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The state of BayState Blue


Inky.Fingers

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There is a lasting tribute to this ink inside of an enameled steel desk drawer in our office from when a bottle leaked.  May not be permanent/archival on paper, but ye gods on anything else. 

 

I bought a bottle if the stuff before I was better versed in pens/inks as an archival ink.  Let's just say that the place I bought it from wasn't exactly honest about it's on-paper or in pen qualities.  I later found out that it ain't exactly archival.

 

I should have kept the feed section from a Waterman Phileas I had as a lasting tribute to its destructive properties. 

 

I can get superior durability with superior performance from Sailor/Platinum pigmented inks and DeA's document inks.  I can get better durability and slightly better performance out of the R&K Dokumentus inks.  Really want to be able to say the same about the MB Permanent inks, but can't. 

 

Bottom line: now days you couldn't pay me to use Bay State Blue, or any Noodler's ink for that matter.

Imagination and memory are but one thing which for diverse reasons hath diverse names. -- T. Hobbes - Leviathan

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I odered a Pelikan twist 'Fresh Ocean' pen.

And I figured I would try a blue ink for the blue pen.

 

I decided to try Baystate Blue.

 

I know, I know... It's a kids pen!

But I really like the color scheme on this pen and I've always wanted to try one.

And if I just can't seem to get used to it I'll give it to my niece or nephew when they are ready to explore the world of fountain pens.

 

Somehow I picture myself going down to the beach early in the morning, or at least sometime before noon, sitting at a nice table having a glass of orange juice and writing in my journal as I watch sailboats going by.

 

A blue pen called 'Fresh Ocean' using an ink called 'Baystate Blue' seems to be a good choice for this.

 

So this setup will be part of my 'Morning Journal' routine.

 

I miss my sailing days and I like anything with a nautical theme.

 

The Pelikan is coming from a long way off and may be awhile, but the ink was much closer and has arrived already.

 

I got the ink from Goldspot Pens and it included a 'Charlie' pen.

So you know I had to ink it up and try it.

 

Actually, from the time I got the 'Delivered, In/At Mailbox' notification I couldn't focus on much of anything other than inking up a new pen with a new ink.

New to me anyway.

 

Am I weird?

 

So far I've only used black ink and green ink in my pens.

I did have one shot of red ink in one side of the double tip penbbs 469 when I first got it around Christmas time. Since then forest green and basic black only.

I guess I've been rather boring when it comes to ink.

 

So you can imagine how I'm looking forward to trying a new color.

 

The Charlie is a nice, simplistic eyedropper pen and is a charm to write with right out of the box.

It seems to work very nicely with the BSB.

Tomorrow I will test it on different paper and notebooks to see what works best.

 

The Charlie had that unusual smell that I've read about so I rubbed some peppermint essential oil on the barrel and now it smells great.

It smells like chewing gum.

 

I'm looking forward to inking up the Twist with BSB when I can.

 

Has anyone else used this combination?

If so, what were your results?

 

 

 

 

210687.jpg

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Not that combination. I wish you the best of lucks.

 

I have used BSB on several pens, but in the end decided to relegate it to a blue Noodler's Ink Creeper, not for anything in particular, only just so I would always remember which pen has it and needed not care that much about cleaning it after every use just in case the next ink was not compatible and I forgot.

 

Besides that, I have tried it at various dilutions. From 8:! down to close to 1:1 on water it goes acceptably on cheap copy paper. My only complain is not with BSB, but the pen, which tends to have spills of ink inside the cap that stain the section and my fingers if I am not careful.

If you are to be ephemeral, leave a good scent.

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@bill88 yes actually, I have a vibrant Jinhao 450, which I got especially for Baystate blue, for the past two years. 

Loved your prose by the way.... 

I was tempted to get one of those Pelikan Ilo's for Baystate blue..

 

PK80106-BU~Pelikan-ilo-School-Fountain-P

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6 hours ago, bill88 said:

Actually, from the time I got the 'Delivered, In/At Mailbox' notification I couldn't focus on much of anything other than inking up a new pen with a new ink.

