What If We Could Add Little Shimmering Smoke Bombs to Our Gas Tanks....

Think of the huge, fluffy, motivating and, colorful clouds that would collect above our favorite sports stadium.  

Or, the rogue smoke columns streaming from the 3rd shift exhaust pipes as they race from their employer's parking lot.  

My favorite smoke combination would be Shamrock Green, with a sprinkling of Lucky Gold Stars and, highlighted with Belfast Burnt Orange.

If my rusty mind could envision this, I guarantee this concept has been tossed by some young aspiring entrepreneur or a hungry corporate executive drooling at cashing the bonus checks that would surely follow the revenue spikes that would occur just before their nations patriotic holiday.

I wonder what killed this smokey display of individuality...  In a 
word, gunk.  

Think of the chemical properties required to make this a reality and what consequences these additives would introduce to our vehicle's fuel system.  

These caustic additions would immediately start to choke the fuel line and injection system that were precisely engineered to distribute the correct amount of fuel at the correct time to gain locomotion.  Not to mention the fuel tank's sedimentary build up of glittery little smoke bombs over time.

Now, think of your fountain pen. Most don't realize the huge technological obstacles that stood in the way of what we now perhaps take for granted.  

We can appreciate that journey if we look at the development of the

personal computer and the smart phone.

Now, let us look at the new glittering and shimmering inks that are now available.  I love the multiplying effects that these new products bring to the creativity scene of our community but, these inks like anything else, can cause some problems with our fountain pens.

In fact for your newly purchased pen, understand that most manufactures clearly state that if you stray from the list of recommended inks described in the instruction manual you will void the warranty of your pen.

And for that newly restored Waterman Inkvue?  Most professional restorers will also void the repair warranty that usually is attached to services rendered.

But, fear not!  There is an easy preventive maintenance step you can follow that will help stave off the few negative aspects of these inks contain.

If you know for sure you will not use your pen for a few days, simply expel the remaining ink either into the original bottle or, if concerned about cross contamination, us an old empty ink bottle or other air tight container.  

And then flush your pen with cool water until it runs basically clear.  Never use warm or hot water; that may weaken any adhesives that may have been used in the manufacturing or repair process.

But, if you did forget about that glittery Bordeaux Gold Flake that you left in your pen from last week, gently set the pen, nib down, into a glass and fill with cool water to where it covers the nib and gripping section and add a drop of normal dish washing liquid and allow to soak for an hour.  After this is done, follow the same steps mentioned above.

Allow me one more comparison.  Just like older engines do not respond well to the new fuels created in the last decade, I would say the same parallel can be drawn between vintage fountain pens and glittering, shimmering inks.  

The filling systems and feeds of vintage fountain pens are a stroke of engineering genius as were the fast drying, lesser viscosity inks that were specifically developed for these pens.  

These pens will not perform optimally with inks with thicker properties or glittering particles suspended within the ink that can clog intricate filling systems like the Sheaffer Snorkel or Parker Vacumatics.

Will this make vintage fountain pen use boring; not in the least. There is no comparison to writing with a vintage Parker 51 filled with Pilot's Murasaki-Shikibu or a Sheaffer Lifetime Crest with Triumph nib topped off with Private Reserve Sherwood Green.  

Interestingly enough, the same companies that offer the new bling of inks also carry a large variety of beautiful and stunning inks that work perfectly well in vintage fountain pens.

Ink responsibly and write freely,

Jeff

The opinions outlined above are mine alone based on personal experiences in this hobby and some of the issues I've come across repairing vintage fountain pens.  All pictures included in this article were either taken by me or obtained by Google images marked specifically for reuse,