Mb Original Iron Gall?

[silverlifter]

So I went through some old boxes on the weekend and discovered a bottle of Montblanc ink in with papers. No box, just the bottle marked with the little blue dot.

 

I know it was purchased in the early-mid 1990s as the papers it was stored with date it to that period.

 

Expecting it to be royal blue, I inked it up. Goes down blue black. Odd, I thought. Perhaps it is just the effect of the passing years. I certainly don't remember buying a blue black, but perhaps that is why I put it away and forgot about it.

 

 

Intrigued, I dropped some water on it. Nothing! Rubbing the page dry after 3 minutes and there was some barely perceptible shift around the 'k' in Miwok, otherwise completely colour fast.

 

 

So this means I have a 3/4 full bottle of the original MB Iron Gall ink?

[corniche]

Hello Silverlifter,

 

Yes, you do. Congrats.

 

 

Sean

[silverlifter]

Well, that is a delightful surprise!

 

I was reading some threads about this long discontinued ink on here before christmas and rueing the fact I never got to try it...

 

I guess one of the joys of later life is discovering things that you had long forgotten

[adyf]

I still scour eBay for this ink. I much prefer it to the latest reiteration of MB Midnight Blue.

[The Good Captain]

I picked up three bottles before it 'changed' to the new formulation. needless to say, I use it sparingly...!

[lapis]

Three bottles of what?

[The Good Captain]

Three bottles of what?

You are a wag, young Sir. Salopian Oracle, if you must know. Good lubrication, water resistance and covers the paper very well...

[lapis]

Ahh..., now I get it.

[wallylynn]

Is there any sediment in the bottle? Did you notice the color change effect? I have the rectangular bottle of IG Midnight Blue. Gonna use it for my next fill. It's been a long time since I last opened it, though not as long as you.

[silverlifter]

No, there is no sediment as far as I can tell. I didn't really notice the colour change, but I was not looking for it.

 

I also found a bottle of MB black from the same period, and it has survived in the same unspoiled condition.

[mana]

Have a full unopened bottle of that and another 1/3 full... I love that ink! Have been trying to source more but to no avail. :/

[Brandywine]

That certainly is the old MB Blue-black with Iron Gall.

I have a bottle from about 1989 that I tried once and stored for 20 years.

I was dismayed to find that it had degraded:

There was sediment in the bottle and the colour no longer is blue-black but rather grey.

Deplorable! I loved that colour and the easy flow of that ink!
I should have used it as long as it was still good!

 

I mixed it with remains of Pelikan Royal Blue and Brilliant Black and still use it in an old cheap pen.

The colour now is rather dark grey (approaching black) and it still is quite resistant against water and sunlight;

I use it when I need such resistance.

[corniche]

Well, that is a delightful surprise!

 

I was reading some threads about this long discontinued ink on here before christmas and rueing the fact I never got to try it...

 

I guess one of the joys of later life is discovering things that you had long forgotten

That's so true, Silverlifter.

 

 

Sean

[Mech-for-i]

That certainly is the old MB Blue-black with Iron Gall.

I have a bottle from about 1989 that I tried once and stored for 20 years.

I was dismayed to find that it had degraded:

There was sediment in the bottle and the colour no longer is blue-black but rather grey.

Deplorable! I loved that colour and the easy flow of that ink!

I should have used it as long as it was still good!

 

I mixed it with remains of Pelikan Royal Blue and Brilliant Black and still use it in an old cheap pen.

The colour now is rather dark grey (approaching black) and it still is quite resistant against water and sunlight;

I use it when I need such resistance.

Can't help, I had still an almost full bottle of this ink and it too show the aging , its just the nature of the chemistry at play , pretty much all Iron Gall Blue Black, if left sitting long enough will had this