Can someone list the Noodlers inks that tend to creep? Or precipitate really badly?

I know that my Noodlers Black creeps, but this is my only Noodler's ink.

Walnut creeps out onto almost all of my nibs. It's a lovely colour, though.

Neil

Not 100% on this, but nearly all of the permanent ones and most of the ones that have the black as a component (i.e., red-black, some of the other browns, etc.).

Luxury blue creeps a lot. By the way, I like it, even though it's not a vibrant color. It's a saturated pastel.

Stephen

Joking: Isn't "saturated pastel" an oxymoron?

I like to keep a clean nib so I plan to stay away from creeping inks. Thanks for the post!

I get creep from Legal Lapis. I don't have a problem with Black.

technically - maybe not. I think you can have a light color by definition (let's say pink) but have a significant amount of dye in the ink such that it is saturated. But i'm speaking from a chemical POV vs. a dye POV. Saturation being, in my answer, the amount of dye particles in the solution vs. the relative darkness. To dye folks I could be mistaken.

Legal Lapis definitely creeps. The Red-black I tried crept a bit but not overly so. No noticeable creep with Squeteague or Saguaro as yet.

No creep with midnight blue on the two pens I tried it with. Does Tahitian blue from Swisher's waterproof line creep?

Yup!

Yes, maybe. But, even though a pastel, it looks rich and creamy and contrasty.

Stephen

I think I'd agree with this generalization.

From personal experience:

Lots of creep:

Black
Legal Lapis
Eternal Brown

Some Creep:

Blue-black
Red-black
Walnut

No creep yet:

Tiananmen
Standard Green
Green Marine
Nightshade (I thought this one might, but so far so good...)

My bottle of Eternal Brown seemed to seperate after a year untouched, but I shook it up, and after watching it for a couple of months, I've started using it with no ill effects. (knock on wood)

Ryan.

Do you mean "separate," as in separation of dyes?
If that's what you mean, then, yes, the dyes in some Noodler's colors do separate. No permanent damage happens, though; a few end-over-end turns re-mixes them well enough.

If a Noodler's ink precipitates spontaneously without any other inks being added even accidentally, that's either a manufacturing defect (highly unlikely) or else something icky getting into the bottle or pen, which can happen with any ink after the preservative ingredient(s) get overwhelmed by life-forms.

How separated did it get? I know that early on I got a bottle of Noodler's Black that became gray when I took the ink off the top, and a good shaking fixed that.

Did you get a lighter shade of brown or did you get something more like nearly clear water and a lot of stuff on the bottom of the bottle? I've got a 4½ ounce bottle of Noodler's Eternal Brown so I guess I'd better give it a shake every now and again to make sure it stays the ink I bought. And you only looked at the bottle for a couple of months after you shook it up again? How long have you been using it in its re-mixed condition?

I always tend to shake up my Noodler's inks, even the non-waterproof ones, just to make sure. But I only do that before I am about to use them or mix them. I'm hoping that that's enough.

Keep in mind that "creep" is also influenced by the physics of the feed and nib.

For instance, Green Marine does creep in the one pen that I've used it in, so far; a Pel M250 with a Binder 14K stub.

The variables are many and likely beyond most of our ability to decipher them. "Creep" doesn't bother me, at all, as long as it stays on the top side of the slot and doesn't creep into the cap when not in use. None have at this point of the 20 some Noodler's that I have.

Wretch - No, it wasn't clear, but it was a very watery copper colour at the top getting thicker and darker as it went down the bottle, ending with a layer of reddish brown shtuff at the bottom - maybe 1mm over the whole bottom, rising to 3mm in the corners. It took a good long shake to get everything mixed up again. After the shake the colour returned to normal (i.e. matches the Clark Ink Sampler).



Giving it a shake couldn't hurt, but I wouldn't stress about it. I haven't done any more shaking - I set it aside specifically for observation - no settling out since late November/early December. I put it in a pen maybe two weeks ago, and it seems kosher.



It should be. This seemed like a one time thing for me - I've got about a dozen bottles of Noodlers, four or five the same vintage as the EB (though all different colours). No problems with any of the others. Steve says Noodlers seperating isn't unheard of but is harmless, and my experience seems to bear that out.

Ryan.

Wonder if it would be easier to make a list of those that DON'T creep

-Bruce

PS - have permanent black, Iraqi Indigo, Legal Lapis - all are creepy

Or else there is too much dye for it all to remain in solution and that ink will surely be more clog-prone than your typical FP ink. I would most likely toss such a bottle, or at best I would use it without ever shaking the bottle. The excess dye that has precipitated is better left at the bottom. Other things you could do are (1) transferring the ink into a new bottle, leaving behind the stuff at the bottom (2) add some water, shake it up, and wait long enough to make sure there is enough of it for the dye to remain in solution.

Yes, good point. I'd agree with #1, since diluting with water might dilute the other intentionally present ingredients. I'd add (3), snail a letter to the manufacturer reporting the defect.

In the Noodler's line, I've only used Polar Black - bulletproof, lubricating, and writes in freezing temperatures. I've never seen an ink that seeps in between the tines this much. It only takes a few minutes and wow... here did that come from?! Don't bother wiping it off, as it will just return in a few minutes. That said, it's a very smooth-writing ink that lives up to its claims. It's a tad saturated and flows rather dry, so I'm very picky about the pens I'll use it in.

I'm wondering if those who report more creep are using pens that require you to dip the nib into the ink to fill. My thought is that you get a very thin layer of ink on the nib that way that facilitates creep.

It might be interesting to perform an experiment:

1. Take a Pelikan with a known clean nib, unscrew it, and use a dropper to put in ink.
2. Fill another Pelikan the normal way with the same ink.
3. Compare how long it takes or whether both will creep.

Now report back to us quickly on your results!

Stephen

You kow, I think you are right. I have a cartridge pen that I filled with Cayenne and I don't get the creep I do on my Pelikan Gos which you dip the nib. I'll have to test my Sailor when I get my swap in.