Nathan Tardif Interview

[mauckcg]

people who enjoy hurting others are bullies not clever. Who started it I don't know, but this video clearly tells me who enjoys perpetuating it. FPN's no ink bashing policy at least keeps the situation from escalating.

The beauty of all this, if you don't agree or like what he does, you don't have to buy his products.

[monquito]

In case you haven't seen it, here is an interesting interview with Nathan Tardif and Brian Goulet. I thought I knew what he looked like, but I was wrong.

I almost forgot this amazingness. I made my husband listen to the long phone interview with Nathan that Brian had done in the past and then when this video came out I asked my husband to guess what Nathan looked like. This is what he guessed :

[MG66]

+1. Well said.

[Strombomboli]

+1. Well said.

+1, which really means +2, which equals 3. Nice!

[taike]

I like the idea that his products remain essential artisanal. Maybe that's more common in the ink world than I appreciate. The more craft producers in the world the better, from my point of view.

 

But I'm curious about his focus on forgery/fraud. A holdover from the era of ballpoints and checks or something more specific? I wish Brian had teased out that thread.

Edited July 17, 2018 by EDC

[pen_master]

But I'm curious about his focus on forgery/fraud. A holdover from the era of ballpoints and checks or something more specific? I wish Brian had teased out that thread.

Yes, I too needed more from Nathan on that topic. It was also the first time I had ever heard of such a thing (i.e. batch variation).

[Mulrich]

But I'm curious about his focus on forgery/fraud. A holdover from the era of ballpoints and checks or something more specific? I wish Brian had teased out that thread.

 

Despite being an avid fountain pen user, I rarely physically sign anything; I can't even remember the last time I wrote a check by hand. Avoiding forgery is just not something I think about (maybe I should). I appreciate the permanence of Noodler's Inks because accidents happen and I hate seeing ink disappear from a page. But even then, I've just learned to be more careful around liquids and don't worry about if my ink is permanent.

[welch]

 

But I'm curious about his focus on forgery/fraud. A holdover from the era of ballpoints and checks or something more specific? I wish Brian had teased out that thread.

 

Nathan Tardiff's solution is about 30 years out-of-date. Banks started printing their checks, such as dividend checks, on safety paper. They have offered "safety checks" to their customers for a long time, although most payments are done electronically now. I write about one check every two months.

 

Maybe it's just an advertising pitch, and maybe Brian Goulet does not want to spoil a pitch that sells ink?

 

By the way, any of us who learned to write in the late '50s should remember that the market liked ballpoints because it is possible to switch in a refill without risk of spilling liquid ink. That's why our parents insisted we use washable inks.

[ErrantSmudge]

Perhaps in addition to his bulletproof, Eel, Polar, fast-dry, forgery-resistant, and other lines, Nathan Tardiff should offer a family of inks with guaranteed consistency in color and behavior from batch to batch.

Edited July 18, 2018 by ErrantSmudge

[jhataway]

The man makes and sells ink. You can purchase the ink or not. I use some of his ink, but use various others as well. We don’t need to run analytics on the man.

[Charles Skinner]

Just a thought from a "country boy." ---- I "believe" that some folks get bent out of shape over Mr. Tardif"s political views. Now, I believe that his views would be considered to be "right of center." Is that correct? Now, for my question, ---- If the views he has expressed were LEFT LEANING ---- "left of center," ---- would you still be opposed? Just wondering. I know very little. C. S.

[welch]

Just a thought from a "country boy." ---- I "believe" that some folks get bent out of shape over Mr. Tardif"s political views. Now, I believe that his views would be considered to be "right of center." Is that correct? Now, for my question, ---- If the views he has expressed were LEFT LEANING ---- "left of center," ---- would you still be opposed? Just wondering. I know very little. C. S.

