I pulled out a bottle of ink the other day, and the plastic cap was bowed up as if it were under pressure. Sure enough, when I opened it, it made a hissing sound like a tiny beer can being opened. It looked fine, smelled fine... I threw it away. I took the pressurization as a sign of some kind of bacterial activity.
For those taking a look at linked post, the OP in his enthusiasm failed to state the most important thing:
Once you have SITB, all bets are off concerning how your ink will perform. Biocides should be used to prevent SITB, NOT treat it.
Once SITB has set in, that almost certainly means solution chemistry has changed. The organisms responsible have been eating the dye, surfactant or other ink component.
Treatment may kill the organisms but still leave you with an altered/unusable ink.
Worse, treatment may kill the fruiting bodies, but leave residual spores that can stage a comeback and second infestation once biocide levels drop due to evaporation, oxidation or other pathways.
Chrissy (December 20th, 2019), Pterodactylus (December 20th, 2019)
Will I have a sales advantage if, at the pen show this weekend, I wipe down all my pen offerings with Shaklee Germicide? I wonder if viruses will succumb to the stuff.
Last edited by FredRydr; March 5th, 2020 at 12:53 PM.
The bad apples in my ink rotation over the last three decades have been:
PR Tanzanite
Omas Sepia
Herebin Eclat de Saphir
I still mourn the loss of the Omas...
David-
So many restoration projects...
I also lost a bottle of Omas ink to S.I.T.B. Mine was purple. Part of the contents "superglued" itself all around the insides of the glass surface and all that remained was an almost colourless liquid. It was really odd and took a lot of time to get the inside of the bottle clean.
Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens
And again! I haven't opened this bottle in years, and the pen was new to me with a fresh restoration only last month.
IMG_3232.jpeg
Last edited by FredRydr; June 25th, 2020 at 04:06 PM.
Treat yourself to a bottle of Phenol and use a few sprays in your ink bottles when you buy them.
Last edited by Chrissy; June 26th, 2020 at 12:15 AM.
Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens
Here's a new one on me, possibly a relative of SITB. Pen was inked for at least 2 weeks without any symptoms, then I uncapped to see the following - what appears to be a combination of nib creep and mold with spores at the base of the nib! Ink was Diamine November Rain, don't recall anything odd about it, and I've only used ink from the bottle a couple of times, only drawn with a syringe.
"When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick;
and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."
~ Benjamin Franklin
Many of those heavy sheen inks can do that. However, your case does look a little extreme. It's probably only on the pen and not in the bottle.
Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens
I’ve read enough about the symptoms in pen forums and blogs, but what about the cause? Surely, the ink manufacturers completed their diagnoses long ago and know precisely what the villain is.
Fred and Jon better call Sigourney Weaver. That is Alien blood.
Sailor Kenshin (June 28th, 2020)
I don’t think there is a single cause. Back when Herbin was having trouble with SITB, they claimed that in response to new regulations, they had to switch dyes to something less soluble. They started using hot water to get things to dissolve, but there was a fungus infestation in one of the hot water taps.
I'm starting to read this: http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/fo...hootout-tests/
And this: http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/fo...-ink-problems/
Last edited by FredRydr; June 27th, 2020 at 10:21 AM.
I remember reading it once.
Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens
Yikes!
I recently encountered the dreaded S.I.T.B. in 4 bottles of ink that were 20-30 years old. No visible mold patches, just the slime - quite thick in one bottle. Bottles had not been opened for years. When I decided to dump them, as I rinsed out the 2 thickest of the bottles, the watery ink (as I added water to rinse) became a dull green in appearance. These were Levenger and Parker inks. The slimy ink does cling to the sides of the bottle. Pictures are attached below.
Last edited by Gilkdog; August 15th, 2021 at 01:09 PM.
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