Free from the Tyranny of Choice

[Arkanabar]

I have a link in my signature to a thread that meandered far and wide in exploration of why I wanted to limit my number of inks.  And in the end, it winds up being to limit transaction costs, among which I count clutter.

 

I don't particularly enjoy shopping.  Browsing far and wide to find the latest and greatest, comparing reviews and scans, ensuring that I'll have an adequate supply -- these are all annoyances that I'm perfectly content to have (largely) behind me.

 

But that thread is every bit as much a celebration of why people love inks, which is why it's as long as it is.

 

eta:  You might get a little more traction calling the issue "decision paralysis" instead of "the tyranny of choice."

[amper]

On 1/24/2023 at 4:24 AM, JulieParadise said:

 

See, and that may be an indicator of what inks are truly dear to you. Those inks you cannot even remember obviously did not impress you enough to leave a mark in your memory, 😉 so maybe those are the ones to be ruled out.

No, I mean, I have so few inks, that I'm pretty sure I don't have any I can't remember.

[amper]

On 1/24/2023 at 6:22 AM, OCArt said:

I'd love to learn more @amper would you consider doing an ink review of the bluing?

There is an extensive thread from 2013 on just that subject.

Sadly, the pictures were originally hosted on Dropbox, and Dropbox stopped allowing public hosting the same way, so all the image links are broken. To make matters worse, I didn't log into that account for a couple of years, and all the data got wiped by Dropbox for inactivity. I may or may not still have a backup copy of those files, but I'm not going to go looking for them any time soon.

[amper]

On 1/24/2023 at 6:30 AM, JulieParadise said:

 

I'm afraid it is a fabric whitener, isn't it?

It can be used for that purpose, yes. It can also be used as an optical brightener for grey hair, the overuse of which is the origin of the term "bluehair" for an older woman.

[amper]

On 1/24/2023 at 3:50 PM, OCArt said:

Yes! That's what a "ink" review would be so interesting to read. Does it bleed, water resistance, fading, etc?

It is the most well-behaved ink I have ever used. It is highly resistant to bleeding and feathering on even the cheapest paper stocks (I typically use inexpensive junior legal pads for ephemera). It is lightfast and archivally permanent (with a caveat, it is a photo-sensitive pigment that fades with exposure to UV light, but recovers in darkness--this is more of a problem when used as a tinting color rather than a mass tone). It is almost totally water-resistant on paper, even when exposed to hot running water for extended periods. And it is the most gorgeous midnight blue hue.

[amper]

On 1/24/2023 at 4:06 PM, arcfide said:

 

If you search the forums you'll find at least two or three threads going into detail on the chemistry and citing some older papers around the research. The formulation of Prussian Blue has been used as a writing fluid for fountain pens and other pens from very early on, but its use now is somewhat controversial, at least by the end of reading those threads. 

Mrs. Stewart's Concentrated Liquid Bluing consists of water, Prussian Blue pigment, a small amount of oxalic acid (which apparently helps keep the pigment in suspension), and a small amount of preservative to prevent microbial growth. That's it. If you look up 19th Century recipes for Prussian Blue ink, you will find identical compositions. Mrs. Stewart's was also famously used by many people as inexpensive ink during the Great Depression.

If there is any controversy, that would be due to the possibility of Prussian Blue causing corrosion of some gold alloys used in nibs, according to research I discovered by the Sheaffer Pen Company conducted in the 1940s. I have not personally tested this, and I have no intentions of potentially sacrificing any of my gold-nibbed pens, but I am quite happy with my TWSBI ECOs.

[OCArt]

4 hours ago, amper said:

It is the most well-behaved ink I have ever used. It is highly resistant to bleeding and feathering on even the cheapest paper stocks (I typically use inexpensive junior legal pads for ephemera). It is lightfast and archivally permanent (with a caveat, it is a photo-sensitive pigment that fades with exposure to UV light, but recovers in darkness--this is more of a problem when used as a tinting color rather than a mass tone). It is almost totally water-resistant on paper, even when exposed to hot running water for extended periods. And it is the most gorgeous midnight blue hue.

Thank you! I'm game too try it and have some on order.

[TSherbs]

On 1/24/2023 at 3:26 AM, amper said:

...However, for the past 10 years, I have used one ink every day, and I have no plans to replace it as my primary writing ink: Mrs. Stewart's Concentrated Liquid Bluing.

 

What?? The laundry agent? That's wild. Who'dathunk.

[ajoe]

32 minutes ago, TSherbs said:

 

What?? The laundry agent? That's wild. Who'dathunk.

I might start writing with Tide Oxy. Maybe it will clean up my language.

[chromantic]

OMG, no! Taste the rainbow! I have (too) many pens inked with a variety of colors, most of which I do only use occasionally because I also usually use just a few inks on a regular basis. I take two pens to work, which is just two days a week now. Typically, it;s a dark blue/BB plus a lighter color but sometimes two darks.

[Rebbe]

On 1/26/2023 at 12:20 PM, ajoe said:

 

I used to paint a lot and found that the more color choices I had, the more distracting it was. I would just always go back to a few primary colors and mix from there. The amount of unused paint I have around here is embarrassing.

