How To Test Ink With Goulet Ink Samples (Fountain Pen 101)

[@j-sonS]

I just got samples today from goulet. My first samples. I also got my first fountain pen today too. A good day.

[@NisesSanctuary]

OMG, the sampling lifestyle! That cracked me up. Had to set down the coffee and run to the bathroom on that note. LOL! I have a BUNCH of samples on order from your company and am not so patiently awaiting my package(s). I know I'll be like a kid at Christmas, as I love different inks and fountain pens. Great ideas for keeping them organized, as I will need that. Right now, I am keeping an ink journal in a bound journal notebook and will do some brainstorming on how I want to correlate my journal with my (many) vials of samples I'll be getting. :)

[@Gouletpens]

Haha, right? I totally get it, and trust me, I'm a dealer hooked on my own goods ;) -Brian Goulet

[@NisesSanctuary]

The Goulet Pen Company Yes, I can tell. But then, when you're in this line of work, you have to be hooked and passionate about what you do or it really becomes a grind. The love of your work carries through in the wonderful customer service you all give to us. :)

[@Gouletpens]

Yes, as long as you get a good one. Herbin's QC on glass pens went down so much that we (and subsequently Exaclair, the US J. Herbin distributor) stopped carrying them. But the concept behind a glass pen is solid.

[@Gouletpens]

Nice! I love the Al-Star, that Ocean Blue is something else! The bulb syringe is life-changing, too.

[@MrLays123321]

The nib on my dip pen was perfect for sampling the inks I’ve bought!! Thanks for the idea!!

[@gwgtaylor]

I'm all about the 'sampling lifestyle' you mentioned! Great quote--I shot coffee out my nose a little bit when you said that. Wasn't prepared. Would love to have a party like that but don't have any pen peeps in Toronto. I should fix that.

[@Apollys]

Holy :O that glass pen is so cool

[@Gouletpens]

Looks like a J. Herbin glass pen (www.gouletpens.com/j-herbin-writing-instruments/c/100), makes trying out samples real easy! - Colin

[@Gouletpens]

Go for the Sheaffer 100, it's a great value and the nib/feed is the same as the 300, so it'll write just as well for about half the price :) it's a great pen, actually.

[@Gouletpens]

That works! That's a great sampling pen, easy to clean too.

[@Gouletpens]

Haha, well, it is kind of a lifestyle! I have a few inks that I use a lot and I have bottles of those, but most of the time I like to just try all different colors. I like to 'pump and dump', basically get one filling and then move on to the next color ;)

[@Gouletpens]

Awesome! I'd love to see the process in a blog post.

[@idreamer1539]

Wow helpful. Just cleaned my pen. Works fine!

[@dojofish132]

Thank you for this. I was trying to draw up ink from the sample vials into a converter. Figured there wasn't enough ink in there to draw up when it kept aerating in the converter.

[@Gouletpens]

Rohrer and Klingner for one, they're the only other 'big' manufacturer I know of...lots of smaller independent ones though. Still...anyone who makes glass pens is pretty much a small timer, it's all hand work involved.

[@Gouletpens]

Cool, thanks for the detailed tips! I (clearly) haven't extensively labels the tops of my ink vials, I'm in a bit of a state of organized chaos :P

[@SunshineFL]

I just received a lot full of ink samples like at least 15. So this will be helpful to me. Do you keep a file of binder of what pens you own with the nib size?. That’s what I plan on doing.

[@cunitia]

Cool idea!! Thanks for the information!

[@georgemudd1796]

I bought some Avery 3/4 inch round multi-purpose round labels at Walmart for a couple of dollars (315 labels) that I am gonna use for my ink samples. Dab the ink on the label and stick it to the top of the vial...no tape needed. Avery label number 6738. Probably would be better to stick the blank label to the top of the vial and then dab on the ink.

[@Gouletpens]

Nice! That sounds like a pretty solid process : )

[@Gouletpens]

Pen maintenance isn't that bad. Your glass pen will be more of a pain, having to dip it every so many words, then clean it after every use. :P Glass pens are great for testing inks, but much less practical for 'normal' use.

[@Coasterdude02149]

HI Brian, I’ve read a fair bit of this over on FPN but wanted your opinion as well. FP inks are dyes….I get that. Calligraphy inks are pigmented , best on dip pens-I got it. Keep ink with shellac away from good FP’s. What about Dr. Ph Martin's watercolurs? They have two lines out- Hydrus which is the lightfast pigmented colour, there is also a line called Radiant which is dye based-no pigments-just dye. I’ve used the Radiant line in my glass dip pen but what if I wanted to use one of the Radiant dye based colours in my FP? All things considered, flushing out well after use, lot letting it dry in the pen, etc. What are you feeling on this? I don’t anticipate this a problem-with all the incredible inks out there, there’s plenty to try. I was just curious as the Dr. Martins are really vibrant & thought they might look nice in a FP. Great videos! VERY big help to newcomers to the FP hobby!

