Noodler's Ink And Corrosion

[randumbum]

I am looking for some current information (& opinions) on the subject of Noodler's Ink having a corrosive effect on fountain pen feeds and other plastic parts: 1. https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/162268-noodlers-ink-chemical-corrosion/ 2. https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/147963-noodlers-ink-being-corrosive-is-it-just-a-rumor/ & 3. http://gregminuskin.com/?p=2426. However, these are all nearly decade old rants. Has anyone recently been plagued by the destruction of a pen by ink? Was this ever more than a random incident??

[blopplop]

Good question to ask.

 

I know I personally have used many dozens of different Noodler inks with multiple dozens of different FP's over the course of over 10 years and I'm not aware of any adverse effects from using it. I'm still going strong as a Noodler ink user.

 

FWIW,

Dave

Edited September 14, 2017 by blopplop

[pajaro]

I have used several Noodler's inks in good pens I value, and I have only had the issue of nib creep using #41 Brown. The nib creep was worst in an Esterbrook J. Other Noodler's inks did not destroy plastic in Parker 51, Montblanc 146 and 144, Pelikan M series pens, Esterbrooks, Sheaffers, Cross, Wahl, Merlin, Lamy or Reform pens.

[Fuzzy_Bear]

I have used Noodlers in a Lamy which some say is the feed that melted. And Lamy admitted to the feeds being a problem!

 

One that was verified was KWZ IG ink and TWSBI ECO pens. KWZ verified the issue, and went beyond the call of duty in fixing the problem and the pens. Other than these two known and verified.

 

So, I will use this ink in any pen I own.

 

P.S. Mr unknown client who shall remain anonymous who said that is all they used.

 

P.P.S. I love blues!

Edited September 15, 2017 by Fuzzy_Bear

[Pentode]

If my memory serves correctly Bay State Blue developed a bit of a reputation for devouring pens, but I don't believe it was ever universally assumed that all Noodler's inks were problematic.

 

I've never been a big fan of blue ink so I can't speak to Bay State personally (although my brother-in-law swears it ate one of his Sailor pens and I have no reason to doubt him) but I have used a fair number of other Noodler's colors in a variety of pens over the past ten years or so and I've never experienced a single problem with any of the inks in any of the pens.

 

Also, my brother-in-law continues to use Noodler's in his pens even after the Sailor incident so I guess he didn't take it personally - he just stopped using Bay State Blue.

[pen2paper]

Lamy had a single run of troublesome feeds long ago, unrelated to ink, replaced under warranty.

 

Latex sacs can fail, related to manufacture, age, storage. None of my resacced pens have failed.

 

I do have one very special transparent body pen that I would give pause to any ink that might stain it permanently.

There are methods to remove staining. It's a choice.

 

One issue does get overlooked, thorough cleaning when changing inks. Flush properly, or stick with one ink.

Or, experiment for yourself with basic pens.

[Lelouch]

Hello,

 

I thought I'd provide some of my experiences. To start, I love Noodlers inks and pens, they make up the bulk of my collection. For most of them, after testing first one noodlers Pens, I don't hesitate to use them in my other pens. (Vintage pens, usually Swans, and Pelikans) however, I have had some results that make me wary of certain combinations or habits.

 

Manjiro Nakahama/Whalemans Sepia stained my clear nib creaper yellow. And the ink windows of the bumblebee yellow as well, but that's less of an issue. Qin Xi Huang got a little reddish stain on the outside of my ebonite Konrad, doesn't matter much to me. King Phillip Purple stained a Charlie.

 

#41 caused problems in my Pelikan M101N Tortoise Brown. The piston was very difficult to operate, the ink made the ink window fuzzy, and it required extensive cleaning with a qtip and soapy water to remove the remnants in the ink chamber. I had to disassemble the pen tô lubricate the piston (thankfully it screws out the back end).

 

I love their inks and will continue to purchase and use them, but their use in Pelikans has come to a close (with the exception of the M200 Smoky quartz I plan to get) as it may have been the cause of the separation of the section/ink window from the striated barrel of my M101N Tortoise Red, time will tell once I send it to Chartpak. (Last ink in it was Apache Sunset, but it handled Habanero just fine, and inks from other makers)*

Edited September 15, 2017 by Lelouch

[amberleadavis]

There are some horror stories about some legendary inks *BSB, I'm talking about you* and those stories are often true. The standard Noodler's inks aka Blue, Purple, Red, Green and Black are just all around great inks in my opinion. I really love Blue and Purple.

 

Oh, and QSH is as troublesome for me as BSB.

[SeeksAdvice]

The Noodler's Blue Ink that Shall not be Named did a number on the feed system of a Waterman Phileas I had a while back. I have found that many of their bulletproof inks leave a nasty black film behind on stuff. Don't know if it's a reaction to something in the ink and our water out here or what, but yuck. That stuff won't come off easily either

 

QSH is nasty, nasty stuff.

