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Iron Gall Ink

en.wikipedia.org

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Re: Iron Gall Ink

#21

I wonder whether oak gall ink is vegan. The larvae of the gallflies (actually wasps) that grow in oak galls emerge as adults in early summer, according to the Wildlife Trust, leaving the gall mostly intact. Thus, theoretically, it should be possible to make oak gall ink without harming any animals. It would still be an animal product, but produced only from by-products of a wild animal. But then again, perhaps change…

Interesting question. First I'd say veganism isn't a monolith, so opinions will probably differ on the matter. For instance, there is some debate about whether figs are vegan since they are pollinated by fig wasps which then die inside (but are completely absorbed by the fig). I think galls fall into a similar space, but perhaps are less of an issue since they are nominally rid of the insects once they are harvested (though I somehow doubt it can be guaranteed to be completely larvae-free).

Re: Iron Gall Ink

#22

I wonder whether oak gall ink is vegan. The larvae of the gallflies (actually wasps) that grow in oak galls emerge as adults in early summer, according to the Wildlife Trust, leaving the gall mostly intact. Thus, theoretically, it should be possible to make oak gall ink without harming any animals. It would still be an animal product, but produced only from by-products of a wild animal. But then again, perhaps change…

[flagged]

Re: Iron Gall Ink

#23

If you want to write with a permanent ink today that would still be there after a few hundred years, what would be your best choice?

What they call Dokumentenecht in Germany should be suitable; it's made so that even with technical intervention you can't feasibly bleach it without destroying the paper in the process.

Re: Iron Gall Ink

#24

This company makes phenomenal Iron Gall Inks. The ink dries quite fast (I'm left handed, so that is important), shows very interesting shading properties and is super cheap. I suggest you to try them. It's a nice experience. https://www.rohrer-klingner.de/en/writing-ink/?lang=en About the pens, you can find very nice fountain pens on aliexpress, starting from 4 USD including delivery. For example Jinhao X159, 9019 an…

Keep in mind that R&K only has two iron gall inks: Sallix and Ebony. The rest is normal inks, but of good quality for sure. KWZ got started as a producer of iron gall inks but has branched out a bit since. But they still have a large range of colors of IG inks, potentially the largest: https://mountainofink.com/blog/kwz-ink I have some of them, the gold one is a lot of fun as it darkens as you're writing.

got Salix inked MB146 in my pocket right as I write this! It's a really nice ink for higher end pens (I probably wouldn't dare putting it into anything with a steel nib).

If the long-term properties / resistance of the ink are important, R&K also makes one of the few archive grade inks - their Dokumentus. A bit more expensive, but still affordable compared to alternatives. It's nice, but a bit higher maintenance than the Salix / IG inks. I think part of the permanence is achieved by some powder emulsion, so long term storage of an inked pen can be an issue (past maybe a month or so, or even a week in hot and dry weather).

Re: Iron Gall Ink

#25

I wonder whether oak gall ink is vegan. The larvae of the gallflies (actually wasps) that grow in oak galls emerge as adults in early summer, according to the Wildlife Trust, leaving the gall mostly intact. Thus, theoretically, it should be possible to make oak gall ink without harming any animals. It would still be an animal product, but produced only from by-products of a wild animal. But then again, perhaps change…

If you're writing on parchment, I'd say the veganness of your ink is the least of your concerns.

Re: Iron Gall Ink

#26

If you want to write with a permanent ink today that would still be there after a few hundred years, what would be your best choice?

From the fountain pen side, Carbon pigmented inks seem to survive anything you can do without destroying the paper itself. I use Platinum Carbon Black in my lab notebooks.

Re: Iron Gall Ink

#27

If you want to write with a permanent ink today that would still be there after a few hundred years, what would be your best choice?

From the fountain pen side, Carbon pigmented inks seem to survive anything you can do without destroying the paper itself. I use Platinum Carbon Black in my lab notebooks.

I've only recently started using Platinum Carbon Black, and I'm quite happy with it. Addresses the one major concern I've always had with fountain pens, which is how illegible everything becomes when exposed to liquid. Not that that's stopped me using fountain pens, and not that it's been a huge problem in practice, but it's nice to have a durable ink.

Re: Iron Gall Ink

#28

This company makes phenomenal Iron Gall Inks. The ink dries quite fast (I'm left handed, so that is important), shows very interesting shading properties and is super cheap. I suggest you to try them. It's a nice experience. https://www.rohrer-klingner.de/en/writing-ink/?lang=en About the pens, you can find very nice fountain pens on aliexpress, starting from 4 USD including delivery. For example Jinhao X159, 9019 an…

Keep in mind that R&K only has two iron gall inks: Sallix and Ebony. The rest is normal inks, but of good quality for sure. KWZ got started as a producer of iron gall inks but has branched out a bit since. But they still have a large range of colors of IG inks, potentially the largest: https://mountainofink.com/blog/kwz-ink I have some of them, the gold one is a lot of fun as it darkens as you're writing.

at least 3: black, salix, scabiosa

Re: Iron Gall Ink

#29
You can add a little calcium carbonate to these inks to give them a little shine and offset some of the acidity.

The really neat thing about these inks is that they are soluble when made, and you can write on a document, then - as they dry - , the soluble iron tannates that work into the fibers form an Fe3+ tannate, which is insoluble - you aren't writing on the surface, you're dying the fibers. This is why palimpsest can occur when documents where scraped and re-used (so you can read the originals with Xray methods)

Source: I have a battery patent based on iron-gall inks (US10749168B1), and it's fun stuff to play with! (see more @ http://bigattichouse.com )

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