Desert Island Archival Ink

[magnus919]

I'm going on a bit of a minimalist journey, simplifying my life and getting rid of extraneous "stuff", reducing (for example) to just one pen, and just one ink.

 

I've already got the pen squared away.

 

But none of the inks I have right now quite hit the mark for being "the one". I really enjoy Sailor Jentle Yama-Dori, for example, but it's in no way an archival ink.

 

I'm essentially looking for three requirements:

1. Water-resistant or waterproof
2. Archival (i.e. will endure for a long time and without wrecking the paper, like iron gall ink would)
3. Demonstrator pen friendly

One of my favorites is Hero Carbon Black (234). It feels good writing with it. It's very water resistant (or even waterproof). And it's archival. But in a demonstrator pen, you can't see the ink level since the stuff sticks to the sides of the pen.

 

I'm finding the same is true of Noodler's Black.

 

Additional thoughts:

 

I'm not at all married to black ink. But since I will be using this pen for my business, signing a lot of legal paperwork, it should be relatively business-appropriate and friendly to copier paper.

[magnus919]

Inks that I currently own include:

• J. Herbin Emerald of Chivor (lovely ink, but doesn't work at all for this)
• Iroshizuku Yama Budo (doesn't fit most criteria and I don't enjoy the color)
• Hero Carbon Black (234), Blue (233), Blue-Black (232). I quite like the Blue-Black, but it's believed to be an Iron Gall and would as such ruin paper over time.
• Private Reserve Avacado (sic) ... Fits almost none of the criteria
• KWZ Honey, Turquoise, Grey Plum, IG Mandarin - fit almost none of the criteria
• Noodler's Manjiro Nakahama Whaleman's Sepia - Interesting novelty ink but I'd kill myself if I had to use it every day.
• Noodler's Black, Lexington Grey, Black Swan in English Roses - None of them quite hit the mark
• Sailor Jentle Yama Dori - How I wish this were water resistant and archival. I adore this ink.
• Pilot Blue - Also doesn't meet the criteria. And don't hate me but I don't like straight up blue inks.

Edited June 10, 2018 by magnus919

[PaganArcher]

For me, it would be a toss up between KWZI IG Gold and Platinum Carbon Black. I don't like black inks but I've yet to find a more reliable ink for sheer permanency.

[Karmachanic]

I'm going on a bit of a minimalist journey, simplifying my life and getting rid of extraneous "stuff", reducing (for example) to just one pen, and just one ink.

 

 

I remember when most people had one pen.

[sciumbasci]

I'm not a fan of demonstrators, but how about a blue ink from Noodler's? Since you need to Sign legal paperwork, blue would be spot on (or, at least it is in my field). Not necessarily the Baystate line.

[DanielCoffey]

I'm essentially looking for three requirements:

1. Water-resistant or waterproof
2. Archival (i.e. will endure for a long time and without wrecking the paper, like iron gall ink would)
3. Demonstrator pen friendly

 

Any modern commercial Iron Gall ink would satisfy all three criteria. Only home-brewed IG inks would run any risk of wrecking the paper.

 

As for using an IG in a demonstrator, a dilute ascorbic acid solution would deal with that nicely. Here is the post... https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/319306-cleaning-residue-from-prolonged-iron-gall-exposure/

[carlos.q]

Take a look at MB Permanent Blue and MB Permanent Black, both are ISO certified for permanence.

[Intensity]

Sailor Sei Boku blue black for all purpose writing. Otherwise I keep thinking I should get some Platinum Khaki Black for some old-style manuscript look.

[lapis]

Take a look at MB Permanent Blue and MB Permanent Black, both are ISO certified for permanence.

1⁺ + 1⁺

[jmccarty3]

KWZ IG Blue-Black would be a good choice.

[inkobsessed]

I would say Pelikan 4001, the black or blue black. The blue black contains a bit of IG. According to the Pelikan’s website the blue black is not totally archival, but is should last very long.

 

Joop

[FPFan]

Personally, I use a few archival inks. My favorite is plain old Platinum Carbon Black and its sibling, Blue/Black. I have almost always used them in a cartridge pen, so I don't know how it works in a demonstrator pen. However, they are the most permanent inks when it comes to waterproof. Once fully dry, they aren't going anywhere! Destruction of the paper will come before they go away. Another, I have used are Noodler's Legal Lapis sold via Pandemonium (currently awaiting new stock.) I believe there are others, but these are the ones I have used and am most familiar with. Good Luck with your "goal." I'm afraid I would never be able to stick to just one ink, let alone just one pen! It just isn't my nature!

[MG66]

Noodler's Kung Te Cheng. It'll outlast the island.

[Runnin_Ute]

For several years I had two pens and while I had two inks, I mostly used just one. Pelikan 4001 Blue Black and Levenger Raven Black which is called semi permanent on the Levenger website. During this period I mostly used the Pelikan BLue Black. I am on bottle number three. And it is about half gone.

[inkstainedruth]

Noodler's Kung Te Cheng. It'll outlast the island.