[lionheartlee]

I had a noodlers ink that I left in a pen for awhile, it left spots on the rose gold Nib. It appeared to of ate the plating

[langere]

I love Noodler's inks for the depth of their colors and use them extensively.

 

The only problem I have ever had was recent, when I used Noodler's Legal Lapis in my Aurora Duo-Cart. The pen leaked from the nib. I took it back to Fahrney's, where I had purchased it. They could find no problem with the pen and suggested that it might be the ink. I changed to Pelikan Konigsblau and have not had the leaking problem since then. So it must have been the ink.

 

I have used Legal Lapis in many other pens and this is the only one where I've had a problem.

 

Erick

[DrDebG]

Not to be contrary, I do not care for Noodler's formulation. I love the colors - even the names - but the formulation of all of the Noodler's inks I have tried (about 20) is what I do not like. I did not care for the nib crud from some, or the smearing of others. I also did not care for the staining and the difficulty in cleaning.

 

Rather than constantly fight this, I have found other inks I like as much or better, that don't have problems.

[pen2paper]

Revised lighter-handed reply after scrubbing dishwasher baked-on/in chocolate residue from my discontinued VB white china.

 

It's a good subject to review in balanced discussion with new ones. I/We do pair inks to specific pens. Thinking of Amberlea in arid NV where inks dry out immediately, where in other locales they remain super fluid, and those with piston fillers, or stingy feeds/nibs, and also transparency, & vintage pen materials.

Study what's available and works best for your specific pen in your climate.

It's good to understand there are others factors, such as storage, (which can contribute to metal corrosion), and manufacturing that may affect the norm.

 

I passed along my Pelikan inks - too dry here, as well as Tanzanite since it simply slides out faster than I can fill the pen LOL.

[Intensity]

Noodler's has very different ink formulations within its brand, a number of different lines for different purposes. Some are more difficult to deal with than others. Bulletproof series might be more difficult to clean out in the long run, Bay State Blue is a special ink and is known to require special attention, etc. If you want a lower maintenance ink, go with non-bulletproof or semi-bulletproof varieties. I'm personally disappointed with how little water resostance my other favorite inks offer and very much appreciate the relative permanence of Noodler's semi-bulletproof inks (I use Aircorp Blue-Black). For other brands' permanent inks, such as iron gall formulations, you will need to deal with corrosion without careful care and regular pen cleaning compared to more gentle inks.

[randumbum]

Thank you everyone for your input/answers. I think I will avoid Noodler's Baystate in my Lamy Safari; I am starting to grow fond of it. I know it's relatively cheap and replaceable, but I'd rather not burn through pens (and I plan on fulfilling my dreams of a Pilot Falcon SXF within a fortnight, and being not-rich I definitely don't want ink to damage this pen).

I am not blue (purple,pink) ink person anyway. The Noodler's Inks I've used (in my Jinhao X750) are HOD and Brown are the inks I've been using, and the Golden Brown has started to grow on me too - I burned right through my Goulet sample. I've used De Atramentis Document Black exclusively in my Lamy Safari.

It seems to me that the evidence which has been presented is rather piecemeal and sketchy. I saw one picture of a "ink damaged" feed that looked more like someone took a Dremel to it. I'm not one for conspiracy theories, but it kind of seems someone had it out for Noodler's Ink and were consequently spreading misinformation.

[Intensity]

You can always start out new inks you're not yet familiar with in cheaper pens, and if you are satisfied after a ehile of use and maintenance, move them into your favorite pens. One thing I was told by a pen repair technician is that it's most important for ink to regularly move through the feed, which helps prevent clogging. If a pen is going to sit still with ink for weeks at a time, inks that are not waterproof and have no other special features that are runny and otherwise inoffensive will be best. This is what Waterman inks are known for, if you want a non-water-resistent basic easy ink. If you plan on using a pen daily and flush or refill it periodically, almost any ink is fine. He said he sees lots of clogged pens for repair because people just let them sit unused for a long time, especially with pigment or water-resistant type inks.

Edited September 15, 2017 by Intensity

[welch]

 

Thank you everyone for your input/answers. I think I will avoid Noodler's Baystate in my Lamy Safari; I am starting to grow fond of it. I know it's relatively cheap and replaceable, but I'd rather not burn through pens (and I plan on fulfilling my dreams of a Pilot Falcon SXF within a fortnight, and being not-rich I definitely don't want ink to damage this pen).

I am not blue (purple,pink) ink person anyway. The Noodler's Inks I've used (in my Jinhao X750) are HOD and Brown are the inks I've been using, and the Golden Brown has started to grow on me too - I burned right through my Goulet sample. I've used De Atramentis Document Black exclusively in my Lamy Safari.

