A Question About Noodler's Standard Blue Black

[bayindirh]

Hello all,

 

Due to pandemic I'm working from home lately and, this allowed me to try some of the new inks that I acquired. I've ordered a bottle of Noodler's Standard Blue Black but, the color I got is more akin to Air Corp blue black or vintage, greenish blue black. Also the ink is very dry even in my Safari (which pumps Diamine's more intense inks with ease).

 

It's not that I don't like the color (on the contrary I love its vintage vibe) but, is this as expected? The ink's bulletproof component is there. Soak test leaves the black perfectly behind. Also when I've cleaned the syringe I used to fill the pen, ink properly dilutes to blue-black on the swatches on the web.

 

Any ideas or tips about the issue?

 

Please keep safe,

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Hakan

Edited May 5, 2020 by bayindirh

[IThinkIHaveAProblem]

Have you tried diluting it (in a sample vial) and loading that into the pen?

 

I suggest this because

1) noodler's inks are known to be very highly saturated (Nathan believes in giving you everything you paid for)

2) you mentioned that when you clean the syringe, it looks like the colour you expected

 

Some people on this forum have mentioned diluting Noodler's inks almost 1:1 with water and the ink still being usable, although in your case i suspect this would make it VERY dry since you already mentioned it being dry as it is.

[mulrich]

I bought a bottle of Noodler's BSB a while back. I got it home and it was immediately apparent that it was not BSB even though the bottle's label said so. I looked at the box again and it said General of the Armies, so I think the label on the bottle was just mixed up. I contacted the company, shard a picture, and they replaced the bottle at their expense.

[Arkanabar]

I am given to understand that Nathan's QC and process control are a bit ... primitive, shall we say? So it's possible that your bottle is indeed mislabeled Air Corps Blue Black.

[bayindirh]

I am given to understand that Nathan's QC and process control are a bit ... primitive, shall we say? So it's possible that your bottle is indeed mislabeled Air Corps Blue Black.

I got curious and swabbed the ink to see its overall color, and it came out like the following:

 

 

I think it's an acceptable variation of Noodler's Blue Black. It also dilutes very closely to the color in the original website. I think this variation is because of both forge resistance and small batch production. This is my second Noodler's ink that I actively use and I think I have a long way to go to understand Nathan's inks.

Edited May 5, 2020 by bayindirh

[silverlifter]

I think I have a long way to go to understand Nathan's inks.

 

I honestly can't imagine the view being worth the climb...

[Noihvo]

 

[bone215]

Any time I refill with Noodler's inks I shake the bottle a lot about 15 minutes before syringing ink out of the bottle. So far so good.

[bayindirh]

It's possibly not inks fault. Other wet inks turned out too dry on that particular pen. I've just removed its nib (was a safari), flushed it with dishwashing detergent + water. Waiting for its next turn now. Will try the pen with a wetter, safer ink next.

[Paganini]

I don't actually own a bottle of Noodler's Blue Black, but going by the sample vial I got from Goulet a while back, your swab looks just about right.

 

Noodler's Air Corps "Blue" Black, which I do have a bottle of, is just plain green, no two ways about it.

 

- N

 

Green like Robin Hood...

[stoof2010]

That definitely looks like blue black. I have both BB and Air Corp BB and I can tell you that air Corp is straight up green. No way to confuse it with BB.

[stoof2010]

It's possibly not inks fault. Other wet inks turned out too dry on that particular pen. I've just removed its nib (was a safari), flushed it with dishwashing detergent + water. Waiting for its next turn now. Will try the pen with a wetter, safer ink next.

If you're just flushing a pen be sure after you're done to put in into a glass with paper towel on bottom with pen standing up to wick out all the water in the feed that's left. Edited May 27, 2020 by stoof2010

[bayindirh]

If you're just flushing a pen be sure after you're done to put in into a glass with paper towel on bottom with pen standing up to wick out all the water in the feed that's left.

 

Thanks for the reminder. All of my pens sit in a paper towel and a designated shot glass for 24-36 hours for wicking before moved to storage. Since it's out of rotation it also has ample time for additional drying. Honestly I'm eager to try it again but, I have too many inked pens. Need to reduce the number first