 

I think I subconsciously knew not to make the same mistake with FP ink.

I haven't hit the boundary between shame and enthusiasm yet, and I still enjoy getting and trying new inks, so I'm going to quote the great sage himself in suggesting that "we don't make mistakes, just happy little accidents." 

[USG]

On 1/26/2023 at 1:20 PM, ajoe said:

 

I used to paint a lot and found that the more color choices I had, the more distracting it was. I would just always go back to a few primary colors and mix from there. The amount of unused paint I have around here is embarrassing.

 

I think I subconsciously knew not to make the same mistake with FP ink.

 

I can relate to what you're saying but I'm afraid we're stuck accumulating inks. 

Here are a few general thoughts, not aimed at you or your post.

• Inks possessing similar colors may not have the same properties.; ie density, intensity, shading, sheening, bleeding, feathering, wet, dry, odor (I'm talking about you, moldy smelling Diamine)
• What may work in one pen, or on one paper, may not work in another.
• To be able to mix inks consistently to a particular shade and with the properties you want, you'd have to have compatible primary colors, various other ingredients and an easy to follow recipe.
• Here's a twist, we all know how to make a dry ink wetter, but how do you make a wet ink dryer?
• If you didn't have a recipe, how many trial and error attempts would it take before you got what you were looking for.
• We've all mixed inks but how many different colors can we put together before it turns into mud. (excluding our expert mixologists)
• How about this: it's infinitely easier to buy a small bottle of Prussian Blue than trying to make it.😀

AND OF COURSE, YMMV

[Bo Bo Olson]

Once I had no thought, none whats so ever about green ink. Then I ran into the Original Pelikan 4001, a green -green ink***, a half a bottle on sale for 1-Euro, so I bought it. It was a lively Green-green ink that shaded.

Up to then I was chasing purple inks. In that year alone I bought 14 greenish inks....now have 19.

What reason if one stayed primary, would one have R&K Altgoldgurn or a murky ink like Herbin Vert Empire?

Or such odd inks in other hues?

 

Some folks love certain Autumn, or spring or deep summer mood colors.

 

I must have 10 or so blues, and I don't even chase them....almost all a bit different if not in hue then in dryness.

I like shading inks, so they are not wet nor overly saturated.................some folks want that.

 

If I had just stayed with the basic color...I'd have the 12 inks I thought more than enough as a three pen noobie. I have over a hundred inks and at least 85 are a bit different from the others of the main hue.

 

***Many folks didn't like lively green-green inks like the discontinued Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Green, complaining vehemently constantly, wanting a dark green ink....so they got their wish the new Dull Dark 4001 Green ink that don't shade.

I got to remember to give my bottle to someone.....Ah Ha, my neighbor whom I started in this addiction.

Diamine makes many dark green inks at fair prices. But some folks would rather 'complain' than not.

 

While dithering cubed for a super expensive paper choice, I tested my all/most of my green inks on those 5-6 papers. The green-green R&K Verdura  beat MB Irish Green by a nose, and the old Pelikan 4001 green-green by a neck. MB Irish is at E-23 vastly over priced. R&K costs E-8.50 for the same 50ml.

 

Mission accomplished...just told my friend the dull green Pelikan ink didn't shade.........and gave him the 3/4ths full bottle.....being generous has it's advantages....after all I gave him his two starting inks too. ....and I don't have to admit to having that ink any more.

Of course, we compared my Kon-pike vs his As-igo; each loading a pen with the other's ink and he got to scribble with my brand new 5 inks; in my pens.

[Penguincollector]

When I was a wee penguin, it was drilled into me by the jeweler that sold me my fine pens to use only inks  made by the manufacturer for each pen in order to not void any warranties.  I spent decades thinking that, until I ran out of MB ink  and someone on another pen forum turned me onto Diamine and I haven’t looked back. While I do tend to match manufacturers still, it’s mostly because the ink properties match the way the pen writes, or that pen has proprietary cartridges. I tried Iroshizuku in a Sheaffer once and it was a feathery nightmare! I do use other brands of ink and keep track of which pen likes what inks. It’s an engrossing part of the hobby for me now for sure. I am careful with very old or sacced pens and tend to use very safe ink in those.  I remember having very little choice in colors and refuse to go back to that, even if sometimes I do get a little overwhelmed. What I find helps is perameters laid out by the pen itself. The Pilot isn’t getting 4001, nor the Pelikan Asa-Gao.

[Bo Bo Olson]

2 hours ago, Penguincollector said:

The Pilot isn’t getting 4001, nor the Pelikan Asa-Gao.

True ....Very skinny nib in a very dry ink, and a very wet ink in a wet nib......is ill usage.

.......Wet inks should not be used in wet nibs, nor dry inks in very narrow nibs....

That is why Waterman made for western, narrow nibs, it's ink was wet.

Pelikan nibs write wet in they were made for the dry 4001 inks.

 

My 90's Waterman 200's F = my Pelikan 200's EF. Before Japanese pens came in big time..(before that they were local market) there use to be flame wars here about Pelikan changing a nib vs and Waterman skinnier than thou.