It seems to me that the evidence which has been presented is rather piecemeal and sketchy. I saw one picture of a "ink damaged" feed that looked more like someone took a Dremel to it. I'm not one for conspiracy theories, but it kind of seems someone had it out for Noodler's Ink and were consequently spreading misinformation.

 

 

Please avoid the temptation to believe that people want to damage the reputation of Noodlers.

 

(1) Several ace repair experts saw enough connection between use of Noodlers and damage that they decided to void their warranty if a customer filled a pen with Noodlers. They see more pens and more inks than we do, and one that I've met is famously honest.

 

(2) Over all, Noodlers seems to have no QA testing. Mr. Noodler boasts of being a one-man operation; therefore, it is probably hard maintain exactly the same recipe in each batch of any single Noodlers ink.

 

(3) Noodlers blue, "plain" blue, is reliable enough that I have bought a third bottle. It seems like a good saturated ink. Not my favorite blue, but not one I would throw out.

[Intensity]

 

Please avoid the temptation to believe that people want to damage the reputation of Noodlers.

 

(1) Several ace repair experts saw enough connection between use of Noodlers and damage that they decided to void their warranty if a customer filled a pen with Noodlers. They see more pens and more inks than we do, and one that I've met is famously honest.

 

(2) Over all, Noodlers seems to have no QA testing. Mr. Noodler boasts of being a one-man operation; therefore, it is probably hard maintain exactly the same recipe in each batch of any single Noodlers ink.

 

(3) Noodlers blue, "plain" blue, is reliable enough that I have bought a third bottle. It seems like a good saturated ink. Not my favorite blue, but not one I would throw out.

 

This post touches on something that's mentioned in a post I thought was stickied somewhere, but now I can't find it: generalizing the WHOLE brand where different individual products might have different properties. When people speak about Noodler's as a brand, they are lumping together all sorts of ink lines that Noodler's offers. Some of these inks are "difficult", while others are not. If only there were more description to the warnings rather than just blank warnings against the WHOLE brand, it'd be much more useful for prospective ink users.

 

Thank you for responding with your personal experience with an ink that you don't find problematic, however even your post started out as doing a generalized statement about the WHOLE brand and at first sides with people who dismiss the whole brand while later contradicting this view by sharing your own positive experience.

 

On a personal note, I think Noodler's will very much benefit from providing a clearer description of their different lines, color-coding them somehow or something to that extent, and providing indications for use for each such line as well as any drawbacks and special care tips. That would really help avoid all of this confusion.

Edited September 15, 2017 by Intensity

[Randal6393]

Well, Intensity, it seems you are asking a lot of one hard-working individual. Nathan has all he can do to keep his inks out for us to buy. And a better description is irrelevant as each run is a bit variable. As with Craft Beers, Noodler's Inks are a One-of-a-Kind thing. Each bottle is an experiment, a what-if look at a particular ink or color. Viewed that way, Nathan's advice is to tinker with the ink, play with the pens, and just enjoy life.

 

Enjoy,

[Intensity]

Well, Intensity, it seems you are asking a lot of one hard-working individual. Nathan has all he can do to keep his inks out for us to buy. And a better description is irrelevant as each run is a bit variable. As with Craft Beers, Noodler's Inks are a One-of-a-Kind thing. Each bottle is an experiment, a what-if look at a particular ink or color. Viewed that way, Nathan's advice is to tinker with the ink, play with the pens, and just enjoy life.

 

Enjoy,

 

I can certainly understand that! I wrote my suggestion because it seems that questions about Noodler's behavior and safety for pens crop up extremely regularly, prompted by all the hearsay and "reputation", but digging for actual information requires looking through discussion threads and searching out reviews. I think Nathan would benefit from a more clear description of the various lines of his inks right on the bottles, as he most likely knows each individual ink's behavior really well, so he could group them into categories and suggest care on the back of each bottle. At my local pen shop, Noodler's inks are lined up alongside other brands' inks, and there's basically no explanation anywhere about how any of these inks are different, and people probably buy based on color rather than any other solid information. Just recently I was reading a discussion/review here about an ink that's actually not so good on good quality paper but is perfect for cheap paper! Or other specialized inks. Each has their pluses and minuses. (Almost reminds me of photographic lens design: something has to be sacrificed when making a "perfect" prime lens and attempting to do too many corrections. Either an ink is waterproof and then has difficulty getting cleaned out of a pen, or it cleans easily but also washes right off the page, etc.)

 

P.S.: there's this: http://noodlersink.com/noodlers-ink-color/ink-colors-and-their-properties/

but that really doesn't give much information about the inks' behavior or peculiarities when it comes to paper or pens.

Edited September 16, 2017 by Intensity