Noodlers Ink

[Albinoni]

I've been using Noodler's Bulletproof Black and Lexington Gray for over a year now in various fountain pens, including a Sailor 1911, Platinum Music, Pelikan M405, TWSBI 540, Rotring Artpen and a couple of Pilot Parallel pens (1.5 and 6mm). Never a problem.

 

Funnily enough, though, I have tried Noodler's Standard Brown and Standard Green in a couple of Ahabs and they keep running dry. I think that's the Ahabs, though, rather than the inks.

 

I would like to try some of the more exotic colours but they don't seem to be available in Australia. Shipping a couple of bottles of ink from the US is a very expensive option.

 

Hi Rob have you tried the Pilot Iroshizuku Ink, I've heard this is a very good quality ink (well I am sure most inks are good quality), but it does not come cheap, cost me AU$50.00 for a 50ml bottle, mind you I also live in Perth. Was looking at some of this ink on Ebay and wow the amount of colours they have is unbeleivable

 

Link:

 

http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=iroshizuku&_sacat=0&_from=R40

[tonybelding]

1. Mont Blanc mystery black

2. Lamy black

3. Lamy blueish black

3. Pelikan 4001 royal blue

4. Iroshizuku Tsukushi (Pilot)

5. Noodlers Apache

6. Noodlers Turquise

7. Lamy dark blue

8. Sheaffer script black (I am sure its called script or something like that)

 

Noodlers and Mont Blanc are my personal favorite brands of ink. The black Sheaffer Skrip is also quite good.

 

Iroshizuku is another premium priced ink with a good reputation. I've only had one bottle thus far, and no complaints about it, but not enough experience with it yet to say more than that.

 

Pelikan 4001 ink has reputation for being somewhat dry, which some people like. I tried a bottle and didn't care much for the watery look or the color. It's one of the older ink formulas, from a time when inks were typically less saturated.

 

Lamy is the only ink you listed that I have any doubts about. From what I gather it works OK, but doesn't seem to attract many fans.

[Sandy1]

Hi,

 

I've used a small number of the Noodler's inks, and found they are perfectly fine for FP use if one matches the level of care to the individual ink and pen.

 

That level of care goes from a simple water flush, (Noodler's Burgundy), to a multi-step process using a chemical wash, (Noodler's Benevolent Badger Blue*.) The use of a chemical wash to cleanse a pen is certainly not unique to Noodler's inks.

 

I very much disagree with the practice of slapping a 'dumbed-down' label on any brand of ink based on rumour and unfounded conjecture, especially those brands with innovative and unique offerings.

 

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.

 

Bye,

S1

 

___

* Noodler's Benevolvent Badger Blue is not freely rinsed away from non-cellulose material. It very much lives up to the tenacious character of its animal totem.

LINK

LINK

Edited January 14, 2013 by Sandy1

[mirosc]

the ink is actually made more for calligraphy pens and pens used by artists etc but not for the everyday writing fountain pen.

 

I can understand why the sales person has told that - even if it is not true.

 

Some Noodlers inks require a bit of maintenance and caretaking, because they are so highly saturated. Not taking care could (!) result in precipitating and eventually clogging the pen. We know that this usually doesn't happen when we use the pen regularly. (But even R. Binder ranks these "boutique inks" lower than others...)

 

But imagine a sales person, dealing with lots of customers who don't have knowledge about pen maintenance, maybe even just buying the pen, inking it and putting it in a drawer for a couple of months without writing with it (not so uncommon in the real world outside FPN). Then her/his product may have become clogged or whatever and the sales person has to take the blame for selling/recommending bad products. So they play it safe and rather recommend Noodler's for calligraphers and artists who are supposed to know more about their tools. They are on the safe side without having to teach the customer all the details.

Makes sense to me, even if not desirable.

[amberleadavis]

As the person most likely to have an unexplained pen problem....

 

Saturated inks are more likely to need better pen care.

 

No matter what ink you use, don't let it dry out in side the pen.

 

Flush pens when not in use.

