Noodler's V-mail Midway Blue

[withoutink]

You can find the full review on my blog, here is a direct link to the full review: Noodler’s V-mail Midway Blue Ink Review

 

Noodler's V-mail Midway Blue...

 

I must confess, I don't use many of the Noodler's inks, as I haven't really purchased or tried many of them. So, Noodler's in general is pretty new to me... I saw this color in a recent review here on FPN and I HAD to have it. I love the color and the shading. I purchased this ink at the Miami Pen show (this past weekend). I loaded the ink up into an Esterbrook and used a new to me vintage Osmiroid Italic Straight Broad nib. I really like the effect the nib produces.

 

The color is very pleasant to the eye, shading is nice, the ink seems rather well behaved. My only real complaint is that it seemed very dry. A little too dry for me, but in all fairness... That could be the nib. There was a tiny bit of show through (not at all bad), no bleed through, feathering etc. The ink dries in ~2 second or less. So smearing isn't too much an issue (again, this might just be due to my choice of nibs). It fared pretty well in my water test.

 

All in all a nice ink.

 

As with all inks, remember that Noodlers fills their bottles to the tippy top. So be careful when opening, I inevitably spill a bit.

 

 

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4135/4813874634_d764fbaeba_b.jpg

[777]

Thanks for the review "withoutink". this ink reminds me of noodlers navajo turquoise. It looks like it has some stupendous drying time.

[blopplop]

Thanks for the review "withoutink". this ink reminds me of noodlers navajo turquoise. It looks like it has some stupendous drying time.

 

I have a sample of this you can try.

 

Dave

[blopplop]

It's amazing to me the different experience that people seem to be having with this ink. You and others mentioned little to no bleed through. While my experience (and others) has been that this ink bleeds through more than any ink I've used on all type's of paper--even Claire Fontaine 90 weight. I'm becoming more and more convinced that there must be big differences among the batches that Noodlers has produced.

 

I do love the color, though, which is why I keep using it.

 

Dave

[wvbeetlebug]

Thanks for the review! Also good to hear that nib is working out for you.

[withoutink]

as far as the bleeding, that may be due to the Osmiroid italic nib I used. I have heard that you need a wetter nib to bring the ink to its full potential, which in turn will probably cause more bleeding. YMMV

[spotted and speckled]

It is the nib you are using. I have Midway Blue in a Falcon right now, and it's not a dry ink. More ink on the paper, the more bleedthrough--but I think that's true of just about any ink. It's one of my favorite blue inks!

[tonybelding]

I'm becoming more and more convinced that there must be big differences among the batches that Noodlers has produced.

 

I have come to suspect the same thing. Feathering is one thing that seems to vary with different batches (different amount of surfactants??), and the concentration level (i.e. saturation) is another. I've heard about some people getting bottles of Noodler's that wouldn't even work in their pens without dilution.

[MS3607]

That is a great color. I agree with you on that the shading looks great.