Noodler's Rome Burning

[SamCapote]

I just opened the bottle of Rome Burning that has been waiting for me in NY. I inked up my Nakaya Dorsal Fin (M nib) with it and started to write in my Design Y notebook (Tomoe River paper). I have just written 5 pages. There is no feathering, no bleed-through, no other unwanted side effects. There is some shading. It is very smooth. So far, I am happy with it.

 

Another score for the Tomoe River paper. It's cases like this that made me glad I ordered not only Design.Y notebooks, but the stock of A4 cream color as well.

[PacificCoastPen]

I'm a sucker for brownish greens, but this ink is chameleonish. Goes down sepia and dries 1970's greenish gold. I think it it will be a good mixing ink...to get to something else. Just adding a 1/6 or 1/7th of a cartridge of Noodler's Army Green gives it a lot of body. Adding the same amount of Noodlers Apache Sunset lends a burnt ochre brown overall. When you add a saturated ink to it, even in small amounts, it doesn't change color as much when drying. I will post it on my flickr account and make a link soon.

 

 

I'm not about to toss it out but keep it for experimentation.

Edited June 24, 2012 by PacificCoastPen

[mrt77]

With a finer nib it kind of reminds me of Herbin Lie De Thé

[HBlaine]

I don't mind the hacker nature of Nathan's inks at all. I have a broad universe of inks suited for a variety of purposes. I consider his experiments to be important to the advancement and enjoyment of inks. Hooray for that.

 

In fact, as a consequence of this experiment, I've taken a liking to purple ink. I'm letting my inner Patrician out.

 

BIG +1 !!!

 

I've been using this ink quite successfully in one my growing arsenal of Ahabs, and really like it. It makes a great annotation ink, as that coppery tone stands out quite well amongst the BSB, BNB, Bernanke Blue, X-Feather, Dark Matter, and even Devil Red...

[USMCMom]

I have a bottle of Rome Burning and have used it with Rhodia (#18 tablet), note cards that I make, cheap (very cheap) copy paper and have also used it on Post-Its without any problems.

[britteach]

One of the great things about Noodler's Inks is the company’s willingness to experiment and create new and unusual inks for fountain pens. People who complain about the practicality of Blue Nose Bear and Rome is Burning might be better served by thinking about them as novelty inks. Collecting and using fountain pens and inks in this age of the Internet seems to me an eccentric hobby anyway, and I believe Nooder's succeeds more often than not because it caters to that eccentricity brilliantly.

 

I had read some reviews online about Rome is Burning and watched the promotional video on the Noodler's website. I went from being curious to amazed to fascinated in no time at all. I had never seen an ink like this before where it begins its life on the page as a brown ink with yellow highlights resembling that of pure gold. Then, with the magic of water, is capable of transforming itself to purple in places where it has been exposed over time. I don’t think I have ever seen an ink behave this way before.

 

Because I can imagine that the chemical properties involved in making an ink of this nature have to be complex, no one had to tell me not to put this ink inside a fountain pen I value. Even if Noodler’s says it is safe for fountain pens, because of this particular ink's appealing dual nature, I prefer to play it safe, for now. This ink is being marketed for use in fountain pens, but I think it has other creative uses as well. I have chosen instead to use it as a watercolor wash to create an antiquing effect. When dry, the ink evens out to produce a rich gold tone with a hint of olive green overall. Not to appear corny, but this ink is magical and its creative potential is there waiting to be unlocked. For my purposes, Rome is Burning is an ink with complex character and not without its charm.

[britteach]

For those that bought it, I do hope you like it. For me, between this and Blue Nose Bear I'd have to say I wish Nathan would quit trying to astonish us with fantastical ink qualities that don't really pan out, and stick to astonishing us with good quality ink.

 

Hehe, my three full bottles of ink I recieved today were Rouge Hematite, Rome Is Burning, and Blue Nose Bear.

 

BNB just has something about that I'm crazy about. I don't know why. It feathers and bleeds through like a madman, but still, I love it. So much so that I bought a bottle.

 

I know some people see this picture garish and ugly, but I think it's just about the coolest thing since I discovered the merits of quality papers.

 

http://i1248.photobucket.com/albums/hh494/gunsandlights/BlueNoseBearBrause.jpg

 

 

I agree with you about the Blue Nose Bear. What some people see as flaws or weaknesses in the ink, are seen by others as virtues. Was it a Roman philosopher who once said in Latin, 'taste can't be disputed,'.

[britteach]

It doesn't seem like this ink was designed for writing. I think Nathan has been focusing on making inks for use in very specific types of artwork. And I think Rome Burning is just that, not a writing ink, but a drawing ink.

 

While I have nothing against that, in fact I think it is great that many fountain pen users like to use their FPs to draw with, it would be nice if Nathan would specify if an ink were made for drawing, or for writing. Lets face it, most fountain pen users, at least myself, wouldn't want to leave the house with a pen full of this ink, having any prospect of using it to write with.

 

I kind of agree that it would be better if Nathan would stop trying to give us Tye-Dye drawing inks, unless he wishes to inform the fountain pen community upon release (by putting it on the bottle) that an certain ink is designed to be used for drawing art.

 

I do not mean any of this as a slam against Noodler's, I myself am a big Noodler's user and a big fan of Nathan's creations. But I have been disappointed by most everything since Blue Nose Bear came out.

 

It isn't easy to be a genius at the fine art of creating inks and a genius at marketing, but Noodler's gets it right more often than wrong. In fact, I agree whole-heartedly with you that this ink is perhaps better used as a drawing ink or watercolor wash. Maybe your feedback will inspire him to focus on creating a special line of drawing inks.

[mhphoto]

I actually really do still love this ink for everyday writing. I still keep the Serwex filled with RB and use it as one of my (eight…) desk pens.

[Wilson Hines]

As far as staining and so forth, I used a brown Lamy Al-Star. It's not a cheap pen, IMHO, but it isn't an expensive pen, either, at $35. I put this ink in this pen yesterday. Am I now locked in this ink and pen combination?

[stevesurf]

I realized today as I was playing with Rome is Burning again that I never came back and followed up here with my results.

 

I mean, basically, it's a novelty ink in my opinion. The feathering is just bizarre. It's fun to write with and wash a few times, and I actually like both the washed and unwashed colors pretty well.

 

However, here's something I wrote today:

 

http://suramar.org/fpn/rome_feathering_1.jpg

http://suramar.org/fpn/rome_feathering_2.jpg

http://suramar.org/fpn/rome_feathering_3.jpg

 

This is on clairefontaine with an eversharp medium nib...

 

Sorry for re-animating a necro-thread, but these are great pictures. For those that have used Rome is burning, I have two questions:

 

Is the feathering bad on Tomoe River or other thin fountain pen friendly papers?

 

Will it stain a demonstrator pen?

 

Thanks - it's a lovely color!

[amberleadavis]

It does not stain, and I don't think it will feather on FP friendly paper. It's just not as awesome as I had hoped it would be in daily use.