Let me preface this review by saying that I purchased this ink expecting something similar to Zhivago = a dark ink that had color highlights.

I inked up a Pelikan BB ( for solidarity with SPCBN) and found that I had purchased a burgundy A watery red burgundy that was muddy from the start and did not improve.

The ink was a disappointment from the first letter (D) and continued down the page, it looked like someone had taken a black ink and watered it down until the purples and reds appeared then bottled it. A true red black is a misnomer as I searched for any semblence of black in any of my writing and could not find it.

Up to this point all of the noodler's inks have at least been pleasant looking.

This is something that I feel will go down the drain rather than on the page or at least will be cut with some black to create what the label promised.

I would not recommend this ink to even my worst enemy and I am a little unhappy that I now have an $11 bottle of ink that I don't like.

I wish I could have made a more positive review of the ink but what's on the page out of my pen will not allow me to.


Kurt

sorry to hear about your negative experience with the ink.
i havent tried noodler's red-black...so havent seen how it looks.
do you have a writing sample you could post?

Did you shake the bottle adequately first? I have & like this ink quite a bit. In wet writers it is nearly black & in dry writers it is burgundy.

Wow... weird. My experience is exactly like Lloyd's - it really is red-black ink like Zhivago is green-black! But you MUST shake... otherwise all the black sits on the bottom...

Hmm,

I don't like the you must shake... Wouldn't this impede the flow and potentially block a pen?

I am also looking for a nice dark red-black or purple black (Nightshade)

A scan would be helpful, since all the scans on FPN are tiny writing samples. Is it darker than PR Black Cherry?
I'm interested in this ink, but Rolf Thiel is always just out of this ink whenever I ask him.

Kurt,

I'm sorry you don't like the Noodler's Red/Black. I like mine well enough. Not as a red/black, for me it is a nice brown.

I think this ink has some problems with settling, stability, etc. Stirring the bottle before filling is probably a good idea. I give all my inks a little agitation before I fill a pen. I don't imagine it can be improved with mixing in other colors, either you learn to like it or you don't use it.

Good luck,

Andy

I was using Zhivago as a touchstone and I never have shaken a bottle of it to get the black/green

Needing to shake it concerns me more than the color- exactly what is the black and why is it sitting on the bottom of the bottle I find it hard to believe that the dye has that large a density difference.

It might find its way to the marketplace sooner than later now.


Kurt

Noodler's regular black does this to me as well. Nathan explained why shaking the bottle was good and necessary in this case, but I forget the reason. Anyway, do try shaking the bottle before you sell.

I bought some of this recently, and I was thinking how I rather liked it. Now you've made me doubt my own judgement!

Actually though, I think it's quite a subtle ink. Personally, I don't see a trace of burgundy in it; neither do I see it as merely brown. To me, its subtlety lies in it somehow managing to appear both red and black at the same time. Sounds implausible I know, but there you are.

Unfortunately I didn't purchase it as a subtle ink

The scan sort of shows the red brown look to the ink without any hint of black. Still disappointed even after shaking

Kurt

I don't have this ink, but I've been curious about it. Please do post a scan if you're so inclined -- perhaps "non-shaken" and "shaken" versions, if possible. I'm with you though -- I don't like the idea that I have to shake the bottle to get the desired color. However, I use enough Noodler's that I've gotten into the habit of doing this -- even with non-Noodler's inks. Most of all, I don't like the froth that appears in some of the Noodler's inks once it's shaken.

Edited: Oops my post crossed-wires with your post with the scanned image! Thanks!

Interesting. When I ordered it, I did not know what to expect -- a reddish black? blackish red? dark red? When I used it I discovered that nothing my imagination could have come up with would have been right. I consider it the most unique ink that I have in my collection and I love the stuff.

It's almost impossible to describe but to me it looks like a dark black, not quite as dark as Bulletproof Black but definitely black with the faintest hints of red around edges of the ink traces. When I first tried it, my initial reaction was, what the heck, this is just black. But I had to put my high powered glasses on to see the effect.