 

I personally LOVE Noodler's inks. I am frequent doodler and TWSBI / Noodler's combos are my weapons of choice.

http://sheismylawyer.com/INK/attachments/2012-10-16_005.jpg

Edited January 14, 2013 by amberleadavis

[KCat]

I wish the shoe would be on the other foot for a change. I have BSB in a Platinum Preppy for 18 months, and all is well. It would be helpful for Edison and Newton pen craftsmen to fill up a representative pen (like something that is a bad specimen), giving them the possible bragging rights such as "unaffected by BSB ink!". Of just pieces of Fp parts in little sample vials of BSB.

The problem with the current anecdotal information reflecting badly on Noodlers is the chain of custody from owner to pen repairer. If I were panicking about blue stains in my ink chamber, I could blast it with Gun Scrubber, soak it in diesel oil or gasoline, orr try some fingernail polish remover. After those powerful organic solvents, I would eventually mail it off to a technician who didn't realize the rough treatment with the solvents. Too many variables!

 

Where's the bloomin' "Like" button?

[amberleadavis]

I wish the shoe would be on the other foot for a change. I have BSB in a Platinum Preppy for 18 months, and all is well. It would be helpful for Edison and Newton pen craftsmen to fill up a representative pen (like something that is a bad specimen), giving them the possible bragging rights such as "unaffected by BSB ink!". Of just pieces of Fp parts in little sample vials of BSB.

The problem with the current anecdotal information reflecting badly on Noodlers is the chain of custody from owner to pen repairer. If I were panicking about blue stains in my ink chamber, I could blast it with Gun Scrubber, soak it in diesel oil or gasoline, orr try some fingernail polish remover. After those powerful organic solvents, I would eventually mail it off to a technician who didn't realize the rough treatment with the solvents. Too many variables!

 

Where's the bloomin' "Like" button?

 

+ another one.

[inkstainedruth]

As the person most likely to have an unexplained pen problem....

 

 

You don't have an "unexplained pen problem". You *might*, however, have an ink storage problem (as in too many inks, not enough storage....) Or a "I'm not using my inks fast enough problem, I need *more* pens" problem....

:roflmho:

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Margana]

I wish the shoe would be on the other foot for a change. I have BSB in a Platinum Preppy for 18 months, and all is well. It would be helpful for Edison and Newton pen craftsmen to fill up a representative pen (like something that is a bad specimen), giving them the possible bragging rights such as "unaffected by BSB ink!". Of just pieces of Fp parts in little sample vials of BSB.

The problem with the current anecdotal information reflecting badly on Noodlers is the chain of custody from owner to pen repairer. If I were panicking about blue stains in my ink chamber, I could blast it with Gun Scrubber, soak it in diesel oil or gasoline, orr try some fingernail polish remover. After those powerful organic solvents, I would eventually mail it off to a technician who didn't realize the rough treatment with the solvents. Too many variables!

 

Where's the bloomin' "Like" button?

Dang! I had the same thought two days ago on another post. It could get out of hand, but it would be more bandwidth conserving than +1 posts.

[mhphoto]

Most of my ink collection is made up of Noodler's and I've never had an issue with any clogging a pen.

[balson]

I've been using Noodler's in my pens since about 2007, and the only problems I've had are ink drying out and clogging in a few pens.

 

Some of Noodler's inks cause trouble in some pens -- I've only found one pen so far that worked reliably with El Lawrence, for example. However, the black is flawless and the blue-black is one of my favorite inks.

 

Even if the pen dries out and won't write, a simple flush has always fixed it right up, even a couple Parker 61s which are notorious for clogging.

 

Best ink out there as far as I'm concerned.

 

There has been a consistently repeated mis-conception that Noodler's waterproof and "bulletproof" inks somehow polymerize or become water insoluble when dry in the same way drawing or India inks do. This is NOT true, they are cellulose reactive dyes that only become insoluble when they chemically attach to cellulose fibers.

 

Buy all you want, they are lovely inks.

 

Peter

 

 

i was under the impression that they were pigment based and not dye based. i love noodlers bullet proof black because it is waterproof, lightfast, and ph neutral, perfect for art.

[heymatthew]

I've been using Noodler's American Eel Black and Noodler's 54th Massachusetts (one of my favorite inks EVER in any kind of pen) and I've not had any issues. I'm fairly new to fountain pens, but so far, I'm having great luck. I do notice that the Noodler's American Eel is a little harder to clean out of my pens than my J. Herbin Perle Noir, but not as hard as J. Herbin Rouge Hematite. Not sure if that helps at all. I've just sort of dedicated certain pens to the American Eel since it's so dark and rich.

