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Noodler's Ink Not Drying / Smearing


Abner C. Kemp

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Take 5 mls of the ink, add 1 ml of water. That will be enough to test. You can get several fills of ink from that, and you can add more water or ink if it is not quite right.

I find that many highly saturated inks like Noodler's, Private Reserve and Diamine can take 20%, up to 40% water, and still look good.

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“Them as can do has to do for them as can’t.


And someone has to speak up for them as has no voices.”


Granny Aching

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I dilute my Noodler's regularly with good results. But I do understand those who don't want to mess with dilution. Inks should be usable out of the bottle, the consumer shouldn't have to put in additional effort and investment in order to use commercial inks.

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I did a test on my no feather ink and the only place it did not dry and smudged on was on a very highly coated outside of a Christmas card. I am not a huge fan of coated paper anyway. I know Tomoe River is coated but can anyone tell me if Clairefontaine is?

Virtually all paper is coated, the difference is the ink resistance between each of the many many different coatings used on papers. Some are more resistant to water based inks than others.

 

Clairefontaine paper is coated, very much like Rhodia. I love all three papers and have all three for my use. With fresh Noodler's inks in a pen none of these papers have ever given me any dry times longer than 20 or 30 seconds, usually they are dry in 5 to 10 seconds. And, there is very rarely any feathering with these three papers, of course some inks feather a lot more than other inks (the Polar inks feathered badly for me). And my SEF Pilot Falcon nib is so fine, if I write with much nib pressure against the paper, this very fine and sharp nib will scratch through the coating and results in more feathering.

Edited by graystranger

Eschew Sesquipedalian Obfuscation

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I had this happen with Black Swan in English Roses. It was a sample. It has been humid here off and on though. I did not have that problem with General of the Armies, which I just sampled. I have now flushed a pen, and filled with an El Lawrence sample. It seems fine on my printer paper, and the Rhodia dot pad. I will check for smearing after while. I am going to add water to any of these samples I like. I have not noticed this with Navajo Turquoise, and I heavily flexed that one. It is a fresh bottle, my daughter just gave it to me a few days ago.

 

Now I do love Sailor-Kiwa guro, and have used it. I had it in a pen for maybe two weeks, and it clogged my feed. The pen had a M nib. Now I adore Sailor ink, so don't think I'm hating on them. I will just have to put less ink in the pens, and then maybe a touch of water. I had no idea the pen with Kiwa guro was about to clog. One minute it was fine, the next minute, it was NOT. A good flushing took care of it, and I used the bulb syringe for good measure.

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Seems like several responses suggest that adding water might help. I'm pretty new to bottled ink, how does one cut with water and how much?

Thanks.

john

 

 

Hi,

 

Back in 2013, these were the Topics I'd posted RE: dilution.

 

I like to think that some are still relevant. Other bits and bobs have since been added, not all indexed, such as in my Review of Noodler's 54M.

 

Bye,

S1

Edited by Sandy1

The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.

 

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Noodler's has some really fantastic inks if you want bold colors. I have many Noodler's inks and love Liberty's Elysium, Walnut, Navy, and Air Corps Blue Black. I do have to be careful which inks I use on which papers. I prefer the bulletproof and eternal lines. Even those have a wide range of drying times and smearing. I've tested many of these inks and have identified a set of Noodler's inks that meet my permanence and non-smearing requirements. They are: 54th Massachusetts, Bad Blue Heron, Bad Green Gator, General of the Armies, Upper Ganges Blue, and Kung Te cheng. These inks dry fairly quickly and will not smear or run after dry. Other Noodler's permanent inks will wash off or smear the unbonded ink that sits on the surface , but they are permanent through the portion that bonds to the paper. I prefer Heart of Darkness over Noodler's Black because HOD dries faster and smears less.

 

I use a lot of Black n' Red paper, which is a fairly smooth paper. The inks I listed perform very well on that brand paper. Of the listed inks, the two best performers are 54th Mass and Bad Blue Heron. UGB and KTC tend to dry on the nib if not used daily. BGG bleeds heavily if you don't use a fine nib.

Favorite pen/ink pairings: Edison Brockton w/EF 14K gold nib and Noodler's 54th Massachusetts; Visconti Pinanfarina w/EF chromium conical nib and Noodler's El Lawrence; Sheaffer Legacy w/18k extra fine inlaid nib and Noodler's Black; Sheaffer PFM III fine w/14k inlaid nib and Noodler's Black; Lamy 2000 EF with Noodler's 54th Massachusetts; Franklin Christoph 65 Stablis w/steel Masuyama fine cursive italic and DeAtramentis Document Blue; Pilot Decimo w/18k fine nib and Pilot Blue Black; Franklin Christoph 45 w/steel Masuyama fine cursive italic and Noodler's Zhivago; Edison Brockton EF and Noodler's El Lawrence; TWSBI ECO EF with Noodler's Bad Green Gator.

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I have to say that I've read many posts/threads here on FRN about Noodler's or some other brand or an ink that "refuses" to dry. I've certainly had some inks take a bit longer to dry, say on the order of 20+ seconds, but that is quite rare, usually on the less absorbent papers such as Rhodia and other FP-friendly papers. I will say my hands are quite dry, and I never use lotions, moisturizers, etc on my hands, except occasionally, at night. But I tend to use F or M nibs, some fairly wet. But that has never really made a difference.

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  • 4 months later...

Noodler's has some really fantastic inks if you want bold colors. I have many Noodler's inks and love Liberty's Elysium, Walnut, Navy, and Air Corps Blue Black. I do have to be careful which inks I use on which papers. I prefer the bulletproof and eternal lines. Even those have a wide range of drying times and smearing. I've tested many of these inks and have identified a set of Noodler's inks that meet my permanence and non-smearing requirements. They are: 54th Massachusetts, Bad Blue Heron, Bad Green Gator, General of the Armies, Upper Ganges Blue, and Kung Te cheng. These inks dry fairly quickly and will not smear or run after dry. Other Noodler's permanent inks will wash off or smear the unbonded ink that sits on the surface , but they are permanent through the portion that bonds to the paper. I prefer Heart of Darkness over Noodler's Black because HOD dries faster and smears less.

 

I use a lot of Black n' Red paper, which is a fairly smooth paper. The inks I listed perform very well on that brand paper. Of the listed inks, the two best performers are 54th Mass and Bad Blue Heron. UGB and KTC tend to dry on the nib if not used daily. BGG bleeds heavily if you don't use a fine nib.

 

Has anyone compared 54th Massachusetts to the old Blue-Black in terms of drying time and smearing?

John in NC

 

The passion not to be fooled and not to fool anybody else..two searching questions of positivism: what do you mean? How do you know? (Bertrand Russell, Dominant Passion of The True Scientist)

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On audiophile forms, Bose is bashed

On phone forms, Apple is bashed

On ink forms, Noodler's is bashed.

 

I enjoy all my Noodler's Inks.... yes, even Baystate Blue. It works well in my Kaweco-Sport...

I absolutely love North Star Liberators which was only available at the Commonwealth Pen show.

 

You want an ink that smears if one drop of water comes in contact with the ink? That would be the very expensive Pilot Iroshizuku inks. I own three of these and love them but never use these in my journal or anything that might come into contact with a drop of water.

Edited by Gawain

Thoreau "for every thousand hacking at the branches of evil, there is one chopping at the root"

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On ink forms, Noodler's is bashed.

 

Or fanboi'd. The fact of the matter is that even when people put forth reasonable and dispassionate comments, other people take sides. Nothing I can do about it with regard to my comments, nor can anyone else.

"When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick; and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

~ Benjamin Franklin

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By the way, an ink smearing has nothing to do with whether it is waterproof or not. Separate issues.

"When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick; and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

~ Benjamin Franklin

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True, I was just pointing out that fault can be found with really expansive ink as well as inexpensive Noodler's. Recently I was writing in my journal with Iroshizuku ink and was crushed when a drop of water hit the ink on my journal paper and the ink expanded to leave a big blotch.

 

I am just amazed at how much attention Noodler's ink receives in bad press when I enjoy his ink and the price and the full bottle. Hell people complain, Nathan puts too much ink in his bottles! What's up with that!!!

 

We have become a divided world with our prejudices and vocal opinions of everything and everybody. I wonder if social media is to blame or politics?

Thoreau "for every thousand hacking at the branches of evil, there is one chopping at the root"

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True, I was just pointing out that fault can be found with really expansive ink as well as inexpensive Noodler's. Recently I was writing in my journal with Iroshizuku ink and was crushed when a drop of water hit the ink on my journal paper and the ink expanded to leave a big blotch.

 

I am just amazed at how much attention Noodler's ink receives in bad press when I enjoy his ink and the price and the full bottle. Hell people complain, Nathan puts too much ink in his bottles! What's up with that!!!

 

We have become a divided world with our prejudices and vocal opinions of everything and everybody. I wonder if social media is to blame or politics?

