Noodlers Red-Black

[EdwardSouthgate]

Got three bottles of Red-Blac in the mail today . Haven't loaded a pen yet but I did try dipping with a completely clean pen and was very disapointed . It writes brown . No red , no black , no burgandy but brown and a rather average brown at that . Bad batch or par for the course for red-black ? This is my first time trying a noodlers ink and if this is any indication of what I can expect will probably be my last . Writing sample the seller posted was beautiful but this stuff looks nothing like what he posted . I am gonna try it in a clean pen with a fine nib and see if that is better if not I will probably get some noodlers red and try mixing it . Would appreciate any feedback from those who have used this ink . Thanks .

 

Eddie

[Lloyd]

Firstly, make sure to shake the bottle well prior to opening it. As I recall, this ink is a mix of a non-water resistant red ink and the Noodlers Bulletproof black ink. Nothing more.

[torstar]

good advice, and please make sure the lid is on tight before shaking

 

you should only have to do this once to yourself...

[EdwardSouthgate]

Will try that but the bottle I opened wont likely shake worth a toot because it is full to near running over .I'll pour some in another bottle , shake it up and pour them back together and shake some more . Thanks for the input .

 

Eddie

[LizEF]

Now I'm on the edge of my seat! This is like a season-ending cliff-hanger!

[EdwardSouthgate]

That did change it very slightly but not enough to suit me . Shows the dark cherry reddish brown I am after when you are rinsing the nib but not on paper . Dries super quick though . Might have to experiment with some of my red and black Quink to see what I can come up with on my own. I won an auction for six bottles of Quink in red so I have a lifetime supply of it and also have plenty of black .

 

Eddie

[zaddick]

I had a bottle many years ago and it was as though black was added to red ink and I found it true to name. I have also found, and heard anecdotal evidence, there are variances between batches of Noodlers ink so o stopped using it. This was many years ago so may not be representing current production standards.

[EdwardSouthgate]

I had a bottle many years ago and it was as though black was added to red ink and I found it true to name. I have also found, and heard anecdotal evidence, there are variances between batches of Noodlers ink so o stopped using it. This was many years ago so may not be representing current production standards.

 

 

Zaddick,

 

Have heard the same and expected some variation but this shows no red or black tones at all only an average brown color . Guess I will learn a lesson and try samples before I buy next time . I guess the maker just mixes to a fixed formula and doesen't check the results before he bottles his product . This ink looks nothing like the writing sample used to show the color you could expect . I have tried 2 of the three bottles and both are the same .

[Morphling27]

You may be soured by Noodler's, but their widowmaker is a very red-black to me. It's more a very dark red, but I love it.

[Arkanabar]

My red-black darned near was brown, and kept me from buying a brown for years. It got smudgy and I diluted it a good bit, and now it's a very well-behaved burgundy. It's a workhorse ink for me, but not one I actually like.

 

I'll also agree that Widow Maker is a dark red. I don't care much for those, but I can imagine that in desperation or stinginess I might add a drop or two of some black to 4ml or so of Widow Maker in a sample vial to see if that gets me something I like, or at least find more usable.

[EdwardSouthgate]

Maybe I should try a tad of distilled water in it ?

[Arkanabar]

Test small batches in a sample vial. But yeah, I think that might help.

[amberleadavis]

I really love Red Black. It works best with a wet pen and a little tiny bit of dilution (so yes dilute in a sample vial.)

[pajaro]

My bottle a few years ago was mostly black. It was hard to see the redness. I came to like Montblanc Burgundy Red more. Still pretty dark red. One bottle I darkened to taste by adding Montblanc black in small increments. I usually mix using the same maker's ink.

[torstar]

My bottle a few years ago was mostly black. It was hard to see the redness. I came to like Montblanc Burgundy Red more. Still pretty dark red. One bottle I darkened to taste by adding Montblanc black in small increments. I usually mix using the same maker's ink.

 

Yup, something similar, I didn't have the patience to coax the right colour out of it.

[yazeh]

I really love Red Black. It works best with a wet pen and a little tiny bit of dilution (so yes dilute in a sample vial.)

 

It's a lovely colour. I used it in a wet pen, it never dries....Is this your experience or would the dilution help?

[Arkanabar]

Like I said a couple years ago, dilution fixed the smudginess for me. I suggest about 4 parts ink to 1 part distilled water.

Edited March 20, 2020 by Arkanabar

[yazeh]

Like I said a couple years ago, dilution fixed the smudginess for me. I suggest about 4 parts ink to 1 part distilled water.

 

Thanks. I'll give it try....

[yazeh]

I tried adding some drops of water to my sample. The dry time reduced dramatically to two minutes. Thanks

 

I might try it with Black Swan in Australian Roses... It suffers from the same problem....

[Ink Stained Wretch]

 

It's a lovely colour. I used it in a wet pen, it never dries....Is this your experience or would the dilution help?

 

I use Noodler's Red/Black in my outdoor pen #1. I have two outdoor pens with different inks in them for a variety of reasons.

 

Noodler's Red/Black does tend to stay wet for a while, in my experience. When I'm out and need to turn that page I sometimes resort to a paper towel as a blotter. Sometimes I just flip the page and live with some ink droplet residue on the facing page of the notebook I'm usually writing in.

From what the OP said in an earlier message it sounds like he found the color he liked by a bit of dilution, so mixing in a bit of distilled water sounds like it'd produce any number of hues from Noodler's Red/Black depending on the degree of dilution.