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Thread: Mystery Ink #23

  1. #61
    Senior Member azkid's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mystery Ink #23

    At last I had a chance to try out MI#23! I had to order a UV flashlight which arrived not long ago.



    In the test I am using a new Jinhao 51A which has a pretty smooth nib and decent flow.

    The ink seems to flow ok, no sense of dry nib on paper or too much flow, either. It is hard to see feathering obviously but the lines seem relatively crisp.

    I had previously tested the pen with some kind of black ink and towards the bottom of the test some of that came through, compromising my secret message and eliminating UV phosphorescence.

    Aside from that the ink is invisible to casual observation and even somewhat detailed study. The pen requires little pressure to write so there's no sign of indents or of the ink itself.



    I used the UV flashlight while writing so I could see what I was doing and write legibly. I noticed the ink glows more when wet and less after it dries.

    Another thing I noticed is the funny smell.

    Anyway this is super cool and I can't wait to write secret messages to my 9 yo spy kid.

    Thanks for the MI series, Scooby! It has been really awesome and thanks for the chance to try Blue Ghost!
    Last edited by azkid; January 16th, 2019 at 04:38 PM.

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    Default Re: Mystery Ink #23

    Quote Originally Posted by mulrich View Post
    One other surprise, the UV light was incredibly effective at recharging the glow-in-the-dark stickers in my kids' bedroom. Even a very quick pass of the UV light made the stickers glow brighter than I'd ever seen before.
    I have a UV flashlight that I use to charge / activate the lume on watches. I used to work a frequent night shift on ski patrol and would charge up the lume on my watch before heading out on the hill to ski in relative low-light conditions.

  4. #63
    Senior Member azkid's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mystery Ink #23

    I have been debating this for several days...

    Would anyone be interested in another 3 or 4 months of Mystery Ink... if I hosted it?

    I have in mind a few lesser known inks that might be interesting to try.

    Scooby's Mystery Ink series was such great fun and was really educational for me. I'm still sad it is over and thought I would offer to pick up the torch for a bit.

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  6. #64
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    Default Re: Mystery Ink #23

    Quote Originally Posted by azkid View Post
    I have been debating this for several days...

    Would anyone be interested in another 3 or 4 months of Mystery Ink... if I hosted it?

    I have in mind a few lesser known inks that might be interesting to try.

    Scooby's Mystery Ink series was such great fun and was really educational for me. I'm still sad it is over and thought I would offer to pick up the torch for a bit.
    That is a very kind and generous idea. I, for one, would be interested in another 3 or 4 months of Mystery Ink if you are willing to have non-US testers.
    Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens

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  8. #65
    Senior Member azkid's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mystery Ink #23

    International is aok (I would ship all the inks at the same time)

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    Default Re: Mystery Ink #23

    Sure would be interested. I'm only sorry my pics of this ink were so bad.
    My other pen is a Montblanc.

    And my other blog is a tumblr!


    And my latest ebook, for spooky wintery reading:

    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CM2NGSSD

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    Default Re: Mystery Ink #23

    This is a very generous offer.
    Of course I would be interested, but I‘m located in Europe and know that the shipping is expensive.
    So I understand if you would limit it to US participants.

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    Default Re: Mystery Ink #23

    I’d certainly be interested.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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    Default Re: Mystery Ink #23

    Count me in! I'd love to hop back on the other side of the fence. We had fun with the first round of mystery inks when Laura was packing and shipping and we rounded up all the fountain pen nerds in our office to help test and review.

    Not sure if shipping costs are different for you than for me based on point of origin, but if you choose to use the same padded envelopes I did then it's $3.50 for domestic packages and around $14.00 for each international package. International postage will be the same whether you ship one vial of ink or four.

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  17. #70
    Senior Member azkid's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mystery Ink #23

    Thanks Scooby. Those rates sound about right to me. What tape did you use for sealing the sample vials?

    I will make a final decision on inks over the next week and order the sample vials. I have loads of padded envelopes already.

    Look for a new MI thread soon.

  18. #71
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    Default Re: Mystery Ink #23

    Scooby used some great stretchy rubberised tape that I can't get hold of anywhere. Sadly, I've also forgotten the name of it.
    Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens

  19. #72
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    Default Re: Mystery Ink #23

    Quote Originally Posted by Scooby921 View Post
    Count me in! I'd love to hop back on the other side of the fence. We had fun with the first round of mystery inks when Laura was packing and shipping and we rounded up all the fountain pen nerds in our office to help test and review.

    Not sure if shipping costs are different for you than for me based on point of origin, but if you choose to use the same padded envelopes I did then it's $3.50 for domestic packages and around $14.00 for each international package. International postage will be the same whether you ship one vial of ink or four.
    I'm quite shocked that your USPS 1st Class International Large Letter price has increased so much. When Laura and/or Goulet Pens used to send me ink sample vials in a bubble mailer they would always cost $6 and a few cents, and that included tracking for the UK. US mail prices are usually much lower than UK mail prices and I can send a Large Letter type package to the US for a lot less than the equivalent of $14. Has USPS stopped using a Large Letter type service for bubble mailers?
    Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens

  20. #73
    Senior Member Pterodactylus's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mystery Ink #23

    Quote Originally Posted by Chrissy View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by Scooby921 View Post
    Count me in! I'd love to hop back on the other side of the fence. We had fun with the first round of mystery inks when Laura was packing and shipping and we rounded up all the fountain pen nerds in our office to help test and review.

