Ink Review- Noodler's Zhivago

[Lothianjavert]

See post #8 for drying time smear test.

 

Noodler's Zhivago is my only near-black color. I'm not a fan of black unless I'm drawing, so I don't tend to have black inks except for india ink. I was convinced to try Zhivago by a handwritten note that came with a pen I purchased from another FPN member. The color was intriguing. Depending on the light, pen, and paper, it can range from appearing straight black to a very, very dark green with black shading. The photo just doesn't do it justice, so if I have time this weekend, I might try to re-do it.

 

Overall, it's a great ink, and one that is a regular in my ink use rotations. It lubricates well and flows easily. The color, depending upon your pen, might even be ok for work. It is a subtle effect, and gives what could have been "just another black" a bit of life. The green component doesn't appear to be waterproof, but the black portion did not come off or bleed during the water test. It doesn't seem to have any odd properties or quirks and I haven't experienced any staining.

Edited September 20, 2011 by Ann Finley
note added at top

[Patrick L]

Thanks for your review. I never tried this ink .You don't seem very comfortable with your photo but it seems to be accurate because it's color looks exactlty as you describe it "appearing straight black to a very, very dark green with black shading."

 

All the best

 

Patrick

[Bogon07]

Good to see another review of Zhivago one of my favourite colours. I had to buy a green Lamy Al-Star for it.

 

Sometimes it looks like a black until you see it next to a true black. I love the green nuances it produces.

 

Oddly the Burma Road Brown looks like a very faded version of Zhivago to me.

[lovemy51]

i haven't decided if i'm going to like this ink. oh, i've tried it!... but it's sitting on the shelf for now...

 

thx for the review.

[Brian C]

This is one of my favorite inks. Not because it's the best color. It entertains me! It comes out a different shade everytime. Plus, I do use it at work.

[ThirdeYe]

Zhivago is one of my favorite colors. I find it looks best in an italic nib that really brings out more of the green.

[floydee1]

Zhivago is one of my business inks for me. It comes across as a black but not quite. I use it mostly in my MB149 and it stands out as a dark green when compared against a black ink.

 

It's also a well behaved and decent lubricating ink for me. It is my favorite of near black inks. I will always have a bottle or a pen around with this ink.

[Lothianjavert]

I couldn't seem to edit my original post, but here's another photo with a smear test and a closeup of some writing. I really am having trouble getting the color of Zhivago in the picture to be accurate. Zhivago appears to be so different depending on the lighting, the paper, the pen/nib.... which is part of why I like it so much! It's much more fun than just "plain black", yet is subtle enough to be used for business purposes. It is very well behaved for me, and while the green component isn't waterproof, the black portion isn't going anywhere, so the text is still readable even after it has been wet.

 

 

 

[Belles-lettres]

Ah, yes, in my broader nibs and flex nibs, its is definitely a complex green. Shades well, well behaved. After a couple of bladders of writing, bought a second bottle just in case Nathan decided to discontinue it in the future. Can be lovely on a barely ecru colored paper but always good on white. YMMV.

[jaqcp]

If you squirt a bit of Noodler's Blue with this, you get a green that is *gorgeous*! It looks much like the MB Racing Green scans I see here (though I have never seen/used MBRG myself). I learned this one by accident and have been trying hard to recreate it ever since.

[subbes]

One interesting thing I've found with Zhivago during daily use - if I get it on my skin and wipe with a dry tissue, the black component is removed, while the green sticks around: the opposite of how it reacts on paper.

[K9training]

I was sent a tourmaline instead of a turquoise yesterday and I added a bit of black/obsidian to it and it almost looks like a zhivago. would have added more but topped off the bottle already so when i use some p i will add a bit more black to it just to darken it up a bit for my needs. when I added the black and tried it out i immediately thought of this ink.

[adamselene]

Can anyone speak from experience about Zhivago in comparison to MB BRG? My Classic Green Churchill is finishing of a bottle of BRG, and doing it with rude slurping noises despite the shoe bottle.

 

Better to have loved and lost. But nothing better for an old love lost than a new love. (it is ONLY ink in a fp, after all...)

Edited November 8, 2011 by adamselene

[The Good Captain]

Can anyone speak from experience about Zhivago in comparison to MB BRG? My Classic Green Churchill is finishing of a bottle of BRG, and doing it with rude slurping noises despite the shoe bottle.

 

Better to have loved and lost. But nothing better for an old love lost than a new love. (it is ONLY ink in a fp, after all...)

I've never used MB BRG but I've a Classic Green 100 Series and use on an almost routine, rotation basis, Zhivago, Diamine Evergreen and Noodler's Sequoia which get slightly and progressively lighter, in that order. They all look nice coming out of that colour pen! It's the relatively high cost of the shipping, that's stopping me trying a bottle of LE Diamine Racing Green.

[reprieve]

Zhivago is much darker than Racing Green. It's near-black (especially in a wet pen) whereas Racing Green is a definitive olive-green. However, diluted Zhivago is a very nice color--it's a good bit lighter and more clearly green, depending on how much you dilute it, with lots of shading. I wouldn't call Zhivago a replacement for Racing Green, but it does have some similar color tones. Some other inks to consider are Diamine Evergreen and Sailor Epinard. I especially like Sailor Epinard as it is very well-behaved. Again, I wouldn't call them replacements, but if you like Racing Green, those are some inks that have similar color tones.

[Ruminator]

Thanks for the review. I need to write one up as well, given I use different pens. I keep this in a Parker 51 Special Demi (Forest Green, of course! ) with an extra-fine nib. It's a wet writer and a great combination. The ink is almost black, until you look at it and can clearly see the green tint. It's a great color.

[ravantra]

Thanks for the review. Easily one of my favorite inks.