Noodlers Widow Maker

[TheNobleSavage]

Colors tend to change a bit when you scan them in. This is a tad bit brighter than what it is. Still, pretty close.

http://img46.exs.cx/img46/5068/widowmaker3db.jpg

[Leslie J.]

I have that colour too. It looks like fresh blood, then dried fresh blood. Very shocking. I find I'm not so comfortable using reds, although I seem to have a thing for red pens.

[John]

I think the names of Noodlers inks alone suggest that there is a vacancy in a mental hospital somewhere that ought to be filled. I'm not sure what to expect next "Rotting Corpse Green" or "9/11 Grey" perhaps.

[TheNobleSavage]

I consider Noodler Inks, "the ink for the common working class people". Interesting names that definitely sets them apart from the standerd names of inks. I am glad that someone has an imagination!!

[wimg]

Hi John, NS, Leslie

 

I think the name "Widow Maker" refers to noodling as a sport. People have been known to loose from a big catfish, in a very big way. It probably was a bit of a play on the sport and the colour of the ink combined, if you ask me.

 

However, if you want an ink that really looks like dried blood, try Tiananmen .

There's something about the name too, just check the label on the bottle...

 

I must say, I am quite taken with the Noodler's range of inks - I just love 'em.

 

BTW, Leslie: love your new avatar!

 

Warm regards,

Wim

[Leslie J.]

I thought Widowmaker was supposed to be the colour of the red spot on a particular spider. I can't imagine ever trying "noodling for fish". Fish have so many sharp teeth, and Catfish are monsters, aren't they?

[wimg]

Hi Leslie,

 

You could be right. I was just trying to get the colour to fit the name. Noodling is a rather dangerous sport, and you can well end up with bloodied fingers or worse...

 

Your explanation sounds much more plausible, though...

 

Kind regards,

Wim

[KCat]

I thought Widowmaker was supposed to be the colour of the red spot on a particular spider. I can't imagine ever trying "noodling for fish". Fish have so many sharp teeth, and Catfish are monsters, aren't they?

Cat's got no teeth - well, not any that would hurt you.

 

What they have is incredibly strong jaws and they can clamp down on a finger or hand and break bones. Yup, they can get to be big monsters. The largest I've seen was caught on a trot line (no, it's not *trout* line!) in Lake Whitney, TX. 45lbs. But there have been much larger. I don't recall the record Yellow cat but I believe they can get up to 80lbs. I wouldn't want to wrestle one underwater which is what Noodler's do. They're challenging enough on a line.

 

I thought I heard the black widow connection, too. But not sure.

[Leslie J.]

Okay, I guess just some fish have sharp teeth. I *was* picturing Catfish being capable of removing hands or limbs. But breaking bones is pretty bad! I guess this is an extreme sport, huh?

[wimg]

Hi Leslie,

 

To read a newbie's report on noodling catfish, read this:

 

Baptism: Noodling for catfish

 

Kind regards,

Wim

[KCat]

Okay, I guess just some fish have sharp teeth. I *was* picturing Catfish being capable of removing hands or limbs. But breaking bones is pretty bad! I guess this is an extreme sport, huh?

Indirectly - they carry lots of nasty stuff in their fins and mouths because of bottom feeding. So you could conceivably lose a limb if you get finned or have the skin torn by their mouths. Saw a guy get his thumb crushed by a kittyfish - about a 30 pounder. lovely. The key is - *don't* stick your hand in their mouth!!!

[wimg]

Hi KCat,

 

The key is - *don't* stick your hand in their mouth!!!

 

But, but, that is just what you're supposed to do!

 

Actually, people have drowned trying to catch these monsters bare handed...

 

Warm regards,

WtMD

[WaterNai]

A bit of a bump because I like this ink so much and wanted to add my two cents. Hope you don't mind. :embarrassed_smile:

 

I do believe this is called Widowmaker because of the spider -- it is on the bottle and so forth.

 

Mechanically speaking, this is a good ink. It doesn't dry out too fast in the pen, even with long-ish pauses between writing, and it goes on regular printer-paper with little feathering and a speedy dry time. It works well in a super-fine pen (I got one from His Nibs called the Accountant's Pen) and also in a broader, wetter pen, such as the Pelikano Jr.

