EFNIR: Parker Quink Blue

[yazeh]

13 minutes ago, IThinkIHaveAProblem said:

that would be cruel. and a terrible way to welcome someone to the hobby!  

betcha you find Black, BB, and Washable blue...

Stylo only carries the Black, BB and Washable blue. it says "blue" but when you read the description, it says "Washable"

https://www.stylo.ca/en/afficher-produit/7428.html

 

I think its likely to be the permanent blue, but at some point in the last 15yrs or so, Parker seems to have stopped importing it to North America (maybe its a victim of the same problem that Pelikan 4001 BB... although I don't think the ink in question here is iron gall, it may still be a similar issue)

But note the image is the same as amazon's.  

[LizEF]

1 hour ago, yazeh said:

 

@LizEF I did a little sketch / wash on Strahtmore Paper with Parker Quink... Colour is more washed out with scan..

 

 🥰Love it!  Thank you.  Your sketches end up being the best part of my threads.

[LizEF]

1 hour ago, yazeh said:

There's nothing written on the bottle but Parker Quink.

  

1 hour ago, yazeh said:

But note the image is the same as amazon's.  

 

I hate this.  If you're going to make an ink, give it a name and put the name on the label.  And if you're going to make two blues, give them different names!!  Grrr.

 

 

[LizEF]

1 hour ago, IThinkIHaveAProblem said:

that would be cruel. and a terrible way to welcome someone to the hobby!  

You're probably right - but it might cure them of their love for rollerball blue, and open them up to the world of a gazillion colors!  No pain, no gain, as they say...

 

1 hour ago, IThinkIHaveAProblem said:

betcha you find Black, BB, and Washable blue...

I found not a single bit of fountain pen ink anywhere, and the Black n' Red that costs $8.50 on Amazon would have cost me $20.50...   For that difference, I'll risk Amazon's poor packaging practices.  (Remember the good old days when Amazon knew how to package things?  And the really good old days when Amazon sold 4 paperbacks for the price of 3?  Man, that was the best deal going - I have so many books because of that deal.)

[yazeh]

11 minutes ago, LizEF said:

 🥰Love it!  Thank you.  Your sketches end up being the best part of my threads.

You're too kind

[IThinkIHaveAProblem]

1 hour ago, yazeh said:

But note the image is the same as amazon's.  

maybe, but uhm... amazon pictures (and descriptions) are absolutely unreliable in my experience. YMMV

 

6 minutes ago, LizEF said:

  

 

I hate this.  If you're going to make an ink, give it a name and put the name on the label.  And if you're going to make two blues, give them different names!!  Grrr.

 

 

AGREED! but As I've stated in other threads: Parker doesn't really CARE. I mean, they are a "pen company" who only make 3.5 (.5 since we can't get permanent blue here, so it doesn't technically exist...) colours... they used to make something like a dozen.... Waterman still does! Sheaffer does... Parker just doesn't give a F*$#. they make ink only because it would look even dumber to sell $500 fountain pens and not make ANY ink, ... then they wouldn't be able to claim "well, you used non Parker ink, thats why your pen failed"... no. for the record, I will not buy a current production Parker Fountain Pen. 

[LizEF]

1 hour ago, IThinkIHaveAProblem said:

then they wouldn't be able to claim "well, you used non Parker ink, thats why your pen failed"... no. for the record, I will not buy a current production Parker Fountain Pen. 

You're probably right - that and "Quink" sounds good.

 

I was very disappointed at the new Parker 51 being a poor reproduction of the original.  While I was away for 2 months, I used my Wing Sung 601 (Parker 51 knock off) for journaling every day - thank goodness it didn't run out of ink - and I have to say, I love that pen!  It's a fantastic writer and holds a ton of ink, and if that's what the original Parker 51 was (never seen an original in person), then that was one amazing pen and it's a shame Parker don't make them like the original anymore.

Edited October 18, 2022 by LizEF
Holy Type-Os, Liz!

[inkstainedruth]

I'll admit that I *really* miss Quink Permanent Blue (Washable Blue was too pale and wispy, and of course had NO water or UV resistance whatsoever).  

For several years (in my cartridge days, because I didn't know better) I used nothing but Permanent Blue carts in my pens (first the two Parker Reflexes, then the first Vector, and then the Urban from Hell).  But then I started to have trouble getting the Permanent Blue cartridges, though -- and even before that they were cheaper for a five pack at Office Max than at Staples.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[IThinkIHaveAProblem]

1 hour ago, LizEF said:

You're probably right - that and "Quink" sounds good.

 

I was very disappointed at the new Parker 51 being a poor reproduction of the original.  While I was away for 2 months, I used by Wing Sung 601 (Parker 50 knock off) for journaling every day - thank goodness it didn't run out of ink - and I have to say, I love that pen!  It's a fantastic writer and holds a ton of ink, and if that's what the original Parker 51 was (never seen an original in person), then that was one amazing pen and it's a shame Parker don't make them like the original anymore.

I love my 601s. One of which is my daily driver

 

A good “51” is even better. I have an EF Demi Aerometric that writes wet and tiny and insanely smoothly.  
 

Parker should have contracted wing sung to make “51”s. Make 601s but use lucite and gold nibs. 

