Comparison Of Noodlers Zhivago And 5 O'clock Shadow

[sentraser165]

I'm curious about this 5 o'clock shadow ink I keep hearing about. Word on the street is that it is very close to Zhivago. Can anyone graciously provide a side by side comparison? Either that or a sample of each? Thanks!

[MrsGouletPens]

Based on the scans I've seen, 5 O'Clock Shadow looks a tad darker, blacker. I'll know in person soon once my bottle arrives!

[Gobblecup]

Honestly, it couldn't be darker than Zhivago, as a rule. I mean it depends on personal hair growth, hair colour, and of course, what time of day you shaved to begin with. :embarrassed_smile:

[RobbW]

I don't have Zhivago, nor have I seen real-life samples. I also don't have a way to make photos.

 

I do own 5 O'clock Shadow. It looks grey-black with a greenish tinge out of my Sheaffer Imperial II "M" pen which is a wet writer. It looks more green out of a dry-writing Cursive Italic nib.

 

It is not particularly lubricating like I find some of the other Noodler's inks to be, but it isn't the driest ink out there, either. I'd place it in the middle of the lubrication scale.

 

The black component seems waterproof, even with vigorous scrubbing. The green component washes away--but there's so little green it doesn't really blot over the writing. Since most of the ink seems to be made of black, this means only a little green washes away in water and the majority of the ink (black) stays put.

 

In fact, based on uncertainly concerning 5OS waterproofness over on the BadgerAndBlade ink preview, I'm surprised at how resistant to water 5OS turned out to be. To me, it looks dark grey to black, with a green aura.

 

It's a very distinguished color, I'd have no problem using it for formal business writing, but the grey and green make it a bit playful.

 

It looks very vintage to me, like something that belongs next to Manhattan Blue, a 1940s Carter ink reproduction. They look like they belong in the same era, and both have that refined, elegant grittiness about them.

 

I love this ink, and it's so waterproof that it will get heavy journal use from me.

[RobbW]

 

 

It's a very distinguished color, I'd have no problem using it for formal business writing, but the grey and green make it a bit roguish.

 

 

 

"Roguish" is the word I was after, not "playful". This ink is not playful. 5OS is ink with insouciance; it has a devil-may-care attitude that creeps up to the border of where most formal inks reside, puts its toe across the line but refuses to step completely over and play with the restrained inks.

[Fbones24]

I have not used Zhivago, so I can't compare it to 5 O'clock Shadow. I do love how the 5 O'clock Shadow actually shades slightly! For a black ink, this is very impressive. It is a blackish grey with a tint of green. Also, the slight green tint is a muddy olive green.

 

I think Roguish is a good way to describe it. I have been using it at the office the last two days, and I have to say, I feel like a bad a$$ writing with this ink.

[jpdyson]

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/244041-5-O-Clock-Shadow?p=3349836#post3349836

 

HTH

[kalali]

I have Zhivago in my daily writer M400 with M nib. In my opinion if it were a shade darker it would loose the green hue and would be just black, at least to my eye. Similar to the 5OS (which I've never used) the green component washes away when rinsed while the black remains virtually intact. I have also used it in my Pilot Plumix (1.0 italic) ED conversion and it looks a lot more "distinguished". YMMV.

[watch_art]

zhivago looks like a pale muddy green from a dry nib and a very very dark black in a wet nib. I prefer it on the wet side.

[ouch]

I like the fact that the 5O'C is dark enough to appear as black, but isn't. It's professional enough to use at work, but has a nice sheen to it.

[jaybh1974]

It is not a good picture at all, but this is 5 o clock shadow.

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/jaybh1974/ed851a77.jpg

[thaugen]

My 5 O'Clock Shadow looks black in my Pilot Custom Heritage 912 with a fine nib. It's a great ink, but I have a hard time distinguishing this ink from black with a fine nib. Perhaps a medium nib would bring out more of the green. All that being said, I love the ink and the subtle green color mixed with the black.

[The Good Captain]

I'm glad you put a picture on here. I've had a beard for just about 40 years and don't remember what 5OS looked like.

[Gobblecup]

I'm glad you put a picture on here. I've had a beard for just about 40 years and don't remember what 5OS looked like.

 

:ltcapd: :clap1: :clap1:

[ouch]

I'm glad you put a picture on here. I've had a beard for just about 40 years and don't remember what 5OS looked like.

 

Ah, 1971 shadow. We can help with that.

 

(Of course, we're not miracle workers.)

[ouch]

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/244041-5-O-Clock-Shadow?p=3349836#post3349836

 

HTH

 

 

Your avatar is scaring me.