Chromatography shows a pure black component and a small but very red component. I suspect that these two components do not willingly mix to create a new color and on the page you get a microscopic chromatography effect.

Anyway, I consider it the "coolest" ink I have because it's so weird!

I'm with Kurt on this.

I bought this ink thinking it was just what I was after and was hugely disappointed with the limp colour that I see on the page. It just does not hit the spot at all. Ditto Zhivago and walnut. In fact I think I will steer away from Noodlers and stick to Private Reserve, which I just love for the amazing colour (despite the terrible smearing issues). My fave green is Sherwood and having picked up a bottle of Chocolate in the WES show I am converted to this too. This Choc just kicks the sand in the face of Noodlers Walnut and red black.

I am a bit sorry to say this as Nathan sounds like a nice guy but I think the inks are average colourwise and I suspect that the only Noodlers I would ever buy again would be the black and I would do so solely due to its permanency. Otherwise if I wanted a black it would have to be the Aurora or Penman Ebony, which flow much better and look the part - black, black as it should be.

Hmm, this sounds like the red-black I am looking for - in my imagination!
Really. And I found PR Black Cherry to be still not dark enough.

I think there must be some serious lot to lot variation with this ink as you can see from my posted scan above black don't enter into it at all

Hey Kurt, a couple weeks ago I had some inks to trade, and I was looking for Red-Black. I wouldn't mind another bottle as I think the ink looks great. Here's a list of what I have to offer. All of the inks have been purchased within a year and a half and have been kept in a lidded box. PM me if you're interested in doing a swap. Also if you have any Noodler's Purple Martin or Wampum that you're not using, I'd be happy to take it off your hands. I ship Priority

Inks for Trade:

*Noodler’s

Green Marine - (near bulletproof – one converter less)
Walnut - (near bulletproof – one converter less)
Tiananmen - (full)
Maroon – SwishMix (full)
Purple – (about a converter shy of the bottle’s shoulder)
Black – (bulletproof – full)
Hunter Green (bulletproof, 1 oz bottle, down to just above the shoulder)

*Private Reserve

Burgundy Mist - (1.5 converter less)
Plum - ( 2.5 converters less)

*J. Herbin

Lierre Sauvage - (1.5 converters less)

*Diamine

Washington DC Supershow Presidential Blue 2004 - (2 converters less)
Imperial Purple (slightly past the bottle thread, maybe 2/3 converters?)

*Sailor

Gray ( maybe 2 converters less)

*De Atramentis

Sepiabraun (about 3 converters less)

Oops! I see this was already sold on the Marketplace - sorry!

Yeah, was looking at your scan. Have you tried it in a normal nib (fine or medium)? It might be that with a really broad nib you get that pinkish black I see in your scan. The stuff I write, if you glanced at a page of it you'd think it was black but if you look closely with good glasses on (or sharp eyesight) you see that there's something odd about it. It's black with a twist.

Hey, in the middle of writing this I decided to do a swab test with a Q-tip. My bottle has been sitting undisturbed for a month or more so I got two tests for the price of one. First I carefully opened the bottle without disturbing it and I took a sample from the very top of the liquid. The swab test produced a lovely ROSE color, quite light. Then I shook it and did it again with another swab and got the color shown in your scan.

So, I have ascertained two things beyond any doubt. Shake before using. And a broad swath of it produces the color in your scan, while the thin line from a medium nibbed pen looks more black than anything. How very odd.

Sorry you don't like this ink color. I have bottle of it, it's what I've got in my Lamy and I rather like its "dried blood" color.

Interesting. Red Black does not remind me of blood at all, fresh or dried. But Antietam does.

Just got a bottle and it's a weird colour! I find it really brown to my taste. I might sound strange, but the red black I had in my mind looked like the picture of the red-black Nakaya Kuro-tamenuri. I don't own this pen, I guess I've look at the Nakaya web site enough time to get the colour in my mind.

