A COMPREHENSIVE AND CROWD-SOURCED

LIST OF IRON-GALL-BASED FOUNTAIN PEN INKS

COMPILED BY T. MEDEIROS

V1.12. LAST UPDATED ON SEP 1th, 2023

What are Iron-gall inks

Iron-gall inks have been used for centuries - Pliny the Elder (23 -79 AD) mentions its components in his Naturalis Historia. These inks are produced by the reaction of tannic acid extracted from galls, a type of growth on trees (especially oak), with ferrous sulphate (FeSO4). Iron Gall inks darken over time as a result of oxidation of the iron content. As the ink dries, the ferrous sulfate is converted to ferric oxide (Fe2O3), which is intensely black.
Iron-gall inks have generally good water-resistance.

Safety

Modern iron-gall inks are much safer to use on fountain pens compared to vintage inks, due to the improved chemical formulation and improvements in metallurgy of pen nibs.  Iron-gall inks do not contain any suspended solids (as is the case of pigmented inks). There is vast literature and discussion on iron-gall safety for fountain pens, and while this is not the goal of this article, I will transcribe some words from an article from Dr. Konrad Żurawski:

“The same reactions which are responsible for darkening and formation of insoluble in water complexes of iron are also unfortunately possible in the interior of fountain pen. This can happen in case if fountain pen is left unused for long time or if fountain pen has large tendency to fast drying out. Cleaning dried Iron Gall ink is not especially difficult, but it requires a lot of time and patience (especially if you can not or do not want to disassemble the pen). Iron Gall inks should be used in fountain pens that we use regularly.” (emphasis added).

While seemingly obvious, the knowledge that the same reactions witnessed on paper are possible inside of our pens is actually quite powerful and vital for the understanding of iron-gall ink behavior and maintenance.

How to identify iron-gall ink

Behavior

Darkening through oxidation after being laid on a page is a good indicative of an iron-gall-based ink. Iron-galls are relatively dry, low-lubricating inks, which make them fast to dry on paper. These properties are obviously not a definitive test, but they denote iron-gall formulation.

Labeling

Even though some labels on iron-gall inks do not disclose the content, many others will allude to the formulation in their packaging. Terms to look for: iron-gall, ferrogallic, inchiostro ferrogallico (Italian), encre ferrogalique (French), eisen-gallus (German), IJzer-Galnoten (Dutch), 铁胆墨水 (Chinese), 没食子インク (Japanese).

Chemical test

If one has access to a basic chemistry lab, there is an interesting test which can be performed on a sample of ink to determine whether is there any iron-gall content:

“If you add either ferricyanide, [Fe(III)(CN)6]3−, to an iron(II) salt or ferrocyanide, [Fe(II)(CN)6]4−, to an iron(III) salt, you get the deep blue mixed-valance Fe(II)/Fe(III) salt, Fe4[Fe(CN)6]3 , aka Prussian Blue.  Thus, ferricyanide can be used as a test for iron(II) and ferrocyanide as a test for iron(III).”^[1]

LIST OF IRON-GALL FOUNTAIN PEN INKS (v.1.12)

Discontinued Formulations

These are older versions of inks, No longer available. Some have been replaced by a new formulation without any iron-gall content. Dates provided are approximate.

Chesterfield Archival Vault (ceased mfg. circa 2016, Likely made by Diamine)

Lamy Blue Black (until~2012)^[2]

Montblanc Blue Black (50-ml shoe Ident.-No. 12574, until ~2010)

Montblanc Midnight Blue (60-ml bottle Ident. 105194 from ~2010 until~2013)

Pharmacist^[3] Blue-Black

Pharmacist Darkening Absinthe

Pharmacist Oriens-Occidens

Pharmacist Purpura Imperialis

Pharmacist Terra Incinerata

Pharmacist Turkish Night

Pharmacist Urkundentinte Document Ink

Pharmacist Vanadium

Currently available formulations

Akkerman No. 10, IJzer-Galnoten bl/zw (allegedly made by Diamine)

