Noodler's Proctor's Ledge Ink Review

[ToasterPastry]

Noodler's Proctor's Ledge Ink Review

Limited edition ink produced for the 2016 Commonwealth Pen Show, Boston

 

I prefer boring inks. But I also think a dark suit should be punctuated with a splashy tie, which doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense. Inks, though, should be boring, business boring. There shouldn’t be a lot of color, sparkle or sheen. It shouldn’t draw attention to itself or make the reader lose focus. I once purchased an ink the color of bilious regurgitation, which probably reflects the prose more than I realized. My favorite business ink is Private Reserve 2004 DC Supershow Blue. It makes a statement without trying to look like it’s making a statement. I’m looking for an ink like that; splashy in a dark suit and bright tie sort of way. I don’t like obtuse. I want simple. I’m not planning to journal in my bathtub. I just want an ink that flows well from the pen, doesn’t feather or bleed through the paper.

 

http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn130/ToasterPastryphoto/ProctorsLedgeInkBottle.jpg

 

I purchased this ink from Goldspot Pens via eBay. The ink was originally produced by Nathan Tardif as a limited edition ink for the Commonwealth Pen Show in Boston on September 25, 2016. There was a limited supply available of this ink, along with North Star Liberator (a sky blue), and Suffragette Carmine (a deep pink). Apparently there are no further quantities of the other inks available, and a limited supply of Proctor’s Ledge. The ink is available directly from Goldspot Pens.

 

Proctor’s Ledge Ink is a memorial tribute to the 19 people hanged at the site Aug. 19, 1692 during the Salem Witch Trials. It was a dark time in colonial American history when people turned on each other, representing one of the most notable cases of mass hysteria. Researchers earlier this year confirmed the site of the hanging, most likely from a large tree on this rocky hill. The site is located in Salem, Massachusetts. It’s a wooded patch surrounded by houses and a Walgreens drug store.

 

The ink is bottled in the traditional Noodler’s 3-ounce glass bottle, with ink filled right to the brim, a Noodler’s hallmark. The label features a large tree with four figures, probably women, being hanged by the neck. In the foreground is a cauldron with 19 skulls, representing the 19 people hanged on that day.

 

How does it write?

 

I loaded the ink into two pens. John Donne’s ‘Holy Sonnet 14’ was written with a 1930’s Gold Bond fountain pen (pictured). This is probably a Wahl Oxford rebranded for retail at Montgomery Ward. It looks just like an Oxford, thus I can assume Wahl Eversharp, and not National Pen made it. It once belonged to Verna L. Young, because the pen told me so. (Verna, I have your pen.) The nib is a slight left oblique medium stub. Although I’m certain Verna wrote lovely letters weekly to her nephew Lyle in Davenport, Iowa, it’s not one of my daily users. I also loaded the ink into a Platinum Preppy, which has been my daily user for the past two years. I decided to give it a much-needed vacation from continued daily use with Private Reserve’s DC Supershow Blue. I used this pen to write the other sample waterproof test. Most of my pens I place into and out of rotation, but the Preppy with PR’s ink has been in nearly continuous use. Once you find a pen and ink combination, it’s best not to upset the balance.

 

http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn130/ToasterPastryphoto/ProctorsLedgeInkSample.jpg

http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn130/ToasterPastryphoto/GoldBondPen.jpg

 

Flow

Compared to DC Supershow Blue in the same Platinum Preppy the Proctor’s Ledge was significantly drier, almost scratchy, but not chalky like some others of the Noodler’s line. On one occasion I had trouble starting the pen. With Verna’s Gold Bond, the flow was much better, but not ideal.

 

Color

This was perhaps the most disappointing. The color is somewhere between a very dark purple, and brown, resembling a very deep aubergine. On some paper and lighting it appears brown, on others it appears purple. Let’s call it mud, because when all is said and done, it looks fairly black. To be fair, I’ve mixed some of my own inks, and this would be a color I’d probably reject and dump the results down the sink. There is some red dye component within the ink. This has a slightly different flow characteristic. If you use a vivid black light, or a vivid imagination, you may be able to see these pink highlights. Another trick is to smear the ink onto the paper with a knife blade, or drop the ink onto a wet paper towel. Unfortunately, I don’t write with a knife blade, nor do I write onto a wet paper towel. Also, I don’t own a black light, nor do I enjoy spending much time around one.

 

Drying time

The dry time is almost instantaneous. This ink is very well suited for left-handed writers.

 

Waterproof

This ink is very waterproof. Once dried, there is almost no ink loss from the paper.

 

http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn130/ToasterPastryphoto/ProctorsLedgeInkSample2.jpg

 

Feathering and Bleeding

I’m impressed: almost no feathering or bleeding with this ink. I tried it on various paper grades at home and work, and found this ink to be true to the page.

 

Conclusion

The dry time and resistance to water may be desirable features for some, especially in an ink that resists feathering and bleeding. However, I was a bit turned off by the muddy color and especially disappointed with the dry feel of the ink with writing. This ink is probably better for pens with medium or broad nibs.

Edited December 19, 2016 by ToasterPastry

[visvamitra]

Excellent review. I had a good laugh reading it Not only it contains aa lot of useful informations about the ink, it's written in a witty way Personally I like this color but I can understand why others don't.

[Lloyd]

As I recall, it fluoresces under black light.

Edited December 19, 2016 by Lloyd

[white_lotus]

This looks more interesting than some images I've seen. Thanks for the excellent review.

