Noodler's Inks - Love 'em Or Hate 'em

[NickiStew]

 

 

 

For those of you who are familiar with Noodler’s inks, you’ll understand when I say that I consider this brand to be… well… very different to any other fountain pen ink brand. I have just tested 79 samples, which I’ll be posting over the coming days, and it’s been very very difficult to classify them. Even though some of them may share a common name theme, and there are some really great names here, it doesn’t mean that they may share similar behavioural patterns. Indeed far from it – they all behave totally different from one another. I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Noodler's are just so leftfield. They're a bit like marmite - you either love em or hate em. I find them fascinating. Not easy to handle when using for art though! But hey! Who would honestly believe that you could get so much visual drama from just a couple of drops of ink?

 

Please click the links below to access the swatch cards:

 

https://quinkandbleach.wordpress.com/2016/11/16/noodlers-inks-test-the-blacks/

https://quinkandbleach.wordpress.com/2016/11/17/noodlers-inks-test-02-a-mix-of-magic/

https://quinkandbleach.wordpress.com/2016/11/21/noodlers-inks-test-03-the-blues/

Edited November 22, 2016 by NickiStew

[blopplop]

I'm one of those people who loves them.

[TSherbs]

I like several of them. Your swatches are very dramatic!

[Cyber6]

WOA!!. What happened to Park Red?? .... .. It looks Pink!!... (And a lovely Pink I should add)...

 

 

I love your stuff Nick... best swatches on the net...

 

 

As much as I love my ROSi and KWZi ... Noodlers have a very special spot in my heart...

 

 

 

C.

[Lloyd]

Black and white questions, love 'em or hate 'em?

 

I love some Noodlers inks, I like some Noodlers inks, I'm mixed on some Noodlers inks, I dislike some Noodlers inks, and I hate some Noodlers inks. Their diversity of not just color but other characteristics leads to no singular "love"/"hate" response. As for Nathan, I may not agree on his political views but, as ink developer, he's the most passionate there ever was/is/will be.

[Tas]

Black and white questions, love 'em or hate 'em?

 

I love some Noodlers inks, I like some Noodlers inks, I'm mixed on some Noodlers inks, I dislike some Noodlers inks, and I hate some Noodlers inks. Their diversity of not just color but other characteristics leads to no singular "love"/"hate" response. As for Nathan, I may not agree on his political views but, as ink developer, he's the most passionate there ever was/is/will be.

 

I mostly agree with you Lloyd and especially adore Nathan's YouTube clips - he has so much love for the art form.

 

I do however both love and hate Noodler's 54th - love the colour absolutely hate the performance

 

Watch out though Noodlers, KWZ are gaining momentum . . .

 

[Cyber6]

 

Watch out though Noodlers, KWZ are gaining momentum . . .

 

 

 

mmmwwahahaha.... http://smileys.on-my-web.com/repository/MSN_Emoticons/MSN-Emoticon-devil-095.gif

[Lloyd]

While the KWZ inks look great (I haven't tried any yet), their only properties are color variations and iron-gall (with/without). Contrast this with all of the variations that Nathan offers: all level of -proofness (water, UV, laser, bullets, all 10 plagues, ebola, ...), highlighting, fast drying, non-feathering, vintage/historical, plastic feed melting, invisible, highlighting, usable on whiteboard, and on and on. Like it or not, there's no other ink company to rival the vast array of Noodlers inks.

Edited November 22, 2016 by Lloyd

[Tas]

While the KWZ inks look great (I haven't tried any yet), their only properties are color variations and iron-gall (with/without). Contrast this with all of the variations that Nathan offers: all level of -proofness (water, UV, laser, bullets, all 10 plagues, ebola, ...), highlighting, fast drying, non-feathering, vintage/historical, plastic feed melting, invisible, highlighting, usable on whiteboard, and on and on. Like it or not, there's no other ink company to rival the vast array of Noodlers inks.

Good point but all of KWZ's inks work. . . ; )

[Tas]

I'm a MASSIVE fan - only banter . . .: )

[Lloyd]

_{I wasn't dissing the alternative brands like KWZ, I was just pointing out that it was fair to compare them. I'm sure Nathan could only release "safe" inks that are pretty, too. However, I'm very grateful that he choses to take the road never travelled.}

[Cyber6]

Good point but all of KWZ's inks work. . . ; )

 

 

http://i.myniceprofile.com/478/47831.gif

[lgsoltek]

While I admire his ideas and like some of the colours, I dislike the sluggish flow, the pain in cleaning them and especially the drying time that lasts eternally. (I've had ink splashes that were not dried after two MONTHS.)

[NickiStew]

While I admire his ideas and like some of the colours, I dislike the sluggish flow, the pain in cleaning them and especially the drying time that lasts eternally. (I've had ink splashes that were not dried after two MONTHS.)

 

 

The drying times are of concern for many of them. Here is a quick study of some trees using Polar Brown. The ink was 'sticky' for a couple of days. Also of note is the that some of these inks bleed. It's a great asset for an image like this but take a look at the zoom in and you'll see that my monicker is totally blown! Not desperately good for handwriting surely? Admittedly, this was on a watercolour paper but even so?

[The Good Captain]

Superb! We don't really have economic access to so many of the range but of course, the ones we can get here in the UK are well maintained by Ross at Niche Pens. And we do have a few 'exclusives'.

I look forward to seeing all the rest of your excellent review.

[lgsoltek]

Your drawings make them much more attractive!

 

 

The drying times are of concern for many of them. Here is a quick study of some trees using Polar Brown. The ink was 'sticky' for a couple of days. Also of note is the that some of these inks bleed. It's a great asset for an image like this but take a look at the zoom in and you'll see that my monicker is totally blown! Not desperately good for handwriting surely? Admittedly, this was on a watercolour paper but even so?

[Tas]

 

 

 

 

Beautiful work . . .

[bobje]

The people at Jetpens did a recent summary of Noodlers ink classifications that helped clarify the differences for me. No connection -- just a pointer to a useful information resource.

 

http://www.jetpens.com/blog/noodlers-fountain-pen-inks-a-comprehensive-guide/pt/902

[Helen350]

The people at Jetpens did a recent summary of Noodlers ink classifications that helped clarify the differences for me. No connection -- just a pointer to a useful information resource.

 

http://www.jetpens.com/blog/noodlers-fountain-pen-inks-a-comprehensive-guide/pt/902

 

Thanks for the FYI. Really nice Comprehensive Guide. Found interesting the information of Noodler's range of Black inks, and which paper they best work with.

[redbike]

The people at Jetpens did a recent summary of Noodlers ink classifications that helped clarify the differences for me. No connection -- just a pointer to a useful information resource.

 

http://www.jetpens.com/blog/noodlers-fountain-pen-inks-a-comprehensive-guide/pt/902

Didn't Jetpens stop carrying Noodlers inks for a while?