I wont say I dislike Noodlers red-black, it's growing on me.

Gee, I'm gonna join this bandwagon.

I too am disappointed by Noodler's Red-Black. It's most definitely brown.

Could we have gotten a bad batch of ink?

Hmm.. that does look brown. Mine looks nothing like that, though - it could almost be a different ink.

Well we agree on one thing for sure. Red Black is the weirdest ink I own, but I like it. And despite its weirdness it's also bulletproof.

I really like this ink and keep a VP filled with it at all times.

But I didn't think it was bullet proof. Sometimes I use it for sketching and get a weird effect when the wet brush goes over the lines. Has the formula been changed?

It is probably my favourite ink. (Apart from FPN brown!)

Hi everyone,

as I just happened to have inked up a couple of pens with the Noodlers Red/Black, I thought I'd try to give an impression of the colour variation I get with this ink.....


Click to view attachment


I don't know how it shows on your monitors, but I find with the wetter - juicier writer (Visconti at top), the ink shows shading from black to maroon ....and is possitively delightful.

From the finer nibbed pen (MB254 third down), the shades are lighter and ruddier....and still delightful.

Ok, so I'm biased....but I do like these tones.....and I have to give the red/black a thumbs up.

Regards, Malcolm

thx for the samples malcolm

Yep that's what my real disappointment was. I was looking for Zhivago with red highlights rather than green and got what I got.

The good news for me is that someone else now owns the bottle I had.


Kurt

kurt your scan looks greyish on my monitor, quite different from malcolm's very-red not-brown sample. I've seen it in person (letters from Sonia_Simone -- where's she been?!!) and found it to be a rusty brown. only reddish if you use your imagination, but no imagination could make it appear blackish.

On the contrary, I bet you can mix up a red-black well, yourself. I tried it with Tiananmen, but it was brownish too. That made me never want to buy N's Red-Black, because it was so easy to make myself. But N's Black (which I used for the mix) has a brownish cast to it. There are other black inks out there that are said to be much darker and "bluish", and I'd start mixing with one of those...

It comes out as a reddish brown for me, too.

It's funny to me as it looks really lame/horrid on all of my test papers except for the yellowish paper of the Moleskine notebook where it looks fantastic.

John

Kurt, I gotta tell you....you have a simply magical way of reassuring a guy he made the right purchase.

Remember that I went into my purchase with certain preconceived expectations of the color and action of the ink..

My imaginings didn't fit the reality so I passed that reality onto someone else.
Never said that it was a bad ink just not the ink that I expected.

I do this with pens all the time actually there is a Pelikan I have for sale that I've had for 3 days- I had expectations,
they didn't fit,
remove the piece of reality I don't like.

Quite simple and has simplified my life alot- removing the pieces of reality that is or at least ignoring them.

Kurt

& enjoy the ink!

I have a new motto!

Got my Noodlers Red Black today. I've come to a major conclusion: THIS INK IS HAUNTED.

How else to explain to varying results and responses from Kurt to Malcom? I'll admit I was hoping for an ink more like Malcom's (and mine is close, but not having either a Visconti nor a MB (only a Waterman, Pelikan, Pilot and Taccia (works very nicely in the Stacatto, BTW)) maybe the Red Black spirit only likes high end pens.

I haven't found any nib creep (yet) and the ink seems to dry relatively quickly on Moleskin and other middle grade papers.

Maybe, Noodlers just throws a random amount of black in with the red to make the ink. I just wish it was a tiny bit blacker. Has anyone tried adding some permanent black? Will it become the aforementioned "mud" or maybe the elusive "Red Zhivago"?

Since Halloween is coming, how about Noodlers making a darker red black that dries just like blood and call it....are you ready...."Dracula"?

Okay, maybe the Red Black spirit got to me. But, I do like this ink...at least the jar I received...but I want something more. Can anyone help?

My bottle of red-black (like most of my Noodlers stock) dates from the earliest production, and it's definitely not brown. It's not quite tamenuri black-on-red, but it's definitely headed in that direction (black with undertones of red) more than a red-diluted-black.

