Although retired from the chemical manufacturing industry since mid-2006, I
still stay busy as a consultant for my former employer. On a recent
business trip I was accompanied by another consultant who had been in the
field for several decades (although not a fellow former employee, he is
also
a fountain-pen user). One day at breakfast we were reviewing results from
the previous days' work and planning the current days' activities. My
colleague uncapped his pen (a well-used Waterman Expert) and started to
make
some notes, but it wouldn't flow. He dipped the nib in his coffee,
swished
it around a bit, then dried it with a napkin; the nib then flowed freely.
After he scribbled a bit on scrap paper, the ink was back to normal
density.
I was a bit surprised when he then drank his cup of coffee without
concern,
and commented to that effect -- he replied that he'd done that for many
years and didn't feel there was any cause for concern.
I realize that the amount of ink that could get into a cup of coffee in
this
manner is probably trivial -- but would there be any real potential for
harm?
Thanks,
Bart
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