Noodler' s baystate blue

[tandaina]

If you have a problem with BSB staining your sink, use hand sanitizer gel. Rub it in and wash it away. My problem with BSB is that it fades. This kind of ink should have a single pen reserved for it. DO not under any circumstances let BSB get anywhere near Private Reserve Hot Bubblegum, it will bring on the apocalypse. You have been warned.

I am curious it congeals or explodes or what happens?

Nah, it just stains. There have been various reports like 'it ate my feed' or 'it became sentient and took over my country' but mostly it just stains.

[Mags]

I dont have too many bad staining stories. I use bleach and water to tidy the sink, flush my dedicated BSB pens, and in general it works well.

I was curious about blue and hot bubblegum.....but if they both are water resistant then I am sure they both stain with the same effects.

[Scrawler]

If you have a problem with BSB staining your sink, use hand sanitizer gel. Rub it in and wash it away. My problem with BSB is that it fades. This kind of ink should have a single pen reserved for it. DO not under any circumstances let BSB get anywhere near Private Reserve Hot Bubblegum, it will bring on the apocalypse. You have been warned.

I am curious it congeals or explodes or what happens?

Nah, it just stains. There have been various reports like 'it ate my feed' or 'it became sentient and took over my country' but mostly it just stains.

It ate me out of house and home, ran off with my wife, stole my car, abused my cat and poisoned my fish.

[Mags]

Lol Scrawler!!!

[Wile E Coyote]

I am curious it congeals or explodes or what happens?

First it explodes, then it congeals on your skin and then it finally spontaneously combusts and stains.

[Neo]

I am curious it congeals or explodes or what happens?

First it explodes, then it congeals on your skin and then it finally spontaneously combusts and stains.

Well, that'll leave a mark.

[Scrawler]

On the bottom of the box that the Hot Bubblegum comes in, is written:

"Do Not Mix ink can produce undesirable reaction. Distinctive smell may cause staining use dedicated pen.

"Private Reserve Ink not responsible for staining, damage or other problems from use of this ink."

"Purchase relieves Private Reserve Ink from any problems encountered"

[elaineb]

Hmmm, I tried BSB a few months ago, because I'd heard so much about it and wasn't convinced by either "side" of the debate. I had a mixed, moderate experience with it. The color is singular. It is the purest ultramarine blue I have seen in FP inks, and believe me, I have been searching high and low for a color that matches one of my favorite artist pigments.

I tried it in a couple of pens and got rather annoyed with it because it kept slithering out of cracks at the joins of things like nibs to sections or converters to the base of a nib, and then working its way into the grip of my pen. Where it promptly stained my writing fingers bright blue. I could have put up with that for the sake of the beautiful color, but it feathered badly on every paper I tried, including Midori and Tomoe River. I tried diluting it a bit with distilled water and a touch of gum arabic, but it didn't seem to make much difference. It even feathered when I used it in Japanese extra-fine nibs.

I was loathe to give up, because the color really is sumptuous. But I just had to call it quits after a couple of weeks. I couldn't take those inky fingers every time I touched a pen, even when I sprayed it down with water after I uncapping, to remove any lurking inky bits that might have migrated while it was lying on my desk.

I am not sure why it is so prone to creep, but I'm guessing that whatever dye forms the basis for BSB makes a rather poor ink on its own. (Some dye solutions won't flow well down down a feed, or will feather badly, or have some other problematic characteristic, due to the molecular structure of that particular substance.) So Tardiff had to jump through hoops to get it to flow through pen nibs, and the resulting ink probably has a novel formulation. It probably explains why there is no other ink on the market based on this dye, as far as I can see. Perhaps no other manufacturer was willing to "break so many rules" to get it to work as an ink.

[Scrawler]

Hmmm, I tried BSB a few months ago, because I'd heard so much about it and wasn't convinced by either "side" of the debate. I had a mixed, moderate experience with it. The color is singular. It is the purest ultramarine blue I have seen in FP inks, and believe me, I have been searching high and low for a color that matches one of my favorite artist pigments.

I tried it in a couple of pens and got rather annoyed with it because it kept slithering out of cracks at the joins of things like nibs to sections or converters to the base of a nib, and then working its way into the grip of my pen. Where it promptly stained my writing fingers bright blue. I could have put up with that for the sake of the beautiful color, but it feathered badly on every paper I tried, including Midori and Tomoe River. I tried diluting it a bit with distilled water and a touch of gum arabic, but it didn't seem to make much difference. It even feathered when I used it in Japanese extra-fine nibs.

I was loathe to give up, because the color really is sumptuous. But I just had to call it quits after a couple of weeks. I couldn't take those inky fingers every time I touched a pen, even when I sprayed it down with water after I uncapping, to remove any lurking inky bits that might have migrated while it was lying on my desk.

