I have heard good and bad about Noodler ink. I guess I have heard enough bad that I am worried about putting in more expensive pens. I recently got heart of darkness and polar blue since I wanted something waterproof. I am leary of putting them into my daily users. I inked up 2 really cheap pens. But I would pref to use them in different pens so I am asking What is the most expensive pen you would put noodler's in? And Why? if you care to comment

Thanks

A cheap steel dip pen.

Juan

I've used various Noodler's inks [including Near-Bulletproof and Bulletproof] in a wide variety of pens, and there have been no safety-related issues. They're all whole-heartedly recommended.

There is, however, one glaring exception: Baystate Blue. Lovely colour, but it is a replica of a vintage ink and has a scary propensity to stain. I've tested it on a yellow Lamy Safari, it was irreversibly marked in less than 3 seconds. There were flow issues with my Pilot 78G, too.

If you must use Baystate Blue, put it in a pen you do not care much for. I suspect this holds true for the other two Baystate inks.

Since my Lamy Safaris love Noodlers Bulletproof Black and Legal Lapis, I would not hesitate to try Noodler's inks in any pen I own. With two exceptions.

As Alexanderino mentioned, Baystate Blue stains noticeably and has some flow issues. Suspect the high saturation level of the dyes has something to do with that problem. Might consider it for a deep blue or black pen, however.

Empire Red exhibits the classic "wet to dry" problem. Whatever pen I put Empire Red into writes well for a while. Then the flow slowly dries up and the pen needs to be cleaned. In order to restore full flow, the pen needs to be put on a cleaning-solvent ink such as Sheaffer SKRIP or Mont Blanc Blue-Black (my two favorites). After a fill or two, the pen is restored to full flow and ready for any ink that it likes. Note that the pen chooses its ink, not me. By the way, I have an almost full bottle of Empire Red. Anyone willing to pay shipping for it?

Yours,
Randal

You might want to use a different MB ink for clean-out. For occasional use, this is an acceptable ink if your pen has no steel/plated parts in contact with it and you flush your pen every 2 weeks. It's an iron-gall ink.

I've used Noodlers in my Namiki Falcon and my ribbed Platinum 3776.

My Lamy Safari/vistas or Pelikanos I have bought for the very reason.
Reasonably cheap and good performing pens, easy to replace.

Anything else will stay on a "safe-ink-diet".

I would put Noodler's bulletproof inks in pens up to around $200-300, which is the limit to the pens I buy anyway.... ie, I am confident enough to put Noodlers in ANY pen I own.

I agree, but am puzzled by the statement (which I've seen elsewhere) that it's "a replica of a vintage ink". Could someone please identify the ink of which it is a replica?

Simon

I have used them in my Omas Paragon. Not an inexpensive pen but also nothing extravagantly expensive.
I have never had a major issue other than the normal nib creep.

Jim

http://www.noodlersink.com/baystateBlue.html

$800

Edited to add: this is the most expensive pen I have put Noodler's BP inks in. I have more expensive pens, but my Lighthouse won't see the bulletproofs. I don't use it super-frequently, so it gets one of the non-BP inks.

I have a relatively low upper limit for my pens - $150, and I have no hesitation using Noodler BP inks in those.

The only pen I won't use it in is a vintage Pelikan 140, not because of the expense but because I figure that the piston is less robust due to age, and I'm less willing to do a lot of flushing and rinsing. On the other hand, my Namiki Falcon is loaded with Noodler's BB full-time. No problems at all.

ETA: the other ones I don't use them in are the Pelikan GO's, because I never feel I can really get them clean. But those aren't generally considered expensive...

ahhh I set this up as poll not a reg question. for some reason it didn't work

I use bulletproof black in my Montblanc 149 all the time. Ive also used bulletproof ink in a waterman exception, sailor pro gear, and a Cartier Pasha. The only problem I have encountered so far was the 149 started to skip, but I hadn't flushed the pen in about 2 months; As soon as I flushed the pen it was back to normal. I truly love bulletproof black.

Simon - BayState Blue is based on an old ink named Old Colony, popular in the 1940s.

Sam

I only own one Noodlers ink so far, and I've only used in Parker Frontiers. However, I will try it in my Pelikan M200 (one of my two most expensive pens) and assuming I have a decent performance there, will be quite willing to use that combination more often. Additionally, there are a number of Noodlers inks I'm considering, and they would be used in the M200 as well. Those in the Baystate family would only be used in very cheap pens, though, if at all.