[@Gouletpens]

In general, we definitely only recommend fountain pen inks for fountain pens. Just a lot less risk in doing so. I haven't heard of these watercolor inks, but I don't think it'd hurt to try them out for yourself on a less expensive pen like the the Platinum Preppy. - Colin

[@Coasterdude02149]

Thanks Colin. I'm just getting started so my least expensive right now is the Lamy 2016 ltd. edition-my favourite colour too. So for now I'll save the watercolours for the brush pen. Maybe I'll buy a low cost pen as an experimenter. :)

[@Gouletpens]

Fair enough. I'd definitely stick with brush pens, or check out the Platinum Preppy. You can get a whole set of them to mess around with (www.gouletpens.com/platinum-preppy-fountain-pen-package-set-fine/p/Package-Preppy-F) - Colin

[@Coasterdude02149]

+The Goulet Pen Company Cool! I have an order to place soon so I'll add those to my list. Thanks!

[@pastpianist]

Is there a good way to get ahold of free/cheap samples before you buy a whole bottle?

[@arzo9986]

Dip pen nibs usually have a coating on them so you are supposed to hold them up to a flame before you write for the first time

[@mereiriz]

I keep a record of my inks with a glass pen too. But as you say, the q-tip swabbing doesn’t really show how the ink looks when you write with a pen so I don’t really like doing that.

[@2010stoof]

I feel like a fool. I just bought bottles I'm up to about 50-60 now....maybe more. Haven't counted May try that sample exchange program thing on fpn lol. Or just send samples to newbies on there. I'll never finish what I have. May as well help others. They pay postage and for vials and I'll send samples.

[@alexandrepinto8118]

'Ink sample party'.... what have I been missing

[@julieholt2864]

Will a sample be enough to fill a pen?

[@fb8568]

I prefer to fill sampling ink in preppy

[@ashleymince3297]

Hello, Does anyone know what ring binder Brian uses to keep his ink swab samples in? Thanks, Ash

[@SIOrlove1]

ahhhhh Brian looks like a teenager here :)

[@joedesapio]

Where could I get the vile storage rack you use in the video?

[@jonathanbraithwaite7063]

Pretty sure it's "Karter Scientific 208U2 Plastic Test Tube Rack for 15/17mm Tubes, Holds 50, Detachable" at Amazon. I'm eyeballing it to store 17mm 2 dram vials (flavor concentrates). Also on Amazon, "(6 SHEETS) 924 1/2" BLANK MATTE WHITE ROUND CIRCLE STICKERS FOR INKJET & LASER PRINTERS" on 8.5"x11" for the tops, or Avery has some less print friendly 0.5" round colored stickers too.

[@bootsmama1027]

You can get one from the goulet website.

[@mrbluenun]

Hi, Just wondered are the files the same as medical ones?

[@Suppboio]

ink density? i bought a "Cretacolor Calligraphy ink" and gets stuck in my parallel pen.

[@Gouletpens]

***** yeah....that's probably not a fountain pen ink. Calligraphy ink is typically shellac-based instead of water-based, which is kind of like trying to flow latex paint through your pen. It's just not the right stuff. FP ink is water-based. -Brian Goulet

[@bootsmama1027]

You don't want to use that ink in a fountain pen. Most, if not all calligraphy inks are best used with dip pens.

[@rattlesthecrewmate]

Hi, what notebooks are those? I want that giant red one! lol Great video~

[@Gouletpens]

+Laura They are clairefontaine notebooks! www.gouletpens.com/clairefontaine-classic-lined-staplebound-notebook/p/C63125 -Margaret

[@zackoddy8353]

Can I get a link for those notebooks but with the wire bind plz

[@Gouletpens]

Wirebound Clairefontaine Notebooks: www.gouletpens.com/collections/clairefontaine-classic-notebooks?limit=24&offset=0&filters%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=text&filters%5B0%5D%5Bname%5D=custom_fields.binding_type&filters%5B0%5D%5Bvalues%5D%5B0%5D%5Bvalue%5D=Wirebound&slot=collections%2Fclairefontaine-classic-notebooks - Colin

[@zackoddy8353]

The Goulet Pen Company thank you