Perfect! Red Black IS haunted. And it's clear from this thread that people either like it or hate it. I'm a "liker" but there's no point in arguing about it. It is what it is, and you either like it or not.

The only real problem comes from the fact that this ink is indescribable so new buyers really have no idea what they're getting and they might like it or not. I don't know how to solve this problem.

I'm almost tempted to order another bottle from a different dealer. Anybody know who might have the oldest stock?

I definitely understand the like it or hate it quality of this ink. I falll into both categories. I love it use with a nice super flow wet medium or larger nib, e.g. an Aurora 88P which loves this ink.. it provides absolutely stellar shadowing and highlights... cool burgundy/brown with nearly black shadows and popping red highlights...

And, I absolutely hate this ink on anything smaller. Kinda looks like mud from mixing red clay with water.

Absolutely nothing like the color behavior of something like Zhivago ...


I'm also still on the quest for a red black which DOES have these qualities... Dark oxygenated blood is the color I'm looking for... guess I'll just have to stuff the nib in my arm and fill 'er up.

Dave

Noodle's Red-Black is one of my favorite colors. My ink looks more like mallymal1's posted picture. Very deep and rich color. On my cream colored paper in my journal it looks more brown, but on HP 32# laser paper, it is definitely as close to a red-black as there ever will be.

I hear that. I just started playing with mixing Noodler's (Polar) Black with the Fox Red.

Depending on your pen/nib and paper combinations, you might want to try something in the 1:1 to 1:2 mixture range.

Have fun,
John

John, let us know when you have good success...with scans if you can

Alas, no scanner and the current digital camer gives really sucky macro shots. :-( Sigh.

I did a string from 1:1 up to 1:5, Polar Black to Fox Red and I'm currently using 1:4 as that gave a reasonable balance across different paper types and colors. Head to head against Noodler's Red-Black, there's no comparison, mixing them yourself wins hands down since you can tune it to your preferences, pen/nibs, and paper combinations. :-)

For the oxygenated blood color, I think the 1:1 is where I'd start. On white paper, it looks like a black with red tinting. 1:2 is basically what I was expecting the Noodler's Red-Black to look like when I bought it.

Have fun,
John

I must chime in, as the latest owner of the "cursed" bottle of Red-Black.

I haven't had time to do much more than dip-test the ink, but a few lines with a fairly broad dip nib showed a rich dark burgundy color with a hint of shading. To me, it's close to Private Reserve Black Cherry, but with much less shading.

I'll withhold final judgment until I load a few pens and see how it writes day to day, but at first glance, I like it.

Jon

Be sure to shake it first. The red and black dyes will separate. And each pen you try it in will give different results. Haha. It's a crazy ink but I love it.

Oh, I forgot to mention that I shook it gently for about 5 seconds before use. I've gotten into the habit with any Noodlers, and often find myself doing it with other inks. I know it shouldn't make a difference, but it makes me feel better.

Jon

Gotta be a shaking issue. I got a sample from Pear Tree and put it in my Lamy Safari and it was NOT like the grey scan shown earlier (but it didn't look as maroony as the next scan). When I used it, I agree it looked a bit like dried blood. I liked it, but still don't know if I will buy it.

Ever since I got this spooky haunted ink, I've been trying to think of another name for it that I like at least as well as Red Black. I finally came up with one:

"Martian Blood"

Thanks for the tip John.. my Noodler's Fox Red is on the way! I have Polar black here. Is there a specific reason you like the Polar Black for the mix?

Dave

I have to agree that this is an odd color. The oddest for me at least. I was looking over my ink samples yesterday and came across Noodler's Red-Black. It actually looked a lot nicer than I remembered. It reminds me of Dark cherry.

I made the mistake of letting this ink sit in a pen for too long. It didn't gunk up my pen but the colors separated into a red ink with clumps of black floating around.

I really like this color but I'm not sure if I'd use it in a nice pen that I care about.