I use Legal Lapis in my Aurora Ipsilon de Luxe, which lists for around $150 and is probably my best new pen. It works very well.

I also tried it in a Parker 51, but the pen & ink didn't seem to get along.

I wouldn't mind trying BP Black in the Aurora either, but Bay State Blue would have to prove itself in some way before I'd risk it here.

After much hyperventing, put Legal Lapis in a Parker "51" Special. I picked a pen with excellent flow, one I'd be least upset to hurt. The ink and pen were perfect together, but I watched carefully and didn't let it sit in the pen as long as I would in another pen. Legal Lapis is a well behaved, excellent flowing ink.

I have more problems with Walnut, Zhivago (Near BPs), Mixing Marine Green and Black, or Polar Blue and Navy. They seem to get sticky after a time, adding water seems to help, but not all cases.

Not every Noodlers BP or Near BP would I put in an expensive, vintage or "dear" pen. Black, Legal Lapis, Violet Vote (Iraqi Indigo) are ones I would lean toward.

If it is a pen that I would carry with me and use regularly, then it is a pen I would ink with Noodler's. If it is a pen that sits in my shelf collecting dust, that I only take out occasionally and never take it out of the house, I'd probably just stick with Quink or Waterman, if I ever inked it at all.

Pens are meant to be utilitarian, after all. If I can't use the inks I like in it, then it has failed in it's task of being a useful pen for me.

I've used Noodler's Bulletproof inks in all my pens - cheap or expensive - without issue. Baystate Blue is the only ink by any manufacturer I've had issues with, but it's not bulletproof.

I've used bulletproof black and legal lapis in everything from Lami Safaris to Sheaffer Legacy and in nibs from fine to stub. Had wonderful luck with all of them except for "nib creep." My only qualifier would be that I use my pens very consistently when they are full of ink, and after I switch to another I clean out the old one before I put it up for longer than a couple of days.

With that qualifier it has worked in old pens, new pens and different pens all with excellent success.

As a side note, I have to second what Randal6393 said about 'cleaning out' a pen with Mont Blanc Blue-Black, though in my case it's the real-deal, Lamy BB. I've noticed it restore decent flow to some pens which seem to have gotten quite dry, though never in the course of using anything Noodlers, but usually one of the brands of inks considered "safer" by most. Not sure what's going on, if anything, it might just be that the iron gall inks feel so dry that anything feels wetter afterwords. These have all been used vintage pens.

Aaron

All my pens are on a "safe ink" diet: Old Manhattan, Galileo Manuscript, Zhivago...

I even put "bulletproof" inks into vintage pens, as long as I'll actually write with them. Most of my motivation to buy vintage has been to get flexible nibs for drawing, and I prefer my drawings to be in inks that will resist fading.

Even Waterman Gray Black has clogged pens I've let sit too long, and clogged so badly that I feared the pen would never be operational again. If I fear clogging, I can either give up using fountain pens or always use the ones I've inked.

As far as the highly demonized Baystate Blue, I read the description and decided not to ever get any. It sounds like trouble. Exactly the sort of trouble some people thrive on perhaps. I don't use blue ink except for mixing anyhow, and I'd certainly not mix Baystate Blue with anything.

I do have one pen that will never see cellulose-reactive dyes if I have any say in the matter: the Rotring 1996 Millennium Edition ArtPen. It's not all that rare or valuable, but the barrel is made of maple. I imagine that could be trouble.

(of course, I've got about a dozen stylographic pens that I keep filled with india ink at any given time... maybe that's why "clean pens frequently" doesn't seem like a big deal to me)

Hi,

I've used Bulletprof Black in a Sheaffer Legacy and a modern Duofold. But beyong that it tens to get used in a couple of cheap piston fillers (Senator/Reform), a couple of Sheaffer NN eyedroppers.

I wouldn't use it in anything with any transparency unless it's a cheap demo.

Too be honest whilst I quite like the dark colour of this ink, it seems to take forever to dry, so tends not to get used too much, which is a pity as I have one of those large eyedropper bottles full.

Andy

This is pretty much how I choose the ink.
The pen get's the ink it likes best that is the ink that will have good flow and gives a steady dark, wet line.




