Noodler's Cactus Fruit Eel

[mhphoto]

Here's a very vibrant ink from Noodler's with too much in the way of bad behavior for me to want to use it.

 

http://i1248.photobucket.com/albums/hh494/gunsandlights/NoodlersCactusFruitEelMedium.jpg

 

http://i1248.photobucket.com/albums/hh494/gunsandlights/NoodlersCactusFruitEelPensUsed.jpg

 

http://i1248.photobucket.com/albums/hh494/gunsandlights/NoodlersCactusFruitEelBrause.jpg

 

http://i1248.photobucket.com/albums/hh494/gunsandlights/NoodlersCactusFruitEelObservations.jpg

 

http://i1248.photobucket.com/albums/hh494/gunsandlights/NoodlersCactusFruitEelComparisons.jpg

 

http://i1248.photobucket.com/albums/hh494/gunsandlights/NoodlersCactusFruitEelShading.jpg

 

I'm getting over a cold, so no additional comments.

[Ghost Plane]

I was on the fence about buying this. But seeing how it was likely to behave [or not!] from a 3B nib, you helped me hop down and walk away.

[mhphoto]

I was on the fence about buying this. But seeing how it was likely to behave [or not!] from a 3B nib, you helped me hop down and walk away.

 

Glad I could help!

 

It really is a shame, because the color is very striking and attractive. It's leap-off-the-page vibrant and yet easy to read.

 

A note about the color of the scan: It's very accurate on my screen, but, as you can probably tell, there is a huge tint shift towards magenta on the white paper. This was because:

 

1) For whatever reason the Rhodia grid paper just has a natural pinkish tinge as compared to the dot and blank paper, which is very much pure white, and

 

2) I had to push the color of the scan over toward magenta to get the color of the ink to be accurately represented.

 

[amberleadavis]

I love this color ---- I'm buying it after seeing your review. Thank you.

[kuroba]

I got a sample of this ink on my first InkDrop and loved it! It was very smooth on my Fine and Extra-fine nibs, and the vibrant obnoxious color was a plus. I didn't try it with wider nibs though

[inkstainedruth]

Does it behave better when diluted (and especially with the dry times)? Because your sample of it when diluted is a really nice color -- I think I actually prefer it to the undiluted ink (and I almost never do).

I'll admit that the dry time would be an issue for me. And I'm not sure I like the (undiluted) color more than BSiAR. Or Shah's Rose, for that matter....

Thanks for the review.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[notbob]

I love this ink's dual personality, it being both magenta AND pink. I need to buy a full bottle. I bought a bottle of Diamine's Deep Magenta to see if it was a tolerable substitute, but after Cactus Eel, the DDM just doesn't pass muster. Diamine has color, but only ONE!

 

If CFE has one drawback, it is its lubricants, which give it an insanely long drying time on some papers. On HP1124 and cheaper papers, not so bad, perhaps a few mins, but on harder/slicker paper like Clairefontaine, we're talking a full 24 hrs until zero smearing.