Greetings All,

I have been playing around with Noodler's Tahitian Pearl eternal ink and decided to provide a review of this beautiful ink. I unfortunately do not have any photos to provide and hope my powers of description do justice to this ink.

First, this is one of the eternal inks available only through Swisher Pen Company. It is a mixture of Noodler eternal inks and the fast drying ink made by Nathan Tardiff for Swisher Pen. It is my understanding that some of the original color may wash out in water because it is a mixture, but enough of the eternal ink component will remain behind that a signature is still visible. Having some experience with other eternal inks, I have the utmost faith it is robust.

As to the ink itself, it is extermely fast drying and a very deep rich blue-black. To my eye it would qualify as a midnight blue with some black overtones. It is very similar to the Legal Lapis Blue available from Pendemonium, only it is darker. If you like Legal Lapis you might want to give this a try.

I was using this ink in a Sheaffer Legacy 2 medium nib pen that tends to be a bit on the wider side. It seems to be just a tad wider than the usual Sheaffer medium nib and puts down a striking line of ink. Within about 10-15 seconds of writing a line I was able to go back and rub a dry finger over the line withouth any smearing or smudges. Considering this pen writes on the wet side and this is a saturated ink, I think that is excellent performance.

On white 25% cotton writing paper the ink is quite striking and rich looking. I have a Legacy Heritage inked up with Legal Lapis that I use for check signing purposes, but I will be giving Tahitian Pearl equal duty for checks and signatures.

It is one of those inks that is so nice that I will keep a bottle stashed away at work as well as in the home.

If you are into blue-black inks or deep dark blues. this ink may be worth a try. Other pluses are that it is a Noodler eternal ink and it seems to very fast drying.

Bill

SigP228 - thanks for the review. I've been wondering abou that ink, but haven't been able to find a color sample anywhere. Anyone got a link or sample? Sig, if possible, maybe a scan or photo - something (throw me a bone - you've got me really interested as blues are my favorite and quick drying is necessary as I'm a leftie; the permanent aspect is a big bonus too).

Thanks for the great info!

Hello Southpaw,

Thank you for the kind comment. I will work over the next several days to see what I can do in the way of a sample. I must warn you my skill as a photographer leaves something to be desired.

Swisher Pens (www.swisherpens.com) does have a online sample that gives you something of an idea of what it looks like, but it doesn't quite do it justice. Just click on the bottled inks area of the page and navigate to the Swishmix Eternal line of inks.

Incidently, I am not affliiated with Swisher Pens, but have done business with them and am a very happy customer. They have an extensive line of Noodler eternal inks and provide fast service.

Like you, I like darker colors, mostly reds and blues. I have used the Swishmix burgundy as well and plan to give it review.

The things I liked about the Tahitian Pearl (besides its color) is that it is a very saturated ink, yet it dries very quickly and doesn't have the tendency to smear. I have also tried some of the Private Reserve Inks and must admit they are quite beautiful. Some of the dark blues tend to take a very long time to dry and seem to smear easily.


Bill

Thanks for the review Bill! This line of inks has been tempting me and I am happy to see somebody write about them at long last. I too saw the color sample on the Swisher sight, so I vouch for you there! It does look like an interesting dark blue color. If you could get a picture up it would be great! And don't worry about your photography skills. We love ink samples no matter what!

Marina.

I am also a big fan of this ink. Here is a quick writing sample though the ink looks a little darker on the page than shown here:

Hmmmm... looks very nice

Thanks, Ryan. There's another for my next ink purchase.

It seems like there are quite a few choices for waterproof blue Noodlers: Tahitian pearl, gulfstream blue, legal blue, legal lapis, and luxury blue, perhaps with only the last two being also "bulletproof?"

I also have Glacier Blue, another Swishmix offering, and one caveat of these inks is their somewhat unappealing aroma. It isn't too bothersome, but it is noticeable when I'm writing. I smell it more in the Glacier Blue, which is a color I'm not a big fan of anyway.

Interesting, Ryan. Viseguy has a bottle of stinky Glacier Blue, also. I have a pen in daily use with GB and don't smell anything untoward about it.

