Inky T O D - Making Inks Drier - Dryer - Drying Additives?

[BrassRatt]

Hello BrassRat, et al,

 

I started by adding 1 drop of glycerin per 1 oz. of ink... shook the bottle... dip tested it, using a fountain pen and kept adding one drop and shaking until I got the feeling I was looking for, (2 drops in a bottle J. Herbin brown... it's slipping my mind right now, which one).

 

Thank you for the detail, Anthony. Looks like I'll need to experiment, looking out for drying time on paper as the possible downside.

 

The catch... or down side is that if you favor wide medium and broad nibs, (like yours truly); or if you're using stubs, italics and especially Flex nibs, (which all require heavier flow rates), the diminished flow can be problematic.

 

- Anthony

 

The too-wet pen that prompted my question is a Lamy 2000 cursive italic. A diminished flow rate with inks I like is the goal, not the problem. Nib tweaking only got me so far; flow is about right with Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black, but ... .

 

Relative flow rate -- quantity of ink deposited on paper -- is what I meant by "dry". Lubrication feel and viscosity and drying-time and maybe other things were not my focus, though those are included in what folks sometimes seem to mean by wet/dry. If I could have low-flow, saturated, lubricious, fast drying inks for that pen -- ah, bliss!

 

Thanks again.

[ParkerDuofold]

Thank you for the detail, Anthony. Looks like I'll need to experiment, looking out for drying time on paper as the possible downside.

 

Hi BrassRat,

 

You're welcome.

 

Yes. Experimentation is the key... and keep DETAILED NOTES... believe me, it'll pay off later.

 

Now that you remind me, yes, drying time will be a little slower... and naturally increases in correlation with the amount of glycerin added.

 

 

The too-wet pen that prompted my question is a Lamy 2000 cursive italic. A diminished flow rate with inks I like is the goal, not the problem. Nib tweaking only got me so far; flow is about right with Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black, but ... .

 

Relative flow rate -- quantity of ink deposited on paper -- is what I meant by "dry". Lubrication feel and viscosity and drying-time and maybe other things were not my focus, though those are included in what folks sometimes seem to mean by wet/dry.

 

Yes. We're on the same page here; I understand what you meant by flow/dryness. I merely added my two cents for the sake of those who were looking for better lubrication... because it kind of ties in.

 

 

If I could have low-flow, saturated, lubricious, fast drying inks for that pen -- ah, bliss!

 

When you discover THAT formula; PLEASE let us all know.

 

 

Thanks again.

 

You bet.

 

 

- Anthony

[Runnin_Ute]

A couple of years ago, I was part of a group here (along with amberleadavis and others)that did some ink testing of

an ink that was going to be brought to market by an initially unnamed maker. This came to us initially as a powder to mix with distilled water. The sachet/foil pouch was 4 grams ink powder. By adding different amounts of distilled water you could get a "normal" concentration (50-60 ml ink), a "dry" concentration (80-90 ml ink) or a "wet" concentration (30 ml concentration).

As crazy and as counter intuitive as it seems, it works.

 

That particular line of inks was never released to production, but a different line was. The Blackstone inks....

[TinyHound]

Chemistry student to the rescue.

 

For a wetter flow what you want is lower viscosity. You basically want the water molecules to get less clingy around each other,less surface tension = enhanced flow.

I would NOT add water, besides diluting the pigment you will ALSO dilute all additives. Resulting in an ink that is going to behave like... water.

 

What I would do: when washing your FP, use a teeny tiny bit dish detergent. Soapy substances break surface tension, resulting in a better flow. If that isn't enough for you, you could consider taking a bit of ink out of the bottle and experimenting with it. Start with pure ink and only add a drop of water (with in it dish detergent), test the properties and repeat until satisfied.

 

For a drier flow i would NOT mess around with additives. Why? You have no clue to what degree an ink is saturated with pigments and additives. When adding stuff yourself you risk creating a SITB situation simply because you might surpass the amount of chemicals it can dissolve and/or the proportions of the additives. Remember why they always advise you to clean your fountain pen properly between switching inks?..

 

Adding water might help, since surface tension will go up. Also, you could try evaporating a tiny bit of water from the ink.

Edited January 3, 2018 by TinyHound