I wrote on newspaper with this... and it did not feather. It is truly amazing stuff. I mean, I then wrote with my XF Pelikan with some Lamy ink and it flooded the page. I will make some writing samples and post them... But, well, wow. How do they do this?

I also picked up some Noodler's Nikita. Big 4.5 oz bottle, eyedropper style, with a free eye-dropper pen included. Very cool!

I had never seen this ink before.

The Airline International site was the only place I could find it on-line.

I love the bottle though Great logo, no name on the bottle!

It did say on that site that it's a slow drying ink, and has low penetration in paper, do you find that to be the case?

Writing examples please ?

That sounds pretty cool! I'm looking forward to hearing, and seeing, more about it

Bill

This evening, or this weekend, I am going to write and scan...

Nikita? Hmm, never heard of it.

If I remember correctly, Nathan's whole venture into the ink biz began with a challenge that a friend gave him: to develop an ink that would not feather on newsprint so he could use his FP to do crosswords while riding the train. The result was Bulletproof Black.

Nikita is on the What's New page. I picked mine up from Ink.

I went over there to show Barry the Herald and he showed be the X-Feather, because I had lamented the Moleskine feathering a few months ago. While we were at it I also snagged the Nikita. So cool. He also has the Heart of Darkness, which I might pick up... even though I now have a black (X-Feather is my first black).

So Heart of Darkness was made! I'm laughing at the devil catfish

I wonder when the on-line sources will start carrying these? I'd definitely be interested in trying X-feather.

I couldn't see the image for Dragon's Napalm, what is it like?? Anyone tried it?

Cheers,
Sean

Barry had the Napalm too. He told me that it is the same as the Nikita. Perhaps the Nikita is an eternal version of the Napalm.

Cool Thanks.

Cool Thanks, again

Glad to help!

I just snagged some Noodler's Heart of Darkness off fleabay. That's about the only place I could find it. I've been wanting to try this ink for some time.

The Noodler's Ink Page describes Nikita as fire-engine red and Dragon's Napalm as the color of Mercurochrome.

That's not the way it read as late as last night because I looked at it. It gave the mercurochrome explanation for both colors. Of course, the Napalm image wasn't working at that point, either. It doesn't make sense for two names to be the same color, really, so I imagine it was just web error that got repeated by the dealer in question.

I'm not generally a red person, but I have to get some of that Nikita. It looks like a good color, but the bottle is the real attraction.

It was probably a couple of weeks ago that I had previously checked that site and none of the new colors appeared there at all, then.

I have a few red cartridges for a Platinum Preppy. That should be sufficient red ink for years, for me. Still, I want those colors.

I wrote a bug report about that and they fixed it.

I was told that the inks are the same - the difference is that Nikita is eternal.

So what's the deal with the Heart of Darkness? It's just really, really black?

Dragon's Napalm sounds interesting.

But can you write on paper towel with it? Toilet paper?! Now, that would be amazing.

I have all the really dark black inks that I have seen recommended, and HOD is darker than most, but not as dark as Old Manhattan. If I didn't know about O.M., I would likely be happy with HOD.

This past week I bought a bottle each of "Heart of Darkness" and "Nikita" from Swisher Pens.

I haven't tried them out yet.

What's the story with those eye dropper pens that are included with the inks? Does Pilot make them like that or did Nathan turn cartridge fillers into eye droppers?

I think they're Platinum Preppy pens that are retrofit with O rings to make them eyedroppers. I think I read something about how if the Yen cooperates, Nathan will be including them with all 4.5 ounce bottles except for Bulletproof Black.

They are a cute novelty pen. I like their simplicity and visibility, but I need to get a medium nib...these have the "Platinum" pen logo on the nib, not Pilot.

It doesn't feather? Does it creep or clog?

Maybe it's just me, but is anybody else offended by the name 'Napalm'?
It is really one of the most dreadful of weapons, and like anti-personnel mines, often used against civilians, including children.

No. I think it's a cool & powerful name. I imagine it was used in the same way that Nikita, Heart of Darkness, Hellfire, and other clever Noodlers names. What offends me is people needing to sanitize everything for everyone so the world becomes politically correct based on their own sensitivities. I'm not endorsing the use of Napalm bombs, rather I'm standing up for free speech rights. Maybe I'll be the only one here that will.

Dcwaites did not say, "The use of the word 'napalm' should be prohibited by state and/or federal legislation." Therefore he was not suggesting that anyone's right to free speech be abridged.

Something I find infinitely tiresome is the recent trend to cast any opinion with which one disagrees as an abridgement of one's rights. Dcwaites is entitled to an opinion regarding the use of the word "napalm" and the names of Noodler's inks; so are you. Neither one of you can unilaterally pass binding legislation preventing the other from expressing that opinion. So could we please leave the Constitution where it belongs, and not try to wield it as a hammer to quash dissent?

