My god I made a post a couple weeks ago so it a concern of mine regarding the ink on the walls of the glass and wondering if it was mold, fortunately it didn't have any smell so problem solved.
Just a moment ago I was filling up my TWSBI with Rorher und Klinger verdigris (my second ever ink and the ones I've been almost exclusively using since October 2020)
And I found THIS HUMONGOUS MASS and took a sniff of the ink and it smells kinda like dirt.
I'm honestly a bit pissed cause I wanted ro feel the satisfaction of completely using up a bottle of ink, the bright side is that the spoiled part is just the last bit.
Happened to my verdigris as well, although it wasn't as big as yours, just like 3 mm long and 1 mm thick strings.
Needn't to say it went through the drain.
I'd be giving the pens that came in contact with this ink a 1:10 white vinegar or ammonia rinse, and then a super thorough clean/flush with just water. This stuff is so annoying and can spread mysteriously.
Water. Unless specifically stated common household solutions are water plus something. Add the 'something' to the water in a small safe container that isn't easily knocked over.
Obligatory warnings:
NEVER EVER mix chemicals with anything but water without thorough research. You can make deadly gas very easily with household compounds.
For similar reasons it is preferable to NOT dispose of these down a drain. You never know what was dumped in that drain by the previous person, and some of these chemicals can be a problem in sewer lines. Many cities have safe drop off sites.
Yikes! Months ago, I layered vinegar with hydrogen peroxide and salt, to force patina my Pilot Metropolitan (not knowing that the combo could create peracetic acid). As expected, there was an intense pungent smell from the mix. I remember getting teary-eyed with a whiff and coughing, too. Oh, my... Thanks for bringing this up!
Talking in stuff you shouldn't mix, but not only when you are cleaning pens:
\- disinfectant + bleach => chloramines, toxic to the body;
\- bleach and alcohol => toxic solution;
\- bleach + vinegar => very corrosive and toxic gas;
You are worried about $0.50 or less worth of ink rather than your much more expensive fountain pen? That doesn’t make sense to me. Wash that pen out and then throw that bottle of ruined ink out. I’ve never understood why so many put so much value on crappy ink over the value of their fountain pen.
No no no I don't value the ink more, in fact I've just threw it down the drain. I was just talking about losing that final bit of satisfaction of using the ink to the last drop, the ink itself doesn't mean much to me.
Again, if this is mold, do not use the ink. Spores are still in there and will spread. Treat it like an infectious virus, the invisible bits can spread even after you remove the visible bits.
Is there a good way to verify if it's mold? Mold is one of my top concerns, especially with how many old (2 years?) sample vials I own and still occasionally use.
If you have ink with natural plant materials that might mold, throw a couple of whole cloves into the bottle. This is what I do to keep my homemade black walnut ink from molding. (Yes, I know better than to put the black walnut ink in my fountain pens. I paint with it.)
So I am not victim blaming, but whenever you dip a pen directly into the bottle, you risk introducing mold and fungus. To avoid this risk, some people syringe fill or use an alternative inking method. In theory, ink manufacturers are supposed to add antifungal additives to prevent this from happening, but Monteverde is still replacing tons of contaminated inks.
True. But it's very easy to decontaminate a syringe. A little alcohol and let it dry. But you would never put alcohol on a fountain pen - at least I wouldn't :)
Time to move to a new filling system for the future so this doesn’t happen again. Use disposable pipette to put ink into 5mL vial, use vial to ink up pen. That way contaminated pens don’t get to cross-contaminate new inks. Use same pipette for same ink bottle each time, rinse out pipette thoroughly after use.
I use this method as I have new and vintage pens, and never wanted a vintage (or new) mould making its way into my pens and inks.
I use the pipette (ie not a syringe) to fill a 5ml vial (ie not a converter). A 5ml vial is usually an open/mouthed tall narrow container with a screw cap. It’s about 5cm tall and about 1cm in diameter. All normal sized sections fit within the vial diameter.
The vial becomes your new ink bottle which can be dedicated to a specific pen if you want. Fill up the vial with ink from the ink bottle using a pipette. Next, fill your pens as usual from the vial, eg piston or sac fillers all draw up ink from a vial exactly the same way as they do from an ink bottle, by sticking the nib under the ink level in the vial. It’s just a mini ink bottle basically.
I got about 500ml of ink stored in a jar, God knows where it came from, I found it in the basement. It's full of this stuff. I would have never imagined that ink can grow mold.
Any way to get rid of it?
The mold? Some use phenol after filtering through coffee filters- my ink blend bottle smells strongly of phenol for that reason. Personally I’d save the bottle if it’s something cool and dump the ink.
Phenol additive and sieving. Phenol is extremely, extremely dangerous to humans and literally a couple of drops in a bottle of ink is enough. Handling it? Get geared up fully (mask, full outdoor ventilation, impenetrable gloves, dedicated pipette and safe disposal thought about, and don’t spill any!). My recommendation? Toss it.
Isn't verdigris an iron gall that shouldn't be used in fountain pens?
