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higgins inks in fountain pens



 
 
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  #1  
Old July 29th 08, 03:58 PM posted to alt.collecting.pens-pencils
Matthew[_2_]
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Posts: 32
Default higgins inks in fountain pens

Lately I have been experimenting with 3 of higgins brand ink in
fountain pens.

The inks a
Higgins Eternal
Higgins Fountain Pen india Ink
Higgins Sepia Calligraphy ink

The pens a
Wality ED
Kaweco Sport and Pilot 78g
Cheap Chinese Scheaffer snorkel copy and 78g broad nib

Please note that these inks are probably all pigmented and
should not be used in pens. I'm coming from the perspective that
some analine dye, water, and detergent is all that goes into
proper fp ink.

All of these inks say they are safe for fountain pens on their
boxes. Please note that most of the inks higgins makes will
instantly ruin a fountain pen.

The higgins eternal and fountain pen india ink are both carbon
blacks that are more or less waterproof, but not advertised as
such. The sepia is not waterproof, or even water resistant.

I've been using the higgins eternal in a wality ED and the pen
seems to write a little dryer than before. The nib is a medium
size and it is a pretty wet writer. For the first day and a half
of use the pen was a little hard to start, but now it starts
just fine. There is very little bleed through on mead paper with
this combination, just some where one over-writes the same
letter. Like on an italic "g".

The biggest problem with this combination is constant nib creep,
but I feel that is the wality and not the ink. Otherwise, very
little bleed-through, even while having a lot of show-through on
thin paper, make this ink good with me.

The higgins fountain pen india ink seems very similar and
performs the same out of a kaweco medium nib. The two exceptions
being the ink seems a little less black and there is no nib
creep from the kaweco. I needed to dilute the ink slightly by
just wetting the nib with on the 78g. There is no nib creep or
bleed through with this japanese fine nib. The ink color is dark
grey with this combo.

The last ink is Higgins Sepia Ink in a a chinese pen and a 78g
broad nib. It is similar to the other inks in all qualities
except it is thinner and less fussy in the pens. Once it started
flowing in the chinese pen it hasn't had a hiccup. I might try
and dilute it for the 78g, because it seems to be a little dry
for that pen.

Both carbon inks smear, but not as much as I have had with
noodlers bp black. I did a 30 min soak test, which can be seen
online. The carbon inks faired the same and came in second to
noodlers in my test. The sepia washed away except for some grey.

Here is the link to my internet page:

http://matthewk.dyndns.org/doku.php?id=ink_tests

There are 4 picture that are less than 300k each. The pictures
are only useful for comparing waterproofness.

enjoy!

matthew

Ads
  #2  
Old July 29th 08, 04:00 PM posted to alt.collecting.pens-pencils
Matthew[_2_]
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Posts: 32
Default higgins inks in fountain pens

On 2008-07-29, Matthew wrote:
Lately I have been experimenting with 3 of higgins brand ink in
fountain pens.

http://matthewk.dyndns.org/doku.php?id=ink_tests


Forgot to mention, none of these inks seem to feather very much
or at all on the cheap papers I use daily.

matthew

p.s. diamine registrar's ink is posted for comparison.
  #3  
Old July 29th 08, 05:26 PM posted to alt.collecting.pens-pencils
Brian Ketterling
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Posts: 250
Default higgins inks in fountain pens

Higgins Fountain Pen India and Pelikan Fount India are actually fine for
fountain pens (unless you let them dry to a crust in the pen). They're both
examples of non-waterproof india ink, and only resist water to the extent
that the tiny carbon particles can remain trapped in the paper's surface.

I _used_ to prefer Pelikan, because it was blacker, but now they seem to be
putting a ton of detergent in it and it hoses a big fat line onto the page.

In ,
Matthew wrote:

I'm coming from the perspective that
some analine dye, water, and detergent is all that goes into
proper fp ink.


Don't forget humectant and biocide (and of course no one uses aniline dyes,
per se, anymore).

Have fun! When you're done, try ammonia solution to flush your pens.

Brian
--


  #4  
Old July 29th 08, 06:39 PM posted to alt.collecting.pens-pencils
Matthew[_2_]
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Posts: 32
Default higgins inks in fountain pens

On 2008-07-29, Brian Ketterling wrote:
Higgins Fountain Pen India and Pelikan Fount India are actually fine for
fountain pens (unless you let them dry to a crust in the pen). They're both
examples of non-waterproof india ink, and only resist water to the extent
that the tiny carbon particles can remain trapped in the paper's surface.

I _used_ to prefer Pelikan, because it was blacker, but now they seem to be
putting a ton of detergent in it and it hoses a big fat line onto the page.

In ,
Matthew wrote:

I'm coming from the perspective that
some analine dye, water, and detergent is all that goes into
proper fp ink.


Don't forget humectant and biocide (and of course no one uses aniline dyes,
per se, anymore).

Have fun! When you're done, try ammonia solution to flush your pens.

Brian


Thanks for the updates. I just wanted to error on the side of
conservatism regarding higgins.

Was that pelikan fount india ink or another?

matthew

p.s. having fun
  #5  
Old July 30th 08, 05:30 AM posted to alt.collecting.pens-pencils
Brian Ketterling
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Posts: 250
Default higgins inks in fountain pens

In ,
Matthew wrote:

Was that pelikan fount india ink or another?


Fount India.

Brian
--


  #6  
Old August 6th 08, 03:39 AM posted to alt.collecting.pens-pencils
The Drunken Lord[_2_]
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Posts: 156
Default higgins inks in fountain pens

On Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:30:01 -0400, "Brian Ketterling"
wrote:

In ,
Matthew wrote:

Was that pelikan fount india ink or another?


Fount India.


After years of using fontindia, it did clog a pen of mine. But that
was after years. Since Noodler's BP black is just about as black, I
don't use fontindia any more.

But I have used Higgins inks and Bombay inks in pens and had no
problem so far.
  #7  
Old August 12th 08, 03:17 AM posted to alt.collecting.pens-pencils
The Drunken Lord[_2_]
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Posts: 156
Default higgins inks in fountain pens

One point about those permanent Higgins inks they sell at
misterart.com: when the bottles sit for awhile, unlike the Bombay
inks, nothing settles in the bottom of the bottle--there is no
sediment.

This doesn't mean they won't clog a fountain pen--but it probably does
mean they won't instantly clog a fountain pen or even clog a fountain
pen in a short period of it. It might take years. It might never
happen.

I'm thinking I will try them in some cheap pens.

One thing about adding detergent as a wetting agent--it seems to make
waterproof inks less waterproof. So if I need any wetting agent, I
guess I'll use some personal lubricant
  #8  
Old August 12th 08, 10:20 AM posted to alt.collecting.pens-pencils
Brian Ketterling
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Posts: 250
Default higgins inks in fountain pens

In ,
The Drunken Lord wrote:

This doesn't mean they won't clog a fountain pen--but it probably does
mean they won't instantly clog a fountain pen or even clog a fountain
pen in a short period of it. It might take years. It might never
happen.


If you're thinking of waterproof india inks, they'll definitely clog a
fountain pen. Technical pens are specifically made to use india ink, and
_they_ need to be cleaned regularly -- preferably broken down into all their
bits and totally cleaned with every refill.

But if Matthew (and you) wants to have fun along the way, what the heck? I
would suggest a C/C pen with a nib & feed that can be pulled, after a long
soak, for the inevitable clog-scrubbing though. Ammonia solution and dish
detergent will soften the shellac build-up, and a soft toothbrush and Q-Tips
will be useful.

BTW, if you get any technical pens, don't use ammonia on them!

Brian
--


 




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