I am sick and tired of those dinky little plastic and aluminium
labels one sees in garden centres. One tug by an enthusiastic bird
and it is lost. The plastic ones snap at the least touch with the
hoe. To top it, they are invariably too small.

I have taken the bird by the horns and have made a number of 8"
long prospective labels from 1 cm half-round hardwood moulding. So
far I have painted the working surface white with a waterbased primer.

Now comes the problem of putting the name on the label. In days
of yore, one used to buy a bottle of Hartleys black ink and wrote the
name, using an old-fashioned steam pen. The labels used to last for
many seasons. I don't see the ink for sale any more, and the rubbish
which garden centres sell as waterproof pens produce neat writing
which does not survive the first winter. The stuff sold as Indian ink
for use in draughtsmen's pens also wash off as soon as you spit on it.

So here is my question: What do I do to write on my well-designed
labels which will last for at least three seasons?

Franz