That was the experience I made as well. Tried Midnight blues and some blue (Blue or Ottoman Azzure) and the 51s did not perform the way they do with Quink or Diamine. Tried a MB 22 with the same result. Then I stopped filling Noodlers into vintage pens. The ink works perfectly with my Lamy vistas and they are the pens I use.

I suppose long-time readers of these boards get tired of hearing me chatter on about my Parker "51"s - one of which has only has Noodler's Black or Blue-Black in it for three or four years. Writes first time, even if it's been sitting a bit. Never a problem. And it's one of my favorite writers.

Personally, I've never had an issue with Noodler's inks of any kind, though I probably would watch the odd PH ones (BSB, etc.), though I currently have BSB in a Namiki VP Décimo and it's fine.

Most of my (few) expensive pens are in the $400-$500 range and the only one I limit the ink for is my Omas 360 Vision in Bronze, but that's because it's made of cotton resin and I have no idea how the Noodler's BP inks would react to that (since they bond to cellulose and cotton = cellulose) and I don't want to find out with such a gorgeous pen. (So far that pen has only had Omas's Sepia ink in it. I'm like the others who match ink to pen, so since that combo is so perfect anyway, it's not an issue for me.)

Everyone has their own experiences, of course, but in mine, I just don't see what most folks squawk about re: Noodler's*. Note that I have very few vintage pens (and the "51"s are the only ones I use regularly) so I can't comment on Noodler's in other vintage pens. I do (amost always) flush my pens with each ink fill so any potential clogging from a very saturated ink (whatever the brand) isn't really an issue for me. I should probably also mention that nib creep doesn't bother me, but I see that as an aesthetic issue, not a functional one.

* I have found Noodler's Socrates to be a bit fussy - slow starting, skipping - in a number of pens, but that's pretty much the sum total of problems for me.

I have been using Hunter Green BP ink for about a year now in my Marlen FP and love it. I use this pen 3-4 days out of my work week and it never fails.
I clean the pen every 6-10 weeks, pending how bad the nib creep bothering me.

If the ink flows.....then it stays....

Classics

Everything but Baystate Inks (for obvious already stated reasons) go in my pens. No matter what the price. At 41 bottles of Noodlers and still looking to buy more, I have every faith in them. I've put them in tons of pens, never had a problem.

-penguin

I have no interest in saturated inks, so i wouldn't put it in any pen.

I'll put anything (aside from an iron gaul ink) in any pen I ever intend to write with. If I was concerned with what an ink would do to a pen, it's probably a pen I would never ink.

Skippy- If that's the case, then it shouldn't keep you from using an iron-gall based ink! Something by Lamy or R&K is exceedingly safe, a more neutral pH than some of the Quink inks, etc etc. It's a shame to think of what folks miss out on when never trying out the available and safe iron gall inks- really great color, nuance, shading, and waterproof to boot.

Aaron

Thanks for the info. I'll keep that in mind when I'm looking for something new to use.

I need to do a little more homework on iron-gall inks anyways. My biggest concern is really whether inks are bulletproof/waterproof.

I bought a new Conklin Nozac LE Demonstrator, and kept it filled with Noodlers Aquamarine Bulletproof ink for nearly four years. I doubt I would do that again. If I ever get close to an ultrasonic cleaner I may be able to get the pen clean. I will admit that the pen sure looked nice filled with that ink. :-) Hmm, the damage is done, so I may fill it again. ;-)
Ken.

My most expensive pen is a Pelikan M1000. I use Noodler's Polar Blue in this pen and have no problems with it. I used to use Parker Quink, but I have become a Noodler's convert. I use Polar Blue in all my pens.

A pen worth $1,000,000,000,000.

Every single pen I own.

Put the black on any sheet plastic material (excluding casein and milk protein plastics) and let it dry, then do so with all the other black inks on the market...let dry. Rinse them off a few days later with a good sprayer and you'll see why so many people like Noodler's Black. The most durable ink on the paper once dry, yet one of the easiest to rinse off non-cellulose items...and is pH neutral unlike the central European blue-black inks and iron gal inks that can eat base metals beneath gold plate such as copper/brass/bronze and particularly aluminum.

Don't want bulletproof? Borealis Black against any other black ink besides Noodler's Black in a "brand blind" test wins each and every time I have tested people! It does not resist many detergents or the sun, as Noodler's Black does....but it IS rain/waterproof once dry and it IS pH neutral...and it IS super dark and smooth. Price per oz. is attractive too.