New to me anyway.

 

Am I weird?

Nope.  Perfectly normal.  It would be weird if you were able to think of anything other than the ink. :)

 

Hope your new pen arrives soon!

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I had a Pilot Varsity that I managed to open up and refill with a sample of BSB some years back. It bled through even my TRP Nanami Seven Seas journal--not a lot, but enough that it surprises me, given how impermeable that paper usually is. I had fun, but there are a lot of blues out there that behave better.

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I picked up a bottle of BSB at an art supply house that was going out of business, knowing full well its reputation as a "bad boy" ink.  I had intended to dedicate a Platinum Prefounte to the ink, then bent its nib by accident, replaced the pen, and since then I haven't had the desire to reload it with BSB.  It did stain the converter and section, though.

 

But my real issue with BSB is that as an ink, it doesn't have any distinctive qualities other than extreme vibrancy.  It doesn't shade, it doesn't sheen.  Amberlea has likened it to blue Sharpie, and that's an apt description - the lines it produces are monotone, without any sort of variation.  It is a one-trick pony.  Even its vibrancy fades quickly if you leave it in sunlight.

 

 

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Yes, I agree with you entirely, ErrantSmudge. If it had some other characteristic along with the vibrancy it might be worth the trouble. But it's just too unbalanced in its offerings.

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6 hours ago, LizEF said:

Perfectly normal

Thanks.

I thought so but some people just don't seem to understand 😉

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7 hours ago, yazeh said:

@bill88 yes actually, I have a vibrant Jinhao 450, which I got especially for Baystate blue, for the past two years. 

Loved your prose by the way.... 

I was tempted to get one of those Pelikan Ilo's for Baystate blue..

 

 

Thanks

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On 2/27/2021 at 6:22 PM, SamCapote said:


Ruth, Goulet has Baltimore Canyon 

Good to know, but I have a nearly full bottle from a trip to Bromfield's last fall, and an unopened bottle I picked up at The Pen Boutique when I was in the DC area a couple of weeks ago for a family thing.

But I'm still not sure if what's out there is "standard lineup" now, or just the stuff that got picked up when the Baltimore/Washington Pen Show got axed last year due to COVID.  I'd like to hope that it's going to be a standard ink now.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

edited for typos

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

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  • 2 weeks later...

I love the vibrancy of the ink, and given my love of high-saturation colors, it's always one I want to use. However, I don't use fancy fountain pen papers. I write on Top Flight Wired notebooks that have higher-quality paper. Even then, there's a little feathering that occurs.

When I was a writing teacher, I really, really wanted to grade with BSB, but all of my students printed their essays on the cheap paper the computer labs used, and on that, it feathered like crazy. Now I have it loaded into a Pilot Metropolitan, and I have it ready for use when I can.

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2 hours ago, Inky.Fingers said:

We are all in the same boat.  Love it and can't use it state.  Bummer!

 

 

Not at all.  Hate it -- it's at once hideous and dull, but comes with a host of unpleasant side effects.  I am quite content without it, thank you very much.

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Sorry, but I can't see why do you say it is dull. Polar Blue, maybe yes, at least for me, but not BSB.

If you are to be ephemeral, leave a good scent.

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1 hour ago, txomsy said:

Sorry, but I can't see why do you say it is dull. Polar Blue, maybe yes, at least for me, but not BSB.

 

It’s one tone.  B O R I N G.

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I love BSB, it is my control for fade tests because it fades SO fast.  My kids call it Evol ink because we lovE it *see how we reversed it?*.  Overtime, I have learned how to reverse the stains.

 

 

Fountain pens are my preferred COLOR DELIVERY SYSTEM (in part because crayons melt in Las Vegas).

Create a Ghostly Avatar and I'll send you a letter. Check out some Ink comparisons: The Great PPS Comparison 

Don't know where to start?  Look at the Inky Topics O'day.  Then, see inks sorted by color: Blue Purple Brown Red Green Dark Green Orange Black Pinks Yellows Blue-Blacks Grey/Gray UVInks Turquoise/Teal MURKY

 

 

 

 

 

 

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