a pigment ink. That means instead of being a dye, it is made from a pigment so it has nano pigment particles in there. These are more likely to clog small pen feed channels than dye based inks that don't have any nano particles in there.

[displacermoose]

I routinely use Sei-Boku with Pilot Preras (both fine and medium nibs), a Sailor Sapporo (F), my Twsbis, misc. Chinese pens, and a Pilot Custom 74 among others. One of the Preras got a bit persnickety with it, but nothing major. Some pens dislike certain inks, and it doens't always seem to make sense. In my experience, Sei-Boku is not a cloggy ink even though it is pigmented. Even if it doens't perform well in a particular pen it isn't going to hurt anything unless you do something crazy like fill it up and leave the cap off for months. Even then, you'd probably be able to rinse it out with some work. I'd just pick whatever pen strikes your fancy and give it a go. You'll find the perfect match eventually.

[Venemo]

Hmm... do Esterbrooks have small feed channels? I'm thinking of trying the Sei-Boku in my Pilot Elite 95S (once I finish its current fill of Pelikan Edelstein Tanzanite). However that is a very fine nib, so not sure how it will behave with the pigments.

[KellyMcJ]

Sei Boku has been nothing but one of the most spectacularly behaved inks I've ever used-in every respect- and it's properties are unsurpassed in my opinion.

 

HOWEVER it's rumored to form indissoluble sludge when mixed with other inks.

 

Because of this, I'd never use it in a pen that couldn't be cleaned thoroughly. I'd wager that there was some old ink in your Esties that reacted with the Sei Boku.

 

My daily carry is a Sailor Sapporo F inked with Sei Boku and you should be fine with it in the Pilot. Just make sure the pen is very very very clean before you ink it with Sei Boku, and before you switch from Sei Boku to another ink.

[LizEF]

Hmm... do Esterbrooks have small feed channels? I'm thinking of trying the Sei-Boku in my Pilot Elite 95S (once I finish its current fill of Pelikan Edelstein Tanzanite). However that is a very fine nib, so not sure how it will behave with the pigments.

 

I've used Sei Boku in a Pilot Metropolitan fine, Sailor Pro Gear Slim fine, and at least two fatter nibs. No problems. I will say that it does tend to stick to things a bit more, so it requires a bit extra effort when cleaning, but it still comes off with water / pen flush.

[KellyMcJ]

 

I've used Sei Boku in a Pilot Metropolitan fine, Sailor Pro Gear Slim fine, and at least two fatter nibs. No problems. I will say that it does tend to stick to things a bit more, so it requires a bit extra effort when cleaning, but it still comes off with water / pen flush.

 

I've noticed it seems to stick to metal quite a bit (such as the back of the nib between the nib and feed). Since it's my EDC ink this doesn't bother me much- I pretty much have two pens dedicated to it.

[LizEF]

I've noticed it seems to stick to metal quite a bit (such as the back of the nib between the nib and feed).

 

Yes, exactly, and inside the grooves of a nib with engraving on it. It'll come off, just needs some encouraging. I haven't decided yet which pen it will live in permanent-like. (So many samples, so little time...)

[Intensity]

No issues with clogging at all in the pens I've used this ink with. However being a pigment ink, I make sure to wash my pens REALLY well from other ink remnants before filling with Sei Boku (and after, if I switch to a different ink). Pigment and iron gall inks don't always mix safely with other inks.

[mulrich]

I had similar problems with a cartridge of Sei-boku using a King of Pen. I attributed the problem to the cartridge maybe being a little old but maybe I hadn't totally cleaned the pen prior to using the cartridge. Although, the previous ink was Waterman Serenity Blue and c/c pens are pretty easy to clean so I'm not sure this was the culprit.

On the few occasions the ink did seem to flow better I enjoyed the color so I may try it again in the future.

[Pensei]

I love Sailor inks, but I would not put Sei Boku in a delicate or expensive pen. I'll confess to maybe leaving it too long without cleaning, but once for me it stuck in a Safari and could not be removed. To be fair, I've never heard anyone else say that. The comments above lead me to think I might dare try it again in a Metropolitan or Kakuno.

[fuddmain]

I think you were unlucky, and it was a reaction to remnants of another ink in the pen.

 

I use Sei-boku and Kiwa-guro in Esties all the time and never had a problem. Matter of fact, I lost an Estie that was loaded with Kiwa-guro. Over a year later I found the pen behind a bookcase. It didn't take much more then my usual flush routine to clean it out.

 

Cheers.

Edited December 15, 2017 by fuddmain

[Pensei]

Well, that's good to hear. I have another Lamy that is dedicated to iron gall inks, and it's been fine. Maybe I'll try again with a pen dedicated to Sei Boku.

[Venemo]

Thank you guys for all your replies. I usually clean my pens thoroughly, but maybe there were some remains in the previous ink in those Esties. Both pens have been used with ESSRI (an IG ink) for a long time, so it's possible that they needed some more cleaning. Anyway, I'm no longer afraid of Sei-Boku, will soon try it in another pen.

[Intensity]

IG inks need special care to clean out. I've read you should flush your pen with a vinegar solution (maybe even soak a bit) and then flush with more water before using other inks. ESSRI has a higher IG concentration.

[Olya]

IG inks need to be thoroughly cleaned out before re-inking with any other ink. If you have a demonstrator, you'll see how much ink penetrates the feed and sometimes sticks to a corner (and also between nib & feed) and is hard to rinse out.

More people seem to have started mixing pigment inks with dye inks and have reported sludge. So with pigment & IG you have to be very thorough (some dye inks won't play nicely with each other either, but I haven't encountered that problem yet).

Sounds very much like the ESSRI has clung to the feed and wasn't fully cleaned out and then reacted with the Sei Boku.

 

I have used Sei Boku (though in a Sailor pen) without any problem whatsoever.

 

Make sure you properly clean your pen and give it another go, I don't think you'll be disappointed

Edited December 25, 2017 by Olya

[Venemo]

Yes, the clog was definitely NOT related to Sei-Boku, I've started this other thread about what happened to the poor Esterbrook and to get some help on how to clean it. When I'm through with this, I'll definitely try Sei-Boku again