Vintage Pens _ Steel nibs and Iron gall inks

[Yazeh]

I like to use robust IG (Essri/Registrars etc) inks in my vintage pens with gold nibs.
I'm the type that likes to use the same ink in the same pen. And let it be.
I have a 50s Soennecken with a steel nib. Can I use IG inks with it too or the steel nib would be corroded overtime?

Thanks.

[Jon Szanto]

That is a risk I would be unwilling to take. There are times in life where you need to break from dogmatic tendencies, and preserving this pen/nib in it's original condition would be more important to me than using IG ink in it just because of habit. There are hundreds of good inks out in the world, please consider another path.

Just one person's opinion, of course.

[Yazeh]

That is a risk I would be unwilling to take. There are times in life where you need to break from dogmatic tendencies, and preserving this pen/nib in it's original condition would be more important to me than using IG ink in it just because of habit. There are hundreds of good inks out in the world, please consider another path.

Just one person's opinion, of course.

Thanks Jon. This is school pen. Not the best of nibs. I've been using Pelikan Blue Black for the time being, which I believe is partially IG....

[Chrissy]

That is a risk I would be unwilling to take. There are times in life where you need to break from dogmatic tendencies, and preserving this pen/nib in it's original condition would be more important to me than using IG ink in it just because of habit. There are hundreds of good inks out in the world, please consider another path.

Just one person's opinion, of course.

This also matches my opinion and is a risk I would be unwilling to take. Not that I like IG inks anyway as I don't see there is a particular need for them these days.

[Pterodactylus]

I would not be too concerned, personally I use IG inks in all my pens without hesitation.
And I totally disagree with Chrissy about the need to use IG inks these times.

For sure there is a need to us them as they are (many of them) fantastic inks, a class of their own with outstanding performance (especially on poor paper).

Sure there is a risk that steel nibs may corrode as Jon mentioned, but most likely many of them they were used back then with inks much more corrosive than modern ones.
Nibs that didn’t corroded so far imho already proven that they can withstand writing fluids.

Regarding Pelikan 4001 Blue/Black, imo it is a fantastic ink, proven its quality over many decades, one of the „standard“ inks.
When you look e.g. on the ph value of Pelikan 4001 inks you can see that blue/black has a similar ph value than royal blue.
And who would consider Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue a unsafe ink?

PH-Wert:
königsblau: ca. 2,75
blauschwarz: ca. 2,25
brilliant-schwarz: ca. 8,5
brilliant-rot: ca. 8,5
brilliant-grün: ca. 7,0
brilliant-braun: ca. 7,5
türkis, violet: ca. 2,5
pink : ca. 4,0
flieder, moosgrün: ca. 3,0
apricot: ca. 2,8

Personally I can say that I‘m not concerned to use 4001 Blue/Black in any pen (it also contains only a small amount of IG to improve itˋs properties compared to others)

So at the end it‘s a personal decision which inks to use and which not.

[Pterodactylus]

And it‘s also about your attitude for your pens.

Are you a collector or a user?

I‘m a user, a pen is a tool, and a tool has to be used to be useful.
Imho it‘s not worth owning a tool which is not in use.
I‘m not concerned using even my 100 year old Waterman pens, and I enjoy them.
Of course something can break when using old devices, but that‘s life, they are tools and are created to be used (not starring at them).
Even something is broken, often it can be repaired.
And even if not and it reaches the end of its lifespan, because at the end time destroys everything you still made good use of it.
That’s life and we also share this fate. 😜

Life is short, get as much enjoyment and fun out of your tools as you can. 👍

[Yazeh]

That is a risk I would be unwilling to take. There are times in life where you need to break from dogmatic tendencies, and preserving this pen/nib in it's original condition would be more important to me than using IG ink in it just because of habit. There are hundreds of good inks out in the world, please consider another path.

Just one person's opinion, of course.

This also matches my opinion and is a risk I would be unwilling to take. Not that I like IG inks anyway as I don't see there is a particular need for them these days.

Thanks Chrissy!

[Yazeh]

And it‘s also about your attitude for your pens.

Are you a collector or a user?

Thanks Ptero for your insights. I am a user. I don't like collecting for the sake of collecting. If I don't use a pen, I get rid of it / give away. It has to bring me joy
I was thinking of upgrading from Pelikan Blue /Black to registers / Essri. My optic was that if school pen survived post war Germany, it could survive IG ink...

[mizgeorge]

If it were a cheap modern (read easily replaceable) nib, I'd have no hesitation about using an IG ink with it - the pen that ESS sell themselves is just that - but with a Soennecken, I think I'd be more cautious. Even their school pens have (certainly in my experience) such lovely nibs, and it's getting very hard to find replacements for them, so I think I'd be looking for a non-IG document ink (Koh-i-Noor, de Atramentis or even Sketchink or similar) as an alternative.

If you do decide to go ahead with the IG ink, I know I'd be interested to know the results. I recall reading that manufacturers of that era recommended regular flushing/cleaning of pens used with their own IG inks (I think it was every three months), so perhaps that's the key.

[Yazeh]

If it were a cheap modern (read easily replaceable) nib, I'd have no hesitation about using an IG ink with it - the pen that ESS sell themselves is just that - but with a Soennecken, I think I'd be more cautious. Even their school pens have (certainly in my experience) such lovely nibs, and it's getting very hard to find replacements for them, so I think I'd be looking for a non-IG document ink (Koh-i-Noor, de Atramentis or even Sketchink or similar) as an alternative.

If you do decide to go ahead with the IG ink, I know I'd be interested to know the results. I recall reading that manufacturers of that era recommended regular flushing/cleaning of pens used with their own IG inks (I think it was every three months), so perhaps that's the key.

Thanks mizgoerge. I can live with rinsing every 3 months. Or I might just get a bottle of Pelikan blue/ black for this. For now, I'm syringing the ink from the few cartridges I have.

[BoBo Olson]

The old '50's instruction papers of both Pelikan and MB say clean your pen every three months............this was in a time when BB was a common ink and a stronger IG than some are today.

So if, And When, you clean your pen every 6 weeks of so, you would be ahead of the game.

Much of the corrosion of the stainless steel nibs came IMO from a pen laying in the dark of the drawer for 40-60 years with dried IG ink.

[Cyril]

I keep away from iron gall ink. They make all the pens( nibs )life shorten. If that is a dip pen that nib will wear out faster. That apply to any pen made of any material with any doubt.
Iron oxide which is in the ink will corrode all metal that get contact with.
If the water only in the ink could destroy a pen in over time then the iron oxide rich plus ink could make that process within a shorter period of time.
Ex. of pen destroying signs by water are VINTAGE PENS THAT HAVE A OVERLAY WITH GOLD OR SILVER have a corroded section if it is made of metal. So that corroding will lead to the cap thread as well.
Iron gall ink has many advantages in dip writing but with a great cost. If you are using chaper nibs that are available easily to replace then it is a good way to use the ink. This is my humble opinion and my few cents to this Gall ink in pens here.