[psfred]

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

[inkstainedruth]

What I suspect may have happened is that the sales clerk (or, more likely, her bosses) read the handout that comes with Kung Te Cheng that says "only use this with the provided pens".

Of course, when I saw that I took it for bunk, and promptly put it my Noodler's Konrad (to happy effect -- everything I put in that pen prior to KTC tended to be drippy or otherwise badly behaved -- and that included the so-called well behaved Iroshihzuku Asa-Gao).

I do have problems with KTC being a bit of a hard starter if I don't use the pen with regularity (i.e., more or less daily), and I do have to flush the pen about every 3-4 fills. Of course I'm also not diluting the ink at all, which some people do.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

ETA: Of course, I'm also using KTC all the time -- it's my absolute favorite ink. And I probably have more Noodler's inks than anything else (although Diamine and Private Reserve are also right up there in inks I like enough to have full bottles of...)

Edited January 14, 2013 by inkstainedruth

[mhosea]

i was under the impression that they were pigment based and not dye based.

 

The bulletproof colors get their tenacity not from pigments, rather from cellulose reactive dyes.

[mhosea]

Of course, when I saw that I took it for bunk <snip>

 

I've heard that Nathan intended it as a joke.

[amberleadavis]

As the person most likely to have an unexplained pen problem....

 

 

You don't have an "unexplained pen problem". You *might*, however, have an ink storage problem (as in too many inks, not enough storage....) Or a "I'm not using my inks fast enough problem, I need *more* pens" problem....

:roflmho:

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

[psfred]

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

 

Cellulose reactive dyes are not as water soluble as the usual fountain pen dyes, and to get saturated colors, they are really at the solubility limit in the ink. Doesn't take much loss of water from the nib to get them to come out of solution.

 

If you have a pen with a tightly sealing inner cap and use it every day, you won't have trouble, but if the pen sits for days without use or the cap seal isn't perfect, you may need to dip the nib in water to get it to start.

 

El Lawrence is equally troublesome for me, at least in the pens I tried. Found a nearly mint Parker 21 super that it worked in just fine, but haven't used it for a while. Maybe when the Walnut in my nice Snorkel runs out.

 

Peter

[2GreyCats]

The Noodler's rep needs to educate the sales staff about the ink. They may be losing sales from the misinformed.

 

well exactly or perhaps these sales people dont know a darnn thing and mind you this is a proper pen shop not some super market.

 

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.

Absolutely not true!! I only have one of Noodlers', Walnut, but it works beautifully (and it's a gorgeous color). Fountain pens are what it is *designed for*. The sales associate is clueless.

 

It is not India ink like Higgins, or Winsor & Newton (which contains shellac and really WILL hose up a fountain pen--ask me how I know).

[Writers Tool]

The Noodler's rep needs to educate the sales staff about the ink. They may be losing sales from the misinformed.

 

well exactly or perhaps these sales people dont know a darnn thing and mind you this is a proper pen shop not some super market.

 

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.

 

 

I would say we have been to the same shop. The several times that I purchased Noodler's inks from this shop I was warned not to use the ink in a fountain pen because it was calligraphy or artists ink only. Needless to say I completely ignore their comments. They also advised me that they don't recommend people buy the Noodler's Ahab pens because they are cheap quality. They said they won't sell them because they are "too plastic" and not up to their standards and reputation. They referred to them as toy samples for children. Having numerous Noodler's pens I disagree strongly with this view. I use Noodler's ink in all of my pens - expensive and "plastic" without problems. Obviously, as mentioned by others you have to maintain your pens adequately for any ink usage. I noticed though that the sales reps, each time they recommended not using the "cheap" Noodler's ink, were very quick to offer me their Iroshizuku inks for $50 per bottle!! So I guess mark-up ability may be a key driver here. Unfortunately for them I get my Iroshizuku ink from Japan for a fraction of their price.

 

I have a good selection of Noodler's ink and I've never had any problems whatsoever with any of them in FP's and I get annoyed when sales reps claim they are to be avoided but offer no evidence to back up their claim. I often wonder how many new FP enthusiasts are dissuaded from ever trying Noodler's inks because a rep told them it was calligraphy/artist ink only. Such a shame.