[Frank C]

I dug into my ink trove and found the following:

 

 

 

The bottles on the left date from the 90s and have a $4 USD price tag on them. That was when MB ink was about $5.95 USD. The first two bottles contain permanent turquoise. Next come washable blue and permanent blue. That ink was made in England. After that, they're all French. The ones on the far right were recently purchased from Cultpens. 

[LizEF]

10 minutes ago, IThinkIHaveAProblem said:

A good “51” is even better. I have an EF Demi Aerometric that writes wet and tiny and insanely smoothly.  

Sounds like a dream!

 

11 minutes ago, IThinkIHaveAProblem said:

Parker should have contracted wing sung to make “51”s. Make 601s but use lucite and gold nibs. 

Yes!  I mean, everything else is made in China, so why not?  Sad if it's the only way to get a good one, but if that's what it takes...

[LizEF]

11 minutes ago, Frank C said:

I dug into my ink trove and found the following:

 

Holy Quink, Batman!   Thanks for sharing your Quinky expertise!

 

 

[Jamerelbe]

7 hours ago, Frank C said:

There is a fourth variety: Blue. It does not say, " Washable" on the box. The label on the bottle and the square of the color on the box are darker that the "washable blue". I haven't used either one in a while. As I recall, the washable is less intense than the standard blue. I bought mine from Cultpens in the UK. They sell all four for $5.62 USD each. A good price for good ink. 

 

This is my experience too - that there's "Washable" Blue (which is more washed out!), and *regular* "Blue", which is a more standard Royal Blue colour.  The latter is still non-waterfast, though - so I don't know in what sense it's not "washable" - and in my experience it fades significantly if left exposed to sunlight.

 

*Maybe* the washable ink is designed to be used with ink erasers?  That seems to be a "thing" in Europe, though not so much here in the land of Aus...

[yazeh]

@Frank C,  wow. What a stash. 

I believe the washable means washable from clothes. 

I also remember doing a water test, and the ink above had a decent water resistance....  

 

[Frank C]

1 hour ago, Jamerelbe said:

 

This is my experience too - that there's "Washable" Blue (which is more washed out!), and *regular* "Blue", which is a more standard Royal Blue colour.  The latter is still non-waterfast, though - so I don't know in what sense it's not "washable" - and in my experience it fades significantly if left exposed to sunlight.

 

*Maybe* the washable ink is designed to be used with ink erasers?  That seems to be a "thing" in Europe, though not so much here in the land of Aus...

 

19 minutes ago, yazeh said:

@Frank C,  wow. What a stash. 

I believe the washable means washable from clothes. 

I also remember doing a water test, and the ink above had a decent water resistance....  

 

I believe that you are both right. Washable ink is a byproduct of school uniforms and the use of fountain pens by children. The ink had to wash easily out of clothing. The ink can also easily be removed with an ink eraser. I had a girlfriend who was a fountain pen user and had gone to school in France. She had one of those ink erasers and it would remove washable Waterman Blue ink from paper, leaving no trace. 

 

I like the English-made Parker Duofolds. I tend to use a given pen brand's ink in that company's pens if at all possible. I have multiple Duofolds and multiple bottles of Parker ink. I also tend to give away fountain pens to people who show interest in my fountain pens. Lately, they get a Jinhao 992, a bottle of ink, and a small Rhodia pad. I used to give out Noodler's inks—lots of ink for not much money. Recently, I switched to giving away Pelikan, Waterman, or Parker ink. I believe they are better behaved, are are also reasonably priced. My decision was based, in part, on a post here on FPN about inks for new fountain pen users. 

 

I was afraId that I was getting too far off topic, but it is titled, "EFNIR: Parker Quink Blue". I guess that I need to ink up a few pens to demonstrate these inks for you folks. 

[LizEF]

1 hour ago, Frank C said:

I was afraId that I was getting too far off topic, but it is titled, "EFNIR: Parker Quink Blue". I guess that I need to ink up a few pens to demonstrate these inks for you folks. 

Looking forward to it!

[InesF]

16 hours ago, yazeh said:

 ... I did a little sketch / wash on Strahtmore Paper with Parker Quink... 

 

Whatever the imagination of the fellowship was before, it never can be unseen from now.

Well done, @yazeh, I'm loving it!

[yazeh]

@InesFyou're too kind 😊

 

I did a water test  of Parker. Paper is Apica. This is under running water after 20s.

 

[Frank C]

15 hours ago, LizEF said:

Looking forward to it!

One does not want to disappoint @LizEF. She seems to have a special relationship with sneks, wizards, sphinxes, etc. The last thing I want hurled toward me is a green arrow with fangs. I would also guess that Essri's venom is iron-gall based; I know his origin. 

 

As you can see, I just wrote this. I used a Rhodia Dot Pad. I welcome suggestions as to when and how I should test the waterproofness: Full immersion, rinsing, partial rinsing. These are mostly English Parker Duofolds from the 90s. At the time, you could send a pen to Janesville, Wisconsin, and they would exchange the nib for you. The oldest pen has two gold rings at the bottom and two different rings on the cap. The orange pen is one of the newer French versions. The nib has more feedback than the older ones. 

[LizEF]

33 minutes ago, yazeh said:

@InesFyou're too kind 😊

 

I did a water test  of Parker. Paper is Apica. This is under running water after 20s.

 

Thank you!  It didn't occur to me to test water resistance as I assumed the ink was not the permanent kind, otherwise, you would have said so.