Inkcyclopedia Rohrer und Klingner Salix

[@shushens]

It is kind of annoying that most big German office supply stores do not house a good collection of ink. When they do, they usually forget all about R&K and store Mont Blank, Pelikan Edelstein and Caran d'Ache instead, possibly because they get a fatter margin out of those inks. The walls of the glass bottles are quite a bit thinner than usual, which the shopkeepers often use as an excuse to not import them. But these inks, shipped from Leipzig, are rather inexpensive and much better behaved than many other inks I have tried that were easily twice as expensive. I wish they would invest more heavily into making waterproof inks. They have some very interesting colours, but they are 100% washable, and perhaps intentionally so.

[@shushens]

Shawn Steuer You misunderstood my comment. Obviously this iron-gaul formula is waterproof. What I meant is, I wish they made some of their other inks waterproof. It would sell superbly well, because there is no European parallel for Noodler's, which is very surprising.

[@shushens]

Shawn Steuer Perhaps some research is in order on how to make ink permanent without compromising the colour entirely. Perhaps Alt-Goldgrün cannot be permanent, but Fernambuk and Sepia could be. There is this eternal ink from Private Reserve called Aquablue. It is not iron-gaul as far as I know, but it is quick-drying as well as waterproof. On a lighter note, it is amusing to see 'were great'. Perhaps you thought 'wäre super'? I used to have this problem in reverse. When I thought 'would be', I said 'würde sein'. Took some time to develop the habit of saying 'wäre' :P

[@shushens]

It is a very special colour. There is nothing else out there quite like it. But one drop of spilt coffee and it is all gone. I would love my journals to be a little more secure than that. So I am sticking to Scabiosa and some Noodler's inks for now. But getting Noodler's products in Europe is such a pain in the butt.

[@darrenringer9811]

The F nib here looks to be toward the broad end of things, like 0.6mm, but I've found this ink lightens up a lot when it goes on thinner than that in a drier pen. I have an F nib that puts it down about like this, but others where it comes out much lighter. I've seen it suggested that the name "Salix" (willow) refers to the blue "Willow pattern" china that was popular over a century ago. Indeed I find the shading of this ink to match the shading on such dishware, from light to dark.

[@fhurvhur]

Thanks much for the vid. On the net there are several warnings about Iron-Gall inks harm the nibs and clog the pens, how about them? At least what kind of precautions we should take when using this ink? Is there any information around how to safely use Iron-Galls?

[@LPWaterhouse]

Can you tell me if you feel ESSRI is the closest substitute for such a fascinating ink that was once MB Midnight Blue? I'm going to get a sample of R&K Salix and Diamine Registrar's BB from Goulet PC but with ESSRI you can either buy the 110ml 'tanker' bottle or nothing so it's a bit of a gamble if it doesn't meet anticipations.

[@eliseandad]

Diamine Registrar's ink is a good comparison as regards properties and color.

[@TanjaOrme]

First ink I bought as in a bottle (together with scabiosa). It has not failed me. :D

[@MartaZobeniak]

Wow! I'm researching inks for my first ever fountain pen and thinking about a Salix + Scabiosa combo! :)

[@Keen_Edge]

Had any issue with either of the inks eating through the paper with time?

[@TanjaOrme]

@@Keen_Edge No, none at all. I use Scabiosa daily still and I'd say Salix weekly, maybe a little less. I see no issues in my old journals (only that the ink has darkened). I've used tomoe river paper and leuchtturm books, both seem fine.

[@Keen_Edge]

@@TanjaOrme very good to hear. I love my iron gall inks and would hate for them to be the reason for losing a journal.

[@TanjaOrme]

@@Keen_Edge I think the modern ones are mild enough that they won't destroy the paper. I too love my iron gall inks!

[@moddrrrusky2910]

I love this guy

[@jopiesanchez6453]

You're hilarious. I'm so happy I came across this review. Haha!

[@AlexGoMAD]

This looks like Pelikan 4001 blue-black which is an iron gall ink too.

[@Maximilian178]

+AlexGoMAD that is true, though the iron gall part in the 4001 blue-black is so small that it can be used without problems in any type of fountain pen. The 4001 blue-black is my personal favorite ink (especially since I can buy it at the office store). The iron gall is responsible for the grey colour, the blue color will vanish just like with "royal blue" but the iron-gall reacts with the air and remains visible for quite a while (if my knowledge about the iron-gall ink is not failing me here) but it also means that it is less water resistant (not at all) but very well light resistant.

[@Felix-db3pv]

Exactly! I've been using Pelikan 4001 blue black for about ten years now, and today I got my first bottle of this Rohrer und Klingner "Salix". I simply can’t recognize any difference, nither on the paper in daily use nor on a little saple paper where I put them side by side. My test includes some bits heavily washed out with water. I’m going to say these two inks seem to be just identical.

[@Joehand87]

What are people's thoughts about iron gall inks and their ability to damage pens? :-/

[@Felix-db3pv]

I'm having my Pelikan M600 inked up with Pelikan blue black full time for ten years now and I'm experiencing no problems at all. Of course this is an ink Pelikan recomends for their pens, so it should be like that.

[@rafgomez333]

Hi there, thank you for the video. And is there any risk of using this type of ink in a piston filler pen? Would you put this ink into a high-end limited edition pen?

[@thejunkmail4u]

Thanks for the review! Have you tried ESSRI? I was thinking about buying some (looking for a very dry-writing, waterproof, and inexpensive ink for writing up lab/technical notes), but there aren't many reviews (and of course samples aren't available).

[@thequoff]

What is the name of that flex nib pen?

[@tylerfitzgerald677]

I believe it's a Noodler's Nib Creeper.

[@Liessae]

Everyone should own a bottle of this. And Scabiosa too, if you like muted purples :)

[@TanjaOrme]

I like muted purples :)

[@Eduardoaadealmeida]

"oi" (in portuguese) = "hello". :]