india ink inscriptions

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corlay	india ink inscriptions	Lead	[-]
Master Guide Posts: 1000 (09/04/09 09:20:27) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	anyone ever use india ink on a blank to make an inscription? I spent some time writing on a blank last night, (write inscription, decide it looks like crap, remove with acetone, <repeat until satisfied...>) and let it dry overnight. This morning I handled the blank, and the ink smudged. Why won't the india ink dry, so that it won't smudge? Should I blast it with a hair-dryer for a few minutes to "dry-cure" it? I've also thought of spraying it with "Workable Fixative", which I happen to have on-hand. I need to do something to insure that when I coat it with Spar, that it will not smudge. Or I may really loose my temper and do something st00pid... Can anyone help? The last (and only) time I made a hand-written inscription, I used a fine-tip Sharpie marker. That ink dried and stayed-put. But that tip wasn't quite fine enough for my tastes, and the ink not black enough. Which is why I'm trying india ink this time. FYI... "From my observations I think that most of us spend too much time worrying about our tackle and too little time learning the intimate characteristics of the fish and streams we fish most." - Ray Bergman Trout, New York: Knopf 1938
pearow		#1	[-]
Master Guide Posts: 1725 (09/04/09 09:49:10) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	India ink and "writing on the blank" are totally above my level of knowlege and expertise. I have spent many a "lovely" hour doing just as you described, with no luck at all. My advise is to find you a woman; a primary public school teacher would be great, and pay them to write on that blank. It will be good money spent well-p-
gypsy		#2	[-]
Master Guide Posts: 616 (09/04/09 09:49:40) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Krylon Fixatif works well. Matt Leiderman aka hookjaw23 signs his rods with india ink maybe he'll have a tip or two. this was done with a fountain pen and ink. To prevent over spray I cover the blank with newspaper. 2 coats of fixatif works well for me. I let the ink dry for a couple of hours then spray with fixatif-wait 15 minutes-spray again with fixatif-wait a few hours then top coat with epoxy (varnish works also). Actually, now that I think of it, the ink on this rod was overwrapped with white thread and then finished with varnish. Weird reflection after wt. Gypsy Rod Works
mdwwhw		#3	[-]
Master Guide Posts: 650 (09/04/09 11:21:52) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Corlay, that was your 1,000th post, strange the things you notice. I endorse Pearow's method as my handwriting, even on a flat surface, is none to good and likely to be smuged. "Everything's better when wet...." Steve Miller Band
pearow		#4	[-]
Master Guide Posts: 1726 (09/04/09 11:35:52) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	gypsy's work would make Picasso feel inferior!!!!I can see him saying, "I'm not worthy!!I'm not worthy!!") Ha!-p-
gypsy		#5	[-]
Master Guide Posts: 617 (09/04/09 11:54:08) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Lol, #'s are easy to write with a fountain pen, a chicken could sign a blank with a fountain pen better than me. Matt Leiderman writes beautifully with a fountain pen. I don't know if Mike McFarland uses a fountain pen but his penmanship is incredible also. Fred P. is another one who does a very fine job writing on the blank. Any one of these guys probably knows a good way to keep the ink from smearing. Fixatif works for me. BTW Corlay a Micron .005 pen has a very fine tip and writes nicely on a blank. Gypsy Rod Works
hookjaw23		#6	[-]
Guide Posts: 81 (09/04/09 13:56:15) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Hi guys... thanks for the compliments Gyspy... my personal handwriting is awful (or stylized as i like to call it!) but i've probably written my last name thousands of times to get it "right"... i do use India ink on my rods w/ a fine fountain pen... honestly, i've never had any of the problems mentioned above so i can't offer too much help... but here's what i do which works for me... first i rough up the area alittle bit w/ some 400G or 1000G sandpaper (1000 on a smooth blank like a Lami and 400 on an unsanded blank like a Steffen b/c the ridges make writing difficult).... i then write on the blank, let it dry for 10-15 minutes and it's good... varnish follows minutes, hours, days, or months later... if i mess up (which i often do... each rod usually take 4-6 tries until i'm satisfied) i use denatured alcohol to take it off... gotta be alittle careful though... the fountain pen will scratch the blank alittle if you do it over and over and over again and the black ink will start to set into the scratches (think tattoo)... i have blasted it w/ a heat gun for a few seconds (hair dryer will work) to set it quickly... personally, i love using India ink and i'm not sure why yours isnt setting up... i seem to recall that happening once in the past years ago but i cant remember the specifics... i think i roughed up the blank w/ some 1000G paper and it was fine... try the hair dryer trick and see if it works... let us know what you find out. i'd always recommend practicing on a scrap of blank or under the grip area to workout a system that works for you... -matt below is what i use... from Michael's craft stores or any art supply house....
Nijinski.theunofficialbl...		#7	[-]
Sport Posts: 37 (09/04/09 14:15:37) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Dave Lewis helped me with this one. Per Dave's suggestion, I now use acrylic artists paint. Most art shops will have a wide variety of colors available in small jars. You can coat immediately over the acrylic ink with permagloss or spar, and it will not smudge. Here's a photo of a graphite rod I did for a guy and part of the signature for which I used the acrylic ink and a nib pen. Andrew
middlemac		#8	[-]
Posts: 1247 (09/06/09 06:16:21) Projects Coordinator Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Ach, the Bonnie Brae... you guys are all good and I'm sure corlay's next inkscription will be amazing... middlemac
StippledPopper		#9	[-]
Guide Posts: 163 (09/06/09 07:53:07) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Matt What is pictured next to that bottle of Windsor & Newton India Ink looks like a drawing pen. These are the kinds of pens I use for my Pen & Ink work drawings on paper. A fountain pen would be slightly different, holding the ink inside the holder. The fact that you have mastered inscribing with a drawing nib is even more impressive. Moving the pen away from you often causes the nib to flick ink droplets. India Ink is carbon black mixed with shellac. My guess would be that it is probably the interaction of the shellac with the epoxy that is causing the smearing some are reporting here. I ran into the same thing when I first experimented using India Ink for my first poppers. The smearing didn't happen every time. but I switched to acrylic paint.
