Geeks R Us

[Keith with a capital K]

I picked up the mail this morning and have finally received something that could make every pen and ink loving geek in the northern hemisphere pretty happy... an ink that is freeze proof, waterproof, and wholly bulletproof.

 

I will be beta testing this here to see how well it works in our frozen climate and with the forecast calling for -30 weather I'll really get to see how well this ink works in one of the harshest conditions you would ever want to expose a pen and ink to... the Canadian winter.

 

If all goes well, I should be able to fill my test pen and throw it into the snowbank in my back yard and still have a pen that will still writes when I retrieve it. Perhaps I will even bundle up and write a letter while sitting on my snow coverd and frozen patio.

 

The first test subject will be a stainless Parker 25 with an aerometric type convertor so my only worry is having my fingers freeze to the pen when I test it.

 

Yep...the new Noodler's has arrived and my little geek heart is happy.

 

I will be recording and documenting the whole testing procedure.

[dava]

Wow, you're testing Nathans ink! Don't be shy, once you get the ice chipped away from the pen , drop me a postcard from the frozen North so I can see the ink!

 

Those Parker 25's should write under any conditions, one of the best school pens Parker made methinks.

 

David

[Keith with a capital K]

You'll have to PM me your address so I can do that... I will of course write it out of doors next Wednesday when the forecast is for -31C.

 

Cheers!

 

Keith

[Leslie J.]

I received frozen ink in the mail once...it was fine once it thawed. :blink: Good luck with the experiment. What colour is the ink?

[Keith with a capital K]

The ink is "Polar Black" and if all the testing goes well, it will be offered in every colour that Noodler's makes.

[dava]

Tell us more about the ink. What does it smell like? Limburger cheese? Chanel N° 5? Anti-freeze?? White Lightning (will two sniffs leave you yodeling in the porcelain fjord?) Does it glow in the dark, eat holes in the paper or cause grown men to get woozy and weak in the knees? How does it feel flowing onto the paper? Is the color dark and rich? Free flowing like Tanzy or dry like MB? Come on Man! Inquiring minds need to know!

 

David

[Keith with a capital K]

The test pen is just drying out after a thorough cleaning as I don't want any trace of other inks to skew the test results.

 

I think I will also load up a Sheaffer No Nonsense via convertor and use it as a second test pen.

 

I can tell you there's virtually no smell to the ink.

[Keith with a capital K]

Well, the Parker 25 and the Sheaffer NN are loaded up with ink and are sleeping in the freezer.

 

The ink performs marvelously well under normal conditions and I can't wait to see what happens in the morning when I test them straight from the freezer.

[Keith with a capital K]

Well...I just pulled those frosty pens from the freezer and put them to paper.

 

They both wrote immediately with nary a skip or any hesitation and the writing experience was the same as when the pens were first tested last night except that they were pretty cold in the hand.

 

It's a balmy -12 C right now but I expect that the temperature will be dipping to -20 C tonight.

 

[mchristi]

I have to ask... Is there a particular point to anti-freeze ink? Otther than just the geeky "hey, I can write with my pen with its -20 C" factor, that is. I mean, I don't usually have much need to write with my pen outside on one of those bitterly cold Minnesota winter days. Do you, Keith, up in your frigid neck of the woods (except when your testing ink, of course)? Other than the geek factor, does this actually fill a need? Just curious....

 

Mark C.

Edited January 9, 2005 by mchristi

[KendallJ]

Yeah, I don't see the need either. Very interesting tho. Any idea what the secret ingredients are?

[Keith with a capital K]

Have you ever left your pen or pens in the car on a frozen winter day?

 

Have you ever put them in a briefcase or backpack and then went out in -25 C weather?

 

Have you ever repaired a pen that has been damaged by freezing?

 

Even if it doesn't get that cold, I think that having ink that will perform in a wide variety of climate conditions is a good idea.

[Maja]

I have to ask... Is there a particular point to anti-freeze ink? Otther than just the geeky "hey, I can write with my pen with its -20 C" factor, that is. I mean, I don't usually have much need to write with my pen outside on one of those bitterly cold Minnesota winter days. Do you, Keith, up in your frigid neck of the woods (except when your testing ink, of course)? Other than the geek factor, does this actually fill a need? Just curious....

 

Mark C.

Well, it's obviously for use in the military

 

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Just kidding!

[Dip Head]

A point!?? You mean we're supposed to have reasons for this madness?

 

Ok, I'll admit when I saw the first post I wondered too..

 

I've done a little work in Canada before, they laughed when we said our product was good down to -40C!!! Cold is measured differently up there.. But even though it was +81F here today, I love the idea of a anti-freezing ink.

 

And I have no idea why..

 

It's good to be among friends!

[Keith with a capital K]

Well... it's warmed up to -20 C already and that is something only those of us in the north can say.

 

It was -21 C last night and the test pens spent the night wrapped in a ziploc bag and were placed on the back step.

 

Again, aside from being really cold in the hand, the pens wrote flawlessly as soon as they touched paper.

 

For anyone who is wondering, the ink sac in a Parker 25 and Sheaffer squeeze convertor are still fairly supple at -21C.

 

The best thing is still that this is just some really nice flowing and bulletproof black ink.

[KCat]

not that it's a common occurrence but I did send a bottle of ink to Canada a few years ago and it froze while awaiting retrieval by the recipient.

 

fortunately the ink wasn't damaged and i'd had it double-bagged. but ick, the mess if I hadn't.

 

it was PR Hot Bubble Gum.

[Keith with a capital K]

Well...the thermometer outside my office window says it's -28 C and the expected low is for -35 C sans any wind chill.

 

Apparently, the wind chill was bringing the temperature down to -49 this morning.

 

Anyways... I've tucked the 25 and NN into a snowbank and will retrieve them in the morning to see what this rather harsh weather does to that ink. I bet I could stick my tongue to the 25 in the morning...

 

Nathan said the Polar Black was good to -30 and since he was probably using Fahrenheit, that is the same as -35 Celsius.

 

Brrrrrr....

[Keith with a capital K]

It's true that snow is a great insulator but that only applies if there is something warm in the snow (ie. a human or animal) that is radiating some heat that can be trapped. The temperature in the snow should be pretty close to the air temperature which is presently -35 C.

 

Those pens are sitting on my patio table right now and I bet they are freezing.

 

My kids are pretty happy as they got a "snow" day... not because it has snowed but because it's simply too cold for people to be driving in to the school. (Many make a long trip in the morning and quite a few of the teachers live in the country).

[Guest Denis Richard]

Do I vaguely remember that some cars (all ?) sold in Canada have heating resistances built around the engine, to heat it up before it is turned on ? Or was that an old thing ? May be pens could be adapted and have a little heater built in...

[Maja]

My parents always had a block heater for their car's engine when we lived in northern Canada (north of 55 degrees latitude). Their place of work had this huge parking lot with one electrical outlet next to every car.

 

WARNING: NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH!

 

It was so cold where we lived. Once, as a kid, I tried to lick an icicle that was stuck on our car's metal bumper ( ) and I accidentally licked a bit of the metal instead....When I pulled my tongue away, I.....Well, you don't want to know what happened but let's just say I never did that again.

Edited January 14, 2005 by Maja