Walnut ink vs Higging Eternal black ink

[Inked botanicals]

I am all in for the walnut ink too!! An advantage for the crystal form is if you travel. You can avoid ink spills just by getting some crystals and mix with water when you arrive destination. It is cheap enough to toss it away when you travel back home.

I have a bottle of Higgins too, it is not my favourite, but it is no bad for practice. It works better with some nibs than others. I just mix with some drops of gum arabic when it does not run ok.

[kmedina]

I don't mind Higgins Eternal for practice and if I'm using better quality paper for practice otherwise the lines are not as crisp and it's cheap. Walnut ink is my favorite go ink for practice too. It is easy to clean and looks so lovely!

[Bianca M]

Beautiful demo, Ken!  That looks nothing like the Higgins I know- incredible difference! 

[Judy G]

+1 on the walnut ink! I have the crystals. It took me a while to figure out the right ink consistency to produce a nice hairline, though.

[andy277]

Put me down as another who doesn’t like Higgins. I bought one bottle about 10 years ago, never finished it, and never bought another. It just doesn't produce true hairlines. I’ve not used walnut ink, being a fan of iron gall ink instead, but I’ve heard good things about it.

[Bianca M]

I really need to get my hands on a bottle of Iron Gall- I am willing to sacrifice some nibs for this glorious stuff. Speaking of Gall... I have a bottle that I think I'll start another subject with. It's a mystery bottle.  I'll do that now.

[andy277]

In my experience, the danger of iron gall ink to nibs is far overstated. I've always found that my nibs wear out from stressing the tines by simply using them long before any damage from the ink becomes apparent. And I am terrible at cleaning my nibs. If you clean your nibs in a basic solution (like a solution of baking soda), you will have even less cause to worry. And the results are well worth it. I rate it far above any carbon-based ink I’ve used. I’ve seen work done with the fabled Madarasz stick ink and I even prefer iron gall ink above that.

[Bianca M]

Andy, thanks for the bit of comfort regarding the Iron Gall. So far, the ink I've found to be most corrosive to my nibs is the Yasutomo in the green round bottle, and it does significantly shorten the life of my nibs... but I still use it on occasion because I do like the hairlines.  I have no doubt that Iron Gall is a worthier ink, so even more worth the shorter nib life, if applicable.  I don't use my nibs very long, anyhow!

[elsa.d]

I like both! I heard so much negative stuff about Higgins eternal that I never bothered with it until recently. I think it gives perfectly satisfactory hairlines. The biggest problem with it is that it feathers on at least 1/2 the papers I've tried it on. As long as it's not feathering though... I think it's great! I would suggest walnut ink though if you're just getting 1 bc it's more reliable.

[andy277]

I think it gives perfectly satisfactory hairlines.

It wasn’t until I saw firsthand an early 1900s piece of writing by a master penman that I truly understood what they were meaning when they wrote about hairlines. Having seen the amazing fineness and delicacy of those lines, I’ve never since been satisfied with the lines from Higgins or any other commercial India ink I’ve tried.

[NicholasC]

That's ok.. go for walnut ink definitely.. the modern higgins eternal suck!! I prefer liquid walnut ink personally but if you are ok with mixing then the crystals is ok too.

What would be the purpose of walnut ink crystals?
I didn't mean that to be rude; I am genuinely curious.

Walnut ink crystals allow you to keep a large amount of potential ink without having to worry about it going bad or drying out.  The crystals also allow you to mix the ink in whatever consistency you find best.  If you like it a bit thinner add more water.  Want a darker ink?  Use less water.  Finding the right consistency is part of the joy of using crystals rather than the premixed liquid version.

As to which is better, if you can only afford one I would go for walnut ink.  Higgins is not bad ink, I like it, but walnut ink is better and easier to work with.

[clangsdorf]

FYI - I use Higgins Eternal. When you first open the bottle put ten (ish) drops of gum arabic to the whole bottle, stir and use. Also, Higgins Eternal with some gouache (about 50/50 mixed) is my go to ink.
But you know - things work differently for each person. For me this works, but then again I can not get a Nikko G nib to work - to each his own.
Best, Catherine

[Linda Y.]

With Higgins Eternal, you need to open the bottle and let it "breathe" for a while - keep it loosely covered, but somewhere that's safe from being knocked over - and let it evaporate overnight or even a few days. You'll notice a difference right away.

Higgins is great for practice when you want black (vs. walnut ink brown) and not fuss with the ink.

[elsa.d]

I think it gives perfectly satisfactory hairlines.

It wasn’t until I saw firsthand an early 1900s piece of writing by a master penman that I truly understood what they were meaning when they wrote about hairlines. Having seen the amazing fineness and delicacy of those lines, I’ve never since been satisfied with the lines from Higgins or any other commercial India ink I’ve tried.

Yes, makes sense. It will certainly not give old master style results, no matter how skilled you are. So I suppose it really just depends on what your goal is. For practice and even some client work I don't mind using it, but finest hairlines are not usually my goal, as I feel that super fine hairlines negatively impact readability. This is especially undesirable for envelopes which comprise the bulk of my work.

[Ken Fraser]

I don't mind Higgins Eternal for practice

Higgins Eternal is great for far more than just practice.