I have used inks with iron-gall content for years because of their permanency, which is required in my job. Typically the ink consists of two components: 1) The iron-gall suspension and 2) An aniline dye. The irongall component is only weakly colored by itself, so the addition of the dye is necessary to se the ink when writing. When soaked in water, the aniline dye washes out and the grayish iron-gall component remains on the paper. The binding of the iron-gall to the cellulose in the paper is getting progressively stronger during the first 24 hours after applying it.
Various iron-gall inks contains varying amounts of iron-gall. Diamine Regstrars Ink have considerably more iron-gall than say Montblanc Mignight Blue.
Only use iron-gall ink which is clearly labelled as suitable for fountain pens. There are also "medieval" recipes available which are more acidy and have a much larger iron-gall content. These should NOT be used in fountain pens as they tend to clog the pen easily and the acidity can damage the pen.
Also iron-gall inks made for fountain pens have e tendencu to throw a precipitate which can clog the pen if it's not flushed with water very regularly. Never put a pen away with iron-gall ink in it. Empty it and flush it with water.
I have used inks with iron-gall content for years because of their permanency, which is required in my job. Typically the ink consists of two components: 1) The iron-gall suspension and 2) An aniline dye. The irongall component is only weakly colored by itself, so the addition of the dye is necessary to se the ink when writing. When soaked in water, the aniline dye washes out and the grayish iron-gall component remains on the paper. The binding of the iron-gall to the cellulose in the paper is getting progressively stronger during the first 24 hours after applying it.
Various iron-gall inks contains varying amounts of iron-gall. Diamine Regstrars Ink have considerably more iron-gall than say Montblanc Mignight Blue.
Only use iron-gall ink which is clearly labelled as suitable for fountain pens. There are also "medieval" recipes available which are more acidy and have a much larger iron-gall content. These should NOT be used in fountain pens as they tend to clog the pen easily and the acidity can damage the pen.
Also iron-gall inks made for fountain pens have e tendencu to throw a precipitate which can clog the pen if it's not flushed with water very regularly. Never put a pen away with iron-gall ink in it. Empty it and flush it with water.