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Quink Black Permanent

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
I love this ink. It should probably be called Quink Very Dark Teal, but I consider that to give it a little more character than a simple plain black. Hint of colour, hint of shading, etc. I initially tried in in a Parker 45, before deciding to pair this permanently with the IM Premium.

There was a surprise in store though.

I flushed the 45 out the way I normally would, by using the converter. I simply filled and emptied it 15 to 20 times, until no more clouds of released ink were visible, then left it to air for a day before reassembling and putting it away.

Today, I mistakenly took the pen out of the drawer, absentmindedly thinking I had grabbed something else... and it wrote. Not in full black, but a kind of mid-grey. Certainly darker than i would have expected it to. I probably shouldn't be surprised that a permanent ink is tougher to flush, but I was. Yes, I can still be quite naive at times.

I've now disassembled the nib unit to wash it properly.

Is thus ink known for clogging pens? Should I consider flushing with soapy water before clean, or might that cause issues with soap residue? Note that it will be used in a different pen now, but still might need more than a simple water rinse to get it clean periodically.

For what it is worth, I don't intend leaving an inked pen in the drawer for extended periods. One of the reasons I chose the IM is that it's not necessarily a pen I would choose everyday, much the same as the ink. I'll reach for them both when I either specifically need a permanent ink, or want to carry a slightly dresser pen. It'll then be emptied (probably through the nib), then flushed and put away till needed again.
 

tankerjohn

A little poofier than I prefer
It feels good to find an ink you really like. I generally like my black inks to be the blackediest black possible, but could get on board with one with a little character. Parker Quink is usually considered one of the "safer" inks on the market, so you should be good as far as pen clogging goes. As for its permanence, my understanding is that its only "permanent" compared to the Quink "washable" inks intended for student use, but isn't really particularly permanent compared to a proper document ink. If you need actual, no kidding, water and fade proof permanence, you may wish to look elsewhere such as Diamine's Register ink, ESSRI, Noodler's Black or Platinum Carbon Black.
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
Thanks John. That's helped set my mind at ease. :thumbup1:

I don't need completely bombproof, to be honest. Just good enough for a freezer label, or for an address on an envelope to still be readable if the postie is out in the rain. If it develops an aura, it's not really a problem, so long as what is written is still fairly legible. I believe this should be up to the task from what I've seen.
 
R&K's Scabiosa is a very dark purple on the page, and I liked it immensely until I saw it wash away when wetted. still legible, but disappointingly not as permanent as I was looking for.

it's an easily flushed and well behaved ink, and samplers are cheap from Goulet pens if you're US based. I'm not sure where you could find samplers in GB.
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
R&K's Scabiosa is a very dark purple on the page, and I liked it immensely until I saw it wash away when wetted. still legible, but disappointingly not as permanent as I was looking for.

it's an easily flushed and well behaved ink, and samplers are cheap from Goulet pens if you're US based. I'm not sure where you could find samplers in GB.
Not one I've heard of before, but then again, I've not been very adventurous with inks.

I am in the UK, but it seems quite a low cost ink, and 50ml can be had for £4.44. Hardly seems worth messing with samples at that price. I'm not sure I'm ready for iron gall inks yet though. Maybe when I evemtually settle down with a few water based favourites, I'll look into finding an iron gall to play around with.

Over recent months, I've kind of inundated myself with quite a few Diamine inks, that I need to spend some time with, running through various different pens.
 
Not one I've heard of before, but then again, I've not been very adventurous with inks.

I am in the UK, but it seems quite a low cost ink, and 50ml can be had for £4.44. Hardly seems worth messing with samples at that price. I'm not sure I'm ready for iron gall inks yet though. Maybe when I evemtually settle down with a few water based favourites, I'll look into finding an iron gall to play around with.

Over recent months, I've kind of inundated myself with quite a few Diamine inks, that I need to spend some time with, running through various different pens.
yeah, and I get that.

here's what I'll argue and let you evaluate it and act on it in your own time a you see fit.

I was required to write in black at a job that lasted decades. having left that job, using black fountain pen inks before leaving there I wanted to branch out and use some other colors, but nothing flashy or bold. I settled on this as my go to because it was dark and not black, but still understated with some character. it was everything I wanted until I saw it wash out, because permanence was a key for me, having completely lost writing that wasn't waterproof previously.

the R&K offerings are the least IG acting of any IG ink I've tried. they really are well behaved in a pen, never clogged any of mine, and never were an issue. they stained less than some of the Noodler's permanent inks as well. I suspect there's little iron in the ink and it's mostly dyes for coloration. Diamine's Registrar's left a lot of sludge in the bottle as I worked through it. I cleaned my pens religiously after I saw the state of the bottle. I then tried ESS's Registrar's and that's been my happy place for years. Modern IGs aren't the bugaboo IGs are made out to be in common lore, based on my experience. they might have been back when, but the moderns seem to perform well and stably.

I offered the R&K as a similarly sounding performance benchmark to the Quink with a color variation. so enjoy your journey and discoveries at your own pace. I don't have access to my examples of the Scabiosa performance, but mine were significantly darker than the examples on Goulet's site. if you're interested in seeing mine, let me know and I'll dig them up when I get home.
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
Thank you for that. I'm on kind of a similar path, I suppose.

For me, work pens were always ballpoint pens. It's only been since I ended up unable to work, that I got back into fountain pens again. In real terms, I am still finding my way, and discovering the basics (not the minutea) of what I like.

I have found a green, brown, and purple that I really like, but haven't settled on red or blue yet. Certain oranges seem like they might render reds unnecessary. I'm still settling into my new (budget) pens too.

If nothing else, the Quink Black Permanent seems to be a good "placeholder", until I feel the need for fuller investigations. My writing isn't meant to be retained long term anyway. A week after I have written it, it is obsolete. It's just thoughts of the moment. I just like the idea of having an ink which won't be lost entirely, should it get a little wet at some point. Letter envelopes etc, or maybe an address book.

In recent months, I've acquired six or seven new cheap pens, and maybe ten or so new inks (three in bottles, and seven or eight in carts), so I have a lot of exploring ahead of me already. Maybe by next summer I'll be feeling more settled with the basics, or maybe I'll still be swirling around trying to find my datums. :lol1: i

So I certainly do appreciate your input and suggestions, but it's going to be a while before I get around to exploring those other inks :thumbup:
 
I flushed the 45 out the way I normally would, by using the converter. I simply filled and emptied it 15 to 20 times, until no more clouds of released ink were visible, then left it to air for a day before reassembling and putting it away.
The one thing I suggest adding to your cleaning routine is to place the pen, nib down in Kleenex or a paper towel. I keep a wadded up paper towel in a cup for this purpose. The idea is to wick out any remaining ink. This may help avoid your surprise of being able to write with the pen a few days later.
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
The one thing I suggest adding to your cleaning routine is to place the pen, nib down in Kleenex or a paper towel. I keep a wadded up paper towel in a cup for this purpose. The idea is to wick out any remaining ink. This may help avoid your surprise of being able to write with the pen a few days later.

Ahhh! OK, that makes sense. Thank you for that, I'll certainly do that in future.
 
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