Noodler's Ink: Baystate Blue

[Signum1]

Noodler's Baystate Blue

 

This ink has trade-offs. You get a good price and you receive waterproof characteristics along with a wonderful glow that my equipments are doing a poor job capturing. The drawbacks are the staining qualities and bad things happening to your nib and feed. Use either a cheap fountain pen or dip pen. I opted for the cheapo fountain pen.

 

The Review

 

http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/9415/scannedimage6e.jpg

 

The Water Test

 

http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/116/img0460kr.jpg

 

Another Angle

 

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/8429/img0469ro.jpg

[jniforat]

great review, Signum!!!

 

I have mine in the mail right now and i am going to put it into a cheap parker 51 i have and use it for everyday writing. that's an awesome pic that you have of the water test!

 

thanks a ton!!

 

p.s. where did you buy the paper? and i think that the reason for no feathering or bleeding is because the paper is so thick.

[MikeW]

I have had Baystate Blue in one of the "inexpensive" Platinum eyedropper pens that come with the large bottles of Noodler's Ink (you can also buy them directly from Swisher Pens) for well over 6 months (probably closer to a year!). The nib and feed are fine - the pen writes first time, every time. I have also used it in other pens for shorter periods of time without any difficulty.

[dizzypen]

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/8429/img0469ro.jpg

 

Your close up picture (above) shows feathering so far as I can tell. How does this ink perform on other papers?

[jleeper]

What kind of Domtar paper did you use? And I guess you printed the grid on the paper yourself?

 

I really like Domtar's Cougar DigitalChoice, but I assume you were using a Domtar copier paper; I just can't seem to find a 32lb Domtar paper in that category.

 

(I used a wider nib, but my experience with BSB is that it feathered on every paper I have. I'll have to try it in my Hero 569.)

[OPG4711]

Great post and review! I love the close-up photos you have.

 

As for BSB, I love this ink - warts & all. It's the ink that got me really fascinated with fountain pens and their care & feeding.

[Signum1]

 

Your close up picture (above) shows feathering so far as I can tell. How does this ink perform on other papers?

 

That was under the Macro feature of the digital camera. From the naked eyes, I didn't notice the feathering. Also this Hero 158 may be a bad quality nib. When I paused for a bit before the next stroke in forming the letter, the ink starts to feather a bit.

 

On Staple brand copy paper (20 lbs) it feathers and bleeds.

 

http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/474/scannedimage8r.jpg

 

What kind of Domtar paper did you use? And I guess you printed the grid on the paper yourself?

 

I really like Domtar's Cougar DigitalChoice, but I assume you were using a Domtar copier paper; I just can't seem to find a 32lb Domtar paper in that category.

 

(I used a wider nib, but my experience with BSB is that it feathered on every paper I have. I'll have to try it in my Hero 569.)

 

This is what I used. And yes I printed my own graph and line papers. I even create my on letter pads too. Can you folks post a writing sample of BSB to illustrate feathering?

 

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/1540/img0474qo.jpg

[jleeper]

... Can you folks post a writing sample of BSB to illustrate feathering?

 

Here's my example, on an Oxford 3x5 index card. It's not the most FP friendly paper, but I use it as a common benchmark.

 

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2750/4109712676_627ee3358b_b.jpg

 

And a close-up:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2595/4109712668_8e8735ea72_o.jpg

Edited November 16, 2009 by jleeper

[jleeper]

BTW, I just put it in my Hero 569, a pen with a much narrower nib. I can actually write on good copy paper without feathering and the Staples Bagasse makes it looks down-right well behaved.

[withoutink]

Nice looking ink, I think I will sacrifice a preppy to the BSB gods. Maybe even make it an eyedropper.

[Signum1]

 

Here's my example, on an Oxford 3x5 index card. It's not the most FP friendly paper, but I use it as a common benchmark.

