Noodlers Ink

[inkstainedruth]

Nathan may have *meant* the comments about limiting the use of Kung Te Cheng to the provided pens to be a joke (I've also read that he did it to limit the amount of grief he got from people over the ink's, um. less socially acceptable behavior). But a lot of people tend to take stuff literally, especially if there isn't a winking smiley emoticon to tell them otherwise (sigh).

But KTC is also probably my favorite ink; the side of my finger is stained with it right now , since before logging in I had to write some bills....

It's ironic in that one of the *first* inks I wanted when I discovered that there was more out there than Quink Washable (and Permanent) Blue -- and of course the racks at Staples of Waterman and Montblanc cartridges, which did me no good at all with a Parker pen -- was Noodler's North African Violet, which is a simply gorgeous color.

Someplace was charging $50 a bottle for Irohshihzuku? Glad I don't shop there.... Not that I want to pay $28 for it either. Frankly, I know there are people who love those inks, but I've personally been a bit underwhelmed -- okay, in the case of Asa-Gao a *lot* underwhelmed -- by the samples I've tried; if I were given a bottle I'd naturally use it, but I'd probably have been *happier* with three regular bottles of assorted Noodler's instead (or, of course, a back-up bottle of KTC....)

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[welch]

Noodlers in general is just fine for fountain pens. I say this, and I don't especially like Noodlers: has no blue that I like. The line about the same as Private Reserve, another "saturated" ink. Not much different from Diamine or Iroshizuku, which are my favorites.

 

There are some Noodlers specialty inks that might be quirky -- good ideas that almost work -- but the general run of Noodlers is safe and sound.

[Bill_D]

I was told by one of the sales rep not too use Noodlers in a FP unless its purely for calligraphy, artists etc etc but not your everyday FP.

 

hmmmmmm I am confuesd.

 

There's no need to be confused. What the sales person told you is flat out wrong. It's also false, erroneous, misleading, mistaken...

 

Noodler's Ink is designed for fountain pens. That's all it's really designed for, and it's one of the more popular brands of fountain pen ink (at least among FPNers).

 

Agreed. Saying Noodler's ink is not designed for fountain pens but for caligraphy pens is like saying the gas at your local gas station is not designed for cars but for lawnmowers.

[amberleadavis]

 

 

Agreed. Saying Noodler's ink is not designed for fountain pens but for caligraphy pens is like saying the gas at your local gas station is not designed for cars but for lawnmowers.

 

Nice analogy.

[JonSzanto]

One of the reasons I joined FPN is to share the pleasure of using fountain pens. I believe that by sharing our experience, we are also creating a freely accessible knowledge base that is far greater than sales clerks could be expected to absorb, understand and convey to their clients. I hope that along the way we are able to dispel rumours, and provide greater enjoyment to those who prefer to use a fountain pen.

You know, Sandy, those are powerful - and true - words. I've been getting a bit of flack lately for standing up and stating my mind in trying to dispel misinformation and half-truths, and it isn't too much fun. I feel, as you do, that one of the big purposes of a large forum such as FPN is to help build a body of substantial and reputable knowledge about pens, inks, and all the other aspects of fountain pen use. It can't be done if we can't speak up when we see errors propagating.

[akustyk]

I think that part of the problem with Noodler's ink is variability from batch to batch. I realize that it's done deliberately for forensic reasons, among others, but I have had very different versions of Black across three samples, and finally got a bottle at a local store, and it is better than all three samples in terms of flow. These are my experiences, and I did give the brand a chance despite my negative experience with the samples. I also gave it a chance with pens, most of which (I've bought at least a dozen over the years), required serious tinkering, and finally the ebonite Konrad turned out to be magnificent. So if I were asked to formulate an opinion about Noodler's products, I would have a hard time doing so. I am not sure what my opinion would be, but I would probably recommend another "safer" brand to a friend, especially to someone new to fountain pens.

[amberleadavis]

I wonder why it is that no one reads the labels or information provided by the maker? No pigments, no dragon venom, no shellac.

 

 

Peter

 

 

Peter,

 

Really, I did read the label.

Dragon Cat Fish

 

I carefully looked at the picture.

 

 

 

 

 

http://a248.e.akamai.net/origin-cdn.volusion.com/zecn7.jeyr6/v/vspfiles/photos/N19818-2.jpg?1352980631

 

 

 

 

 

Since I'm not well traveled, I figured I was buying some part of the Dragon Catfish. (However, I don't read Spam labels). I didn't know they were venomous, thank you for the warning.

 

 

[psfred]

LOL, thanks for the laugh!

 

I'd use sunglasses while using that ink though!

 

Peter

[Messmer]

I would recommand Noodler's bulletproof ink to mostly anybody. Think the only case I did not recommanded that ink was for a french child learning how to use a FP... Think she was 6yrs old. I that case, I told her mother not to buy any of the ink I use. All my inks are permanent and stain like hell...

[inkstainedruth]

LOL, thanks for the laugh!

 

I'd use sunglasses while using that ink though!

 

Peter

 

It's a highlighter ink. I have a bottle of it and it's a great color. Nice and bright!