I am not sure why it is so prone to creep, but I'm guessing that whatever dye forms the basis for BSB makes a rather poor ink on its own. (Some dye solutions won't flow well down down a feed, or will feather badly, or have some other problematic characteristic, due to the molecular structure of that particular substance.) So Tardiff had to jump through hoops to get it to flow through pen nibs, and the resulting ink probably has a novel formulation. It probably explains why there is no other ink on the market based on this dye, as far as I can see. Perhaps no other manufacturer was willing to "break so many rules" to get it to work as an ink.

I give him credit for experimentation. I have not experienced quite that level of creep myself. I would not be surprised if the creep is due to the amount and type of surfactants used to make that formulation flow.

[mhosea]

I would not be surprised if the creep is due to the amount and type of surfactants used to make that formulation flow.

Feathering, too, is probably a consequence of that.

I personally haven't had any creep issues at all, but feathering issues? Oh, yeah.

[Armstrong]

Try Noodler's Luxury Blue. It is not as bright but still a nice shade. It has been well behaved in my pens.

[Lt. Tom]

First of all, I hope the OP has found a source for his BSB. From what I understand finding Noodlers over there is like trying to find Akkerman inks here in the states.
I think this discussion needs to happen once in a while. Yes, you can find a ton of content on BSB all over the internet, but when you're new to all this, how would you know to look it up? You wouldn't, except for threads like this. A thread like this is all that stopped me from buying a bottle (it's so pretty!) and plunging my favorite white pen into it. I'm eventually going to try it, so I'll have my own opinion. I know Noodlers as a brand seems to be pretty polarizing. I had heard all kinds of bad things about the Ahab, and wouldn't have bought one. Then I had one given to me. I was just not impressed until I swapped the nib in it. No, you shouldn't have to swap the nib in a brand new pen, but I did and now it's one of my favorites. I've got a drawer full of them because the cost of the pen and a Goulet or Anderson nib is still only $35.

Sorry, got sidetracked there........I think a friendly discussion of BSB needs to happen every once in a while. People need to be aware that it is "different". As long as the thread is labeled properly, those who are tired of hearing about it can avoid it...........

[mhosea]

I think this discussion needs to happen once in a while.

I guess my issue with it is that free and unfettered debate is no assurance of an unbiased discussion, as this depends on the self-selected sample of the population involved. If we're talking about repeating the discussion many times, I would think that the sample would change over time due to the probability of people "opting out" of yet-another-round varying in a way correlated with their position. In particular, I suspect the position least likely to abstain is one that is strongly negative. Mine is more circumspect--I'd use the ink more if feathering and bleed-through performance were more favorable, despite its staining potential, but it is what it is, and as such, I don't use it in fountain pens at present. But I only bothered to respond at all because, well, you can see what my pet peeve is.

Bottom line is that I don't think it's a good idea to rely solely on new discussion of heavily debated ink. I also do not think you can safely infer what proportion of the general population feels this way or that from the proportion of posts in a new discussion which lean this way or that.

[Lt. Tom]

I agree 100%, Mike. I'm just saying that a person not familiar with the ink might see this thread, and think "hmm, maybe I should research this stuff a little and find out what the fuss is about before I buy it." Post like your last one are exactly the reason I haven't tried it yet. The "it's going to eat your children " posts just intrigue me. A calm, well thought out post that says it feathers and bleeds-through makes me want to hold off.

[mhosea]

Attachment 19527

[Mags]

Attachment 19527

It should be a reliable BSB pen.

[Newjelan]

I love BSB. I didn't realise how much until I looked at the bottle and was surprised to see how much I'd used. I use it at 80% strength and find it is better behaved with no loss in vibrancy (in my eyes). I use it in my TWSBI 580 Al with a M nib and it flows well. While the pen is stained slightly it is minimal.

[dr.grace]

The color is vibrant, but it's just too much trouble in fountain pens. (Learn from my experience: don't try it in an Esterbrook!) So I gave up on BSB long ago. It would be far less hassle to use a blue Sharpie, which produces a similar color.

[Marsilius]

May I be allowed a fatuous post?
BSB is a palindrome, which got me searching for an anagram of Bay State Blue, which in turn led to a little anagrammatic poem:

"Stable beauty?
A beaut, aye . . .
Stable, yea, but . . .
A beastly tube.
Beats lye! Tabu."

[TAYLORPUPPY]

I love BSB. I didn't realise how much until I looked at the bottle and was surprised to see how much I'd used. I use it at 80% strength and find it is better behaved with no loss in vibrancy (in my eyes). I use it in my TWSBI 580 Al with a M nib and it flows well. While the pen is stained slightly it is minimal.

Did you use distilled water