Just two of a wide selection - since the post is specific to Noodler's, Noodler's has the right to respond directly. N'est pas?


PS:
Baystate Blue haters, note baystate inks are not bulletproof, should never be mixed with other inks including other non-baystate noodler's inks, are not pH neutral, and have a significant following that would be extremely angry if baystate inks were ever pulled from the market. 1946 is very different from 2003! Baystate inks are so different that when one claims all Noodler's Inks are the "same" it is about as intelligent as claiming Taiwan is a part of mainland China. Some people say it, but it certainly is not true.

Hi Nathan,
Any chance of creating a non-black ink with the astounding qualities of your Bulletproof Black? I love it's non-feathering, smooth flowing, narrow-line inducing, cellulose permanancy, ease of washing off skin characteristics.

It's hard to do. Different colors need different materials/dye families to reflect their particular part of the spectrum. Colors other than black are limited far more by what is available to chemistry and science at this particular point in history.

Standard Black is unique because of electricity - the easiest way to explain the property. Static. Electrons... It makes it "float" away from the seep/feathering/capillary action just enough as it rides over the cellulose structure to promote bonding/reacting yet hinder penetration at the same time. It can be a delicate balance if one overwhelms the water based ink with damp paper or high humidity...as any water based ink will feather badly on wet paper or at a higher humidity level. Note how on recycled paper at 35% humidity it dries within a fractional second, but takes much longer on dense wax coated or polymer content paper at 85% humidity? Too much dampness "shorts" the quality of the static effect. The high "bead" on plastic sheeting, the "hold" in the rear of narrow plastic chambers that falls down when broken by a steel ball or spring moving through the meniscus....it is all indicative of that property. To get colors to behave that way can be close, but it is much more difficult to get it as perfect....AND have them ALSO be as durable in EVERY other quality and test simultaneously. It becomes a game of chess with nature as both your opponent and partner at the same time.

(nibs set for modern detergents that one can't see even a single ray of light pass through don't help either).

Any improvement possible will show up ASAP...provided it does not reduce other factors too much (for example: a faster dry time at higher humidity levels generally means an ink that is more prone to feathering on recycled papers - or a greater and much more intense contrast in color does not agree with the cheapest microscopic crater filled plastic/lowest common denominator material used by a particular modern pen manufacturer..gain one, loss on the other...repeatedly... It is much harder to find a double win in colors).

As the person who first reported the problem with my Yellow Lamy Safari staining with Baystate Blue (which Swisher Pens kindly replaced), I continue to use BSB on an almost daily basis. I have been using it in a dedicated blue Pelikano, and estimate that I am about half way through my second bottle of it. So, don't be afraid of it, just sensible.

Otherwise, I have a number of MB, Parker Duofold, Waterman, that are $150-$300 that I don't hesitate using with Legal Lapis, Old Manhattan Black, Black, Hunter Green.

Oh I see a new Concord Grape....gonna go order some of that.

I'll put Noodler's in anything! Definitely my favorite brand of ink and the largest in my collection. My most expensive pen is a Pelikan M800 and I have used Legal Lapis and Near-Bulletproof Red-Black in it. I have also used Aircorp Blue Black in a 60 year old Duofold. the only one I'm careful with is Baystate Blue. I only will use it in pens that have blue or black on the sections. I put it in a Danitrio Tactical Carry II and it was a pain to clean off, though it did come off eventually.

Nathan, your ink's are fantastic and actually spent the past few days reading through your old posts about your ink and company. Reading about some of the unique properties of the Russian inks lead me to purchase 3 bottles, Tsvetayeva, Esenin, and Pasternak. I also found reference to but not much discussion about some special ink's you have created. Security inks that are identifiable as having unique properties would be something I would be interested in as a step above bulletproof inks to be used as a signature ink. I was also intrigued by talk of dual color inks that have different specific weights that keep the colors separated. And the elusive and rare Red Oak Garnet also caught my interest. I was unable to find any image of the ink on paper. At only a 12 bottle production run, I doubt I would ever come across one, sadly.

If I am willing to put ink in it, I'm willing to put Noodler's in it. I have a Pelikan color demonstrator that I refuse to put Noodler's in, but it hasn't seen ink since its first fill with Quink washable blue because I was so disappointed with the color coming out of the nib. I think I may take the plunge and fill it with Legal Lapis some time soon. My biggest concern there is that I know it's easier to get ink in the piston area and that washable blue is such a weak color it will usually disappear even with a water soak. A pen is useless to me if I don't fill it with ink, though.