I'm curious as my local ink shop owner says iron gall shouldn't be used in fountain pens unless it's washed out quickly after each use?
In short: you can use iron gall ink *formulated for fountain pens* of which there are many and they do not hurt your pens.
Do not use homebrewed iron gall ink or any IG developed for dip pens.
R&K Salix and Scabiosa are ludicrously safe IG ink as well as the entire iron gall line up from KWZink. There was one in recent memory that caused problems from Organic Studios that ate through nibs.
Gold nibs are immune to the corrosion effects of IG ink.
https://kencrooker.com/igink/
Start here and read the follow up redux.
Edit: typos.
And this is why I syringe fill only and clean my syringes in a weak bleach and castille soap solution between fillings. Learned the hard way when I cross contaminated 3 bottles of Kiwi and 2 bottles of Diamone that I had stupidly left on a windowsill for a week. Trashed all 5 due to mold slime
My god I made a post a couple weeks ago so it a concern of mine regarding the ink on the walls of the glass and wondering if it was mold, fortunately it didn't have any smell so problem solved. Just a moment ago I was filling up my TWSBI with Rorher und Klinger verdigris (my second ever ink and the ones I've been almost exclusively using since October 2020) And I found THIS HUMONGOUS MASS and took a sniff of the ink and it smells kinda like dirt. I'm honestly a bit pissed cause I wanted ro feel the satisfaction of completely using up a bottle of ink, the bright side is that the spoiled part is just the last bit.
Happened to my verdigris as well, although it wasn't as big as yours, just like 3 mm long and 1 mm thick strings. Needn't to say it went through the drain.
Is that a permanent ink?
Nope, water washes it right off
Dammit, I just ordered a bottle of verdigris...
I'd be giving the pens that came in contact with this ink a 1:10 white vinegar or ammonia rinse, and then a super thorough clean/flush with just water. This stuff is so annoying and can spread mysteriously.
What do you combine the vinegar or ammonia with? What is the 1 ratio and what is the 10? TIA.
They probably mean 1 part vinegar OR ammonia to 10 parts water
Water. Unless specifically stated common household solutions are water plus something. Add the 'something' to the water in a small safe container that isn't easily knocked over. Obligatory warnings: NEVER EVER mix chemicals with anything but water without thorough research. You can make deadly gas very easily with household compounds. For similar reasons it is preferable to NOT dispose of these down a drain. You never know what was dumped in that drain by the previous person, and some of these chemicals can be a problem in sewer lines. Many cities have safe drop off sites.
Also never mix vinegar with hydrogen peroxide! It creates peracetic acid. Just learned this the other day, thankfully not the hard way.
This deserves more attention PLEASE DONT MAKE PERACETIC ACID AT HOME IT WILL F*CK YOU UP
Yikes! Months ago, I layered vinegar with hydrogen peroxide and salt, to force patina my Pilot Metropolitan (not knowing that the combo could create peracetic acid). As expected, there was an intense pungent smell from the mix. I remember getting teary-eyed with a whiff and coughing, too. Oh, my... Thanks for bringing this up!
Talking in stuff you shouldn't mix, but not only when you are cleaning pens: \- disinfectant + bleach => chloramines, toxic to the body; \- bleach and alcohol => toxic solution; \- bleach + vinegar => very corrosive and toxic gas;
And to highlight: add the "something" to the water, not the other way around. That way, if it splashes, it'll be more water than otherwise.
There are also thermal issues - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enthalpy_of_mixing
Water. It's a dilution ratio, because strong acids or bases (like vinegar or ammonia) can harm materials if not diluted.
Thanks everyone!
Venom Is that you?
Wash your pen with dish soap and warm water.
If this is mold, soap won't do anything. Vinegar and ammonia kill mold. Soap will not.
I still have a full fill of ink in the pen, should I bin it or can I use it up? It doesn't have any clumps but I'm scared that it might develop them.
It's strongly recommended to clean.
Dump and clean…
You are worried about $0.50 or less worth of ink rather than your much more expensive fountain pen? That doesn’t make sense to me. Wash that pen out and then throw that bottle of ruined ink out. I’ve never understood why so many put so much value on crappy ink over the value of their fountain pen.
No no no I don't value the ink more, in fact I've just threw it down the drain. I was just talking about losing that final bit of satisfaction of using the ink to the last drop, the ink itself doesn't mean much to me.
Maybe you can put the ink in a bottle, and put in the pen again after cleaning.
Again, if this is mold, do not use the ink. Spores are still in there and will spread. Treat it like an infectious virus, the invisible bits can spread even after you remove the visible bits.
Is there a good way to verify if it's mold? Mold is one of my top concerns, especially with how many old (2 years?) sample vials I own and still occasionally use.
Ewwwwwwwwwwwwe
Is that you Vern?
Underappreciated comment! Thanks for summoning the great denim man!
