Noodler Heart Of Darkness

[Liquidmetal490]

Noodler's Heart of Darkness is a popular, often discussed, and well reviewed ink. But its also one of my favorite inks and I thought a review of its performance on different papers might be helpful. Heart of Darkness has a higher viscosity than many other inks and unfortunately doesn't perform as well on some papers. I've written my thoughts about the ink and its performance on each paper.

 

I thought about doing a water test, but since Heart of Darkness is eternal (i.e. water and almost anything else proof), so you wouldn't know the different between the before and after tests

 

http://i1379.photobucket.com/albums/ah154/vinceabz/Noodler%20Heart%20of%20Darkness/HeartofDarkness1_zps88424fdd.jpg

 

http://i1379.photobucket.com/albums/ah154/vinceabz/Noodler%20Heart%20of%20Darkness/HeartofDarkness21_zpsb9f01ef2.jpg

[doggonecarl]

Thanks for the comprehensive comparison of HoD on different papers.

 

I so much want to like Heart of Darkness, but I can't. Feathering is a pet peeve of mine, so any is too much and HoD feathers on just about every paper I use--paper that I consider to be FP friendly. Writing with a very fine and dry writing nib makes the feathering tolerable, but barely.

 

On the paper that it doesn't feather on, such as my daily planner paper, it's slow to dry and prone to smearing.

[Liquidmetal490]

I forgot to do a dry time test, so I've added one below. I found it takes about 13-14 seconds to fully dry on Rhodia paper, a little faster than Edelstein Onyx Black and Waterman Intense Black (~15 seconds), and about 7-8 seconds better than Diamine Poppy Red and Aqua Blue (~20 seconds).

 

http://i1379.photobucket.com/albums/ah154/vinceabz/Noodler%20Heart%20of%20Darkness/HODDryTest_zps59cfa736.jpg

Edited December 4, 2014 by Liquidmetal490

[vectorbundle]

My drying time experience of Heart of Darkness on high quality paper is the opposite of the previous writer. HOD dries super fast on Clairfontaine and Rhodia paper. This is with a fine nib. I'm a left handed underwriter so even a slightly below average dry time is no good for me.

[Morphling27]

I agree with vectorbundle - I use my HoD in a couple pens with a fine nib - it dries almost instantly on any paper I've encountered.

 

It does feather, on junky 150% recycled paper, but otherwise in a fine it doesn't feather for me.

[wcrane1948]

Is Heart of Darkness Waterproof? Watch this video to see.

Edited April 25, 2019 by wcrane1948

[inkstainedruth]

I like HoD. It's one of my go-to black inks (and I'm not much for black inks). I do get spread and a little bleed through on the really crummy paper the place my bank orders checks from, but not enough to not use it. I like that it's waterproof, and I think it behaves better overall than the regular Noodler's (bulletproof) Black, in that it doesn't smudge.

When I want a "pretty" black I use Iroshizuku Take-sumi (which is just, well, special). When I want to do calligraphy, I reach for the Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black. When I want to test a pen for the first time, I used to reach for good old Quink Black. When I want to use a vintage pen, I use vintage Quink Microfilm Black (which is also pretty waterproof, but IMO is more of a blue-black (i's got definite blue undertones). When I want a shading black I (grudgingly, because it's very dry) reach for De Atramentis Albrecht Dürer/Anthracite). When I want blankety black, I use Noodler's Old Manhattan. But for everyday, nice if it's waterproof too, writing, it's Heart of Darkness, hands down.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Mongoosey]

I love this ink.

 

It's great for clairefontaine paper.

 

Not the best for cheap paper, which I use Kiwa-Guro for.

 

I use mostly Tomoe RP for personal use, which HOD tends to write a thicker line on, which is a little troublesome for my broader nibs...

 

...But HOD is a good friend to my finer nibs.

 

I prefer black inks mostly, and HOD is my favorite hue/color of black.