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Thread: How old is too old? (Waterman Intense Black)

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    Senior Member R.A. Stewart's Avatar
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    Default How old is too old? (Waterman Intense Black)

    I was cleaning out my desk at home over the weekend and found two bottles of Waterman Intense Black ink. As far as I can tell they have never been opened, and they have been stored at moderate temperatures away from light. I probably bought them after I got my Parker UK Duofold, which would have been no more than nine years ago--probably more like seven or eight years. There's no date on the bottles or boxes. Would they still be safe to use? If I decide to try this ink, are there any warning signs I should watch for?
    “We go to the garrick now and become warbs.”--James Thurber

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    Senior Member Jon Szanto's Avatar
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    Default Re: How old is too old? (Waterman Intense Black)

    I've used inks that were 30-40 years old without issue. The biggest part was how it was used and stored, but since you are the original purchaser, you know that. As long as there isn't any odd odor or the surface of the ink has something floating, you are likely good to go. You can always use a dip pen, or just dip the tip of a nib on a regular fp, to test it out before actually filling a pen.
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    Default Re: How old is too old? (Waterman Intense Black)

    I agree. I've use inks from the 40s without problems. Eight or 9 years? I wouldn't worry, especially since you bought them.

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    Default Re: How old is too old? (Waterman Intense Black)

    Quote Originally Posted by Ron Z View Post
    I agree. I've use inks from the 40s without problems. ...
    Yes, there was still the good phenol inside. But if the ink is not visibly contaminated (it's usually mold on the surface and bacterial slime on the bottom of the bottle), then it's not contaminated.

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    Default Re: How old is too old? (Waterman Intense Black)

    intense black? that's the new name. that's new ink.

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    Default Re: How old is too old? (Waterman Intense Black)

    One of my best bottles of ink is an ancient 32oz bottle of waterman’s bb. I’m in my 40s. The bottle is much older than i am.

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    Default Re: How old is too old? (Waterman Intense Black)

    Quote Originally Posted by manoeuver View Post
    intense black? that's the new name. that's new ink.
    Yes, that's why you can't transfer it. Ink preservation is an issue in itself, e.g. my IG inks are self-preserving, which is why they contain no additional preservative. If the ink does not show any abnormalities, it is o.k., if it shows any, then not, regardless of whether it is 5, 10 or 50 years old.

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    Default Re: How old is too old? (Waterman Intense Black)

    Hello,

    Quote Originally Posted by INeedAFinancialAdvisor View Post
    I’m in my 40s. The bottle is much older than i am.
    In your 40's, you say. Hmmmm
    I would say you don't look a day over 41.




    Oh, hang on a minute though,....... in this light,..........




    OK, so, I wouldn't give you a day over 42.

    Carpio
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    Default Re: How old is too old? (Waterman Intense Black)

    I bought a selection of Waterman older version bottles (Black, Blue-black, Brown and Purple) from my jeweller friend the other day plus a bottle of Pelikan Gunther Wagner. She says she bought them in 1997.

    She just found them all in a box on a shelf in the back of the shop along with this. The bird also flew home with me. I'm sure all of the inks will be fine too.
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    Default Re: How old is too old? (Waterman Intense Black)

    There is no "too old", it is, as has been stated above already, a matter of "how well did it hold up?" An ink that has been bought a month ago might catch some bugs (well, err, rather bacteria or fungal spores), and another ink that has been sitting on a shelf since the 1950s might be completely fine.

    Just use your common sense and check for any residue on the surface and slime or deposits on the bottle bottom. If there is none and you also do not detect anything else that looks, feels, or smells suspicious, than an ink should be fine.

    Maybe, if you still don't trust the ink fully, put it in a pen first that might be cleaned out easily, just in case.

