Noodler's Polar Blue Written Review

[Mafia Geek]

Here's a scan of my written review of Noodler's Polar Blue ink. This ink is a great choice for use in pens that might be exposed to cold temperatures and for use in piston fillers (being a lubricating ink). It's also a bulletproof ink so fully waterproof and fraud proof. The ink actually dries REALLY fast, I was really surprised actually. It does showthrough a fair amount with the pen and paper combination I used, on Rhodia it might not as much. In a Pilot XF steel nib it still writes fairly smoothly. The highlighter did smudge the ink some, doesn't show real well in the scan for some reason.

 

 

Here's the water resistance. For this I wrote on a small Rhodia pad and after letting the ink dry for a few minutes I ran it under water for a few seconds. This ink stood up to its' reputation, didn't budge under water.

 

[dunhamsa]

Nice color. Is there a similar ink (bulletproof, etc.) that is a bit darker blue by Noodlers?

[Mafia Geek]

I actually e-mailed Noodlers asking a similar question, though I asked if I mixed a few drops of Polar Black into the Polar Blue if it would have any effects and was told that no, it would not. I went ahead and added a few drops and it actually made for a really nice shade of blue-black and kept all the properties of the Polar inks. Just a couple drops of the black was all that was needed to make it a really nice dark blue, similar to Lamy's Blue-Black.

 

 

If you're looking for something along those lines, I'd give that a try, a small sample of Polar Black should be more than enough for an entire bottle of Polar Blue for mixing, I'd recommend mixing in small batches though just to avoid ruining a whole bottle of ink.

 

I can put a scan of the ink I made if you'd like.

[dunhamsa]

That would be great. Thanks for the info.

 

--Scott

[Chazzy91]

I actually e-mailed Noodlers asking a similar question, though I asked if I mixed a few drops of Polar Black into the Polar Blue if it would have any effects and was told that no, it would not. I went ahead and added a few drops and it actually made for a really nice shade of blue-black and kept all the properties of the Polar inks. Just a couple drops of the black was all that was needed to make it a really nice dark blue, similar to Lamy's Blue-Black.

 

 

If you're looking for something along those lines, I'd give that a try, a small sample of Polar Black should be more than enough for an entire bottle of Polar Blue for mixing, I'd recommend mixing in small batches though just to avoid ruining a whole bottle of ink.

 

I can put a scan of the ink I made if you'd like.

I know this post was a long time ago and that you may not still have this ink combo, but if you did, I'd love to see a sample!

[Mafia Geek]

Unfortunately I don't have it around anymore. I might be able to make another mixture over the holidays when I'm back home where all my inks are (didn't bring them with me when I moved to the UK).

[Bug Guy]

Thanks for the idea. I have a bottle of polar blue which is virtually abandoned because the color is too chalky for me. I put in a couple eyedroppers worth of polar black and it becomes better. It is not the best color but it is now much more pleasant to use. I am attaching a picture I took with my phone camera. Hopefully it comes through ok

[amberleadavis]

I know Polar Blue gets a bad rap for it's nib creep and chalky color. However, it is fade proof and great performer. It mixes well and is the basis for many of my ink mixes.

 

http://sheismylawyer.com/INK/attachments/2012-07-06_12_small.jpg

[Bug Guy]

KTC could mix with polar blue? I want to try that. What is proportion you use? Any clogging problems.

[amberleadavis]

KTC could mix with polar blue? I want to try that. What is proportion you use? Any clogging problems.

 

 

I don't know if I'd try that. KTC and Polar blue have different pHs. KTC is super duper water proof. If anything you'd want to dilute it.

[austinbond]

Thanks for the idea. I have a bottle of polar blue which is virtually abandoned because the color is too chalky for me. I put in a couple eyedroppers worth of polar black and it becomes better. It is not the best color but it is now much more pleasant to use. I am attaching a picture I took with my phone camera. Hopefully it comes through ok

 

Beautiful combination! I want to get a sample of Polar Black straight away to mix with my newly bought Polar Blue.

[WillN]

Noodler's Polar Blue is my regular ink. It's just so easy. I was on a three month trip, mostly camping. I brought along three fountain pens, Two Nemosines (I mostly used one that I'd DIY ground into an italic nib) and a TWSBI Mini stub nib, the other Nemosine was a spare that I never used. I filled 390 pages of Tomoe River A4 mostly with the Nemosine italic, and a few smaller about 5x7 notebooks. A lot of writing, the wider nibs laid down a lot of ink.

During the three months, I washed out the pens 2-3 max, ran some dental floss in the feed slot a couple times. (Those floss on a stick things). No serious clogging, I forgot to bring Windex so no major cleaning.

And yeah I'll add a little Warden's Blue Black to darken it if I think about it. Not sure if this is a good thing to do, seems to work. Another Polar ink is probably a much better solution.

 

I also like Noodler's Baystate Blue. Very nice bright blue color, but I have to be careful never to mix it with any other ink.

 

The thing about two colors and different pens I've discovered is the answer when people ask What's your favorite pen and nib? What's your favorite ink? The correct answer is... "the next one." switching back and forth every now and then can be like getting a new pen and a different nib.

 

For me Noodler's Polar Blue seems to work longer, with fewer hassles, than any other ink I've used.