Noodler's Polar Black

[Gahray]

My thoughts on Noodler's Polar Black.

 

Colour: A lovely dark black that stays put on the paper as long as you let it dry properly. I've only seen very little shading variation in pen strokes with this ink. If I rub my finger across the page it smears, but quite lightly and the letters still look very dark black, and readable. If my finger is wet, the smearing is darker, but the letters are still the same stand-out black rather than washed out smears.

 

I've been a Waterman ink fan for most of my life, but I find that Florida Blue & Black fade quite badly. If I write something and then see it at the end of the day, the colour looks quite washed out. The Polar black looks strong with no fade at all.

 

Dry Time: I have tried it in two pens. My Lamy 2000 XF is a very wet writer and some letters still look wet after a couple of minutes. My Lamy st F with this ink has normal dry time.

 

Nib Creep: Very bad on both pens I've tried it in. It doesn't bother me, but I'm sure it would some people.

 

Feathering: On the cheap, thin A4 pads we're given at work, both pens feathered with this ink. The 2000 feathered very badly, the st just enough to be noticeable. No feathering from either on ink jet, copier, and my own notebooks.

 

Here's a scan I made of my thoughts using both pens:

 

http://img409.imageshack.us/img409/2907/polarblacktd8.jpg

 

I hope it is readable: my writing isn't the best and imageshack seems to have shrunk it a bit.

 

Conclusion:

 

Even though I bought it to use in my 2000, I don't think the ink is a very good performer there at all. I will continue to use it in my st, which is my standard 'leave on my desk at work' pen. I'm looking for recommendations for a similar ink that dries faster, feathers less and puts down a thinner, drier link for my favourite pen.

 

I wish there were a bigger selection of Noodlers available to the UK. Noodlersink.co.uk doesn't seem to have much stock. I bought my ink from thewritingdesk, where postage was nice and fast. I wish they had Heart of Darkness to try though!

[Ann Finley]

I'm wondering if you've tried Noodler's (regular/standard) Black. I'm a lefty overwriter and need inks that dry quickly. I can use some of the waterproof & bulletproof inks, including Black. I've recently received a sample of the Heart of Darkness, but haven't tried it yet. The regular, bulletproof Black works well for me though.

 

Thanks for the review!

 

Best, Ann

[BurkStar]

I've been using it for a couple of weeks now in my Rotring Old Style 600 and am pretty impressed with it. Even in cheap Walgreens notebooks there's been no feathering/smearing. If I don't use it for a day, when I first start writing it'll miss part of the first letter I write, but will flow beautifully after that with no further effort, other than just writing, on my part. It works well enough in the Rotring, that I've decided that'll be "the" combination of pen/ink.

[Whome]

Black ink is my favorite to use... I have Pelikan Brilliant Black and Polar Black...

 

Polar Black is my go to ink for work, home, and general life stuff. I absolutley love this ink!! Creep happens.

 

Pens used:

Pelikan M215 - M

Sheaffer Imperial - F

Sheaffer Calligraphy - F italic

Lamy Studio - XF, F, 1.1 italic

 

 

Ann,

 

Will you let everyone know what you think about Heart of Darkness? I would have bought some already if not for intervention.

[srullens]

My thoughts on Noodler's Polar Black.

 

Colour: A lovely dark black that stays put on the paper as long as you let it dry properly. I've only seen very little shading variation in pen strokes with this ink. If I rub my finger across the page it smears, but quite lightly and the letters still look very dark black, and readable. If my finger is wet, the smearing is darker, but the letters are still the same stand-out black rather than washed out smears.

 

I've been a Waterman ink fan for most of my life, but I find that Florida Blue & Black fade quite badly. If I write something and then see it at the end of the day, the colour looks quite washed out. The Polar black looks strong with no fade at all.

 

Dry Time: I have tried it in two pens. My Lamy 2000 XF is a very wet writer and some letters still look wet after a couple of minutes. My Lamy st F with this ink has normal dry time.

 

Nib Creep: Very bad on both pens I've tried it in. It doesn't bother me, but I'm sure it would some people.

 

Feathering: On the cheap, thin A4 pads we're given at work, both pens feathered with this ink. The 2000 feathered very badly, the st just enough to be noticeable. No feathering from either on ink jet, copier, and my own notebooks.

 

Here's a scan I made of my thoughts using both pens:

 

http://img409.imageshack.us/img409/2907/polarblacktd8.jpg

 

I hope it is readable: my writing isn't the best and imageshack seems to have shrunk it a bit.

 

Conclusion:

 

Even though I bought it to use in my 2000, I don't think the ink is a very good performer there at all. I will continue to use it in my st, which is my standard 'leave on my desk at work' pen. I'm looking for recommendations for a similar ink that dries faster, feathers less and puts down a thinner, drier link for my favourite pen.

 

I wish there were a bigger selection of Noodlers available to the UK. Noodlersink.co.uk doesn't seem to have much stock. I bought my ink from thewritingdesk, where postage was nice and fast. I wish they had Heart of Darkness to try though!

 

Use Noodlers Eternal Black Bullet proof and chemical proof.

 

[SammyZadgan]

I just received a Parker Vacumatic F Nib...and i had a bought a bottle of the Polar Black to use with this pen...

 

so when i got Vac...i filled it...and started writting...the ink flow from this pen is great, i know what you mean about taking a little while to dry, but when it dries it looks stunning.

 

I do have same problem with the nib creep...but i found an interesting thing with the nib creep...it doesnt leave a black mark on the nib...it leaves a green mark.

 

And when i turn the paper i have just written on over, i can see through, but i dont see black, i see green.

 

as for other black inks...i also a Dupont black in a M Nib Dupont pen...and that dries quickly...and a nice black as well. I gave some to a friend of mine who has a Lamy 2000 and he loved it. Previously he was using the Noodler Black but after using the Dupont he swiched.

Edited October 15, 2008 by SammyZadgan

[MrRogers]

I've tried several blacks since it is really the only ink I can use at work and find MB to be the darkest and most well-behaved. I've tried 3 noodlers now and just dont like the brand. I should get around to selling them one day.

 

MrR