Jump to content

Some Blue-Black Soak Tests


The Good Captain

Recommended Posts

Dueing this wonderful period with no pubs/bars/restaurants and the like open, I thought I'd just scan some of my currently-inked Blue-Black inks. I do have others around but these were the first pens that came to hand. I wasn't totally surprised at the results but in one case, quite a bit. As usual, they were done on some pretty-awful paper I got from the University where I used to work which was made into small square pads. It's probably 90GSM. Soaked for 30 minutes then rinsed and dried.

 

fpn_1591717240__blue-black_soak_0003.jpg

 

fpn_1591717258__blue-black_soak_0004.jpg

 

The biggest surprise came from the Pelikan 4001 that was in the long cartridge - it still retains most of its colour, unlike my favourite bottled version. However, that pen was filled some time ago so could be a little 'long in the tooth' - a bit like me! The Platinum stayed true to form, being visually really a 'dark blue' and the Pilot is a little paler.

 

Edelstein & Sailor are about right - somewhat blurred but reasonable legible and would probably behave better if only subjected to a liquid spill. The 4001 Violet was only included as I've recently inked a new addition with it and haven't really done this test on it before.

The Good Captain

"Meddler's 'Salamander' - almost as good as the real thing!"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 16
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • The Good Captain

    3

  • Olya

    2

  • Paganini

    2

  • khalameet

    2

Thank you for this comparison! :thumbup:

 

I always find Pilot's BB performance to be extremely impressive considering it's not IG, pigmented or cellulose reactive.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll admit to being relieved that Edelstein Tanzanite fared better than I feared it would. Of course now I'm going to have to look into trying Pilot Blue-Black....

Thanks for the comparison. And, well, not....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looks like you took it outta ma mouth, my friend... your long cartridge's pen looks like it once wolfed down a salamander or two....

Life is too short to drink bad wine (Goethe)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you for this comparison! :thumbup:

 

I always find Pilot's BB performance to be extremely impressive considering it's not IG, pigmented or cellulose reactive.

Yes, but is it blue black?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you for sharing this :)

Just give me the Parker 51s and nobody needs to get hurt.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looks like you took it outta ma mouth, my friend... your long cartridge's pen looks like it once wolfed down a salamander or two....

Actually old pal, it's a P205 F but I do believe a Pelikan converter might fit. 'Ordinary' internamional ones a rumoured to be a little slack on the connection.

Salamander has only been in my M800 Brown-Tortoise, but we won't go there...

The Good Captain

"Meddler's 'Salamander' - almost as good as the real thing!"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, but is it blue black?

I'd say, visually, no. Dark blue, yes. the packaging is Blue-Black so we must draw our own conclusions.

The Good Captain

"Meddler's 'Salamander' - almost as good as the real thing!"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We spread the information, let the feast begin!

 

I just wrote an email to Pilot out of curiosity and asked if this is true. I am curious if they will report back.

I do wonder whether and what they reply! Do report back if/when they write back! I am very curious.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Interesting! After reading the Hardcore Ink Testing thread a few weeks ago, I thought I'd try a similar thing. I wrote with Pelikan 4001 BB, Platinum BB, and R&K Salix. Just for kicks I thought I'd include Pilot BB (even though it's not IG) but the pen I grabbed turned out to have Pilot Blue in it.

 

The page has been out on my deck for a couple of weeks; I'd post a photo, but it stormed last night so it's sort of plastered to the deck. A few weeks alternating between being being in direct sunlight and being poured on has given results that are not quite what I was expecting! The Platinum BB has almost entirely disappeared. You can barely tell there was ever anything written there. The Pelikan 4001 BB has faded some, but is still legible. The Salix is still nice and crisp, but the color has become a kind of deep brown / black. The Pilot Blue is the big surprise though - it looks slightly out of focus from all the soaking, but is still perfectly legible, and the color has barely faded! I had no idea Pilot Blue was so colorfast!

 

- N

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@Olya: When (if) they reply I will happily report back! But so far I did not get an answer, unfortunately. I hope they will answer eventually, because I am also very curious.

 

@Paganini: I am surprised, though. I always thought that the Pilot Blue is particularly prone to fading due to UV light exposure, compared to black and blue black. But all three of these inks are very water resistant!

Edited by khalameet
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey Khalameet,

Well, it's always possible I made a *double* mistake, and I just can't keep track of what ink is in my pens! :)

 

Clearly, the appropriate path forward here is to do the experiment again with all of my Pilot inks!

 

 

FOR SCIENCE!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33501
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26627
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...