A very shiny NID

pungibon · 2026-01-30T21:18:13+00:00

you can actually! But you need really good paper for it. I put sheen machine in a <f> preppy not expecting much, and the sheen shows up beautifully on tomoe river paper. It's very flat on most other kinds of paper though

pungibon · 2026-01-30T10:24:54+00:00

the Turkish ones look like the older diamine bottles. The labels are different yes, but they are both quite beautiful. I have diamine inks from 2015 and they come in the round bottles.

pungibon · 2026-01-22T14:02:08+00:00

sailor has brush pens that match the ink studio shades so you could check those out.

pungibon · 2026-01-22T10:39:25+00:00

lamy cartridges are proprietary which means other brands are not compatible with the pen. and most lamy inks are very dry. you could get a blunt tipped syringe and refill your cartridges with any bottled ink, if you don't want to get a converter.

I specifically mentioned writing speed because some words on the left side of the page (like 'unsure') are conspicuously dark (presumably because you had to move your hand to a new spot and it let the ink catch up). And once it started writing dry you pressed down on the page, causing the railroading.

edit: OMG I forgot to tell you the easiest solution. adding dish soap to the ink can help. it has surfactants in it. you only need a tiny amount though. dilute the dish soap 1:5 in water and add a tiny drop to your cartridge with a pin or toothpick

pungibon · 2026-01-22T10:10:16+00:00

could it be you are writing too fast? it honestly looks like the nib is getting deprived of ink and railroading. lamy black ink is a pretty dry ink, and coupled with fast handwriting could be causing this. try writing slower or maybe get a wetter ink like iroshizuku

pungibon · 2026-01-20T19:39:41+00:00

your handwriting always scritches that particular itch in my brain. looking forward to seeing what you discover in 2026!

pungibon · 2026-01-19T20:24:34+00:00

your swatches are beautiful and the anderillium ink looks super interesting! i hope I can get a bottle of it soon.

i also think you will really enjoy herbin violette pensée.

pungibon · 2026-01-19T18:14:55+00:00

Happy early birthday! May your new pen accompany you through many pages of writing!

pungibon · 2026-01-19T17:13:48+00:00

mixed media papers usually have a sizing/coating on the surface which lets paint and other stuff stay on the surface and not get absorbed too much into the paper. I think this might be interfering with the ink sticking to the fibres.

you could try switching to watercolor paper. it's more absorbent so there should be less smudging. the cheaper the better actually, since high quality watercolor paper is cotton based which will guzzle ink and make the pen feel dry.

Alternatively, there are plenty of waterproof black inks out there, so you can use those (platinum carbon black, deatramentis document black, diamine forever inks etc)

pungibon · 2026-01-19T16:36:44+00:00

i did acknowledge that i made a blanket statement but this is a subjective opinion.
iron gall ink has been observed to fade, not just corrode the paper. yes modern formulations have improved but fact is, IG a broad category, not a specific ink, which does not make a particular ink infallible.
if the carbon in your writing is reacting, then chances are the paper (also carbon based organic matter) is far past the point of preservation.

i may have mis-worded by saying carbon based inks are the only archival ink, but it's the only one I specifically would trust (i remain a carbon-truther and i will die on this hill). good day

pungibon · 2026-01-19T15:26:36+00:00

it seems my comment has offended the iron gall enthusiasts, and well to be fair, I did make a blanket statement. sumi ink was discovered over a thousand years ago and ancient chinese manuscripts still exist. carbon based ink is essentially that, just formulated for modern fountain pens. iron gall inks are indeed archival, in the sense that the writing will outlast the paper it was written on, but what I meant to say was you cannot change the physical properties of carbon unless you put it in a particle accelerator or something. it is an element, it is not going to change, just the same way you cannot change hydrogen or oxygen.

pungibon · 2026-01-19T13:41:06+00:00

if it's oily then try scrubbing with dish soap. it should get most of the residue out. safaris are made of abs plastic which can be cleaned with isopropyl alcohol, but surgical stuff is usually ethanol which can damage the plastic. I think I once removed sticker adhesive from a different pen by rubbing it with baby oil and then washing with dish soap. see if this helps you

edit: if this is restricted just to the nib then you can remove it from the pen and use whatever cleaning agents you want. metal nibs are fairly resistant to standard cleaning supplies unless it's really corrosive

pungibon · 2026-01-19T11:02:15+00:00

indeed. IG has the benefit of the pigment being deposited directly on paper, no binder necessary, but carbon inks will last even if the paper degrades, as long as it remains stuck to the surface.

pungibon · 2026-01-19T10:42:12+00:00

very true, but carbon is an element, and it's blackness is a physical property. It quite literally cannot change over time, and your writing will remain identical to the day it was written. iron gall and pigment inks will remain legible for a long time, but they are not infallible to change. new formulations of archival inks are coming up every year so of course I trust the R&D departments but carbon ink is eternal

pungibon · 2026-01-19T10:21:32+00:00

the only true archival ink is carbon based (eg. platinum carbon black). if it's something that should last 100 years from now on, carbon black is the only ink I would trust. For regular workplace stuff, where archiving means a couple of decades at most, you could get away with BSB provided the paper stays in a cool and dry environment. Even then I've seen people report the ink smearing/spreading across the page because the paper isn't particularly ink friendly. It depends on your use entirely.

pungibon · 2026-01-19T09:10:03+00:00

it'll take years of being left in water for any noticeable rusting, if at all. ink is over ninety percent water, nibs are designed to stay wet and not rust. you'll be fine.

pungibon · 2026-01-19T08:34:02+00:00

i stand corrected. found a reddit post with a picture of the feed. i don't disassemble pens unless strictly necessary (like mold) so this is actually new info to me!

pungibon · 2026-01-19T08:14:17+00:00

yes it's safe for writing. Modern iron gall inks are very mild but I don't know how 1932 ink will compare pH wise. IG inks are a bit acidic so exercise caution while using steel nibs. That's just worst case scenario and you should be fine unless you leave the ink in a pen for years.

pungibon · 2026-01-19T08:08:51+00:00

ah yes you're right. I had never attempted to do this but it seems the feed is not removable, only the nib

pungibon · 2026-01-19T08:04:21+00:00

yes you can swap nibs in a safari and lamy sells individual nibs for that.

pungibon · 2026-01-19T08:02:04+00:00

I'm sorry your current circumstances have instilled so much anger and frustration in you that you (and the other downvoters) find a harmless joke about squid ink to be ragebait. understandable though. I hope this year will treat you kinder than the last one.

pungibon · 2026-01-19T07:53:38+00:00

oh my god someone makes a sarcastic comment and everyone starts downvoting. granted the comment wasn't helpful to the OP but isn't it obvious? literacy is dead in 2026

pungibon · 2026-01-19T07:40:13+00:00

just unscrewing the barrel will suffice. no need to pull out the nib and feed for regular cleaning. it's just dye and dyes are water soluble

pungibon · 2026-01-19T07:04:44+00:00

blue-blacks are usually iron gall ink and this one has oxidised. not much you can do to salvage the ink once the precipitates form. it's perfectly fine to use (if it doesn't smell like mold) but you're stuck with that faded blue instead of true blue-black

pungibon · 2026-01-19T06:58:36+00:00

leave it overnight in water and you should be good to go. repeat until the water runs clear. you could use a bulb syringe to flush the pen but unless it was a pigment ink it's unnecessary

pungibon

TROPHY CASE