Three Exclusive Noodlers Water Resistant Blue Inks

[whichwatch]

This isn’t a scientific review. Rather, I’ll just share comments and photos from my trials of three Noodlers blues that are each exclusives from single sources and therefore not seen every day. The inks are:

 

Benevolent Badger – available exclusively from BadgerandBlade.com

 

Texas Bluebonnet – available exclusively from Dromgoole’s in Houston, TX

 

Henry Hudson Blue – available exclusively from Fountain Pen Hospital in New York, NY

 

http://www.fototime.com/%7B2126CC04-3051-4708-A1E5-6D5186044C6F%7D/origpict/Inks.JPG

 

The reasons that I tried each are that 1) I love blue inks and despite having a lifetime supply, I keep trying more and 2) Water Resistance is an important property to me (second only to color) and I am always looking for inks with this characteristic.

 

I bought and used each several months apart. Now having used all three and sitting down to compare them, I conclude that the eye and memory can sure play some tricks!

 

The first to arrive was Benevolent Badger. I really enjoyed it and happily used it to write checks and address envelopes. I remember thinking it was a nice general purpose blue.

 

I picked up the Texas Bluebonnet Blue some months later during a visit to Dromgoole’s and began using it instead of Benevolent Badger. I remember my reaction was that it was a bit darker and more to my liking than Benevolent Badger. I used it as a regular ink for quite a while.

 

Henry Hudson Blue was a very recent acquisition during my visit to Fountain Pen Hospital. I quickly realized that this was the darkest of all. When I saw it, two words came instantly to mind: Majestic Blue!

 

With all three inks in hand, I decided to do a small comparison to see what I thought of them side by side. Here is what I saw, with the first scan being on copy paper and the second on Rhodia Dot Pad.

 

http://www.fototime.com/%7B7BD61BE9-117E-407E-929F-36DE4E5CD6AD%7D/origpict/WS%2520cp.jpg

 

http://www.fototime.com/%7B3412CA52-DC4D-447E-9D86-E83527A923C5%7D/origpict/WS%2520rdp.jpg

 

Like I said, it’s funny how the memory and eye play tricks. The Benevolent Badger isn’t nearly as light as I remembered, and the Texas Bluebonnet is more bright blue than the blue-black I thought. I mentioned that Henry Hudson reminded me of Majestic Blue, but this after this comparison the Benevolent Badger also struck a familiar note – Iroshizuku Tsuki Yo.

 

Here are my comparisons. A couple of technical notes:

 

1. I don’t know squat about calibrating scanners or monitors. I’ll just do my best to comment about what I see on my monitor and how it compares to the paper in front of me.

 

2. The Noodlers samples were written with Bexley Americanas with medium nibs while the comparison inks were written with a Rohrer & Klinger glass dip pen. There is no doubt in my mind that had I used the same pens, the inks would have appeared even closer to the ones to which I compared them.

 

http://www.fototime.com/%7B3390E4D1-C773-48E8-B056-71B36E760F8E%7D/origpict/Compare.jpg

 

To me, Benevolent Badger is extremely close to Tsuki Yo. Both look a touch more green on paper than I see on my screen. Henry Hudson Blue is very reminiscent of Majestic Blue, though I find the Henry Hudson a bit lighter and more blue, less purple than Majestic Blue, and without the red sheen for which Majestic Blue is noted.

 

The real desirability of these inks to me is their water resistance. If Noodlers’ classifications haven’t already confused us enough, these won’t help. The bottle of Benevolent Badger says “Bulletproof”. The bottle of Henry Hudson Blue says “Eternal Security Ink”. The bottle of Texas Bluebonnet says nothing about its properties.

 

I want my ink to resist water (and presumably coffee). I’m not as worried about bleach, acids, cockroaches, or nuclear attack. So I did a simple water test. The first scan below is on copy paper, and the second on Rhodia Dot Pad.

 

http://www.fototime.com/%7B95AECEF5-C700-4E87-B8AA-75BA0222F032%7D/origpict/Water%2520copy.jpg

 

http://www.fototime.com/%7B94F0927C-3338-4599-B728-73D0B7253DE9%7D/origpict/Water%2520Rhodia.jpg

 

On the right side of each, near the ink color and pen nib, I wet a cotton swab and rubbed it over the lines until the paper was wet, then let it air dry. On the left sides, I sprayed a small amount of water droplets by flicking from my fingers and again let it air dry.

