Homemade Shimmer Ink ??????

[jbb]

For the last week or so I've been playing around with adding fine mica pigments to ink to see if I would get a similar result as some of the new, beautiful shimmering inks being sold. These homemade inks are beautiful but a bit fussy. They need to be shaken in the pen and in the bottle before loading. So far they seem to work and they're in expensive to make. DISCLAIMER: I have no idea if this will clog my pens down the road.

Mica powders are cheap and readily available. Here is one place to buy them: http://www.dharmatrading.com/paints/...av=paints.html

[VertOlive]

I like it, maybe stick with a dip pen for a while?

[jbb]

I like it, maybe stick with a dip pen for a while?

I've actually used ink like this for dip pens for years. Until I saw the shimmering inks by Herbin & Diamine it never occurred to me to try any mica powder in a fountain pen.

[writingrav]

Very cool an very brave to put it in a fountain pen. Good luck.

[Neo]

YMMV, but I did something similar and put the ink in a cheap Hero pen before going on vacation for 2 weeks. ...the pen wrote as soon as I tried it yesterday.

[TerraNoir]

Now this is quite the interesting concept. I may have to try this out with some of my favorite inks. Thanks for the tip!

[Flake]

More anecdotal evidence: I tried this last winter when I was too cheap to buy Stormy Grey. I tossed in a TWSBI - wrote fine! Left it for a week....it still wrote and was still shiny! Not sure i'd ever try this in a "nice" pen (not that twsbi's aren't they're just easier to take apart and cheaper than some) but I'd give it another go.

[Chrissy]

I wonder if these mica pigments differ considerably from those used by J Herbin and Diamine?

[jbb]

I wonder if these mica pigments differ considerably from those used by J Herbin and Diamine?

That's exactly what I'm wondering too. My gut feeling is that it's the same.

[ethernautrix]

This is very useful information! I can see trying this in a Platinum Preppy (I'm using J. Herbin 1670 Rouge Hematite in a Preppy, and it's great!). Thanks, jbb!

[mhosea]

I wonder if these mica pigments differ considerably from those used by J Herbin and Diamine?

That's exactly what I'm wondering too. My gut feeling is that it's the same.

Mica sounds attractive since it is chemically inert, but one to the next might not have been processed to the same extent. I'll bet the ink makers want a certain range of particle size and uniformity and would choose suppliers that promised to provide it.

Nevertheless, if I were enamored enough with the effect, I would probably try this. My hesitation seems to have a psychological root. That I can accept a commercial ink that provides this feature is apparent, but something inside me whispers that making my own glittery inks would cross a nebulous "line of extreme frivolity" (as opposed to the more ordinary level of frivolity that fountain pens often provide me).

[Sailor Kenshin]

That's a very pretty effect. Good thing I still have some cheap pens to use.

[jar]

My daughter used to sprinkle glitter on a page before the ink dried. But then she used to sprinkle glitter on most anything that would hold still.

[thudthwacker]

For the last week or so I've been playing around with adding fine mica pigments to ink to see if I would get a similar result as some of the new, beautiful shimmering inks being sold. These homemade inks are beautiful but a bit fussy. They need to be shaken in the pen and in the bottle before loading. So far they seem to work and they're in expensive to make. DISCLAIMER: I have no idea if this will clog my pens down the road.

Mica powders are cheap and readily available. Here is one place to buy them: http://www.dharmatrading.com/paints/...av=paints.html

Wow, that looks amazing. Are you willing to share the ratios of ink to powder you've experimented with? Also, I don't see an "iridescent gold" at the Dharma Trading Co. site -- did you use their "Interference Gold", or do they just not have the one you used in stock at current?

[jbb]

Wow, that looks amazing. Are you willing to share the ratios of ink to powder you've experimented with? Also, I don't see an "iridescent gold" at the Dharma Trading Co. site -- did you use their "Interference Gold", or do they just not have the one you used in stock at current?

I only put about a ¼ teaspoon or less of mica powder into a small bottle of ink. The iridescent gold powder I have is, I think, from a defunct company called LuminArte.

[thudthwacker]

Many thanks. Looks like I may just have to pick up a few likely colors of mica and a sample vial or twelve and start mixin'. (I'm thinking that their Super Copper might be really great in Diamine Pumpkin or Lamy Copper-Orange.)

[jbb]

Many thanks. Looks like I may just have to pick up a few likely colors of mica and a sample vial or twelve and start mixin'. (I'm thinking that their Super Copper might be really great in Diamine Pumpkin or Lamy Copper-Orange.)

It's a pretty fun cheap-date. If you have a local craft store (like a Michaels or a Ben Franklins) they probably sell them there too.

[thudthwacker]

Many thanks. Looks like I may just have to pick up a few likely colors of mica and a sample vial or twelve and start mixin'. (I'm thinking that their Super Copper might be really great in Diamine Pumpkin or Lamy Copper-Orange.)

It's a pretty fun cheap-date. If you have a local craft store (like a Michaels or a Ben Franklins) they probably sell them there too.

Hm. I do indeed have a Micheal's and an AC Moore pretty close by. Methinks I may be due for a shopping trip this weekend.

[Lady Onogaro]

More anecdotal evidence: I tried this last winter when I was too cheap to buy Stormy Grey. I tossed in a TWSBI - wrote fine! Left it for a week....it still wrote and was still shiny! Not sure i'd ever try this in a "nice" pen (not that twsbi's aren't they're just easier to take apart and cheaper than some) but I'd give it another go.

Maybe the TWSBI Eco or one of the Kakunos or Sailors would be good for this.

[TerraNoir]

I have tried it with some success. I tried it with a pigment that was more of a green/gold/purple pearlized finish. The ink is less shimmery that I would like. I will try this again with just a regular gold next. I'll post photos later.