That kind of fountain pen should NEVER be used with a pigment or iron-gall ink, or inks containing shellac.īut there is a special catetory of 'fountain pen' that might better be described as 'technical pen' - this includes the famous Kooh-in-Noor Rapidograph line as well as a few other brands (knockoffs). In this forum, 'fountain pen' usually refers to pens that are meant for ordinary day-to-day writing - checks, letters, notes, etc. Part of the confusion here is with semantics - the term 'fountain pen' can mean several things. Many of us use very old inks without any problems and as long as something is not floating in it or glopping up in the bottle, then it's probably safe from a contamination point of view. I'm going to alter your topic header, okay? Because the impression from the subject line is just that the ink is old and age is really not the only issue here. But since I don't know what's in it and I was hoping for input from the folks from the penmanship group to chime in. THat may be why Higgins is acceptable to some. If it has no shellac but just pigments, then you're probably just going to deal with clogging issues which just means more cleaning and greater pen hygiene. Some people do use Higgins inks in certain FPs but they clean the ink out after each use and with special cleaners designed for just such a purpose. Most calligraphy inks have pigments rather than dyes and many contain shellac. But "calligraphy" doth not equal "fountain" which is why I caution against using it. The main benifit of both of these inks is that they allow you to use a dip pen & it is that which opens up a whole new subtly & variety of expression in your mark making.If it says it's for a fountain pen, then it should be safe. However your dip pens will last longer ! & will require less maintenance as you draw. The W&N Liquid Indian ink, has a really good dark black line but it is not waterproof, sinks into the paper more & is a matt black as opposed to the shiny line of true Indian ink, it has a different look to it. Sounds like a bit of a hassle ? Well it is ! but nothing gets close to it in it’s performance & finished sharp black lined look. This constant maintenance can break your flow up when drawing if you are used to modern pens. It is very fine carbon soot dispersed in “shellac”, you have to keep cleaning your nibs in water every few minutes when using it otherwise it will dry on the nib & kill the pen nib within minutes ! It is totally waterproof when fully dry even in faint diluted washes, after you have drawn a line it does not sink into the paper but stands proud of the surface – you can feel it with your finger nail – it really is very thick ! The W&N liquid India ink is not what is commonly & traditionally known as “Indian ink” !įor hundreds of years Indian ink is universally understood to be a thick & sticky ink that a dip pen can pick up & carry a good load of & that is very dark black even in extremely fine marks. Still I wonder if a pinch of wheat paste or methyl cellulose (or some such) might’nt modify thin ink? Regarding Winsor and Newton, I have been considering their liquid India Ink, which is advertised to be made from a Chinese stick ink recipe.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |