Rachmaninoff - Noodler's

[visvamitra]

Noodler's is one of the companies that don't need introductions. Nathan's Tardiff work is unimaginable. The guy must be a vampire who doesn't sleep and feeds on developing ideas: new inks, new pens.

Rachmaninoff is part of Russian inks series. I've received the sample some time ago from Amberlea but I was afraid to try it - retina searing pink tried to scary me every time I reached for the sample. Recently though I've finished almost all my samples. Among the few left there was this crazy intense pink. I've decided that it was time and filled my Kaweco with it.

In the beginning the ink wrote nicely, but after some time in the pen it caused clogging and Kaweco wouldn't start at all. I checked the nib and feed ant they were coated with a filmy layer of pink. This ink wasn't created for use with good pens - if you - for some unimaginable reason - enjoy the color and need permanent pink (permanent pink - why would anyone need that?) use it with Platinum preppy.

Ink Splash

Drops of ink on kitchen towel

Software ID

Tomoe River, Kaweco Classic Sport, B

Leuchtturm 1917, Kaweco Classic Sport, B

[inkstainedruth]

And to think there was a thread a while back started by someone complaining that Nathan didn't make pink ink....

Hmmm. Anyone know if this one is still available anyplace? I seem to recall seeing some of the other Noodler's inks originally for foreign markets (like some of the UK series, and I *think* some of the Russian series) someplace the other day -- someplace I hadn't expected. Vanness, maybe? Aha! I was right! It is them.... They just don't have much left in stock.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

ETA: Thanks for the review. My husband, however, probably won't....

Edited July 8, 2016 by inkstainedruth

[DrDebG]

Great review, Vis!

 

Definitely not my color. I'm not fond of "pepto bismol" pink. More importantly, I don't like inks that clog and leave residue in my pens. I imagine it is also not much fun to clean from the pen as well.

[lgsoltek]

I don't dislike the colour, but that behaviour is unacceptable.

[swanjun]

It's cute, but I was actually expecting it to be even *more* retina-searing.

[Cyber6]

Way back when... I have just discovered Noodlers... I found a small boutique liquidating the Russian series... I bought them all or at least most at 70% off. The joke was on me, the inks are very thick (like paint) and they just unusable on a fountain pen.

 

I could have given them to my artist daughter.. but she was much younger then and hadn't discovered ink as a medium for her talent. I ended up trading the whole lot for Tomoe River Paper (in A4 and A5 pads).. Almost 3 pads per bottle.. Again, at that time Tomoe River was very new and extremely hard to find. :D

 

All in all.. a good trade...a good deal and everyone went home happy.

 

 

Fast forward to last year.... I ended up trading some inks for Chekov (orange) and Dostoevsky (bluish teal) specifically for my daughter. They are great ink for sketching. :wub:

 

 

All is well that ends well..

 

 

 

C.

[graystranger]

And to think there was a thread a while back started by someone complaining that Nathan didn't make pink ink....

Hmmm. Anyone know if this one is still available anyplace? I seem to recall seeing some of the other Noodler's inks originally for foreign markets (like some of the UK series, and I *think* some of the Russian series) someplace the other day -- someplace I hadn't expected. Vanness, maybe? Aha! I was right! It is them.... They just don't have much left in stock.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

ETA: Thanks for the review. My husband, however, probably won't....

 

Goulet Pen Co. carries the Rachmaninoff ink, I think they are now the exclusive seller of it and some of the other Russian series of Noodler's inks. I got a sample first and then bought a bottle back in May.

 

As to being unusable in a good pen, that is nonsense. All you have to do is to dilute it with some distilled water. As it comes in the bottle, this ink dries quite quickly and is thicker than most inks. It has been in my TWSBI Eco, undiluted, since May 23, 2016 with no problems at all. I wrote with that pen yesterday and it started immediately and wrote wonderfully, even though it had not been used in two or three weeks. This is with undiluted Rachmaninoff that has been in the Eco for 6 weeks.

 

Rachmaninoff dries very quickly for such a highly saturated ink, even on paper like Rhodia and Clairefontaine, that is probably the reason it dries out on the nib so quickly. I never set a fountain pen down uncapped for more than a minute or two. Just something I've done for 20 years. Part of my writing habit, I cap my pens before I set them down. Ever had an uncapped pen roll off the desk? I haven't.

 

I also have Rachmaninoff in a Platinum Cool pen for the same length of time. I do have to rinse the nib off every week or two to get it started because I only use it briefly making notes or editing. So for the minute or less I write with the pen, the nib dries out a little. Without writing more, the ink in the cartridge is not flowing through the feed that much. Yesterday I added a couple of drops of distilled water to the ink in the cartridge. I was going to put some distilled water in the bottle, but Noodler's bottles don't have any room when new. I'll probably add some to the bottle when it goes down some.

 

I like Rachmaninoff for several reasons. Easy to read (not that many eye popping bright inks are as easy to read), great for underlining, highly UV fluorescent. If you are worried about drying in the feed, just dilute the bottle with about 10 or 15 ml of distilled water to thin it down. This ink is great for making a bright visible heading, editing notes, any writing you want to be highly visible. Plus it is totally waterproof when dry.

 

I think it is best in pens with a cap that seals tightly. The TWSBI pens seal airtight. The Platinum Cool and Balance (and Preppy pens) are almost airtight. I would not hesitate to use it in my Platinum 3776 Century Bourgogne pen, but I use that pen for "regular' writing and don't want to fill it with an ink that would not be used very often.

 

Why are fountain pen users so reluctant to dilute saturated inks with distilled water? This can solve so many problems with pens that don't seal well, have pens with flow problems, and to adjust highly saturated or quick drying inks. Nathan Tardiff intends that his inks be so adjusted, just like his pens.

[namrehsnoom]

Reminds me a bit of Pelikan Edelstein Turmaline, which I do like. Turmaline is darker though, and looks a lot nicer.

[AD64]

There is something about this ink that pleases me even though pink doesn't usually please me. Perhaps it is because it needs attention for its' best aspects to come forth, just like the rest of us? Perhaps it is because I am really growing to admire the symphony of expression that is Nathan Tardiff's work and offering to us? Perhaps I enjoy an enigma inside a puzzle that requires time and effort for me to work out?

 

Thank you for this review and for everyone's opinions. I love reading our collective wide-ranging opinions.

 

Best,

 

AD

[Barkingpig]

The ink is also available @ Pen Chalet & was listed as "available & in stock" moments ago.

[cello]

 

Goulet Pen Co. carries the Rachmaninoff ink, I think they are now the exclusive seller of it and some of the other Russian series of Noodler's inks. I got a sample first and then bought a bottle back in May.

 

As to being unusable in a good pen, that is nonsense. All you have to do is to dilute it with some distilled water. As it comes in the bottle, this ink dries quite quickly and is thicker than most inks. It has been in my TWSBI Eco, undiluted, since May 23, 2016 with no problems at all. I wrote with that pen yesterday and it started immediately and wrote wonderfully, even though it had not been used in two or three weeks. This is with undiluted Rachmaninoff that has been in the Eco for 6 weeks.

 

Rachmaninoff dries very quickly for such a highly saturated ink, even on paper like Rhodia and Clairefontaine, that is probably the reason it dries out on the nib so quickly. I never set a fountain pen down uncapped for more than a minute or two. Just something I've done for 20 years. Part of my writing habit, I cap my pens before I set them down. Ever had an uncapped pen roll off the desk? I haven't.

 

I also have Rachmaninoff in a Platinum Cool pen for the same length of time. I do have to rinse the nib off every week or two to get it started because I only use it briefly making notes or editing. So for the minute or less I write with the pen, the nib dries out a little. Without writing more, the ink in the cartridge is not flowing through the feed that much. Yesterday I added a couple of drops of distilled water to the ink in the cartridge. I was going to put some distilled water in the bottle, but Noodler's bottles don't have any room when new. I'll probably add some to the bottle when it goes down some.

 

I like Rachmaninoff for several reasons. Easy to read (not that many eye popping bright inks are as easy to read), great for underlining, highly UV fluorescent. If you are worried about drying in the feed, just dilute the bottle with about 10 or 15 ml of distilled water to thin it down. This ink is great for making a bright visible heading, editing notes, any writing you want to be highly visible. Plus it is totally waterproof when dry.

 

I think it is best in pens with a cap that seals tightly. The TWSBI pens seal airtight. The Platinum Cool and Balance (and Preppy pens) are almost airtight. I would not hesitate to use it in my Platinum 3776 Century Bourgogne pen, but I use that pen for "regular' writing and don't want to fill it with an ink that would not be used very often.

 

 

 

I've not tried this ink, and won't due to it not being a color that I desire to use, but to your question about why purchasers of fountain pen ink are hesitant to dilute an ink to make it usable, I can only speculate on my own thoughts:

why would I purchase an ink that is not ready to use out of the bottle? If Mr. Tardiff intends his ink to be diluted, why does he not release it that way? I personally don't want to have to dilute an ink, or mix, or mess with them at all. So I don't understand that sentiment. An ink should sit in a pen, used with somewhat regular use, and should behave. Those are my expectations for any ink I purchase.

And I have several Noodler's inks that I enjoy, so I have no reason to bash this one, or Noodlers.

[Gloucesterman]

One could check out J. Herbin's "Rose Cyclamen. It actually comes out more pinkish than in most color swatches that I have seen on ink seller's sites.

 

Have used it off and on with no detrimental effects.

[amberleadavis]

Well, Vis, I see we need to send more samples. I'm glad you tried it. I think it would work better diluted, and I am okay with diluting, but I didn't like the chalky color. I think it's prettier on the paper towel. Anyway, thank you for for doing this work!

[inkstainedruth]

The ink is also available @ Pen Chalet & was listed as "available & in stock" moments ago.

 

Ah -- that's where I saw it! I just got their latest email after my previous post.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[maksim]

I wanted to love the ink, but good thing I only got a sample.

 

In a number of pens that I have tried it in, it was just too bland, and very light in color.

[Mishka5050]

Lol I felt exactly the same - it looked like some paint in the bottle

Jinhao pens came in handy...because I need permanent pink, lol

[Bhavna]

I really love this colour - would love a bottle! Any UK sellers?

[Mishka5050]

I really love this colour - would love a bottle! Any UK sellers?

I doubt that... Would you like to swap some samples?

[Shanghai Knife Dude]

love the saturated color, also need the permanent property.

 

clogging is the major issue.

 

twsbi vac700 F nib - running perfectly smooth on Baystate Blue (50% diluted); running like disaster on rachmaninoff.

[chromantic]

It's certainly a very bright pink, no doubt about that, and one I could see myself using.

 

What bothers me, though, is what this color has to do with Rachmaninoff? As a classical music aficionado, it's not a color than I would associate with the gloomy, brooding Russian. Do these ink companies do any actual research into what colors the people they name inks after might have liked?