For the record, my opinion in this regard has no legislative force behind it. I am not attempting to abridge anyone's right to free speech, nor would I be capable of doing so if I tried. I will defend to the death your right to disagree with me.

Now, do you suppose we could talk about ink in the Inky Thoughts forum again?

Oh, and regarding napalm: As with any inanimate object, it is not, itself, inherently evil, nor is the word. I find using it as the name of an ink to be in poor taste, but I sincerely doubt there was any ill will behind this. I'm sure it was meant to be "cool," and to be a name unlike the names of other inks. I certainly wouldn't name an ink "Napalm"... but I also wouldn't choose to write a musical about a vicious cannibal serial killer. Apparently, where these things are concerned, I do not have my finger upon the pulse of public opinion.

The real question is not is it a good name but in the morning, does it smell like".......Victory"? (Thank you, R. Duval).

I rarely add "me too" replies, but I think Djehuty's post is worth seconding. Good sense; good sentiments.

Odd. I get the occasional feathering with Moleskines, but never with newsprint. Here's an example (just a clip, as it's today's crossword )
Click to view attachment
Forgive the picture quality, as I only have a crappy cell phone camera.

This is plain old Noodler's Ellis Island on the New York Times, Rotring Core, XS nib. I only use fountain pens on my crosswords, and only do them during my commute (bus), and I don't have feathering issues to speak of.

Now I'm curious: I've tried a couple of surfaces with the same pen; the worst feathering was on the Kleenex brand tissue, but even a deli napkin isn't so bad:Click to view attachment

Maybe it's just because I tend to prefer fine (dry) nibs?

I agree. He stated it well. There is just no question that Nathan often uses ink names to highlight a long list of things that he finds offensive or controversial. You can add his "Year of the Golden Pig" ink into the same category which he talks about here. If someone has an issue with an ink title, contact Nathan directly.

My objection was seeing dcwaites actively seeking others to agree and indirectly support an informal protest of this ink because of something as silly as a color descriptive title. I would have had more respect for him if he had just stated his own feelings without trying to garner support. In fact, I just bought a bottle to celebrate the great name and ink color.

For the record, the name of the ink is Dragon's Napalm, and Nathan clearly describes the attempt to capture 1970's mercurochrome antiseptic color with it's fiery red tones. Calling the ink "Mercurochrome Red" would have been as enticing as getting a tetanus shot.

None of this has anything to do with X-Feather ink which also looks impressive in those last photos! I think I would enjoy this ink if it didn't take so long to dry.

Where can Canadians get this X-Feather?
Also, not to be a numptie, but is it waterproof?

I'm not sure where in Canada.

But the ink is "bullet proof."

Not to prolong an [acronym="Off Topic"]OT[/acronym] digression, but you're reading an awful lot into dcwaites's (very short) post, which was essentially in the vein of, "Is it just me, or...". I see no "protest", informal or otherwise, in what he wrote. But, in any case, what's wrong with a protest, or with trying to get other people to agree with one's point of view? Isn't that what free speech is all about?

Personally, as someone old enough to remember the Vietnam war, I think "Dragon's Napalm" shows poor taste, just as I thought the naive triumphalism of the "Iraqi Indigo" label showed poor judgment, or a grossly premature judgment, at any rate -- echoes of "Mission Accomplished" (yeah, right.) That didn't stop me from buying three bottles of I.I., however. Score one for free speech (and good ink).

I don't have that ink, one of the few that I don't have, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't smell like napalm. That stuff really stinks! And I probably won't buy any in any case. I do have a new bottle of Nikita though.

I don't have a problem with someone not liking an ink or the references an ink's name might make.

Just received my X-Feather from Airline International.

I got this ink because I have a ton of the Levenger's Circa Paper that I use for class, and I really want to go through it.

First impressions of this ink are good.

The Levenger paper feathers pretty badly with regular inks, but behaves reasonably well with the X-Feather. However, based on a recommendation in another thread, I also tried the regular Noodler's Black.

To be frank, the X-Feather seems to be a little smoother writing on this paper, but both the Noodler's Black and X-Feather behave comparably, and the Noodler's Black is a lot easier to find; after the ink dries, I would have kind of a hard time telling the difference between the two.

So... for paper that is not particularly FP friendly and has a tendency to feather, X-Feather is a good option, but does not, after cursory testing, behave significantly differently (at least on the Levenger paper) from the standard black.

Your mileage may vary. I have not tried (nor am I likely) to test write on toilet paper or cafeteria napkins.

Considering how Noodler's also released "Heart of Darkness" at the same time... is there a psychological theme going on here?