Is the green color in Noodler's Zhivago noticeable? Does it make it more interesting than a standard black? Is it bulletproof?

Lot's of people like this color. It's considered a near bulletproof. When wet, the secondary color (green) will wash away, leaving the base bulletproof black, but it won't stand out like just black would. It's in the same family as Red Black, Marine Green, Walnut, Air Corp Blue Black, etc. I had a bottle, but I didn't use it, since I've been using Air Corp Blue Black and Marine Green, and I recently gave away the Zhivago. From the scans I've seen, it appears it will depend upon your pen as to whether it will be real noticable or not, but I believe you'll be able to see the difference, and I don't think it will look at all like your standard black.

Keeping in mind that it probably varies depending on pen and paper... I find it very dark. Unless I look at it in bright sunlight it looks black to me. I actually like it slightly diluted because then I can see the green colour more.

Depends on the pen. In a really dry pen, like my Vac 51, it actually writes as a non-saturated green. In the majority of pens, especially wetter ones like my Lamy 2000 and Pelikan M150, it writes black, but with some character- the lighter parts are greenish rather than a plain gray. Much more character than a straight black, IMHO. Recommended.

Imo, in a wet writer it's in that category of inks that look black by themselves and only show their color variations when placed next to a 'real' black.

But as others have said, it really does depend on the pen (and paper to a degree).

Zhivago looks pretty much black in every pen I own. Also, I found that the non-bp part of the ink bleeds very quickly when exposed to water (for instance, if it rains on your notebook, or some drops of water/coffee accidentally get on it). For those reasons, I seldom use it, despite having been very excited to buy it.

However, many people love this ink, and report that it actually looks dark-green in their pens.

It's black in every pen I have (not that many, but still) except my Lamy Safari M, in which it is a very nice looking black-green with lots of shading.

I got some a month ago and have tried it in three pens so far, a Pelikan M400, an M150, and a Namiki Falcon. It was pretty black in most of them, the same way Noodler's Aircorp is mostly black. The green tinge is only slightly noticeable for me. But it does look different from regular Noodler's black, and I kind of like the way the soluble green part lifts off, which makes it fun to play around with for sketching. I don't know if I love it though - I like Aircorp quite a bit better. But Zhivago does make an interesting change.

It's the color I'd pick if I had to write something formal since it does look black (in my pens) but as others said it's at least slightly more interesting. Overall a good color but for most of my writing I prefer something more dynamic.

Did you mean to say mostly blue? My bottle has always looked like a greenish blue to me, never remotely black, but I can, at the same time, imagine that an equivalent greenish black would be great. (Or would it just be Sequoia/Zhivago?!)

Neil

I know a lot of people like this ink, so I don't want to step on any toes, but Zhivago is probably one of the most disappointing inks I've tried. Black in the three pens I've tried it with (fine Reform, medium Pelikan, broad Pelikan). It dries very slow in my experience, especially when compared to MB, Pel, and other such inks. To it's credit, it is quite water fast, with only the tiniest bit of green washing off. Indeed, the only time I saw the green is when doing a water test with it.

No, I really did mean to say black - at least mine is. A bunch of other inks are there, but here's a scan with Noodlers BB and Aircorp on it. They're pretty close, but in real life you can see the blue/teal undertones in the Aircorp. Zhivago is dark like that (for me), but with more of a green-grey tint.

Ah, interesting! Thanks for the confirmation and scan. There must be differences in colour from batch to batch.

Neil

My Air Corp Blue Black is very similar to the scan. It just seems to pop off the page more in person, and is a very interesting ink. I use it a lot for notes at work.

I looked back at some of the things I had written in Zhivago and while the characters still pretty much look black after writing them after some drying time (I guess) the words take on this glowing green quality. It's actually very nice.

I find Zhivago works best in italic nibs where the green really comes out. I have a Pilot Parallel in 2.4mm inked up with it at the moment and it's writing a dark pine green.

It shades well in some of my drier writers where you get some parts of letters seeming to be black while other parts are very obviously green. It does this in one of my drier Duponts.

I'm one of the ones that resists calling Zhivago a black-green. It's a dark green, but I don't have a pen that it truly looks black in. It is dark enough that it reads as black, though. The green doesn't "pop" out at you. It is therefore suitable for letters or journaling: it won't hurt your eyes to read it.

I'm also one of the ones that is disappointed with Zhivago. As a green can be either on the bluish side or the yellow side, Zhivago is on the yellow side. I started out in love with Zhivago, but the more I used it, the more the hue really bothered me. It's almost like the green of dead grass. A dark brownish green with (in my view) a cold, dead feel to it.

However, mix it 50/50 with Luxury Blue and you get an ink that's similar but a much warmer, livelier green.

That sounds quite nice to me actually!
Too bad it is not how the colour looks in my pens : (

I took a chance on Zhivago and found it to be exactly what I was hoping for. With my medium MB 149 (1960s vintage) on a standard white, lined pad, it dries to something like a very dark olive green, clearly not black.

I wasn't too happy with Zhivago's performance in my XF pens (I use these the most) but decided to give it another shot yesterday. I shook the bottle before filling and the green is so much more noticeable, making the ink much more interesting.

In my Lamy 2000, it wrote as a black with the green showing really only on the end of the stroke, or a smear. In dryer pens, like my vac 51 and Snorkel, it writes like a unsaturated dark green.

I'm with you Rev ~ character it has.

It's all I use l in my Waterman's Olive~Ripple 52V. I do add a few drops of green when I want more of it to glow through. Same with Red~Black. The WI green and red do a good job for me.

Also there's the Zhivago romance factor. Zhivago reads like a good novel to me, as a strong theme with an underlying twist.
pb2

I didn't bother buying Zhivago for quite a while because I had both green and black inks, some of them bulletproof.

I eventually did get Zhivago just to see what it was like. It writes a dark enough line so that it's pretty nearly black to my aging eyes. It's all right neat, just not a big thrill.

But of course I mix inks. And so I mixed Zhivago 50/50 with Swishmix Glacier Blue and it makes for a dark blue/green mixture. The green comes out more to mix with the blue in this mixture. And it's what I use in the fountain pen that I carry around in my pocket when I'm out. I'm not going to mistake my chicken scratches for anyone else's with this ink mixture!

I agree - to me it looks like a rather dirty colour, like an old item of faded black clothing found lurking at the back of a closet. (In the wet pens I've tried it in, it's pretty close to black.) Those who like the colour but wish it dried faster should dilute it with water.

Simon

I've been looking for a green that is beyond olive toward brown and dead grass green seems like as good a name as any! I do not like the blueish greens that seem spearminty to me.

As for Zhivago- I have seem the green sometimes in the edges of quickly written words but for the most part it looks black. I had great hopes for the color but decilined to continue using it in favor of Stipula moss green which is the green of near dead sawgrass & I like.


Kurt

I think this will be my first ink purchase. Thanks for clearing things up, guys.