 

The color is fantastic! It is a good, true red. It is not overly bright to hurt the eyes, but it is bright enough to read as red on paper, not brown, pink, orange, or burgundy. Blood-red is a good way to describe it. I am a Graduate Assistant at university, so I got it for marking essays. I wanted something authoritative without being garish. It's my own little joke that I use Widowmaker ink in a sharp pen to make their papers bleed. Though truth be told, I actually prefer when I get to write lots of positive and enthusiastic comments on their papers.

[skinnyPens]

Red for marking up papers has such a psychological affect on students, I find I tend to use pink, or best a nice green. I actually like to use dark red for my journaling. So far I've liked PR Fiesta Red and even Black Cherry. In screen shots the Widow maker always seems very bright, but people describe it as being darker. So I just may have to give this a try.

[Melnicki]

No offense to TNS, but this scan is not accurate. The color is a bit deeper. And Waternai, yes it is not a brownish, orangey, nor pinkish red, but it is a bit rosy, which I take to be a bluishness, but it is very slight, and might need your imagination to see what I'm talking about.

 

There has been considerable discussion here on FPN about the merits of an ink color for grading. I apologize that I'm too lazy to search for it, but it's there. A lot of good (and differing) opinions were given. There is no consensus on the issue; grade with whatever you feel like; every student is an individual and does not fall under any sort of catch-all behavior that responds to red ink in a programmatic way.

 

Skinny, I too like to journal in a deep red ink. It all started from seeing Born T's amazing calligraphy in Monaco red. My current preference is Skrip Red mixed with SM Burgundy. There is no red being sold like it. It's the DCSS of reds.

[jszh]

yeah, i think it is a bit rosy. I got my bottle today and was surprised by the fact that it is a bit similar to my De Atramentis Chocolate, which had a lot gold tone when I first got it and then became reddish!

 

Now I have two similar colors

Edited August 16, 2010 by jszh

[Rrobert Hess]

I was wondering where the name Widow Maker came from. Thanks for all of your interesting comments on the ink and on noodling. Noodler's ink is so interesting in many ways. It's way more than just about ink.

[inkstainedruth]

I was scrolling back through some of the old posts on this thread and reading the fishing descriptions and when I read the post about 80 lb catfish my first thought was "wow, that's HUGE..." and my second thought was "Yum -- fried catfish... lots and LOTS of fried catfish!" (Ahh, Stan's. Someday I'll get there for a meal again.... )

I saw part of some TV show a few years ago where people were sticking their hands into holes in the bottoms of streams and catching fish (not sure, but it might have been catfish) by having the fish bite at their arms. (Unlike Nathan Tardiff, I'm not at *all* sure I want to give my potential dinner an even chance....) The person who I was sharing a hotel room with at the time kept wanting to watch the show. I said "TURN THAT @$#! TV OFF! I want to go to SLEEP!" I had been the "good sport" to share a room with him so as to not foist him off on either of the two other people in the car and having to make one of them do so. Not a mistake I will ever make again. Although driving 20 hours each way with that jerk in the car is *also* not a mistake I will ever make again....

As for the ink, I hadn't known how the color got its name. I'll admit I was thinking "firearms" myself....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Harlequin]

Catfish can get up to almost 400 lbs., like the Wels Catfish (although fish of that size are few and far between). Most of the "big boys" found in the last 50 years are usually in the 150-250 lb. range. They can get big enough to drag an adult man to his death.

 

However, those are not the species of catfish that is found in the Southeastern United States, where Noodling is primarily practiced. The most abundant catfish species here is the Flathead, of which the biggest individuals rarely get above 100 lbs., 120 lbs. being the heaviest ever caught.

 

Widowmaker is also a slang term used in the US to refer to the Black Widow spider.

[leftside]

Widowmaker seems to have a little more of a pink tinge than, say, Tienanmen, which really looks like blood. I have a bottle of Tienanmen at home that I always use when I'm editing my papers... I wonder how other students might react to their papers marked/corrected/commented upon in either of these colors. So stark.