Viseguy and I have kinda concluded that it may be a case of insufficient bacteria and mold fighting ingredient (having a senior moment and can't think of the word) in his batch. My batch may be a later one, because so far, nothing.

I have Gulf Stream Blue and Burgundy, as well, with no odors.

That was your theory, Roger, not mine! My theory is that my bottle of GB got too much biocide, not too little. I have it on good authority that it's the biocide that puts out the orange-cleaner odor. And that's what I smell in my bottle of GB. My new bottle of Aquamarine -- another eternal Noodler's blue, BTW -- has the same smell, only milder. I don't mind the orange-y smell if it's not too strong.

Yeah, the smell begins to bother me a little by the end of a two-hour class with my head in my notes. I'm thinking about adding some Noodlers black to see if I can cut the smell a bit and create a more appealing color. I really like the Aquamarine/black mixed sample on Swisher's website, so maybe I can find something similar with Glacier.

Ok, but still unexplained is why I don't smell even a faint orangey smell in ANY of my Swishmixes or any other eternals or contracts. I don't think I'm having any problems with my olfactory capabilities. I seem able to spot nuances in wine pretty well, sooo?

Nathan...what the heck is going on here?

FWIW, I just took the Pel M250 loaded with Glacier Blue and stuck my nose virtually on the nib. The infamous "Noodler's creep" is going on here, so the nib is quite moist with the GB. If I want to stretch my imagination to the moon, maybe I can perceive the faintest of an orangey smell, but as I say, that's stretching!

So, Nathan, are we all going with widely diverging noses or have there been formulation changes that might explain our different perceptions? More or less biocide (thanks for the word)? Do some ink formulations require different amounts to provide proper protection from the nasties? As good a source as Viseguy had, it wasn't you, and I'd really like it direct from the horse's mouth.

I have 6 of the permanent inks, 4 Swisher exclusives, 1 Pendemonium exclusive, and a bottle of black. None have an orangy smell.

We might have come into this interest just at the right time, SP. Maybe the dealers were getting fresh batches and they were without the problems of biocide stink!

Thanks for the review! I like the look of this one. I'll probably order a bottle next time I get the urge... which, hopefully, won't be for a while, as I think I now have enough ink to last me until I'm 80.

BTW, another one who's never smelled anything orangey in Swisher / Noodler's.

Thanks for the review Bill. I was looking for an eternal Blue-Black. I've been using my own mix of Noodler's to hold me off until my next order.

I bought some Swishmix "Seminole Sepia" that I like so maybe "Tahitian Pearl" is my next.

I like Noodler's Black because there is no smear factor when I draw lines, let dry and then put a watercolor wash over it.

I like the Walnut real well but it smears a bit much when re-wetted. The "Seminole Sepia" is lighter and Reddish, but smears less.

All the best,

Thanks to this review, I've now got some Tahitian Pearl on the way (shall I send you the bill?).

I could not find it on the swisher site. Can you direct?

Here is the link: Swisher Pens - Tahitian Pearl


-Ryan

I've got some on the way too.

Where are you guys ordering this? I couldn't find it on the site when I looked for it.

Finally found it. THanks!

I love this color. Just got a new Bexley Sheherazade in blue for an early birthday present and that's the color of its first inking. The pen is from Mr. Binder and is a gloriously smooth writer. No surprise that it's my new favorite pen! And the Tahitian Pearl seems to be the perfect ink for it. 9

Congrats on the Bexley Sheherazade!

I just got my Swishmix Tahitian Pearl in tonight along with Noodler's Forest Green and Midnight Blue.

The Tahitian Pearl is just what I wanted it to be. It's very close to the color I'd been mixing for myself, only mine wasn't waterproof. I'm very pleased with the Tahitian Pearl.

I like the Forest Green real well too, a very deep dark Green.

The Midnight Blue is a very vivid Dark Blue somewhere between Prussian Blue and Indigo Blue.

All in all, a great inky haul!

Thanks for this review!

How does the Tahitian Pearl compare to Noodler's Blue Black? I'm interested in the darkest blue (something like a blue version of Zhivago), and the darkest blue I have is Noodler's Midnight Blue. I find the Diamine Prussian Blue more of a grey-blue.

Alas.... the Tahitian Pearl is NOT a dark blue but rather a greenish black with just a hint of blue.