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Noodler's 54Th Massachusetts


mhphoto

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Here's a review of the phenomenally resilient 54th Massachusetts, the newest blue-black from Noodler's.

 

For a more in depth water soak resiliency test of some various Noodler's blues, see this thread.

 

A note about the color: while I try my best to get it to scan accurately, the subtle hue shifts of some dark blues are particularly hard to capture. Please consult the Goulet's swab for a more accurate representation if this one doesn't seem right.

 

http://i1355.photobucket.com/albums/q712/FiveCatKnittery/Noodlers54thMassachusettsMedium.jpg

 

http://i1355.photobucket.com/albums/q712/FiveCatKnittery/Noodlers54thMassachusettsPensUsed.jpg

 

http://i1355.photobucket.com/albums/q712/FiveCatKnittery/Noodlers54thMassachusettsDipNibs.jpg

 

http://i1355.photobucket.com/albums/q712/FiveCatKnittery/Noodlers54thMassachusettsObservations.jpg

 

http://i1355.photobucket.com/albums/q712/FiveCatKnittery/Noodlers54thMassachusettsComparisons.jpg

 

http://i1355.photobucket.com/albums/q712/FiveCatKnittery/Noodlers54thMassachusettsShading.jpg

 

Full bottle on the way! :thumbup:

Edited by mhphoto

fpn_1451747045__img_1999-2.jpg

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Nice job. This ink is so dark in its saturated form that it is hard for me to discern the color. I know it is supposed to be blue, so I do see that, but I asked my wife and coworker what color it was because they didn't know what to expect. My wife thought it was a dark green, and my coworker could only identify it as blue because of the lighter bits where it was less saturated. I was using it in a wet pen, so I thought the lubrication was OK, but it does seem in some way like some of the other cellulose-reactive inks that Nathan has been coming up with recently. I don't know how to describe what I'm talking about, but maybe the gist of it is captured by saying that the inks seem to flow easily with very low viscosity (hence the moderate lubricity) but to be almost magically saturated none the less. It's as if to be this saturated the ink ought to feel "thicker" than it does.

I know my id is "mhosea", but you can call me Mike. It's an old Unix thing.

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I love this ink and got a bottle just before Christmas. It's got just enough subtle differences in colour etc for it to be inked all the time in the rotation. The others I refer to are: Prime of the Commons, Air Corps Blue Black, Blue Black and Van Gogh Starry Night. All very similar and yet all with their own identity. I really only care about the colours and not much about the other qualities or properties.

A great review.

The Good Captain

"Meddler's 'Salamander' - almost as good as the real thing!"

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Maybe I'm doing something wrong with this ink. I find it very hard-starting in both my Pelikan Demo with M nib and my Pelikan with CI nib from Binder, as well as all my Lamy pens. Also tended to dry on nibs alot. For what it is, prefer Noodler Navy or Air Corp. Also has the smell of the Russian series and just as tempermental as those colors. Used a couple fills and now resting in the trash can. If I'm doing something wrong, or need a more broad nib to appreciate this stuff, please advise

Knoxville TN & Palm Coast FL

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Maybe I'm doing something wrong with this ink. I find it very hard-starting in both my Pelikan Demo with M nib and my Pelikan with CI nib from Binder, as well as all my Lamy pens. Also tended to dry on nibs alot. For what it is, prefer Noodler Navy or Air Corp. Also has the smell of the Russian series and just as tempermental as those colors. Used a couple fills and now resting in the trash can. If I'm doing something wrong, or need a more broad nib to appreciate this stuff, please advise

 

It's not just you, it tended to be a bit of a hard starter for me too, but only when the pen's been sitting uncapped for a few seconds or more.

fpn_1451747045__img_1999-2.jpg

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Maybe I'm doing something wrong with this ink. I find it very hard-starting in both my Pelikan Demo with M nib and my Pelikan with CI nib from Binder, as well as all my Lamy pens. Also tended to dry on nibs alot. For what it is, prefer Noodler Navy or Air Corp. Also has the smell of the Russian series and just as tempermental as those colors. Used a couple fills and now resting in the trash can. If I'm doing something wrong, or need a more broad nib to appreciate this stuff, please advise

 

It's not just you, it tended to be a bit of a hard starter for me too, but only when the pen's been sitting uncapped for a few seconds or more.

 

When 54th first came out, my sample performed wonderfully out of my Pelikan M800 stub. I didn't get around to buying a full bottle until about a month and half later. As soon as the bottle arrived I inked up the M800, and noticed that the performance had drastically declined. It became a very hard starter out of the same Pelikan. I'll likely dilute a small vial of 54th in the next week to see if it performs any better. I did the same with El Lawrence not too long ago, and it's worked absolute wonders with an ink that didn't want to start from any of my pens. I guess it's to be expected when you have such a variance between batch to batch. Luckily, dilution alone has improved performance issues nearly every time.

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Thanks for the great review! I just got this ink and have only written a few lines with it, but I can already tell that it will be one I'll really use. I haven't noticed any start up issues in my Lamy 2000 F nib, but it's now been a day since I used it, so I guess I'll find out. I may have to experiment with dilution.

'I dip my pen into the blackest ink, because I am not afraid of falling into my inkpot.' ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Just wanted to say that I love all your reviews, mhphoto. I either find new inks to love or end up going "ooh" about ones I own but haven't tried yet (like Legal Lapis). Thank you!

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Lovely Review! -I don't know if it is just my bottle, but mine seems to match the color of the Noodler's midnight blue. It seems to me that 54 is just slightly more green than a navy blue, but slightly more blue than the scan shows.

