Noodler's Dark Matter

[Mongo]

This is a review of Noodler's Dark Matter. I purchased this ink from Swisher Pens.

 

http://i665.photobucket.com/albums/vv16/dmoeller60/Dark%20Matter/Dark-Matter-bottle.jpg

Dark Matter is a neutral black ink. I've matched the images in this review as closely as I can to the original pages, but there are too many variables to assure that you'll see the same colors that I do.

 

http://i665.photobucket.com/albums/vv16/dmoeller60/Dark%20Matter/Dark-Matter-bagasse2.jpg

 

http://i665.photobucket.com/albums/vv16/dmoeller60/Dark%20Matter/Dark-Matter-HP2.jpg

 

http://i665.photobucket.com/albums/vv16/dmoeller60/Dark%20Matter/Dark-Matter-Moleskinie2.jpg

 

I used this ink exclusively over the last nine days to gather information for this review. Dark Matter performed well in all of the pens in which I used it, with nibs from x-fine through broad and from firm to flexible. I used it on a wide range of papers, including those shown here, cheap copy paper, 100% cotton bond, and a variety of notebook papers. The ink was well behaved on all of them. Although it's not the darkest black ink, the impression it makes is definitely "black" rather than "dark gray."

 

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.

 

Thanks,

Dave

[ZebraPenguin]

Thanks for your review of this black!

 

How does it compare to Noodler's Bulletproof Black for 'blackness'?

 

No nib creep, you say? Really? Count me in as interested!

[Mongo]

Thanks for your review of this black!

 

How does it compare to Noodler's Bulletproof Black for 'blackness'?

 

No nib creep, you say? Really? Count me in as interested!

Dark Matter looks a bit darker than Noodler's bulletproof black to me when I compare samples written on the same paper. The difference isn't large, but it's there. Dark Matter appears more neutral to me, whereas bulletproof black has a very slight warm tone to it. (Very slight.)

 

-- Dave

[Penache]

Thanks for the review. I do love the name of this ink.

[ajcoleman]

Great review! I have been very happy with this ink. As a scientist working in a military laboratory, I couldn't resist getting this one. In fact, if this ink is an accurate reproduction of a government-issue ink from the 1940's, it works well enough that it does not appear ink has improved much in 60 years!

 

As for how it compares to Noodler's black, they are both pretty dark blacks. Side by side, it seems to me that Dark Matter appears a bit cooler than Black. By that I mean it appears be on the blue side of black,where the Black appears more on the red side. I have also noticed just a touch more bleed through with Dark Matter than with Black, but only on the cheapest papers I use.

 

All in all, it is a a great ink, and has met my need for an everyday black ink that is a bit less likely to ruin my clothes than bulletproof black.

[Mongo]

...a bit less likely to ruin my clothes than bulletproof black.

Somehow, when I was taking "beauty shots" of the bottle, I got ink on my hand, and then on my shirt. I didn't notice the ink on my shirt until it had dried thoroughly. I threw it in with the rest of the laundry, and when it came out the marks were completely gone. Being a cotton shirt, I'd have probably had a very different outcome with bulletproof black.

 

-- Dave

 

[Mongo]

(deleted - duplicate post)

Edited August 27, 2009 by Mongo

[coconutman]

No nib creep, no feathering, no bleedthrough, writes well on many different kinds of paper, pretty black. I think I'm sold.

[olifant]

So yet another black to try in search of the perfect one. It looks very promising.

[lapis]

{A} Thanks for this review... a truly great review in general.

{B} Me too thinks that such a name as "Dark Matter" proves once again that Nathan does have a great fantasy regarding the naming of his inks.

 

Mike

[tonybelding]

No nib creep, no feathering, no bleedthrough, writes well on many different kinds of paper, pretty black. I think I'm sold.

 

Me too!

 

The name and story behind its creation got my attention first. It's cool. Although the ink didn't make a huge impression on me when I first tried it, I've gradually come to like Dark Matter more and more.

 

These days the fashion is for super dark blackety-black inks that look like a hole in the page. To my own surprise I find myself preferring the cool slate gray-black of Dark Matter. This has become my favorite ink to use in my black Bexley America the Beautiful, which is really a modern near-copy of the classic Wahl-Eversharp Equipoise. A vintage style ink for a vintage style pen just seems right.

 

It's no mere nostalgia trip, though. It's well-behaved in all respects and water resistant too. Hard to beat.

[Biber]

I bought this ink specifically to put into a 30s German piston filler that should be on my porch as I write this. Can't wait to Start writing!

[spinningtrees]

I wonder how Dark Matter compares with Bad Black Moccasin. That one I use and it is a lighter black with a touch of gray, much like its namesake. Very good flow and waterproofness as well.

[Diego Perez de Ayala]

Any undertones?

[ajcoleman]

I don't see any undertones. It is a neutral black as far as I can tell.

[lapis]

I see undertones. Dark, slightly greenish blue tones together with a touch of brown.

IMO if it ever were designed as a "pure" black, it wouldn't have been named "Dark Matter".

 

Mike

[ravantra]

I have to get a bottle. I like the history / story and I have to stop putting off the purchase of this ink.

[Diego Perez de Ayala]

I just got a bottle... Can't wait for it to arrive alreadyy