I have a sample of Dragon Catfish Green, too, but haven't tried it yet.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[rakka]

I think I have more bottles of Noodler's inks than any other brand, and aside from one recent incident where BSB ate my nib, none of them have ever been a problem. I would think that either the salesperson is thinking of india ink, or they are trying to upsell you to Iroshizuku.

 

Either way Noodler's is perfectly fine for fountain pens.

[amberleadavis]

LOL, thanks for the laugh!

 

I'd use sunglasses while using that ink though!

 

Peter

 

It's a highlighter ink. I have a bottle of it and it's a great color. Nice and bright!

I have a sample of Dragon Catfish Green, too, but haven't tried it yet.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

MrCharlie sent me letters written with Tsvetayeva and Dragon Catfish pink. Surprisingly, the colors were quite similar and quite legible for nice letters.

[Lazarus Long]

I haven't been thrilled with the behavior of a couple of my bottles of Noodler's ink, but they are perfectly safe.

[i.like.whiskey]

One of the reasons I joined FPN is to share the pleasure of using fountain pens. I believe that by sharing our experience, we are also creating a freely accessible knowledge base that is far greater than sales clerks could be expected to absorb, understand and convey to their clients. I hope that along the way we are able to dispel rumours, and provide greater enjoyment to those who prefer to use a fountain pen.

You know, Sandy, those are powerful - and true - words. I've been getting a bit of flack lately for standing up and stating my mind in trying to dispel misinformation and half-truths, and it isn't too much fun. I feel, as you do, that one of the big purposes of a large forum such as FPN is to help build a body of substantial and reputable knowledge about pens, inks, and all the other aspects of fountain pen use. It can't be done if we can't speak up when we see errors propagating.

 

+1

And thanks to you both.

[Bill Wood]

I love Noodler's Inks. So many colors! Never had any problems, although some colors do not dry as quickly as I'd like on certain papers. Check out the Noodler's website and view some of Nathan's videos.

 

What cat said. Staple dinning around these parts!

[scribbler77]

KTC is one of the less well behaved Noodler's inks -- it can be cranky, even in that Platinum Preppy supplied with the ink.

 

 

Well, I've been using KTC in the supplied Platinum Preppy for something like three years now with nary a problem. OK, I did flush and clean the pen once, about eight months ago.

 

I find it a great ink in every respect. If I recall correctly, Nathan made his statement about using it only with the supplied Preppy pen just after there was a big broo-ha-ha on FPN when Sam Capote stained his yellow Safari with Bay State Blue. There were screams that there should be warnings, etc. So Nathan propared a warning with his next ink which happened to be Kung Te Chen.

 

I just took out my years-old Preppy with KTC and checked. It wrote instantly, even though I haven't used it for a couple of weeks, being out of town. But in fact there is some staining in the cap. Big deal!

Edited January 27, 2013 by scribbler77

[Scrawler]

I have a serious problem with Noodlers ink. There are far too many of them for me to obtain, and if I did get all I wanted, I would be leaving vast quantities of ink for my heirs to deal with. My other problem is explaining to a newbie why he should wait until he has experience before buying the BSB he liked so much.

[79spitfire]

 

 

Agreed. Saying Noodler's ink is not designed for fountain pens but for caligraphy pens is like saying the gas at your local gas station is not designed for cars but for lawnmowers.

 

Nice analogy.

Yea, but 'round here, there are some stations selling gas I wouldn't put in my lawn mower, let alone my car...

 

Having said that I have no fear about Nathan's inks, there are some I just dedicate to certain less expensive pens... :roflmho: (and that's mostly my fault, If I could only keep one pen inked and used it every day I likely wouldn't have any reason for caution!)

[pw1224]

I will admit to one bit of paranoia that I have about some Noodler's inks -- I want to keep the cellulose-reactive ink out of my brand new wooden fountain pen. I would stain that pen like there's no tomorrow. And I don't want to stain that pen!

 

 

I would, of course, blame myself and not the pen (or ink!) but I don't want to put myself in the position.

Edited January 29, 2013 by pw1224

[Dioxazine]

Big, big Noodler's fan here, who has not too long ago bit the Hero 616 bug hard.

 

I generally dilute my Noodler's inks to a 1:1 ratio (Most work best that way, but others might call for more or none) and generally used them in Lamy Safaris with no problems whatsoever. Then I suddenly got a whole bunch of Hero pens, which have little feeder tubes in the sacs.

 

Then I realized that there might be some issues with certain types of pens. It's hard to disassemble Hero pens, but I think they have really fine threads in their feeds. And that tube, of course.

 

Noodler's bulletproof inks are actually suspensions, and maybe it would be correct to think of the cellulose-reactive "dyes" as very fine pigments that are really pretty benign for most pens. They sink. It's more conspicuous with different inks, like 41 Brown (orange stuff sinks), Polar Blue (violetish stuff), and pretty much all of the blacks, save for the few non-bulletproof blacks. I noticeably had problems with X-Feather in a Hero, but none in my Lamy pens.

 

The heavy bulletproof stuff will settle and get stuck pretty good here and there, and of course if paper dust gets in there (quite likely, actually) guess what it's going to do.

 

If your pen might be delicate, I'd suggest sticking with non-bulletproof Noodler's inks. And I'd advise against using Red (it settles) or Dragon's Napalm (glittery bits) in such pens.