Dry Noodler's Ink

[Thornton]

Does anybody know if Noodler's makes an ink that writes on the dry side? I love Noodler's ink but some of my pens just write too wet with it. I've especially had trouble with Legal Lapis and El' Lawrence turning some of my pens into gushers although they're my two favorite colors.

[Inkanthropist]

I've always found Walnut to be on the dry side, which is a bit of shame, as it's probably my favourite brown. Periwinkle was so dry in my Visconti Van Gogh that it stopped working altogether, but I gather from other posts here that this problem can be solved with the addition of a little water.

 

Neil

[Ghost Plane]

Apache Sunset. Nice shading but it made my pens feel like I was dragging them thru sand.

Edited May 30, 2009 by Ghost Plane

[adam11]

Old Manhattan, if you like black ink, it is not that wet.

[bardharlock]

Wow, it appears that many of us have had different experiences with some of the same colors. I find Legal Lapis to write a fairly smooth and not too wet line, while Old Manhattan Blackest Black was way too wet for me. My Noodler's of choice for a thin line on the dry side, but by no means stingy or scratchy, is Zhivago. I also like that the black portion of the ink is Bulletproof.

[kushbaby]

Besides Periwinkle (*very* dry - I added a little soap and water to make it usable), I have found that Noodlers Fox Red and Polar Brown are dry. Hunter Green seems dry-ish, too. (I have only been using them in a Lamy Vistas with XF nib). This is in comparison to Bulletproof Black, Polar Blue, Luxury Blue and La Reine Mauve (that one's gorgeous but very wet) in the same pens. But that's just my perception - YMMV.

[Thornton]

Thanks everyone! I didn't expect to get so many options. Out of all the colors mentioned, I think Old Manhattan and Zhivago would be my top choices. I think I bit get a PTP ink sampler just to check out some of the other colors. Although there was some debate as far as Old Manhattan being wet or dry I've wanted to try it anyway so I'll check it out. More comments and experiences are welcome .

[Inka]

Heart Of Darkness is by far my first pick for a dry and well-behaved Noodler's ink, if you like black; no nib creep, little to no feathering, fast drying, Eternal or "bulletproof" and is by far one of the darkest blacks I've ever used.

Borealis is a good dry choice too but it does feather badly on cheap or fibrous paper and prefers F nibs, it's a MUCH darker black than my HOD, is extremely water-resistant [NOT Eternal], no nib creep issues seen as of yet.

 

If you like red ink, Nikita is a very nicely behaved dry ink too, one that I had bought to make purple out of blue ink, only to find it works better in its' pure state and is a very bright red when used with F nibs.

 

When I say these inks are "dry" I don't mean they are hard starters or skip, as on the contrary they are good flowing inks, only that they aren't the slick Eel-like inks that my Polar inks are, they don't feather as much as other inks is how I basically rate "dryness" as long as they don't have starting issues.

[Thornton]

Inka, I'll have to check out your choices. I'm not a huge fan of straight-on red like Nikita, but I'd be willing to try it.

[Firefyter-Emt]

For me, I take notes outside year-round and I find that Legal Lapis is probably the best, Also the Galileo Brown does very well for me. I too have had good luck with the HOD as a fast dry ink. The only problem with HOD is that it's black.

[JFT]

All I can say is that experiences are all over the chart

 

Apache Sunset, Golden Brown are somewhat dry. HoD on the other hand is a nicely behaved but still wet ink in all my pens :hmm1: I concur about La Reine Mauve, one of the wettest ink I own with Galileo Manuscript Brown.

 

 

[DerekB]

Weird. HoD is nothing but super-wet for me. That's what I love about it.

 

I've come across several dry Noodler's inks. Kiowa Pecan and Whaleman's Sepia are both *too* dry for my tastes. I sold my bottle of Kiowa, and I'm currently using Sepia in a watered-down form because I couldn't deal with its dryness undiluted.

[Inka]

This is fascinating stuff.

Why my HoD seems dry in my pens and yet wet for other peoples, I have no answer other than maybe it's that I use F or XF+ nibs with HoD?

Maybe it's the feed channels, the way the feed and nib undersides are mated or not fully seated?

All my FPs, with the exceptions of the cheaper ones, have dual-channel feeds and I would think those pens would write wetter, but they don't when I'm using HoD in them, they write dry.