[bobje]

ToasterPastry returns, and with a puissant review! (I never use the word 'puissant,' but it seems an appropriately rare word to describe a well-written review of a fountain pen ink that maybe 75 people will purchase.)

 

Two important follow-up questions:

1. What ink resembles bilious regurgitation? Is it a murky brown? (On second thought, never mind. I probably own it.)

2. How did you know about Verna Young's nephew Lyle in Davenport?

[antichresis]

Thank you for the great review! It reminds me a bit of Manjiro Nakahama (but with black elements)

[ToasterPastry]

Bobje:

 

1. Bilious regurgitation is vomit. Bile is yellowish-green.

2. Everyone named Verna has a nephew named Lyle in Davenport.

3. I figured that all of the popular inks are so well covered, that it compels me to write a review on the less well known inks. However, since I approach the review differently, I may review more inks.

 

Lloyd:

 

1. I was aware after seeing Nathan's video that it fluoresces under black light. Actually just the red dye fluoresces, not all of it. However, I think a review of the ink should reflect on how the ink is appropriately used on a daily basis. Also, I don't own a black light. I've seen too many reviews of shimmering or sheening inks that are demonstrated by painting the ink onto the paper. For my purposes, I don't write with a spatula.

Edited December 19, 2016 by ToasterPastry

[bobje]

ToasterPastry, please do not change your welcome approach to reviews!

[cattar]

Enjoyed the review. If the ink were wetter, I'd buy it.

And I don't understand a lot of sheen reviews. I don't use blobs of ink on paper, or view paper at a particular angle in a particular light.

I like sheen when I can see it in regular use while writing or do a little drawing and wash.

[Ghost Plane]

Love the excellent review. While my 3B nibs have been likened to writing with a butter knife, I definitively do not want a dry ink that's hard starting assuming I could find it. If this color is what you get when mixing inks, I'll be happy to send a few bottles for you to mix as I like purple mud.

 

More! More!

[Barkingpig]

I could care less about the ink, didn't want it when I saw it first mentioned & never had a black light, altho I remember them when I lived in a dorm, freshman year in college, so if this were a requirement I would have a second reason to defer purchase, BUT your review was a delightful change of the usual format of reviews & yet kept me fascinated to read MORE, MORE, about a n ink I was NOT interested in!

 

You surely caught, held my attention & achieved the vital purpose of a review. My time spent here has been greater for exposure to new things I wouldn't have been interested in otherwise. I still think about purchasing a Parker 21 fountain pen, simply because I read & remember your comments about using yours.

 

You have been missed & it is a Holiday Gift to have read your review; I hope it will be the beginning of more comments from a member I remember with great fondness since my first discovery of this site.

 

WELCOME BACK, you have been missed! (& it is always a treat you see your Avatar's appearance!)

[ToasterPastry]

Barkingpig:

 

Thank you. I realized awhile back that no one is paying me to do these, and so my only gain was ego. Your payment will last me for another year. Since using these new-fangled word processors, I tend to overthink my writing, and want to create the perfect sentence on the page (I'm literally doing it right now). Lately I'm trying to do the opposite, that is just write in a stream of consciousness. So it has become a new exercise, which will I hope serve me in the long run. I need to free up the cobwebs of self-doubt.

 

Ghost Plane:

 

This 3 ounce bottle should last me several lifetimes. I literally have accumulated several gallons of ink around the house. So if you have an interest in trying the ink, please let me know. It's not as bad as I'm making it sound. But on further reflection, it's not an ink that makes me warm and fuzzy every time I write with it.

[Tas]

ToasterPastry, please do not change your welcome approach to reviews!

 

. . . ever.

More please !

[Ghost Plane]

Thanks for the offer! Until I read the hard start bit, I was almost tempted. Appreciate it muchly.

 

Glad to see you around.

[bobje]

This is FPN at its finest. Read a review about a crazy ink, and come away with an exercise from a master class in writing:

 

"Since using these new-fangled word processors, I tend to overthink my writing, and want to create the perfect sentence on the page (I'm literally doing it right now). Lately I'm trying to do the opposite, that is just write in a stream of consciousness. So it has become a new exercise, which will I hope serve me in the long run. I need to free up the cobwebs of self-doubt."

 

(As it turns out I do indeed own murky yellow-green ink -- several, in fact. Lately, Sailor rikyu cha seems to have become the inksters' holy grail.)

[mmg122]

Welcome back to FPN, TP! Since I follow you on Twitter, I haven't had to go through TP withdrawal like my good friend BarkingPig...and am fortunate to get daily doses of your "off the wall" commentary and dry wit. Thanks also for reviewing this very strange ink which could only come out of the mind and imagination of Nathan Tardif. Hope you'll continue to stick around and share your thoughts on all things pen, paper and ink.

 

Mary

[JonSzanto]

I'll loan you my black light and some posters. No, you don't need to give me a sample vial of that ink. Really, you don't. I'm warning you.

 

BTW: for the splashy tie? KWZ Thief's Red.

[Ghost Plane]

No, no. Too expected. KWZ Grapefruit makes more of a statement.

[JonSzanto]

No, no. Too expected. KWZ Grapefruit makes more of a statement.

 

I suggested the other because he actually tried some of mine and liked it. This guy doesn't like anything.

[ToasterPastry]

JonSzanto:

I suggested the other because he actually tried some of mine and liked it. This guy doesn't like anything.

 

KWZ Thief's Red is wonderful ink. Don't know why I didn't purchase it. Next show. I'll bring the Proctor's Ledge to next get-together for all to try (please).

Edited December 20, 2016 by ToasterPastry