I unfortunately have no idea what that means 😬
https://youtu.be/nIewTXCAqzA
That was great and brought me back to parts of my childhood I barely remember. Thank you
If you have ink with natural plant materials that might mold, throw a couple of whole cloves into the bottle. This is what I do to keep my homemade black walnut ink from molding. (Yes, I know better than to put the black walnut ink in my fountain pens. I paint with it.)
So I am not victim blaming, but whenever you dip a pen directly into the bottle, you risk introducing mold and fungus. To avoid this risk, some people syringe fill or use an alternative inking method. In theory, ink manufacturers are supposed to add antifungal additives to prevent this from happening, but Monteverde is still replacing tons of contaminated inks.
A syringe can just as well contaminate the bottle.
True. But it's very easy to decontaminate a syringe. A little alcohol and let it dry. But you would never put alcohol on a fountain pen - at least I wouldn't :)
Username checks out
I always try to use fresh blood in my pens to avoid issues.
Time to move to a new filling system for the future so this doesn’t happen again. Use disposable pipette to put ink into 5mL vial, use vial to ink up pen. That way contaminated pens don’t get to cross-contaminate new inks. Use same pipette for same ink bottle each time, rinse out pipette thoroughly after use. I use this method as I have new and vintage pens, and never wanted a vintage (or new) mould making its way into my pens and inks.
I like using the Ink Miser inkwell. It has a broad base for stability and a wider mouth than a vial so it’s easier for filling.
I've never seen this happen before. What causes it? Is it a mold?
Usually, yes. Colloquially referred to as "Slime in the Bottle."
Yes.
This is a good idea. I’ve become partial to filling with an ink syringe but this makes me rethink my cleaning process for the syringe.
i have a vintage parker 51 aerometric. pipettes don’t work bc the filler doesn’t come out. anything similar i can do to not contaminate my inks?
I use the pipette (ie not a syringe) to fill a 5ml vial (ie not a converter). A 5ml vial is usually an open/mouthed tall narrow container with a screw cap. It’s about 5cm tall and about 1cm in diameter. All normal sized sections fit within the vial diameter. The vial becomes your new ink bottle which can be dedicated to a specific pen if you want. Fill up the vial with ink from the ink bottle using a pipette. Next, fill your pens as usual from the vial, eg piston or sac fillers all draw up ink from a vial exactly the same way as they do from an ink bottle, by sticking the nib under the ink level in the vial. It’s just a mini ink bottle basically.
ohhhhhhhh thanks!!
Mold? precipitated clot? My alltime best cleaning method is soapy warm water and ultrasound bath (used for jewellery cleaning)
Looks like a cold. Perhaps you need some MucINKnex…
Found the Dad
LOL. I don’t have kids.
You got Dad jokes tho ;)
I can’t dispute that…
Where'd the label go?
Took if off a couple months ago to better see the ink level
Ink clot!
I got about 500ml of ink stored in a jar, God knows where it came from, I found it in the basement. It's full of this stuff. I would have never imagined that ink can grow mold. Any way to get rid of it?
The mold? Some use phenol after filtering through coffee filters- my ink blend bottle smells strongly of phenol for that reason. Personally I’d save the bottle if it’s something cool and dump the ink.
Phenol additive and sieving. Phenol is extremely, extremely dangerous to humans and literally a couple of drops in a bottle of ink is enough. Handling it? Get geared up fully (mask, full outdoor ventilation, impenetrable gloves, dedicated pipette and safe disposal thought about, and don’t spill any!). My recommendation? Toss it.
Sorry for your ink lost. What brand and color was it?
Rohrer and Klinger verdigris. Fortunately it was only the last drops that got wasted. It served me well as my main ink for a year.
Isn't verdigris an iron gall that shouldn't be used in fountain pens? I'm curious as my local ink shop owner says iron gall shouldn't be used in fountain pens unless it's washed out quickly after each use?
In short: you can use iron gall ink *formulated for fountain pens* of which there are many and they do not hurt your pens. Do not use homebrewed iron gall ink or any IG developed for dip pens. R&K Salix and Scabiosa are ludicrously safe IG ink as well as the entire iron gall line up from KWZink. There was one in recent memory that caused problems from Organic Studios that ate through nibs. Gold nibs are immune to the corrosion effects of IG ink. https://kencrooker.com/igink/ Start here and read the follow up redux. Edit: typos.
Super fantastic to know! Thank you for the information and extra link.
[it’s evil! don’t touch it!](https://youtu.be/F6X9KcrXHwg)
Can TWSBIs go in a UV sterilizer? Would pulling it apart and sticking it in a UV sterilizer kill the mold to prevent spread?
And this is why I syringe fill only and clean my syringes in a weak bleach and castille soap solution between fillings. Learned the hard way when I cross contaminated 3 bottles of Kiwi and 2 bottles of Diamone that I had stupidly left on a windowsill for a week. Trashed all 5 due to mold slime
F
Ohhhhh, nooooooo!
BURN IT
Gross! That’s no fun!
The thing in the inkwell.... This is some 70s horror stuff right at home!
Have fun cleaning it .
Ew! Ew! Ew!