 

The war didn't bother me, back then I was into wide nibs.

 

[USG]

12 hours ago, Bo Bo Olson said:

Once I had no thought, none whats so ever about green ink. Then I ran into the Original Pelikan 4001, a green -green ink***, a half a bottle on sale for 1-Euro, so I bought it. It was a lively Green-green ink that shaded.

Up to then I was chasing purple inks. In that year alone I bought 14 greenish inks....now have 19.

What reason if one stayed primary, would one have R&K Altgoldgurn or a murky ink like Herbin Vert Empire?

Or such odd inks in other hues?

 

Some folks love certain Autumn, or spring or deep summer mood colors.

 

I must have 10 or so blues, and I don't even chase them....almost all a bit different if not in hue then in dryness.

I like shading inks, so they are not wet nor overly saturated.................some folks want that.

 

If I had just stayed with the basic color...I'd have the 12 inks I thought more than enough as a three pen noobie. I have over a hundred inks and at least 85 are a bit different from the others of the main hue.

 

***Many folks didn't like lively green-green inks like the discontinued Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Green, complaining vehemently constantly, wanting a dark green ink....so they got their wish the new Dull Dark 4001 Green ink that don't shade.

I got to remember to give my bottle to someone.....Ah Ha, my neighbor whom I started in this addiction.

Diamine makes many dark green inks at fair prices. But some folks would rather 'complain' than not.

 

While dithering cubed for a super expensive paper choice, I tested my all/most of my green inks on those 5-6 papers. The green-green R&K Verdura  beat MB Irish Green by a nose, and the old Pelikan 4001 green-green by a neck. MB Irish is at E-23 vastly over priced. R&K costs E-8.50 for the same 50ml.

 

Mission accomplished...just told my friend the dull green Pelikan ink didn't shade.........and gave him the 3/4ths full bottle.....being generous has it's advantages....after all I gave him his two starting inks too. ....and I don't have to admit to having that ink any more.

Of course, we compared my Kon-pike vs his As-igo; each loading a pen with the other's ink and he got to scribble with my brand new 5 inks; in my pens.

 

+1 👍 on Pelikan 4001 Green. 

I don't usually use green ink, but when I do, It's Pelikan 4001 🙂

 

8 hours ago, Penguincollector said:

When I was a wee penguin, it was drilled into me by the jeweler that sold me my fine pens to use only inks  made by the manufacturer for each pen in order to not void any warranties.  I spent decades thinking that, until I ran out of MB ink  and someone on another pen forum turned me onto Diamine and I haven’t looked back. While I do tend to match manufacturers still, it’s mostly because the ink properties match the way the pen writes, or that pen has proprietary cartridges. I tried Iroshizuku in a Sheaffer once and it was a feathery nightmare! I do use other brands of ink and keep track of which pen likes what inks. It’s an engrossing part of the hobby for me now for sure. I am careful with very old or sacced pens and tend to use very safe ink in those.  I remember having very little choice in colors and refuse to go back to that, even if sometimes I do get a little overwhelmed. What I find helps is perameters laid out by the pen itself. The Pilot isn’t getting 4001, nor the Pelikan Asa-Gao.

 

Haha, I suppose that at some point in time everyone heard the same story about only using the pen manufacturers brand of ink but when it comes to very wet or very dry writers, that certainly pans out. 🙂     

 

[humm, do you guys use that term, or is "pans out" a term from the American gold rush]

 

5 hours ago, Bo Bo Olson said:

True ....Very skinny nib in a very dry ink, and a very wet ink in a wet nib......is ill usage.

.......Wet inks should not be used in wet nibs, nor dry inks in very narrow nibs....

That is why Waterman made for western, narrow nibs, it's ink was wet.

Pelikan nibs write wet in they were made for the dry 4001 inks.

 

My 90's Waterman 200's F = my Pelikan 200's EF. Before Japanese pens came in big time..(before that they were local market) there use to be flame wars here about Pelikan changing a nib vs and Waterman skinnier than thou.

 

The war didn't bother me, back then I was into wide nibs.

 

 +1 👍

 

[Penguincollector]

40 minutes ago, USG said:

humm, do you guys use that term, or is "pans out" a term from the American gold rush]

Gold was found here in 1851, if you made it through the Oregon Trail (Cascadia is basically N. California, Oregon, Washington, and BC) and didn’t die of dysentery, you too could strike it rich! 
 Your pen is quite the looker, btw.

[Misfit]

Just had to say I loved it when you said you were once “a wee penguin” @Penguincollector

[AmandaW]

17 minutes ago, Misfit said:

Just had to say I loved it when you said you were once “a wee penguin” @Penguincollector

 

I missed that! Yes. Very cute. Made me smile too.

Thankyou.

[USG]

36 minutes ago, Misfit said:

Just had to say I loved it when you said you were once “a wee penguin” @Penguincollector

 

19 minutes ago, AmandaW said:

 

I missed that! Yes. Very cute. Made me smile too.

Thankyou.

 

I liked it too...........👍 🙂