 

Actually, I would have suggested that, except it's not always the best behaved ink. I also really like Noodler's El Lawrence, which is dark enough to get away with being business-appropriate without actually being black; but I don't know how it does in a demonstrator. Another one to have a look at is Noodler's 54th Massachusetts, but again, I don't use it in a demonstrator.

I haven't been overly enamored of the De Atramentis archival inks, so I wouldn't recommend them (they tend to spread a lot on poor quality paper, and I found D'A Archive Black to be fairly dry -- unlike most of the standard D'A inks.

Noodler's Heart of Darkness *does* do well in a demonstrator (I have it in the Noodler's Charlie pen that came with the bottle); it's pretty waterproof, and dries a little faster on the page than Noodler's Black. It might not be the blackest ink on the planet, but it's good enough for my purposes.

I'll admit that even though you're worried about archival properties, I do really like most iron gall inks (Diamine Registrar's being a notable exception) and would recommend you do have a look at KWZI IG Blue Black.

And if you're not married to black or blue black for color, Noodler's Park Red is waterproof and dries quickly, and I seem to recall Noodler's Walnut being pretty water-resistant as well (although it does better in a wet pen).

I do understand how you feel about Whaleman's Sepia -- I tried a sample of it, and while it's a really interesting color It didn't want to flow at all until I diluted it a bit with water -- just clung to the sides of the converter ink chamber....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[UDog]

ESSRI...it's the only way.

[magnus919]

Lots of fans of blue-black, and some reassurances about modern IG's that haven't yet gone refuted...

 

I did mention that I have Hero Blue-Black. I'd ruled it out thinking IG's might eat through my papers over time. It's cheap stuff and has a certain bouqet. But I like it. Maybe I already had "the one". Maybe when it runs out, I'll just get a 350ml of Pilot Blue Black. Can anyone speak to how well the Pilot Blue-Black behaves in a demonstrator, if one can still readily view the ink levels?

[Intensity]

Yes, Noodler's Walnut is quite water resistant--only a slight bit of color washes off. It's also got a very pleasant faint, fresh herbal scent. As far as I understand it's close to neutral pH. Really nice ink.

[JakobS]

Lots of fans of blue-black, and some reassurances about modern IG's that haven't yet gone refuted...

 

I did mention that I have Hero Blue-Black. I'd ruled it out thinking IG's might eat through my papers over time. It's cheap stuff and has a certain bouqet. But I like it. Maybe I already had "the one". Maybe when it runs out, I'll just get a 350ml of Pilot Blue Black. Can anyone speak to how well the Pilot Blue-Black behaves in a demonstrator, if one can still readily view the ink levels?

 

 

Modern fountain pen friendly iron gall inks are a bit of a different breed from traditional iron gall inks made in previous centuries, not only because they are less acidic, but more consistently made. The key to a quality iron gall ink is to make sure it's chemically balanced, which traditionally when using oak galls, making iron copperas from raw materials, as well as the use of dyes from plants can often be difficult to get right, as well as introduce impurities into the mixture. Though a number of producers figured this out, many didn't. Having a imbalanced chemical formula, caused the proceeding oxidation reaction to produce hydroxyl ions and hydroxide in excess, which being strong oxidizers weakened the surface below it, be it wood pulp paper, or cotton rag etc. The acidity helped speed up these reactions, but it alone did not cause the deterioration, and would not do so without these oxidizers being in excess.

A chemically balanced iron gall ink is far easier to make these days, using synthetically made powders of both gallic acid (which previously came from the oak galls), and Iron (II) Sulfate, thus not allowing these oxidizers to form if everything is measured out correctly, which is also far easier with the availability of precise scales.

You often see people worried about modern iron gall inks because they don't understand the evolution of the process of making iron gall inks over time. Not only do historical documents show what happens when these inks were made poorly, but also the many examples that exist when they were made correctly, and modern iron gall inks reflect that knowledge.

So worry no more, use a wet pen, as iron galls can be a bit dry, though KWZ IG's are pretty wet, and enjoy them, they will last on any legal document you will need to sign, and are often the best for varied copy paper that most other inks feather like its fashionable on.

My pick for a desert Island would probably be KWZ IG Green Gold, but closely followed by IG Turquoise, IG Gummiberry, and IG Red #3.....

Edited June 11, 2018 by JakobS

[magnus919]

 

My pick for a desert Island would probably be KWZ IG Green Gold, but closely followed by IG Turquoise, IG Gummibery, and IG Red #3.....

 

 

Lots of great info but I want to respond to this bit...

 

I have IG Mandarin. I like it sometimes for journaling, but it goes down looking almost like lemon juice so it helps to have good task lighting when you're writing with it. It dries to more of that orange skin color. Neat, but wholly inappropriate for business use, I think.

 

I've had a sample of the IG Turquoise and I think it's got to be the most beautiful blue-black. It goes down that light turquoise color, and wetter areas dry to a dark blue-black.

 

The KWZ IG Green Gold does scratch one particular itch: blue inks look odd to me in a green-trimmed TWSBI demonstrator.