Ana always comes back from pen shows with goodies for me to try and review, and this time was no exception. When she handed me a bottle of Private Reserve Ink, Infinity Blue (60mL for $25 from Yafa Brands), I was intrigued. This new ink bears the Infinity name because it is developed to virtually never run dry.
We all have pens we fill and then use intermittently. Depending on a variety of factors (the pen, the cap tightness, the specific ink, the climate) that pen may or may not write fluidly the next time you pick it up. Infinity ink has been formulated so that intermittent use, or going “virtually capless” shouldn’t result in hard starts.
This was going to be fun I thought. I filled up my Estie with the Infinity Blue and started my test. Then I did something that felt incredibly wrong: I left the cap off overnight.
When I came back the next morning, I expected the pen to start, right? Well it didn’t exactly. As you can see, after less than 24 hours capless, the pen did not write fluidly to start. I will say that I touched the back of the nib, and the feed to a tissue, and allowed ink to collect there for a few moments. After that, the pen began to write well again. So it didn’t need the full water treatment, but it definitely wasn’t quite ready for capless.
For my next test, I left the cap on, but a little loose (not fully screwed on). When I came back a few days later, I had the same experience.
My final test was leaving the pen uncapped during a meeting (so approximately an hour or so). This was the only time the pen wrote fluidly with no coaxing.
My test is obviously not exhaustive since I only used one pen, but I’d say my results with that one pen are fair to middling. I didn’t have to get up and run water over the nib to get it started, but it didn’t just write the second I picked it up. I expect that it would work well in a pen that you use intermittently that you keep capped, regardless of if the seal were super tight, but I’m not sure I’m ready to go with “it can be virtually cap-off ‘forever’.”
Have you tried this ink? What are your thoughts?
- Paper: Maruman Mnemosyne N182A Inspiration Notebook A5 ($10.50)
- Pen: Esterbrook Estie Lilac ($185)
- Ink: Private Reserve Ink, Infinity Blue (60mL for $25 from Yafa Brands)
DISCLAIMER: Thanks to Yafa Brands for providing us a bottle of Private Reserve Ink in Infinity Blue for review. Please see the About page for more details.
Living in Denver, the dry capitol of the world it seems, well to me at least. I have never found an ink that would survive “cap off” overnight here. I might give it a shot, but seeing how your test results were, I can all but say I’m pretty convinced it would not do well in super dry climates… maybe the deep soggy south..lol
These are great inks. I love them in my Pilot VP’s, which always dry out with other inks.
I interpret the box’s description differently. They claim that if you use the pen “intermittently” you won’t need to cap it. So I don’t think that the failure of the pen to start after having been left uncapped and unused overnight is a sign that they have misrepresented their product.
It seems like maybe an ink that allows you to leave the cap off your fountain pen is not really the most urgent of needs, in the grand scheme of things. Just saying.
I’m thinking a couple of things. One is I know how often I put a cap back on when I’m just going to take a minute to look something up online or find a note on my phone. With this ink, I wouldn’t have to cap the pen so many times. Secondly, I keep about 60 pens inked, each with different colors. I especially appreciate pens that do a good job of sealing air flow away from the nib when capped. I’m wondering if this ink would in any way help with pens that don’t seal off air flow so well.
I think this ink is meant for use during meetings or calls where you’re taking notes… and I’m really pleased with its performance in doing that.
I tested it and could leave a pen uncapped and with no use for at least 20 minutes. I think that’s “real life” conditions, at least for me YMMV!