Mix Different Inks Together?

[Inner Prop]

I'm sorry if this has already been asked, but "ink" and "mix" are words that are too small for the search function to work properly.

I've gotten a set of ten ink samples, all blue. I don't really care about color so much as long as it's blue. I'm also not too concerned with dry time or permanency (all the usual stuff people look for in inks).

I'm wondering if I can mix together the last few drops at the bottom of the sample tubes into enough for one last pen fill. Will they mix together?

I've got:
Pilot: Asa-Gao
Noodlers: Baystate Blue
J. Hebron: Eclat de Sapfir

[Chrissy]

If you're only talking about mixing sample tubes, then I would go ahead and do it. However, I would then leave the mixture in the tube for a couple of days to check that nothing changed in the ink before I filled a pen with it.

[Laura N]

Chrissy's advice is excellent, but in this case I would consider not mixing in the Baystate Blue. I seem to remember that Noodler's specifically warns not to mix it with non-Baystate inks. Throwing out a few leftover drops of ink is no big deal, to me, whereas my pens are a big deal. YMMV of course.

[tandaina]

The advice I've heard is to keep it in the family. IE mix Pilot ink with Pilot ink, or Diamine, with Diamine but not to cross.

I would leave Baystate Blue out of the equation all together. I have had luck mixing the Pilot Iroshozuku inks, they seem to be quite stable and safe. Whatever you mix do it in an ink vile and let it sit 24 hours. Make sure it hasn't changed state at all, gotten sticky, clumped, etc before trying it in a pen.

[Jon Szanto]

... do it in an ink vile ...

That's a pretty funny typo considering you were just talking about BSB! :)

[tandaina]

Auto correct strikes again!

[Chrissy]

Chrissy's advice is excellent, but in this case I would consider not mixing in the Baystate Blue. I seem to remember that Noodler's specifically warns not to mix it with non-Baystate inks. Throwing out a few leftover drops of ink is no big deal, to me, whereas my pens are a big deal. YMMV of course.

Thanks to Laura for pointing this out. As a Brit we can't get hold of Noodler's Inks, so I wasn't sure about the specific properties of Baystate Blue. Even I would probably be tempted to dispose of a tiny bit of that.

However, many well known mixes are across brands: 'Binder Burgundy' is an excellent mixture of equal parts Sheaffer Skrip Red and Waterman Purple

[migo984]

Thanks to Laura for pointing this out. As a Brit we can't get hold of Noodler's Inks...........

They can be obtain here fairly easily these days. A selection of 24 Noodler's inks are stocked & sold by PurePens (Niche Pens) and it is easy enough to buy them from US eBay sellers for about $15.00 plus $5.95 international postage.

[gregamckinney]

At least one exception to the "keep it in the family" rule: Aurora inks. I've always found it interesting that an ink brand that only has two colors says not to mix them, especially when they are two of the best inks around, but that's what they say.

greg

[The Good Captain]

At least one exception to the "keep it in the family" rule: Aurora inks. I've always found it interesting that an ink brand that only has two colors says not to mix them, especially when they are two of the best inks around, but that's what they say.

greg

I've been using a mix of the two Auroras Blue:Black 2:1, for a while now and nothing has gone wrong at all. A great dark blue sort result. But I presume they mean not to mix the Aurora with any other brands.

[Inner Prop]

Fountain Pen Network has quite a bit of stuff on mixing and/or creating your own inks. They even have a sticky thread called, "Ink mixes that didn't work." (http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/223444-ink-mixes-that-didnt-work/)

It is widely known apparently not to mix the Baystates. I don't really like the Baystate Blue. It's too dark for me, it feathers and bleeds through, and it stains the converter so I can't tell how much is in there.

I was sort of hoping to mitigate some of these "features" that I find less than desirable, but I guess my best bet is to chalk it up to learning and part of the price of that is to discard the unused portion of the sampler.

That is what samplers are for, isn't it.

Thanks for all the help everybody. Maybe we can keep talking about this topic. I think it is an interesting one. I'll let you know what happens when I mix my Pilot: Asa-Gao and J. Hebron: Eclat de Sapfir (two inks and colors I really like).

[carlos.q]

I thought you liked feathering! ;)
Anyway, I dislike BSB for many reasons but if you want to reduce feathering you can try diluting with some distilled water.

[Inner Prop]

I thought you liked feathering! ;)
Anyway, I dislike BSB for many reasons but if you want to reduce feathering you can try diluting with some distilled water.

There is feathering and then there is karate-bird feathering. When your writing looks like a plate of iron filings, you've got a problem.

[Avalona]

Yeah, agreed with the mixing and then leaving the ink for a bit in a vial or separate bottle to make sure they play nice with each other. I've never had a problem mixing Pelikan and Rohrer and Klingner, or Pelikan and Noodler's (but that was Liberty's Elysium, not the infamous BSB!), and my current favourite purple ink is Rohrer and Klingner with J. Herbin. All of them were just fine.

[Inner Prop]

I mixed my Pilot: Asa-Gao and J. Hebron: Eclat de Sapfir and reinked my Lamy ALStar with it.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/5HMt_cln70DzXK2ZvI4AWa_gdnm8XqC7cg8-4dOD1wk=w401-h207-p-no

[snedwos]

BSB is great when diluted to almost nothing.

I'm only being slightly flippant here: I wrote very happily with my Ahab when filled with ink in a ratio of 1 saturated feed of BSB to 1 pumpful of water. No bleed, no feathering, and a plenty readable blue colour: taking this into account, you could say BSB is the ccheapest ink out there!

[jde]

I figure any ink with a chemical or phenol smell should stay within its own brand.

Inks I don't mix include Platinum Blue-Black, the standard Namiki/Pilot inks (Blue, Black)—these are not the Iroshizuku inks—, as well as Pilot Blue-Black, and any Sailor ink. Um, I guess I don't mix the Japanese inks, but hope the Pilot Iroshizuku and regular Platinum ink users among you will speak up.

As I recall J.Herbin used to have a note on their label not to mix with other brands. But I did anyway to no ill effect. :)

This is a good example of a thread that could become a future reference at FPGeeks.

[reprieve]

I've mixed several Iroshizuku colors without any ill effects. My favorite mix thus far is a (very approximately--I never measure anything, not even when following a recipe, ack!) 2:1 ratio of Chiku-rin and Ina-ho.

I also do a mix of Noodler's Black and Montblanc Royal Blue. It creates a nice water-resistant midnight blue-black and it flows very well.

My post here is pretty anecdotal and probably not much help. The advice you've received in this thread is good advice. Mix your inks in a sample vial and let it sit for a day or two. If there's any funky reaction, you'll be able to see it before you clog up one of your pens.