Are Noodler's Inks Safe And Good?

[Uncial]

Many people love Noodlers inks and use them without problem. Some people like Richard Binder will void the warranty of work they have done on a pen, if people used Noodlers ink. In a modern pen such as a Lamy 2000 I would think you are safe, just make sure you clean well between changing colors. For example mixing Bay State Blue with some other inks will turn it to sludge. Some Noodlers ink needs to be cleaned out with a bleach solution, again Bay State is one of those.

 

There is an index of ink reviews done here, check them out on the colors you want to try. Most of the reviews will say how easy or hard the ink is to clean up and the water resistance.

Binder voids warranty when Noodler's ink is used? I've never seen that on his website.

[Mongoosey]

I recommend ink samples, otherwise you'll end up with more bottles then you'll use and less pens than you'd like .

 

Noodler's inks are fairly idiosyncratic, so it helps to research the inks individually. I recommend that for any ink, but especially for Noodler's .

 

Walnut is my go to choice for a drier ink . It's beautiful, water resistant, and fairly well behaved for a permanent ink. VittaR, one of the best ink reviewers out there, gave Walnut a very high praise:

 

Pilot has some very low maintenance, well behaved Permanent inks, especially Pilot Namiki Blue Black, which is lovely out of a wetter nib with some lovely shading and very lovely sheen, especially on Tomoe River Paper .

 

This review shows what it looks like pretty well:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/326852-cheapest-ink-around-pilot-blue-black-350-ml/

 

Pilot Blue Black is inexpensive, but not cheap. I think it's one of the best all around inks out there, but it's pretty boring out of a dry pen/nib.

Edited September 14, 2018 by Mongoosey

[Driften]

Binder voids warranty when Noodler's ink is used? I've never seen that on his website.

 

 

I could be wrong, but it does not matter much since he is retired.

 

Rick Propas does have issues on the pens he sells "Please note: the use of Private Reserve or Noodlers' inks will void The PENguin warranty. I cannot be responsible for pens in which those inks have been used."

 

Linda & Mike of Indy-pen-dance trained by Binder also say "Do to known issues, the use of Noodler’s inks will void our warranty."

 

I expect I can find more examples.

Edited September 14, 2018 by Driften

[ErrantSmudge]

These disclaimers by pen repair people sound much like disclaimers driven by corporate legal departments - conservative beyond reason in an effort to protect the service provider from liability.

 

I don't have any questions about safety with Noodler's inks. I don't use them in vintage pens, but I don't use most modern "boutique" brands in vintage pens so Noodler's isn't singled out. My big issue with Noodler's is that the batch-to-batch color variation of any given ink varies so wildly you can't be confident your bottle matches other samples of the same ink.

[eharriett]

Anyone ever notice Noodlers (and as Driften mentioned, Private Reserve) are singled out, yet they won't void their warranty if you put in India Ink?

 

I tend to wonder if it has more to do with Noodler's making a political statement with their inks (which, by the way, I think is awesome, whether I'm in agreement with each statement or not) than it does with anything in the inks.

 

I seem to recall Parker made a special ink for their 51's -- Super Quink, I recall, that was so acidic it would actually eat through pens. I have never seen anyone say using those inks would void a warranty. Or because one bad line of a large brand (Super Quink compared with the Baystate Line) is going to damage a pen, therefore all inks from that brand are bad. Ain't no one stopping their use of Quink anytime soon.

 

As I said before -- try it. Test it. Use it. Judge for yourself.

[Edo98]

 

 

I could be wrong, but it does not matter much since he is retired.

 

Rick Propas does have issues on the pens he sells "Please note: the use of Private Reserve or Noodlers' inks will void The PENguin warranty. I cannot be responsible for pens in which those inks have been used."

 

Linda & Mike of Indy-pen-dance trained by Binder also say "Do to known issues, the use of Noodler’s inks will void our warranty."

 

I expect I can find more examples.

 

I just reviewed that page and they effectively void the warranty if you use noodler's inks

[Edo98]

Anyone ever notice Noodlers (and as Driften mentioned, Private Reserve) are singled out, yet they won't void their warranty if you put in India Ink?

 

I tend to wonder if it has more to do with Noodler's making a political statement with their inks (which, by the way, I think is awesome, whether I'm in agreement with each statement or not) than it does with anything in the inks.

 

I seem to recall Parker made a special ink for their 51's -- Super Quink, I recall, that was so acidic it would actually eat through pens. I have never seen anyone say using those inks would void a warranty. Or because one bad line of a large brand (Super Quink compared with the Baystate Line) is going to damage a pen, therefore all inks from that brand are bad. Ain't no one stopping their use of Quink anytime soon.

 

As I said before -- try it. Test it. Use it. Judge for yourself.

I had read that parker ink even melted the pieces of some fountain pens

[Driften]

One thing to know, is many pen makers say you can only use their brand of inks, so sometimes you have to take these warnings with a grain of salt.

[JakobS]

Anyone ever notice Noodlers (and as Driften mentioned, Private Reserve) are singled out, yet they won't void their warranty if you put in India Ink?