 

Tardiff's politics have nothing to do with his statements about ink or with the inks he makes. When I returned to nearly-full-time fountain pen use, about ten years ago, "everyone" said "buy Noodler's inks". Tried Blue, Ottoman Azure, Manhattan, then Blue Eel. They were nothing special, except Eel: too wet for its own good. Every now and then, I've seen a couple of interviews, both by Brian Goulet, and they sound like marketing hype. Misleading when Nathan Tardiff suggests that fountain pen use died out because people wanted the water-proofness of a ballpoint, for instance. On permanence, he says little about commercially available paper, which would need to last as long as permanent ink. The "polar" ink seems a weird product, since people wrote with liquid ink in New Brunswick, Alaska, Norway, and other cold places.

 

Is there anything that would make it worth watching this interview to the end?

[Strombomboli]

Is there anything that would make it worth watching this interview to the end?

 

Of course not. The video is for fans, not for people who don't care so much about Noodler's inks.

[Carrau]

It’s curious that people who have no apparent interest in Noodler’s inks spend valuable time watching some or all of the interview, and / or even more time on this thread. If I don’t care for a retailer or his/ her product/ store/manufacturing process, I don’t spend time reading about them and engaging in dialogues about them. I simply don’t patronize them and leave it at that.

[MisterSheaffer]

Tardiff's politics have nothing to do with his statements about ink or with the inks he makes. When I returned to nearly-full-time fountain pen use, about ten years ago, "everyone" said "buy Noodler's inks". Tried Blue, Ottoman Azure, Manhattan, then Blue Eel. They were nothing special, except Eel: too wet for its own good. Every now and then, I've seen a couple of interviews, both by Brian Goulet, and they sound like marketing hype. Misleading when Nathan Tardiff suggests that fountain pen use died out because people wanted the water-proofness of a ballpoint, for instance. On permanence, he says little about commercially available paper, which would need to last as long as permanent ink. The "polar" ink seems a weird product, since people wrote with liquid ink in New Brunswick, Alaska, Norway, and other cold places.

 

Is there anything that would make it worth watching this interview to the end?

Well said. Also, if there is one thing Brian Goulet does best, it's marketing. I believe he is the king of online fountain pen marketing.

[wallylynn]

I'm glad for the marketing. Noodler's is what got me interested in fountain pens. Almost all my inks are noodlers.

 

I'm of the opinion that he single-handedly changed the FP market. Before noodlers there were like 5 companies with 5 color inks. Iron-gall was the best you could do for "permanence" and not bleed through "blue-books". Now there's a gazillion inks.

[Uncial]

Not that I want to ignite a politics flame war but from just about everything I've watched or read about Nathan indicates that he is somewhere on the libertarian spectrum with a dose of socialism thrown in. It seems his love of his own countries history and political machinations are sometimes presented in an ironic manner which isn't always entirely obvious and therefore could easily be misread as inflaming. But reading others thoughts here I'm wondering how I've managed to be so far off the mark....If I am.

[jmccarty3]

Not that I want to ignite a politics flame war but from just about everything I've watched or read about Nathan indicates that he is somewhere on the libertarian spectrum with a dose of socialism thrown in. It seems his love of his own countries history and political machinations are sometimes presented in an ironic manner which isn't always entirely obvious and therefore could easily be misread as inflaming. But reading others thoughts here I'm wondering how I've managed to be so far off the mark....If I am.

 

I see Nathan as a libertarian--don't perceive any socialism, which to my mind would be antithetical with libertarianism. What I like is that he doesn't hit you in the face with it, more like a little joke with a wink. I have several of his inks, and haven't had any problems with them, but I don't like his pens much. Just my 2¢.

[Uncial]

I've heard Nathan give quite strong opinions on what would really only fit into socialism when it comes to healthcare and education. Libertarianism and socialism exist together quite happily in many parts of Europe including the little green isle I live on. Not exactly common but not altogether rare either.

[Strombomboli]

Libertarianism and socialism exist together quite happily in many parts of Europe

 

I can confirm that. When I first heard of libertarianism in Berlin in the eighties, it was an expansion of anarchism.