fountain pen

by Tony Thomas I was going through some of my infrequently used pens and found a Wality eyedropper with a Knox nib that I had filled with Rohrer and Kligner Scabiosa ink quite a while ago. Some of the ink had evaporated so I decided to clean out the pen. As could be expected, it took a quite a bit of effort to clean out a pen containing iron gall ink. When I attempted to remove the nib and feed from the section, I noticed that it was stuck. After applying a bit of elbow-grease, I was able to dislodge them. I was not surprised to see that the steel nib was pitted and corroded due to prolonged contact with the ink. What did surprise me is that, upon closer examination with a loupe, the ink had actually eaten a hole in the nib! As a result, I would advise everyone to use any iron gall ink with extreme caution in any pen with steel nib. In my case, I only use iron gall inks in inexpensive pens with easily replaceable nibs. In the future, I will not leave iron gall inks in any of my pens f

by Tony Thomas Iron gall ink formulations have been around for over 1500 years. They are produced by combing iron salts with tannic acids and create an ink that is completely waterproof. A really cool feature of these inks is they darken after the ink dries and oxidizes. The primary disadvantage of iron gall inks is that they are extremely acidic and corrosive and can damage both pens and paper over time. Modern iron gall formulations are reportedly much gentler, however. That said, they are considered by many to be "high-maintenance" inks. After reading many positive reviews, I decided to try Rohrer & Klingner's Scabiosa, an iron gall ink with a purplish hue. The only iron gall ink that I had used previously was Diamine Registrar's Ink and it was a bit dry for my tastes. R&K is a German ink maker that has been around since 1892 and produces 18 different fountain pen inks, including two iron gall formulas. According to their web site: "Our inks feature hi

by Tony Thomas I loaded up my Airmail 444 eyedropper fountain pen sporting a FPR flex nib with Chesterfield Archival Vault ink.  Reportedly, it is custom branded Diamine Registrar's ink sold exclusively by  www.xfountainpens.com . As it is an iron gall formulation designed for fountain pens, it can be used safely in many pens with a bit of extra care. I think that the Airmail 444 is a good choice for this type of ink for the following reasons: It is an eyedropper and there are no metal parts that can corrode other than the nib. The nib can be replaced easily and inexpensively even if corrosion occurs. It uses a very simple ebonite feed that can be cleaned easily. The pen can be disassembled completely for thorough cleaning. The 444 has ample ink holding capacity so that the pen will not dry out quickly. Even though iron gall ink is known to be very dry, it flows very well in this pen and nib combination.  The color change from blue to black is also cool to watch and the ink is wate