Goulet Q&A is now available as an audio podcast! Click here for the RSS feed to use in your podcast app of choice, or click here for a direct download.
In this episode, I talk about old standby inks, the importance of writing surfaces, and my dream ink lineup.
This week:
- Ellie’s dance recital
New/Upcoming Products – (1:31)
- restocking some good product, including some Lamy EF nibs
- Monteverde Giant Sequoia
- Visconti Homo Sapiens Bronze Age in Midi size
- Visconti Homo Sapiens Elegance
- Conklin Duragraph Orange Nights (Goulet exclusive)
- Coming soon:
Pens/Writing – (10:46)
1) Jude C.- Facebook – (10:48)
The surface that paper is placed on, such as a wood table or the remaining pages in a notebook, seems to really affect a pen’s smoothness. Do you prefer a special clipboard or a soft mat under your paper when you write?
- the writing surface can make a difference in the way your pen feels, yes
- depending on the wood, it especially feels different if you’re writing on a large pore wood like oak
- they make leather desk pads for this reason, it’s a pretty good surface for single sheets of paper
- most often, just writing with a second sheet of paper underneath will provide enough cushion to give a noticeable feel
- I personally don’t use anything special, just the sheets of paper
2) edi alba- YouTube – (13:12)
Brian, I really have a existential question … If you like pens, paper and ink …you are a…what? ,like ,is there a word that means “pens, ink and paper lover”?
- hmm…
3) Jonathan D.- Facebook – (15:15)
When filling a piston filled pen how difficult/troublesome is it to switch out ink on a regular basis? I love the inks that TheGouletPenCompany posts but am not sure how tedious it is to switch inks out.
- it depends on the pen, honestly
- if you have a pen like the TWSBI Eco/580/Mini you can disassemble it and it’s easy to clean (except being a demo)
- other pens like Pelikans, Montblancs, Auroras can be tougher
- with the exception of the M800, most Pelikan pens are not meant to be taken apart
- if you can remove the nib unit, that helps a lot bc you can q-tip swap it out
- if you can’t take anything out, then it’s really kind of a pain, and you’ll want to switch less often
Ink – (21:08)
4) kitssnaps- Instagram – (21:16)
My question is about iron gall inks, and these inks that are blue-black, or have some other name – like Pelikan Edelstein Tanzanite, which, according to your specs, is NOT an iron gall ink, but STILL turns black. And then there is a green-black out there and other colors-hyphen-blacks out there. Do they ALL turn black if they’ve got the hyphen-black in their name? Why? Why does the Edelstein Tanzanite turn black if it’s not an iron gall ink, and why doesn’t it say that it will up front? I see some really cool colors out there (that green-black looks awesome) but I don’t want one that’s going to turn black on me. This hyphen-black stuff confuses me. Can you make it make sense?
- Originally, the hyphenated names were iron gall bc they’d go from the color to black
- Blue-black was really the only option for a while
- the color dye used in iron gall inks is temporary colorant used to give visibility while writing until the iron ions oxidize (turn black)
- I can’t really explain your experience with Tanzanite, I haven’t seen it darken over time like I have with other iron gall inks
- what’s kind of confusing is that not all inks that are iron gall explicitly say it, but there aren’t that many of them
- there used to be more, Lamy Blue Black used to be, Montblanc Blue Black I believe is not anymore
- modern iron gall formulations use hydrochloric acid (more moderate, less extreme color shifts), traditional inks used sulfuric acids (more extreme color shifts)
- More mild (changes color less): Platinum Blue Black, Rohrer and Klingner Salix and Scabiosa
- More color changing: Platinum Classic, KWZ, Diamine Registrar’s
5) Hunter R.- Facebook – (26:01)
One I haven’t seen answered before: If you had to choose a “starting lineup” of inks comprised of your single favorite ink from each brand you carry, how would that play out?
- Great question! This is tough, and will be somewhat point in time
- I went brand by brand and picked my favorite, you’ll see a pretty narrow palette!
- Aurora Black
- Caran d’Ache Vibrant Green
- De Atramentis Indigo Blue
- Diamine Majestic Blue
- Graf von Faber-Castell Deep Sea Green
- J. Herbin 1670 Emerald of Chivor
- Lamy Turquoise (regular), Copper Orange (special edition)
- Montegrappa Turquoise
- Monteverde Horizon Blue
- Noodler’s Liberty’s Elysium
- Pelikan Edelstein Topaz
- Pilot Iroshizuku Yama-Budo (okay, Kon-Peki)
- Platinum Carbon Black (or Classic Lavender Black)
- Robert Oster Blue Water Ice (I think)
- Rohrer & Klingner Scabiosa
- Sheaffer Red
- Stipula Sapphron
- Visconti Blue
6) @andrewholgin- Twitter – (33:11)
what’s your opinion on some of the “old fashioned” standby inks (Parker Quink, Waterman, Sheaffer Skrip, diamond etc )
- Parker I’m pretty underwhelmed, quite honestly
- Waterman and Sheaffer I think are just fine, the palette is pretty conventional but there are a couple of standout colors (Waterman Serenity Blue, Mysterious Blue, Sheaffer Red, and Turquoise)
- They’re “safe” colors, very conventional and fine if you want to go easy
- there are SO many other fun colors, between Diamine, Noodler’s, Robert Oster, De Atramentis, so many many other fun things to explore
- in my opinion, you’re missing out if you don’t explore beyond these, though you can still absolutely enjoy your pens with just these brands
Personal – (36:51)
7) @tubacabura- Twitter – (42:27)
Brian, I haven’t seen your Ooze Tube for a while can you tell me what happened to it?
- still got it! And some other fun office toys
- I believe play is an important part of relieving stress and keeping the mind active
- I’m also a tinkerer, so I like to fidget with things
QOTW: What do you call a pen/ink/paper lover? – (42:27)
Thanks so much for joining us this week! You can catch up on any old Q&A videos you missed here.
Write On,
Brian Goulet