corlay	*UPDATE*	#10	[-]
Master Guide Posts: 1003 (09/06/09 19:24:06) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I tried masking-off a portion of the inscription that wasn't smeared, and sprayed it with fixitive. Looks like that's going to work. It passed the "smear test". Thanks all! now I just need to remove any smeared ink, and re-write that portion... lesson learned. "From my observations I think that most of us spend too much time worrying about our tackle and too little time learning the intimate characteristics of the fish and streams we fish most." - Ray Bergman Trout, New York: Knopf 1938
scud dog		#11	[-]
Master Guide Posts: 1526 (09/07/09 15:39:15) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	My 2 cents. When I do my first coat of finish, I coat the inscription panel (thin as possible). When it's dry...I brush on my inscription. This way, the ink can't bite into the blank's surface. Even worse is trying to letter an usanded blank without doing this because it can be impossible to remove ink or paint from the ridges if you make an error on an unsanded blank. I've had issues with the ink smearing once the coating hits. I used acrylic the last time...but I didn't get a consistant opacity. Is enamel next?
mtm905		#12	[-]
Guide Posts: 212 (09/08/09 21:37:50) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Corlay, I use india ink and a dip pen from the craft store. Not sure what number the tip is, but the india ink lets me use the finest ones (unlike the silver ink I use on the graphite rods). I have never had had any trouble coating after just a few minutes. I generally use epoxy, but I have used varnish as well and not had any trouble with smearing. Like Matt, I rough up the area with 2000 grit on the smooth blanks. My guess would be the blank is too smooth for the ink to adhere. I have tried the rapidograph? pens also and never had any luck with them. They always got clogged (and they ain't cheap). It was probably me, but I went through 2 of them and gave up.
corlay		#13	[-]
Master Guide Posts: 1005 (09/08/09 22:23:06) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	mtm905 wrote: They always got clogged (and they ain't cheap). It was probably me, but I went through 2 of them and gave up. Mike, Yeah, those pens ain't cheap! I used them a lot back in Architecture School. I discovered that long soaks in hot water sometimes rejuvinated them. They make a device to store the nibs in, that submerges them in a solution, and constantly vibrates them. That is the only way I know of to keep them clog-free. Storing in an air-tight plastic baggie also works for short periods of storage, FYI. The pen I've been using is a craft-store bought Farber-Castell artist's pen, with a fine tip and pre-loaded with India Ink. It's a lot less messy than a drawing/fountain pen, and has a nice, soft tip so as not to scratch the blank, and moves smoothly without "digging-in". Although, I think that y'all are on to something about roughing-up the blank before writing on it. I'm going to try that on my next one, to see if that works for me. I just laid-down a coating of Spar over my fixitive-covered inscription, and it worked great! I don't mind spraying the ink with this fixitive, at all. You don't need much to coat it, and it's pretty easy to do. I'll post some pics this weekend, after I get my final coats down. This Riffle blank has really turned-out nice. I'm not the fastest rod-builder on the block, but the results I'm getting are very satisfying. "From my observations I think that most of us spend too much time worrying about our tackle and too little time learning the intimate characteristics of the fish and streams we fish most." - Ray Bergman Trout, New York: Knopf 1938
Craig		#14	[-]
Sport Posts: 47 (09/10/09 14:49:50) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I initially struggled with this also. My solution was a Micron roller nib pen (0.005) and getting my wife, a fine calligrapher (and elementary art teacher), to do the inscription. Then, I let the inscription dry overnight, masked off the area and very, very lightly sprayed with spar urethane from a spray can to prevent smearing during the next step, which consisted of several coats of diluted (about half-and-half) spar urethane applied with a small foam brush. The foam brush worked amazingly well with dilute spar for this sort of application. This approach was cobbled together from various suggestions from people on this Board. The results were very pleasing.
corlay	*RESULTS*	#15	[-]
Master Guide Posts: 1019 (09/13/09 17:24:24) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	"From my observations I think that most of us spend too much time worrying about our tackle and too little time learning the intimate characteristics of the fish and streams we fish most." - Ray Bergman Trout, New York: Knopf 1938
fred1369		#16	[-]
Master Guide Posts: 178 (09/13/09 17:31:54) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Corey- Very nicely done. Clean and well presented. -Fred
scud dog		#17	[-]
Master Guide Posts: 1533 (09/13/09 20:03:26) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I'm impressed. Very nice.
pigseye		#18	[-]
Registered Member Posts: 5 (09/13/09 21:09:42) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	mtm905 wrote: Corlay, I have tried the rapidograph? pens also and never had any luck with them. They always got clogged (and they ain't cheap). It was probably me, but I went through 2 of them and gave up. Try it with fountain pen ink. Test it somewhere that spills won't matter.
fango		#19	[-]
Guide Posts: 132 (09/22/09 12:04:59) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I have just inscribed on my diamondglass blank...it's not as nice as Andrew's or as neat as Corlay's. I used a silver ink marker with calligraphic tip on the black colored blank.. [ fisheR ] - [ www.malaysianflyrodders.com ]
onemoredeer.clarksclassicfl...		#20	[-]
Master Guide Posts: 350 (09/22/09 18:25:21) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Corey, Fantastic script! Beautiful work. Doug

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