 

I tend to wonder if it has more to do with Noodler's making a political statement with their inks (which, by the way, I think is awesome, whether I'm in agreement with each statement or not) than it does with anything in the inks.

 

I seem to recall Parker made a special ink for their 51's -- Super Quink, I recall, that was so acidic it would actually eat through pens. I have never seen anyone say using those inks would void a warranty. Or because one bad line of a large brand (Super Quink compared with the Baystate Line) is going to damage a pen, therefore all inks from that brand are bad. Ain't no one stopping their use of Quink anytime soon.

 

As I said before -- try it. Test it. Use it. Judge for yourself.

 

I believe the Parker 51 ink and later Super Chrome ink were both very basic(alkaline) inks not acidic...

 

These inks differed from the many western inks that were, and many still are moderately acidic to very acidic as far as pH goes, and that vintage fountain pens were relatively good at resisting degradation.

 

When Sheaffer first delved into inks, their first product was also very alkaline, and was removed for sale shortly after its release...

 

The likelihood of any of these inks being used compared to Noodler's is awfully small though, and I could imagine a repair person being hesitant to say a part known to degrade with these inks would last their traditional warranty if they were to be used...

Edited September 14, 2018 by JakobS

[Ron Z]

Take a look at Richard Binders article "Inks: Good, Bad and Ugly." Then do some research for discussion on inks here on FPN.

 

I have seen many problems resulting from the use of Noodlers Inks in pens with latex sacs. Sacs have failed in a couple of months. There is a correlation between saturated inks and failure of latex sacs. Dilute them by at least 20%, and the problem seems to be mitigated. Even so, because so many people insist on using dye saturated inks like Noodlers in their pens, I only warranty the latex sacs for 90 days.

[TSherbs]

 

I just reviewed that page and they effectively void the warranty if you use noodler's inks

The whole line for each? That's a simplistic overreaction.

[wallylynn]

 

The whole line for each? That's a simplistic overreaction.

Simple is easier than trying to narrow down which specific ink does not work with which specific pen. This is not the good old days when there were only 5 makers of ink each with 5 colors.

[TSherbs]

 Simple is easier than trying to narrow down which specific ink does not work with which specific pen. This is not the good old days when there were only 5 makers of ink each with 5 colors.

Of course it is easier. Simplistic actions always are. That's the point of them, mainly. Clearly, Noodlers inks are not dangers to pens. No one seems to be able to repeat Binders' results, and he doesn't give any data, actually.

 

Whatever. I'll never buy from that seller anyway. These sweeping generalizations make no sense to me, but others can value them as they please.

[amberleadavis]

I've been using Noodler's inks for years and love them. Yes, I've had staining, but guess what - I've gotten the stains out with a single fill of another ink.

 

After a mere decade of having 20 pens inked at a time every single day - Don't let ink dry out in your pen.

[banana_legs]

I have had issues with some inks from well known and 'trusted' brands causing corrosion or clogging issues, and yet problem-free behaviour from many of the Noodler's inks (but not all): every ink from every manufacturer needs to be considered on its own merit, and in combination with the pen to use it in to be totally safe.

 

A key factor with Noodler's ink that many seem to overlook is that as a high proportion of the range have some degree of being waterproof, they then can take a little longer to clean from a pen; a quick go with pen-flush does the job however..... Many pen flush formulations are quite alkaline and will destroy latex sacs with alarming speed if the pen flush is not very well cleaned out. Given that lever fillers in particular can be tricky to get rid of the last drops of residue and get totally dry, a small pool of diluted pen flush sitting at the bottom end of the sac of a pen in storage... It is not necessarily directly the ink that causes the problems seen, however the issue is an indirect consequence of how easy the ink is to flush completely. Older piston fillers often have latex O-rings and some makes of pen-flush will happily destroy them too.

Some of the Noodlers inks can stain as well (BSB being the classic culprit, but I have had some from the Wardens series build up a stain over time too), but again, the problem is not unique to Noodler's; I have a Sheaffer with the converter stained really dark grey from the Skrip ink, yet my TWISBI that always has Noodler's Walnut in is pristine after each quick flush out.

 

There are so many variables to consider when deciding how using a specific ink in a specific pen may interact over time, however I would rather clean most Noodler's ink out of a pen than the eternity it takes to remove Diamine Sargasso Sea!

[TSherbs]

 

 

.....Don't let ink dry out in your pen.

this

[Edo98]

Then I think I'd like to try the Noodler's Walnut and black ink.

And for what you say I must have good cleaning habits and never let the ink dry because it would obstruct the fountain pen and leave it unusable.

In previous comments you said that the walnut is something dry, then I would make good combo with my Lamy 2000 BB?

[Edo98]

[Edo98]

Test

 

Lamy 2000 BB

Ink: Lamy Blue

Paper: Rhodia

[Fuzzy_Bear]

Have Amber back me up, bit I believe it is settled case law that one can not void a warranty just because you do not use their brand of ink. Is Ben settled in the automotive industry for decades. Ford can't good a warranty because you use Chevy or x brand oil.