Polar Brown writes dry for kushbaby that replied, yet seems rather wet-flowing but well behaved in my pens.

Haven't seen much about Borealis but in my pens with F nibs it runs on the wet side, laying down rich/dark/black lines, but when I use it with M to B nibs it feathers rather badly.

I'd still like to try some Bay State Blue some day but fear of even the slightest possibility of feed destruction or barrel staining in piston-fillers I keep putting off giving it a try.

I've been wanting to try some Noodler's Navajo Turquoise, Aircorp Blue-Black and some of the greens at some point too.

 

My Noodler's Blue Ghost seems rather dry but great flow, when used in my Dollar Oblique pen, but since it's invisible ink the only way I gauged it is while writing under a bright UV black light source.

Since it's not something that can really be called a "color", except it glows a brilliant florescent blue-white under bright UV and on ivory [or off-white] paper, it's hard to judge anything other than how I would rate the flow.

 

This thread is a good source of information on how the same inks can behave completely different when used in different pens.

Maybe that would be the best way to compare them, by not only saying what inks seems wet or dry but by adding what pens and what nibs are being used at the same time posting the ink properties?

Edited May 31, 2009 by Inka

[Thornton]

This thread is a good source of information on how the same inks can behave completely different when used in different pens.

Maybe that would be the best way to compare them, by not only saying what inks seems wet or dry but by adding what pens and what nibs are being used at the same time posting the ink properties?

 

I agree. With so many people having so many different wet/dry experiences with the same ink, I'd be interested in reading some comparisons.

[JFT]

This is fascinating stuff.

Why my HoD seems dry in my pens and yet wet for other peoples, I have no answer other than maybe it's that I use F or XF+ nibs with HoD?

 

I am as confused as you :ltcapd: I am using HoD exclusively wiht my F & XF nibs...

[bardharlock]

This is fascinating stuff.

Why my HoD seems dry in my pens and yet wet for other peoples, I have no answer other than maybe it's that I use F or XF+ nibs with HoD?

 

I am as confused as you :ltcapd: I am using HoD exclusively wiht my F & XF nibs...

 

We may be getting into the realm of differences in grip, force applied, paper, humidity and other environmental factors and good old differences in semantics as to what wet and dry really mean. For instance it has been my experience that a "wet" ink can still "dry" fast. To me a dry ink is one that consistently delivers a line that is thinner and remains thinner than one I would consider a wet ink. Perhaps both definitions are true all at once and all of it depends on the other things I mentioned?

[Inka]

...To me a dry ink is one that consistently delivers a line that is thinner and remains thinner than one I would consider a wet ink. ...

That's my idea exactly, of what a "wet" or "dry" writing ink is, having little to nothing to do with drying times unless the first condition is met [e.g., line width on various paper types].

That's how I've classified my HoD as being "dry", in that it lays down a thin line with a F nib that remains @ the same width regardless of the type of paper it is written upon.

By contrast, my Borealis is "wet" in my mind because on more fibrous paper such as card stock or 3x5 cards the line spreads wider than on glossy stock, when written with the same pen and nib width.

I am a very light-handed writer, barely allowing the weight of a FP alone do the writing for me, just moving the nib across the page and almost never pressing, rarely ever applying any pressure.

The only time that differs is when I'm deliberately using a flex nib that is meant to be pressed upon, which in itself is rare that I use one, although I do have semi-flex to very flexy nibs too but never for my daily-carry FP.

I hold my FPs @ a 30° angle on average, resting gently across the webbing on my right hand between thumb/index finger, no higher than 40-45°, another reason I like large, hefty pens w/ large nibs.

I live in a near tropical climate with high humidity over 80%-90% most days outside but inside where the A/C is running most days/nights it remains @ 50% humidity and @ 74° F in the spring and summer.

[JFT]

...To me a dry ink is one that consistently delivers a line that is thinner and remains thinner than one I would consider a wet ink. ...

 

We didn't have the same meaning for dry

 

To me a dry ink is one that doesn't flow well and usually feels a bit stingy on paper i.e. does not lubricate much. HoD does have a fine line but does so while have a nice flow and feeling smooth IME. So yes it was dry with your definition and wet with mine :roflmho: