thINKthursday
Sheaffer Vintage #42 Washable Blue

This week, we’re dusting off a bottle of Sheaffer Washable Blue to see if old inks can learn new tricks.

thINKthursday – Sheaffer Washable Blue

We were lucky enough to come across some unused bottles of Sheaffer Washable Blue. There’s something special about being able to put a vintage ink in a vintage pen, and the denim color of Washable Blue is a joy to use. The ink comes in a round 2oz bottle with the original cardboard packaging. The coolest thing about these bottles is the glass lip near the top of the bottle. When the bottle is getting low you just flip the bottle over to fill the reservoir, and when you turn it back around it remains full! It’s one of the most practical ink bottles designs ever made. This review was done with a Pilot Custom 74 F, Sheaffer 100 M and on Rhodia blank No.18 paper.

Sheaffer #42 Washable Blue is a fairly standard blue; it would have been used by school children who were more likely to get ink on their clothes. It’s a great color for everyday writing, especially for at work. At its lightest, the ink is a cobalt blue. From there, it shades to a nice denim before going to a dark navy blue. The ink is matte in appearance and doesn’t display and sheen.

As long as ink is stored correctly, it doesn’t really have a shelf life. Washable Blue is testament to how a vintage ink makes for a great writer. The ink has good flow with no feathering or bleedthrough on Rhodia paper. Dry times were good at 20-30 seconds, and the ink had a moderate saturation. The ink didn’t have much water resistance, but clean-up was as easy as it gets.

If you want to match your vintage pen with a vintage ink, then this is a no brainer. If you just want an ink that is gentle on your pen and easy to clean – no brainer. Want a nice everyday blue ink for work and an awesome glass bottle when you’re dong using it? No brainer. I’ll admit that I’m a sucker for the vintage aesthetic, but when the ink writes this nicely and looks this lovely, it’s just a great ink.

As with any ink review, the pen, paper, and person doing the writing will influence the way the ink looks. If you’re not sure about a color, try a sample to see if it’s the one for you.

Ink it Up!
Chris

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