 

The most dramatic result was the amount of red that immediately washed out of the Henry Hudson Blue on both papers, but even more so on the Rhodia. The amount of red I see on paper is quite a bit more than shows up on my screen. The Texas Bluebonnet bled just a hint of blue – not as much as appears on the screen. And while on the screen I see some bleeding of blue from the Benevolent Badger, I don’t see it to that degree on the paper, if at all.

 

So what’s the bottom line? I like the color of all three. I’m happy to have in Benevolent Badger a color similar to Tsuki Yo but with better water resistance. The lower price of Noodlers may be a significant benefit to some, though I don’t use so much ink that I consider it to be an issue for me. I do wish the Noodlers behaved as well as Tsuki Yo and didn’t dry out and not start up if that pen sits for a day or two. Benevolent Badger is packaged in three ounce bottles, though I don’t remember the price or know if it is still available.

 

Henry Hudson Blue is packaged in three ounce bottles and priced at $12.50. While it is arguably somewhat more water resistant than Majestic Blue, the amount of red wash it allows leaves it little advantage for my usage over the Diamine offering.

 

Texas Bluebonnet is probably my favorite of the three. It only comes in one ounce bottles (price $6.50) and reportedly Dromgoole’s was out of stock a month or so ago but was expecting more.

 

Thanks for reading – I hope you enjoyed my non-scientific comparison!

[jjlax10]

If only we could get Noodler's Iron Chancellor stateside which is also a nice dark blue from Noodler's and exclusive.

Edited March 14, 2013 by jjlax10

[amberleadavis]

Wow, what a comprehensive test. Thank you!

[rockydoggy]

Thanks for this comparison.

At first glance, the Badger & Blade ink looks a whole lot like 54th Mass.

[jandrese]

Thanks for the nice comparison. I have two of these, Texas Bluebonnet and Henry Hudson Blue. The Texas ink I never really took a cotton to I guess as I don't use it. The Henry Hudson Blue I like very much. The red wash I believe is intentional, it is the security portion. A taper evident ink. Anyway, I can't believe I don't have Diamine Majestic Blue. I mean, I've got every other ink in the world it seems. Tsuki-yo is a major favorite of mine too. Enjoy!

[doggonecarl]

Thanks for the compare.

 

Which of the ink "feels" the nicest to write with? I know that's a subjective question, but some of the water resistant inks I have behave funny in some of my pens. For example, my Rotring Initial (B nib) squeaks with Upper Ganges Blue in it.

[whichwatch]

Thanks for the compare.

 

Which of the ink "feels" the nicest to write with? I know that's a subjective question, but some of the water resistant inks I have behave funny in some of my pens. For example, my Rotring Initial (B nib) squeaks with Upper Ganges Blue in it.

 

I haven't found any to be difficult or uncomfortable as far as the writing. I usually use them in one of my Stipula Model T's with Titanium nib, which is on the toothy side.

 

The two things I don't care for are the somewhat chemical odor (though not a dealbreaker) and the fact that they seem to dry and won't start if my pen sits for a day or so.

[N2theBreach]

Just a minor note--Benevolent Badger Blue was commissioned by Badger & Blade. You can buy it from West Coast Shaving. A portion of the proceeds go to a memorial fund in honor of a woman who lost her battle with breast cancer.

 

Also, the artwork on the label was done by the daughter of a B&B member. She was 6 years old at the time!

[welch]

One conclusion: none of these inks have much purple in them, although the FPH Henry Hudson has a hint. Is that accurate?

[whichwatch]

Just a minor note--Benevolent Badger Blue was commissioned by Badger & Blade. You can buy it from West Coast Shaving. A portion of the proceeds go to a memorial fund in honor of a woman who lost her battle with breast cancer.

 

Also, the artwork on the label was done by the daughter of a B&B member. She was 6 years old at the time!

 

 

Thanks for the correction. I appreciate it.

[whichwatch]

One conclusion: none of these inks have much purple in them, although the FPH Henry Hudson has a hint. Is that accurate?

 

I agree. I see no purple in the Benevolent Badger - more a touch of green tone rather than purple, and none at all in the Texas Bluebonnet. I do see a touch of purple in the Henry Hudson, as I do in Majestic Blue. I think the red wash from the ink shows why - blue and red do make purple, after all.

[swanjun]

I have and love Benevolent Badger, and love the sample of Henry Hudson that I have (and plan to acquire a bottle of that soon). but I did want to note that I just ordered Texas Bluebonnet today and it's now available in the 3 oz. size for $12.50. Got a backup of Texas Pecan, too, which was still 1 oz. and $6.50.

Edited August 6, 2013 by swanjun