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    Default Re: How old is too old? (Waterman Intense Black)

    Thanks all, I feel much better about my find now. I'll just eyeball each bottle as I open it and use it with confidence if nothing looks weird.
    “We go to the garrick now and become warbs.”--James Thurber

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    Default Re: How old is too old? (Waterman Intense Black)

    Quote Originally Posted by JulieParadise View Post
    ... An ink that has been bought a month ago might catch some bugs (well, err, rather bacteria or fungal spores), and another ink that has been sitting on a shelf since the 1950s might be completely fine. ...
    If you buy it, it can have been in the store for years. The problem is simple, preservatives in consumer products is a highly regulated area where limit values and labeling requirements are tightened again and again. And the ink producers are adapting. Today it's more and more benzisothiazolinone/octylisothiazolinone, but maybe also BIT/MIT, that was it 5 years ago, 15 years ago it was CMI/MIT, but nobody takes CMI anymore because of the sensitizing potential, but maybe they will, then but you have to label it. It was phenol 50 years ago, not anymore because of the toxicological properties, except for ESSRI and Registrars Ink.
    There are always mistakes in preservation, especially with such changes. And 500 years ago the goose quill writer said: "Look there, there's mold floating on my ink! I'll just skim it off and carry on." And those were the best inks with deep black lettering because the mold in the ink had broken down some of the tannins into sugar and gallic acid.

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    Default Re: How old is too old? (Waterman Intense Black)

    I routinely use 1940s Quink from the art deco bottles. If a bottle has lumps floating or smells bad, I dump it. All but one or two Parker bottles have that classic Parker smell. I also use Sheaffer's Skrip, "Successor to Ink" from the 1950s and 1960s, the inks I used as a kid. The only problem I have found is that sometimes I can't get the metal cap off, especially in the 4-ounce bottles. I've even tried Carter's ink, which is how I learned that Carter's American Blue was no big deal...just a normal blue with a great bottle. Carter's Midnight Blue was equally weak and forgettable...so ignore the ink maker who claims that manufacturers like Parker and Sheaffer started watering down their ink to save money on ink-dye.

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    Default Re: How old is too old? (Waterman Intense Black)

    Quote Originally Posted by welch View Post
    ...so ignore the ink maker who claims that manufacturers like Parker and Sheaffer started watering down their ink to save money on ink-dye.
    Who says that? That's nonsense, that's 2-3% dye, maybe 4.5% for black. It's better to save on toilet paper.

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    Default Re: How old is too old? (Waterman Intense Black)

    I recently got a vintage pen haul including some Rotring technical pens and it's ink. They are more-or-less 30 years old. the price tags shows very clearly they are very old stocks.
    I found those ink are unusable and watery and pale. they seems to have lost all the pigment saturation. I tried one ink with after many agitations done for several minutes in the ink pack .
    It came back to normal and looks it is usable to a certain degree as those ink haven't any mouldy conditions or visible contaminations. There is one more fact too as the bottles are back colour plastic that keep the ink away from the light/ UV radiation etc.
    I think this is true to many other ink related to pen and ink usages.
    Last edited by Cyril; July 25th, 2023 at 05:46 AM.

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    Default Re: How old is too old? (Waterman Intense Black)

    Quote Originally Posted by Cyril View Post
    ... keep the ink away from the light ...
    Yes, Herbin gives the fountain pen inks a shelf life of 5 years if stored correctly (protected from light, temperature 10 to 25°C). I tested it at the Café des Iles for 6 years, and it survived. The ink is now almost 10 years old and nothing is floating around in it. Now I wanted to smell it and got too close to the glass, now I smeared my nose brown.

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    Default Re: How old is too old? (Waterman Intense Black)

    I want to show again briefly that you really can't lump the age of the ink together. We have had such problems several times with different manufacturers, e.g. with the Montblanc Golden Yellow, R&K once preserved a batch of Verdigris too weakly and here are the Monteverde Ocean Noir and the Herbin Eclat de Saphir.
    https://www.penexchange.de/forum_neu....php?id=120429
    http://www.pbase.com/image/161619667.jpg

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