All my pens get Noodler's. My most expensive pen to date, the Bexley America the Beautiful in mahogany, is currently inked with Galileo Manuscript Brown. I have Pelikans, VP's, Chinese pens, Taccias, hand-turned pens, a Conklin crescent filler of old, other Bexleys... they all get dosed with Noodler's.

My favorite Noodler's run with Galileo, Legal Lapis, Heart of Darkness, Polar Blue, Nikita Red, Air Corp Blue Black, BSB, Marine Green... well, they are all my favorites.

I really like Noodler's, and I really like fountain pens, so the two will always go hand-in-hand for me.

Thanks for this thread. I had the problem with a yellow Safari and the Bay State Blue, but loved the flow of the ink. Now I think I can try it again, but in another colour.

I know I'm not the only one who mentioned BSB, but I'd like to state for the record that I'm not a BSB hater. I read the description and decided that it was not for me. I applaud that it was brought to market and thinks it says great things about Nathan/Noodler's.

Nathan, you say that Borealis is blacker than anything except for Noodler's Black. Old Manhattan looks blacker to me than "regular" Noodler's Bulletproof Black. Does that mean I should not look to Borealis if looking for ever-blacker ink?

I guess I'll be the voice of dissent on this one. I will think very carefully before risking Noodler's inks again. For one thing, the nib creep is truly astounding; nibs tend to get absolutely coated with the stuff, which then, depending on the ink, humidity, and length of time left to its own devices, will either produce huge ink-splats, dry in the nib, or release ink into the cap, thus creating a variety of messes. Also, Noodler's Socrates stained the section of my Levenger True Writer. I was fortunate that the stain turned out not to be permanent, but no amount of washing, rinsing, and soaking in 1:10 ammonia solution would get it out. It took a solid half hour in the ultrasonic cleaner (in three-minute bursts) with that same 1:10 ammonia solution before it began to clear up.

I wouldn't mind a bit of water resistance, and I'm sure the Bulletproof inks are wonderful for archival purposes, but to me it just isn't worth the annoyance or the risk.

Actually, you do make a point about nib creep. Maybe I'll stick Diamine in my demonstrator because I don't want to get ink in the cap. I'll have to think that over.

NOS Waterman Rhapsody in stunning mineral green finish which I've inked with Noodler's Iraqi Indigo and Lexington Gray. No problems whatsoever.

Long post in response to several issues at once...

Some Noodler's are made to be more easily rinsed than conventional inks. Most cellulose reactive inks will show in the chamber (like any ink that actually performs as an ink - and not just lightly tinted water) if the owner lets the pen dry out completely or if the lubricant used in the pen takes on the color of an ink. I will point out a question that has always perplexed me: a certain ink and pen manufacturer made a popular early 1990s ink that would fade before sunlight very quickly and would wash off paper with a handful of rain drops...but that behaved like a 1930s era contrast ink when it came to cleaning out of a pen. Isn't that set of properties "a$$\backwards"?? If an ink has more dramatic contrast and is vintage in style, should it not also be far more durable in exchange...where it counts...on the written page???

No matter how many times I have personally demonstrated the rinse cycle using Noodler's Black, Lexington Gray, and numerous other cellulose reactive inks....and have shown how less rinsing is needed to clear the chamber than most conventional inks require - there remains a perception that "if it is durable on the written page, it must be "dangerous"!". There exists a persistent irrationality to market perceptions that is likely to continue to overwhelm Noodler's for a time (Noodler's has a smaller ad budget than our smallest retailers and distributors - why? - because they make more per bottle than Noodler's does...so do the shipping companies!). Even if every ink had two pages of dense text tucked in to each box explaining EVERY possible variation and contingency, it would likely only promote those particular questions competing ink brands just love to ask and post online.

One can eliminate each factor that causes any complaint, introduce an ink that has the revised properties...and still never satisfy that group of people who refuse to be satisfied. Example: one fellow openly said: "Yes, Borealis Black solved that issue (he had complained about nib-creep on a platinum plated pen nib and that he wanted "waterproof but washable") - but I still don't like Noodler's." "Why" I asked.....he answered: "...because it's American and I don't buy American cars or American ink, and you are in Massachusetts!". OK, what is wrong with Massachusetts? The taxes are too high? "No, I just really don't like Massachusetts."