Büroservice Bergmann Eisengallustinte Blaufliessend^[4]

Büroservice Bergmann Eisengallustinte Rotfliessend

Diamine Registrar's Ink

ESSRI - Ecclesiastical Stationery Supplies Registrars Ink

Gutenberg Urkundentinte G 10^[5]

Gutenberg-shop Bibeltinte^[6]

Hero 232 Blue - Black

KWZ Iron Gall Blue #1

KWZ Iron Gall Blue #2

KWZ Iron Gall Blue #3

KWZ Iron Gall Blue #4

KWZ Iron Gall Blue #5

KWZ Iron Gall Blue #6

KWZ Iron Gall Blue-Black

KWZ Iron Gall Turquoise

KWZ Iron Gall Green #1

KWZ Iron Gall Green #2

KWZ Iron Gall Green #3

KWZ Iron Gall Green #4

KWZ Iron Gall Green Gold

KWZ Iron Gall Gold

KWZ Iron Gall Mandarin

KWZ Iron Gall Orange

KWZ Iron Gall Grapefruit

KWZ Iron Gall Red

KWZ Iron Gall Cherry

KWZ Iron Gall Red #3

KWZ Iron Gall Violet #2

KWZ Iron Gall Violet #3

Krishna Kot Massi Series Lavender Black

Krishna Kot Massi Series Orange Honey

Krishna Kot Massi Series Permanent Blue Black

Organics Studio Masters of Science Aristotle

Platinum Blue-Black^[7]

Platinum Classic Ink Cassis black

Platinum Classic Ink Lavender Black

Platinum Classic Ink Forest Black

Platinum Classic Ink Citrus black

Platinum Classic Ink Khaki Black

Platinum Classic Ink Sepia Black

Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black^[8]

Rohrer und Klingner Salix

Rohrer und Klingner Scabiosa

Rohrer und Klingner Iron Gall Ebony (2023 Limited Edition)

Stipula Ferrogallico Nero Miseria (Black)

Stipula Ferrogallico Seppia del Tirreno (Brown)

Stipula Ferrogallico Blu Napoleonico (Blue)

Stipula Ferrogallico Rosso Impruneta (Red)

Tianjin Ostrich 223

Tianjin Ostrich 313

Tianjin Ostrich 553

Tianjin Ostrich 903^[9]

TWSBI Blue-Black^[10]

Permanent Inks that are NOT Iron-Galls

Montblanc Permanent Ink Blue (Pigmented Ink) ^[11]

Montblanc Permanent Ink Black (Pigmented Ink, see note 6)

Noodler's Inks ^[12]

Pelikan Fount India (Pigmented Ink, see note 4)

Platinum Carbon Black (Pigmented Ink)

Platinum Chou-Kuro (Pigmented, cellulose-bonding, mineral-reacting ink)

Rohrer und Klingner Permanent Blue (Despite the name, this ink is not permanent at all)

Sailor Nano Sei-Boku (Pigmented Ink)

Sailor Nano Kiwa-Guro (Pigmented Ink)

Thanks and Contributions

This list would never be published without the help of FPN User and moderator lapis, which compiled a preliminary list on a 2013 discussion thread. Also thanks to Sakura Tohma from West Dean College School of Conservation for the elucidative primer on Iron-Gall inks and for the actual gall-nut picture in the header.

Dr. Konrad Żurawski, a Ph.D student of the Faculty of Chemistry, Warsaw University of Technology and founder of KWZ Inks has published excellent texts on Iron-Gall inks and how to properly care for pens using this kind of inks.

Finally, to all readers who have reached out for new IG ink info!

If you hear about a new iron-gall ink, find any inconsistencies or have more information for this list, please send me an email. This list will be updated whenever I take notice of a new Iron-Gall ink.

______

LIST OF IRON-GALL-BASED FOUNTAIN PEN INKS © by Thiago Medeiros, 2017-2023.

LIST OF IRON-GALL-BASED FOUNTAIN PEN INKS is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License. This license allows anyone to remix, tweak, and build upon this work non-commercially, with proper credit.