"Vae me, puto concacavi me!" -Seneca

 

ἄριστον μέν ὕδωρ μέλαν

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1356824850[/url]' post='2548383']
1356807274[/url]' post='2548067']
1356803931[/url]' post='2548015']

Maybe I'm doing something wrong with this ink. I find it very hard-starting in both my Pelikan Demo with M nib and my Pelikan with CI nib from Binder, as well as all my Lamy pens. Also tended to dry on nibs alot. For what it is, prefer Noodler Navy or Air Corp. Also has the smell of the Russian series and just as tempermental as those colors. Used a couple fills and now resting in the trash can. If I'm doing something wrong, or need a more broad nib to appreciate this stuff, please advise

 

It's not just you, it tended to be a bit of a hard starter for me too, but only when the pen's been sitting uncapped for a few seconds or more.

 

When 54th first came out, my sample performed wonderfully out of my Pelikan M800 stub. I didn't get around to buying a full bottle until about a month and half later. As soon as the bottle arrived I inked up the M800, and noticed that the performance had drastically declined. It became a very hard starter out of the same Pelikan. I'll likely dilute a small vial of 54th in the next week to see if it performs any better. I did the same with El Lawrence not too long ago, and it's worked absolute wonders with an ink that didn't want to start from any of my pens. I guess it's to be expected when you have such a variance between batch to batch. Luckily, dilution alone has improved performance issues nearly every time.

 

Any idea how much water to add to a full bottle of this ink?? Or is it just trial and error?

Knoxville TN & Palm Coast FL

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Thank you for such a well done ink review.

Rob Maguire (Plse call me "M or Mags" like my friends do...)I use a Tablet, Apple Pencil and a fountain pen. Targas, Sailor, MB, Visconti, Aurora, vintage Parkers, all wonderful.

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I'll likely dilute a small vial of 54th in the next week to see if it performs any better. I did the same with El Lawrence not too long ago, and it's worked absolute wonders with an ink that didn't want to start from any of my pens. I guess it's to be expected when you have such a variance between batch to batch. Luckily, dilution alone has improved performance issues nearly every time.

 

I didn't realize ink inconsistency was such a common problem. I have a bottle of MB Alfred Hitchcock that dries quite brown on all my papers. Would a little dilution solve this problem, too? The ink still looks beautifully red when flushing a pen full.

nulla dies sine linea

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1356824850[/url]' post='2548383']
1356807274[/url]' post='2548067']
1356803931[/url]' post='2548015']

Maybe I'm doing something wrong with this ink. I find it very hard-starting in both my Pelikan Demo with M nib and my Pelikan with CI nib from Binder, as well as all my Lamy pens. Also tended to dry on nibs alot. For what it is, prefer Noodler Navy or Air Corp. Also has the smell of the Russian series and just as tempermental as those colors. Used a couple fills and now resting in the trash can. If I'm doing something wrong, or need a more broad nib to appreciate this stuff, please advise

 

It's not just you, it tended to be a bit of a hard starter for me too, but only when the pen's been sitting uncapped for a few seconds or more.

 

When 54th first came out, my sample performed wonderfully out of my Pelikan M800 stub. I didn't get around to buying a full bottle until about a month and half later. As soon as the bottle arrived I inked up the M800, and noticed that the performance had drastically declined. It became a very hard starter out of the same Pelikan. I'll likely dilute a small vial of 54th in the next week to see if it performs any better. I did the same with El Lawrence not too long ago, and it's worked absolute wonders with an ink that didn't want to start from any of my pens. I guess it's to be expected when you have such a variance between batch to batch. Luckily, dilution alone has improved performance issues nearly every time.

 

Any idea how much water to add to a full bottle of this ink?? Or is it just trial and error?

 

I would highly recommend isolating a small amount of ink in a vial first before attempting to dilute an entire bottle all at once so as to find the right mixture for yourself. When I diluted El Lawrence I took a small vial and filled it with 2 ml of distilled water and then filled it with 3 ml of ink resulting in a 3 parts ink to 2 parts water dilution. I still haven't tried diluting 54th, but I would start with a smaller dilution of 1 part distilled water to 4 parts ink. If you still experience trouble, then slowly work your way into adding more water into the sample vial and record the results. This way you'll get it just right for the bottle. :thumbup:

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Tried the 4 to 1 dilution and now everything runs just fine. Many thanks for teaching me this, because I love the ink color and its properties. Glad I resurrected it from the trash and now using it in a variety of pens and nib widths

Knoxville TN & Palm Coast FL

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Tried the 4 to 1 dilution and now everything runs just fine. Many thanks for teaching me this, because I love the ink color and its properties. Glad I resurrected it from the trash and now using it in a variety of pens and nib widths

 

I was just about to order this ink when I came across this thread. Thanks a lot tnmike1 for the dilution ratio. I feel much more comfortable now trying a bottle.

Fool me once, shame on you.

Fool me twice; damn

There goes that fox again.

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Got a bottle Dec. 31. Flushed a new Pilot 78G Med. and loaded. Initial great flow and color, the Pilot smooth as expected. Was testing several pens and new inks. Returning to 54th after 20-30 minutes thought the ink was sticky, not smooth flow and was not happy. Did some writing, back to testing the others and eventually back the 54th/Pilot.

 

Perfect!

Pen and ink operating as expected, like Noodler's Black, Legal and Iragi Indigo, etc. No need to dilute or pen fuss.

 

Happy to have this new ink.

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How does 54th Massachusetts compare to Van Gogh Starry Night? I Know that you included VGSN in the review, but it's difficult to see the differences. I have a sample of 54th that I find to have amazing behavior, but I wish the color were more blue and less gray/green. Is the VG Starry Night bluer than the 54th?

 

Thanks!

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