Now how in the world can I make an ink that will fix the American auto industry and perceptions about Massachusetts??? Really?


There are people who can determine the difference between standard black and baystate blue with a quick glance of the labels, others who never will...with automatic insistence that "if one Noodler's Ink is type A, they all must be type A!" without a second thought or single bit of reason. Three people have mildly advocated for a weak 100% washable ink introduction in the name of "greater selection", whereas well over a thousand were furious at the prospect of Baystate Blue being yanked from the market because it behaved like a typical 1940s high contrast ink and did not react conventionally with the lowest grade of plastic in existence on the modern pen market (a plastic that was not even used in the earlier period). The question was then: is ink technology to be held hostage to the lowest grade modern pen material? There will be a corn starch pen soon and there have been casein and certain milk-protein plastic since before WW II that have always had issues with simple water! When people actually bother to think about what they are asking when referencing "ink safety" do they realize that the "safest" ink by their own definition would not even function as an ink and would be quite useless? How likely are you to convert the average roller-ball or ball pen user to at least be open to consideration of the fountain pen if all you have to offer are the weakest/"safest" inks on the planet among writing instruments - or inks with the pH equivalent of battery acid that can filigree several paper grades? The "safe" inks advocated in some posts invariably fade fast before sunlight and drool away before rain drops and even humidity...let alone any minor flood damage that may reach a document.... They won't be here the way 1940s inks remain with us to this day upon the written page. They CERTAINLY will never outlast a bulletproof ink given typical/average conditions.

Lastly, when vast numbers of modern pens are set for use with high detergent inks and so many people are downright frightened by the prospect of even touching their own pen's nib (in contrast to a prior era - or in modern times sections of China, India, etc...), is it any wonder that the versatility of this most wonderful of writing instruments has been greatly reduced over the years by fear? From a point in time where a single fountain pen could write across uncountable and as still unknown varieties of inks with different properties, we have come to a point where the generic pen manufacturer has convinced the public to never adjust a product the customer OWNS and never use it beyond a set parameter of that manufacturer's inks. In the 1940s, if you made a car that only ran on one brand of gasoline you would have been laughed out of Detroit - and fountain pens could be and were often adjusted to write with extremely divergent inks and ink properties...routinely. The average pen was initially set at the factory so that at least a ray of light could pass through the nib tines and be clearly visible to the naked eye, gently tapering to the tip. Today, the wide fissure feed and the use of ebonite are common only in India (ebonite remains the best feed material for capillary action as it requires no etching and can be repeatedly heat set according to the desires of the pen's owner!). I'm so frustrated by this situation that as soon as is possible, there will be free Indian made all ebonite pens included with some Noodler's dropper bottles. It might take some time, but there is NO REASON why an ebonite feed pen requires $300+ while the plastic feed pen is sold for $30. The earlier argument the modern manufactures had about cartridges being the standard, and eyedropper pens never being viable in today's market is no longer the case. Each free eyedropper demonstrator that has been included with 4.5 oz dropper bottles proves otherwise. Ripple and other forms of ebonite are the next frontier in piercing this canard that what was affordable to the average person for 130 years "can't" be affordable all over the world (not just India!). Plastic feeds are nice too, but they are NOT as adjustable as ebonite. A pen the owner can adjust (both nib and feed) is a pen that can use more than 1,000 inks - or the equivalent to a car that will not be stranded in the desert because it only can use Exxon premium gas!

Nathan
I'm not sure where you see Indian Eyedroppers for $300 ++
The most expensive Ebonite Pen we sell is 7" capped and costs

$55.00. It hold just under 8mls of Ink.
The Mottled Brown, Green, Olive and Solid Black in the most popular size is $45.00
These all have hand cut Ebonite feeds.

I'm not sure I'd put any BulletProof ink in the Vintage Celluloid pens we have , but that's just me.

These are Steel Gold Plated nibs that we're readily accepted at the DC Show.
Solid Gold nibs as an added option begin at approximately 95.00.

Having been in the distribution business for 30 years I can assure you that I am not gouging nor making a killing on each individual pen!

Sure seems reasonable to me?

Steve

I don't think he's talking about Indian pens costing $300++. I think he's comparing the more reasonable price of Indian ebonite pens to western-made pens that are made of the same materials.