    Not sure if shipping costs are different for you than for me based on point of origin, but if you choose to use the same padded envelopes I did then it's $3.50 for domestic packages and around $14.00 for each international package. International postage will be the same whether you ship one vial of ink or four.
    I'm quite shocked that your USPS 1st Class International Large Letter price has increased so much. When Laura and/or Goulet Pens used to send me ink sample vials in a bubble mailer they would always cost $6 and a few cents, and that included tracking for the UK. US mail prices are usually much lower than UK mail prices and I can send a Large Letter type package to the US for a lot less than the equivalent of $14. Has USPS stopped using a Large Letter type service for bubble mailers?
    I’m not aware of the US prices, but shipping here in Austria increased over the years also dramatically.
    In the past you could send something like sample vial in a bubble envelope as (I don‘t recall how they named it really) „heavy letter“, but this changed a couple of years ago. They limited Letters to a thickness of 5mm and the cheapest small package to the US now costs about 16 - 21 Euros (the different categories are at least for me quite confusing).

    Imo this is incredible expensive.
    I always wonder how professional sellers deal with such ridiculous rates?

  21. #74
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    Default Re: Mystery Ink #23

    Our Large Letters not exceeding 2.5cm thickness can be sent to Europe for GB£2.65 and to the US for GB£3.30, but those prices don't include tracking and only have compensation up to £20.
    I can post ink sample vials into a regular bubble mailer for just on 2.5cm thickness, so here they certainly don't need to be package rate. If the thickness allowed was 5cm then a bubble mailer with ink sample vials would definitely be OK.

    I have a guide that allows me to measure whether bubble mailers drop through at the right thickness, and always work to that. If people can't understand all of the rates and go wrong, then mail companies probably don't complain.
    Last edited by Chrissy; January 28th, 2019 at 05:19 AM.
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  22. #75
    Senior Member azkid's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mystery Ink #23

    USPS international prices have been insane for at least the last 3-5 years that I have been shipping stuff overseas. It used to be "only" $12. It costs about $9 shipping to Canada and Mexico. My order from Fountainfeder cost $7. I have heard from quite a few people from across the Atlantic who were aghast at the US Int'l rates.

    Anyhoo... I have inks and sample vials inbound. Yay! Although one is delayed. Boo!

    I hope most of them are new to you. And I hope you enjoy trying them. I am considering another ink or two as well if I can get it/them here fast enough.

    I hope to have dates and details worked out by mid-Feb at the latest. I will start a new thread momentarily.

    I'm really excited for us to try some of these inks and to see what we think!

  23. #76
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    Default Re: Mystery Ink #23

    I think this post will be OT, but here goes---

    Overseas postal rates are not set by the individual country you are living in, but by an international body called the Universal Postal Union (UPU) which is part of the United Nations. The idea is that the more developed countries would pay more in international postal fees and subsidize the fees of less developed countries in order to enhance trade. And YES, there are a LOT of politics involved in how far up or down your country's grouping is. (Please note this is only for INTERNATIONAL rates, not rates within your own country.)

    "How the current UPU Convention determines terminal dues is based on a complex classification of individual countries according to their level of economic and postal development. In 2012, the Doha Congress organized its member countries into six groups, for the purpose of defining terminal dues and other charges. In general, the higher the group number of a country, the less the Post charges for the delivery of inbound international packages and the less it pays for the delivery of packages sent to countries in the categories with lower numbers.

    Group 1.1 includes the United States, Japan, Australia, and most of the world’s other developed economies, as well as most of the overseas territories belonging to Great Britain and France.

    Groups 1.2 and 2 apply the same terminal dues schedule for inbound and outbound letter post. Group 1.2 includes more recently advanced countries, such as Hong Kong and Singapore.

    Group 2 consists of countries with mid-size economies such as Cyprus, Hungary, Estonia, Poland, Slovakia, and Saudi Arabia.

    Group 3 includes still emerging economies such as Argentina, Bosnia, Brazil, Chile, Jamaica, Gabon, Cuba, Kazakhstan, as well as the People’s Republic of China.

    Groups 4 and 5 apply the same terminal dues schedule for inbound and outbound letter post. These groups generally include least developed countries, but they also include countries with substantial economic potential such as Egypt, India, Iran, Kenya, Nigeria, and Vietnam.

    The appearance of China, the world’s second-largest economy, in the Category 3 grouping highlights a fundamental flaw in the UPU ranking system for terminal dues. That ranking is defined by a “postal development index” based on the level of postal service within that country. This overlooks the fact that a country such as China may have a relatively low level of domestic postal development for historical reasons — in China’s case, its modernization came after the era of paper-based communications — but may actually be a major player in international commerce, particularly e-commerce."

    So while sending a 3 ounce packet (85 grams) of pens from China to Austria is cheap, sending the exact same packet from Austria to China is very expensive as far as international mail rates. Customs Duties are something else entirely.

    All the Best.
    Last edited by junglejim; January 30th, 2019 at 12:02 PM. Reason: spelling, as usual---

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  25. #77
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    Default Re: Mystery Ink #23

    I was previously made aware that USPS tracking doesn't always apply automatically for International post, and it depends on the Country. However, I was previously advised that tracking applies to the UK at the 1st Class international rate. That's as much as I know about USPS.
    Last edited by Chrissy; January 30th, 2019 at 02:19 PM.
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