Ink Review: Noodler's Baystate Blue

[ladyambrosia]

Also posted at the Ink Rack:

 

The infamous Baystate blue some have called it the Pen eater. Well when I placed it into my Conklin Mark Twain signature, I can say it did not melt in my hand or explode on impact. Now I will say this is the only ink that will not be used in my standard Jinhao F5 for review. Because of the unique compounds in this ink, many think it is best to choose one pen and dedicate it to Baystate Blue only. Not wishing to have a magically melting pen this is what I did and my pretty Blue Conklin fit the bill.

 

Now onto the ink itself. The ink is a vibrant well-saturated and pretty blue. It is unique and you will not find the same color blue elsewhere so that hype is true. The flow was very well for my pen with no feathering on the paper. There was no bleed through and very light shadowing. I do not see much shading in the ink but I do not mind there not being much because it is such a very nice blue on its own.

 

Dry times are a little long so if you are using a dip pen or are a lefty just be careful of it. I would not say do not use it because it is just too nice of a blue not to use it. If you want to make a statement while still sticking to the professional standard this would be a good ink. Just make sure you are informed about all of the claims before putting it in your pen so you can make your own choice.

 

The reaction to water was a pretty good one I was impressed. This is going to be a daily use ink for me. This from a gal who does not use a lot of blue (usually).

 

http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/zz47/AmbrosiaCreations/InkScans/scan0004.jpg

[johnptc]

see its not sooooooo evil

[pmsalty]

see its not sooooooo evil

 

 

But it's soooooooo good!

PMS

[ladyambrosia]

I agree not so evil

[Possum Hill]

I agree not so evil

Evil seems to have a certain appeal to the imagination.

 

Since Noodler's already has a "Bad" line of inks, maybe Nathan should bring out an Evil line. The labels could show someone signing away his soul with Noodler's ink, in the presence of a horned catfish holding a pitchfork (or a three-tined fountain pen).

 

Or, if he didn't want to take that direction, he could just market the Baystate line under the slogan "It's not so evil".

[edbollix]

I always enjoy reading about BSB. I love this ink and it's always in my 51 Special and works like a dream. No blue ink jumps off the page like BSB! Nice review

[Ed Ronax]

Nice review, thanks.

[AD356]

Thank you for the review.

[majorworks]

I always enjoy reading about BSB. I love this ink and it's always in my 51 Special and works like a dream. No blue ink jumps off the page like BSB! Nice review

 

Has anyone ever reported issues using BSB in a Parker 51? I've been leery of filling mine with it, as much as I'd like to try it there.

[edbollix]

I've never read about issues with any pen but a safari. I really like my safari's so I just put it in a different pen. Parker 51's seem to be pretty bullet proof. Now that I think about it the 51 is the only Pen I have used BSB in. I use the thing daily... Great color.

[ladyambrosia]

Thanks for looking everyone I am pretty happy with this ink I have gotten some feed back on it from some pen pals too they like it

[karinh]

So pretty. It's such a gorgeous, bright colour and so are its siblings Concorde Grape and Cape Cod Cranberry. Sadly ...

 

So stinky

 

Maybe I should invest in a vapour mask or respirator mask and then I can use them too!

[fabrimedeiros]

Another BSB review??? Some of us can think...

 

 

Yes! no words can describe this wonderful ink!

 

 

Thank you!

 

Fabricio

[edbollix]

Never noticed a small... How long do you think it will take this stuff to wear off the end of my nose

[OPG4711]

BSB is THE ink of discussion here. We love to hate it and hate to love it!

 

That being said, I will only use it in a pen worth less than $50. The Lamy Safari being my personal choice.

[raleighrover]

Although I've had no problems with any of the pens I've tried it with, I always clean it out carefully from most and only leave BSB in a couple of relatively inexpensive pens on a permanent basis. The main pens I have it in now are a plastic modern Parker and a Reform piston fill. The interesting thing is having BSB in those pens on my desk makes me reach for those pens more often than I would if they were filled with other colors. When it comes to hand-addressing envelopes there's just no other color that "pops" the way this blue does... It's definitely worth a try.

[HesNot]

Although I've had no problems with any of the pens I've tried it with, I always clean it out carefully from most and only leave BSB in a couple of relatively inexpensive pens on a permanent basis. The main pens I have it in now are a plastic modern Parker and a Reform piston fill. The interesting thing is having BSB in those pens on my desk makes me reach for those pens more often than I would if they were filled with other colors. When it comes to hand-addressing envelopes there's just no other color that "pops" the way this blue does... It's definitely worth a try.

 

 

I bought some BSB April 2 years ago and loaded it into the Platinum Preppy eyedropper that came with it. The color really is something but I've never really taken to it - the only other pen I've put it in was a Pilot Murex (which given the stainless steel I figured it couldn't kill it, but it didn't work terribly well in that pen). The feathering, for me at least, has been a deal killer given the relatively low grade paper in my office. I will say this - the black coating on the preppy nib has been softened and ultimately I rubbed it off with a paper towel after being loaded with nothing but BSB. I don't know if that is a property of the preppy nibs in general, but it did make me think twice about loading it into anything else... Although I'd think about putting it into a "51" since that pen was designed to use Superchrome ink which wasn't exactly Waterman gentle either.

Edited April 20, 2010 by HesNot

[majorworks]

I've got BSB in a Preppy as well. Same here, some (not all) of the blue coating on the nib has disappeared (mostly on either side of the slit). I'm OK with just using BSB in the Preppy, although I'll probably try it in my 51 aero sometime for kicks.

[greggy]

i use it every day and last weekend i left it in my desk.

it started with no problems on tues.

i think its a great ink. i love it.