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Thread: Safe inks

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    Default Safe inks

    It is my understanding that inks made by pen companies are generally considered safe for vintage pens, inks like Sheaffer, Parker, Waterman, Pelikan, etc. What about Diamine? I am looking for a black ink to replace Private Reserve Velvet Black, and Aurora Black and Diamine Onyx Black look to be excellent replacements.

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    Senior Member silverlifter's Avatar
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    Default Re: Safe inks

    I use Aurora Black in vintage pens. It is exceptionally well behaved. It is also the blackest black.

    The only Diamine ink I have, and use in vintage pens, is Registrars. I would imagine that, other than their shimmer or super sheeners, their standard inks would be fine.
    Vintage. Cursive italic. Iron gall.

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    Senior Member Yazeh's Avatar
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    Default Re: Safe inks

    I've used Diamine inks, in my vintage pens with no after effect. (Ancient Copper, Sepia, Syrah etc).....
    Personally most inks can be used, unless as silverlifter mentioned, they are speciality inks, or stuff like Noodler's Kung Te-Cheng or Whaleman's Sepia.....

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    FPG Donor ♕ Chrissy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Safe inks

    Quote Originally Posted by corgicoupe View Post
    It is my understanding that inks made by pen companies are generally considered safe for vintage pens, inks like Sheaffer, Parker, Waterman, Pelikan, etc. What about Diamine? I am looking for a black ink to replace Private Reserve Velvet Black, and Aurora Black and Diamine Onyx Black look to be excellent replacements.
    Diamine inks are safe inks. They have been making inks for all types of pens since 1864 and wouldn't have lasted so long if their inks had not been safe. Inks that aren't considered safe are usually "boutique" inks
    Diamine Onyx Black or Aurora Black will both be safe replacements for PR Velvet Black.
    Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens

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    Default Re: Safe inks

    Quote Originally Posted by corgicoupe View Post
    It is my understanding that inks made by pen companies are generally considered safe for vintage pens, inks like Sheaffer, Parker, Waterman, Pelikan, etc. What about Diamine? I am looking for a black ink to replace Private Reserve Velvet Black, and Aurora Black and Diamine Onyx Black look to be excellent replacements.
    I am a fan of Diamine inks. I use them, especially Oxford Blue, in almost all my pens including a number of pre-war vintage pens. My thinking is that Diamine having been making inks for more one and a half centuries surely knows what they are doing, and that their inks are safe for all pens.

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    Default Re: Safe inks

    Quote Originally Posted by A Smug Dill View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by corgicoupe View Post
    It is my understanding that inks made by pen companies are generally considered safe for vintage pens,
    Generally, perhaps; but I wouldn't make that assumption generally with respect to the hundreds of PenBBS fountain pen ink colours. For consumers outside of Chinese-speaking countries and/or who don't understand Chinese, it's rather difficult to find digestible information on which of those inks have which properties. It took me quite a bit of effort to find this:


    Source: ezbuy

    The text is rendered as part of the image on that page, and so isn't readily searchable by commonly used Web search engines. It states,

    The following are pigment inks that are waterproof and UV fade-resistant:
    54, 56, 60, 63, 64, 65, 71, 72, 88, 97, 99, 112, 130, 180, 228, 233, 257, 270, 285
    The following inks contain glittering metallic particles:
    103, 111, 134, 140, 153, 156, 177, 218, 226, 235, 236, 258, 261, 273, 277, 279, 287, 288, 290, 291, 292, 293, 294, 295, 296, 297, 298, 299, 300, 301, 310, 311, 312, 313, 314, 315, 316, 317, 318, 319, 320, 321

    Platinum makes a number of pigment inks as well as the Classic Ink line of iron-gall inks. I can't vouch for how safe they are to use in vintage pens.

    In my experience, some of the Sailor Shikiori (dye) inks, e.g. Nioisumire and Yonaga, are pretty nasty if allowed to dry inside a pen. Then, there are its Kiwaguro, Seiboku and Souboku pigment inks.

    Pelikan has its Fount India black ink which is a pigment ink. Hero, 234 carbon black ink and 232 iron-gall blue-black. I vaguely remember reading that Montblanc has a couple of troublesome inks, too.

    So I don't think blindly trusting a pen manufacturer's brand to only make ‘safe’ inks is advisable, especially when to be used in vintage pens not of their own make.
    Good input, thanks. Another thought is that pen manufacturers' newer inks may only be suitable for the pens they currently produce.

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    Default Re: Safe inks

    I have not yet had an ink that would not clean out, at least with a bit of effort. Exception have been very old pens that need a new sack, sometimes I have had to take out the nib and feed, scrape the grooves in the feed to get it clean. I can't really recommend trying it, but I have had pens put away in a drawer for years, drying up completely; still, Parker black and blue black dissolved and flushed out surprisingly easy. Some inks are very good that way. I think most Pelikan inks behave the same, the 4001 series at least. I guess any waterproof ink will be more of a challenge to clean out in the long run if left to dry. A good pen flush might be all that's needed though.

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    Default Re: Safe inks

    I’ve been told by the folks I usually buy restored vintage pens from that the safest bet is Waterman and Pelikan. Personally I prefer Waterman because it is a wetter ink and it’s a lot of fun to mix your own colors from the basic ones they have available.

    If you’re looking for a rich black, you might want to get a sample of Waterman Intense Black and give it a whirl. It is the blackest black I’ve seen and has great consistency and flow. Plus it’s Waterman .... so the safety factor is there.

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