Noodler's Revolution Blue (Goldspot Exclusive)

[Gazcom]

Just before entering this forum, happened that I won an Instagram contest held by Goldspot Pens. Part of the prize of the contest was a bottle of their exclusive Noodler's Revolution Blue.
Since you open the bottle a bright luminous deep blue colour catches your eye, revealing one of the most sneaky and charming ink i've ever had the pleasure to use.

 

Look at that blue!, doesn't it just say "USE ME!!!" with an enchanting siren voice? This ink is so blue that I would be glad to check with Geiger Counter for its radioactivity! Looks like paint!
But from great blue comes great attention: THIS INK STAINS PENS - BE AWARE - HANDLE WITH CAUTION.

 

If used correctly and with the right attentions, this ink can be really gorgeous.

On cheap copy paper it's just fine, behaves so and so. Dries istantly and it's completely waterproof, on the other hand has some annoying feathering and shows some nasty bleedthrough (seems like we're writing with a marker instead of a fountain pen).

On more ink resistant paper, this ink really stands out.
On Schizza & Strappa paper there is no feathering and no bleedthrough and there's a good ammount of shading especially on broader nibs. It takes quite long to dry, but I don't care: I love this blue and I'm willing to pay attention in order to use it.

On tracing paper this ink is one of the shiniest I've ever seen. With every nib grade, on inkpools or when the ink gets darker, a majestic red sheen comes out. With broader nibs there's a lot of gorgeous shading. Really, it's a pleasure to the eye.

 

In the end, it's this ink worth it?

As I've noticed on some Noodler's ink, they can be a hit and a miss at the same time.

This ink is a hit because has a gorgeous saturated Blue without being too much dark. Shades gorgeously and has a gorgeous sheen on the right paper. It's NUCLEARPROOF and has a work appropriate colour which makes it definitely a good choice for daily use.

It's a miss because if, like me, you love translucent or demonstrator pens, this ink is going to leave a blueish patina all over your clear plastic, making you a really sad boy. Just to clean my lamy nibs, I had to wash them with a kitchen degreaser, which is not really a thing I'd recommend on regular basis. The first time I've tried it in a Pilot parallel: the section is still a little bluish despite my attempts to clean it completely. I love safe inks because I love my pens.

So, if you're a US customer, and you're ordering from Goldspot.com, I think that for 12.50 $ you can give it a try, paying all the necessary attention it's worth every cent.

If, like me, you live outside US, probably I wouldn't buy it because if you're willing to give up on the waterproof side of this ink, you could find some good cheaper alternatives on the market (something like Diamine Presidential Blue if I have to say)

COPY PAPER

SCHIZZA & STRAPPA PAPER

TRACING PAPER

SHEEN ON TRACING PAPER

CROMATOGRAPHY

INKDROP

[mmg122]

Thanks so much for an exellent review, Gazcom. This is a lovely blue and tempting enough to motivate me to buy a bottle. I look forward to trying it out. Taking your warning about staining to mind, I'll plan on using it in my cheaper Chinese knock-offs.

 

Mary

[chromantic]

What a bizarre coincidence - I must have purchased something from them recently because I receive a Goldspot catalog in the mail today. Now I know where to buy Waterman ink.

[lapis]

Thanks for the great review. Looks like an overwhelming addition to the clan of Noodler's exclusives. My type of blue. Rich and dark, at the same time bright but not as eye-searing as BSB (IMO). I'll have to get my hands on this one. Only disclaimer which pops into my mind is that let's say if I ordered it tomorrow, I hope that the batch I get it from isn't a completely different formulation than the one used for your batch yesterday....

 

Mike

[inkstainedruth]

Thanks for the review (and congratulations for winning).

This does look like an interesting color, although the feathering would bother me. I'll admit that I can't remember seeing too many reviews where the chromatography showed the base color to be.... blue.... Just blue.

The most recent blue ink that Noodler's makes that I've tried was last year's Miles Standish LE, which has pink tones underneath the blue, but it's clearly a pink component).

So how the heck does Revolution Blue get that cool red sheen to it?

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[dcwaites]

Thanks for the review (and congratulations for winning).

This does look like an interesting color, although the feathering would bother me. I'll admit that I can't remember seeing too many reviews where the chromatography showed the base color to be.... blue.... Just blue.

The most recent blue ink that Noodler's makes that I've tried was last year's Miles Standish LE, which has pink tones underneath the blue, but it's clearly a pink component).

So how the heck does Revolution Blue get that cool red sheen to it?

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

The red sheen is due to Quantum happening. Quantum belongs to Heisenberg's Uncertainty principle, which means that it happens when it wants, where it wants.

 

More seriously, I'm wondering if Nathan has gotten hold of some of this new blue pigment --

 

http://www.iflscience.com/chemistry/this-new-shade-of-blue-was-accidentally-discovered-by-chemists/

 

It certainly seems to behave like a pigment ink.

 

As far as feathering and bleeding, I have some pigment inks that bleed through on poor quality papers (Sailor Sei-boku) but behave well on better quality papers, and others (Dr Ph Martin's Ocean pigmented inks) that struggle to bleed through on tissue paper.

 

My only problem is that if I only order one bottle, shipping is going to cost me $29, on top of the $12.50 for the ink. I may have to bulk up an order...

Edited November 27, 2016 by dcwaites

[amberleadavis]

Ouch that's a lot for shipping. I have wanted to try this one but I keep thinking that I have enough blue ink. I know that is blasphemy.

[dcwaites]

Ouch that's a lot for shipping. I have wanted to try this one but I keep thinking that I have enough blue ink. I know that is blasphemy.

 

Do you want to go halves in a bottle?

[amberleadavis]

Next time I do an order, I'll take care of it!