 

Once upon a time, if you wanted to express an opinion to anyone other than your spouse or dog ( your cat wouldn't listen to you anyway), you had to take the time to find pen and paper, write a letter to the Times or Illawarra Mercury as appropriate, post it, and wait to see it published.

 

Now you just type away, and the whole world can marvel at your words of wisdom and insight.

fpn_1412827311__pg_d_104def64.gif




“Them as can do has to do for them as can’t.


And someone has to speak up for them as has no voices.”


Granny Aching

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True, I was just pointing out that fault can be found with really expansive ink as well as inexpensive Noodler's. Recently I was writing in my journal with Iroshizuku ink and was crushed when a drop of water hit the ink on my journal paper and the ink expanded to leave a big blotch.

 

"The fault" you're referring to is completely different than the issue being discussed here. Iroshizuku inks smearing when coming into contact with water is not the same as an ink never drying on the page. If you want waterproof inks, there are plenty of options. An ink that doesn't advertise itself as being waterproof or water-resistant should not be faulted when water then smears it.

 

The "never drying/always smearing" issue is why I no longer use Noodlers or Private Reserve inks.

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I have about a dozen different Noodlers Inks. Among my daily users are Baystate Blue, Heart of Darkness and #41 Brown. For grading, i often use Nikita, Berning Red, Antietam and Red Black as well as Diamine's Poppy. I think the only ink that has been problematic with long dry times has been the Red Black. I write on all kinds of paper.

 

I might have an advantage as i leave in a very dry climate (semi-desert in the Arizona mountains at 7,000 feet) which means that the paper is often very dry and the humidity is not existent. To make it even drier, i heat by wood.

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I've experienced the same, with about the same number of Noodler's inks. My location is Tennessee, not exactly a dry climate.

 

I have about a dozen different Noodlers Inks. Among my daily users are Baystate Blue, Heart of Darkness and #41 Brown. For grading, i often use Nikita, Berning Red, Antietam and Red Black as well as Diamine's Poppy. I think the only ink that has been problematic with long dry times has been the Red Black. I write on all kinds of paper.

 

I might have an advantage as i leave in a very dry climate (semi-desert in the Arizona mountains at 7,000 feet) which means that the paper is often very dry and the humidity is not existent. To make it even drier, i heat by wood.

Thoreau "for every thousand hacking at the branches of evil, there is one chopping at the root"

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In my experience, some Noodler's inks have problems with smearing after dry, others do not. Of the Noodler's inks I have, probably Cayenne is the worst in terms of smearing after the ink is dry, and I have seen issues with BSiAR from a wet pen. But other Noodlers inks are just fine. It's unfair to Noodler's to make such a sweeping judgement, especially since the chemistries of their inks vary so much from one color to another.

 

Some of it has to do with paper - I use Clairefontaine for a lot of my writing, and being a coated paper it can exacerbate a smear-prone ink.

 

Finally, smearing inks isn't unique to Noodlers. I gave away a bottle of Levenger Cobalt Blue because it was a really bad smudger. And I have a bottle of Blackstone Barrier Reef Blue which smears pretty badly on Clairefontaine.

Edited by ErrantSmudge
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In my experience, some Noodler's inks have problems with smearing after dry, others do not. Of the Noodler's inks I have, probably Cayenne is the worst in terms of smearing after the ink is dry, and I have seen issues with BSiAR from a wet pen. But other Noodlers inks are just fine. It's unfair to Noodler's to make such a sweeping judgement, especially since the chemistries of their inks vary so much from one color to another.

 

Finally, smearing inks isn't unique to Noodlers. I gave away a bottle of Levenger Cobalt Blue because it was a really bad smudger. And I have a bottle of Blackstone Barrier Reef Blue which smears pretty badly on Clairefontaine.

 

I don't think it's unfair at all. Ink should dry on the page. That's not an unreasonable assumption to make. Noodlers may make 100+ "standard" inks, but if I buy an ink, I expect it to work. I shouldn't buy an ink (say, Noodlers Navy, one of the inks that smeared on me) and then have to say "Well okay, this one smeared. I guess I can pick a different color...." Then when the same thing happens with Purple and Green Marine, am I supposed to keep going through 100+ inks?

 

Levenger, Blackstone, Private Reserve, Noodlers....they're all boutique inks. Boutique inks seem to have problems. I used boutique inks until 2012 or so, until I finally said "Why should I put up with fussy ink? Ink should just work."

 

Pelikan, Pilot, Sailor, Platinum, Montblanc, Herbin...they've all been fine for me. So I use them.

 

Other people can use Noodlers inks...I just won't.

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