 

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2750/4109712676_627ee3358b_b.jpg

 

And a close-up:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2595/4109712668_8e8735ea72_o.jpg

 

Ah...Thanks for the pictures. I appreciate it!

[anica]

agreed on the glow! - im not partial to blues (more of a green person) but this is a rich color and i think i will have to keep it instead of gifting to my mother...(ink has made me into a barbarian of a person)

[Glenn-SC]

Good review!

 

Beautiful ink.

 

Ate a Lamy of mine.

 

I don't use BSB anymore.

[adyf]

I've sacrificed my least favourite snorkel to baystate blue, a Statesman in pastel green. So far so good although it does seem to take a second or two before the ink starts to flow properly again after uncapping. Not sure at this moment in time how many days without use would make it a non starter.

 

I decided on a snorkel as my baystate blue pen purely because the filling tube is the only part of the pen that has to come into contact with the ink. Filled a Parker 51 with it and it left a film around the hood after only a few seconds in the ink that was hellish to remove. If I get brave I may try it in a PFM although I would love to know if anyone has tried a PFM with this ink and what the outcome was.

Edited November 24, 2009 by adyf

[HenryLouis]

Mine feathers a lot. I have a little stain on my carpet from it, and even bleach hasn't helped.

[buffalowings]

why do noodler's inks kill pens?

[PAKMAN]

Good review!! Noodlers inks in general work well with pens. BSB however has been shown to damage some pens and is highly staining.

[Possum Hill]

why do noodler's inks kill pens?

 

 

Mostly because it's more dramatic to say"Noodler's ink ate my pen" than "I left the cap off for week". Requests for details of the problems generally go unanswered, which doesn't help anyone.

 

Several posters have reported that the little rails that retain the nib on Lamy Safaris have broken after exposure to Bay State Blue. There was apparently a run of sub-standard feeds produced and others have reported that Lamy is aware of the problem.

 

I have proposed elsewhere that the failures are related to environmental stress cracking, which could involve the feed material, the molding process and the compounds in BSB. This problem seems limited to Lamys that use the same feed as the Safari, though there may be other similar events involving plastics that are already prone to cracking.

 

There's just not much to worry about. Noodler's ink is just ink.

[Glenn-SC]

why do noodler's inks kill pens?

 

 

Mostly because it's more dramatic to say"Noodler's ink ate my pen" than "I left the cap off for week". Requests for details of the problems generally go unanswered, which doesn't help anyone.

Thank you for accusing me of not telling the truth about my experience with BSB.

I ha a perfectly working Lamy 27.

I had used it with several other inks (Waterman, Parker, and (yes) Noodlers) previously.

The pen was thoroughly flushed and cleaned.

I filled said Lamy BSB.

With several days the ink flow stopped completely.

When I tried to empty the pen the piston was locked up.

So no ink out.

Feed clogged and piston frozen!

 

But BSB is just ink, like any other, right?

 

I will not use BSB again.

[Possum Hill]

why do noodler's inks kill pens?

 

 

Mostly because it's more dramatic to say"Noodler's ink ate my pen" than "I left the cap off for week". Requests for details of the problems generally go unanswered, which doesn't help anyone.

Thank you for accusing me of not telling the truth about my experience with BSB.

I ha a perfectly working Lamy 27.

I had used it with several other inks (Waterman, Parker, and (yes) Noodlers) previously.

The pen was thoroughly flushed and cleaned.

I filled said Lamy BSB.

With several days the ink flow stopped completely.

When I tried to empty the pen the piston was locked up.

So no ink out.

Feed clogged and piston frozen!

 

But BSB is just ink, like any other, right?

 

I will not use BSB again.

Actually, I didn't accuse you of not telling the truth, and thanks for the details; I've often found your posts quite informative. Accurate reporting helps everyone.

 

BSB seems to be a little different. I've had three Lamy feeds fail when inked with BSB, but other pens are unaffected. It's intriguing, to say the least.

 

As we often say here, YMMV.