Is My Noodler's Lexington Gray Authentic?

[PLANRD]

I purchased a 135ml bottle of Lexington Gray ink in 2017, but unfortunately lost it. In 2020, when I entered university, I bought a 60ml bottle of Lexington Gray ink on Xianyu (a Chinese secondhand platform similar to eBay). However, I’ve always felt it behaves slightly differently from my previous bottle. Recently, I came across a post on the Fountain Pen Network (FPN) stating, *“It does show some feathering and bleedthrough on some papers,”* which reminded me that my current ink leaves no blue feathering or bleedthrough marks on toilet paper. Below, I’ve attached the example images from FPN and my own photos. Could this mean I’ve purchased a counterfeit/low-quality version of Lexington Gray, or has Noodler’s altered their ink formula?  

 

[Monophoto]

Nathan makes ink in small batches.  Add to that the fact that over time, the component materials from which inks are made can vary.  The result is that Noodler's inks have a reputation for slight variations over time.

[yazeh]

There's no blue in my chroma. Ink is very fast drying and is completely waterproof.

Also Noodler's bottles are 90 ml and not 60 ml.

 

Hope it helps

[PLANRD]

Thank you all. On Xianyu (闲鱼), some buyer reviews mentioned the seller mixing counterfeit ink or selling fake ink. I ended up skeptically using it as a counterfeit product—its performance is noticeably different from my first 135ml bottle of Lexington Gray. Last day I repurchased a 135ml bottle and a small sample of 54th Massachusetts from a trusted Taobao ink seller. As for this 90ml bottle (I paid ¥66; Chinese prices for Noodler’s ink average ¥1-1.2/ml, which tricked me into misjudging the volume).  

I discussed this with the Taobao seller, who’s been selling inks for years. Even he could only tentatively explain: *‘Color variations happen because Noodler’s is handcrafted in the US—pigments might settle differently in large vats. Deeper color from the bottom layer, maybe?’*"  

*(Note: Edited with AI assistance for clarity.)*  

 

谢谢各位，闲鱼卖家的评价里有少量评论他掺杂假墨水，出售假墨水。我最终还是满怀疑虑地把它作为假冒产品使用，它的使用感受确实和我购买到的第一瓶135ML的列克星敦灰墨水不一样。我昨天在一个可信任的淘宝墨水商家那里重新购买了一瓶135ml的墨水和一小瓶分装的54th。至于这瓶90ml（我购买价格为66元人民币，中国的鲶鱼墨水价格大致在1～1.2元人民币1ml，导致我记错了容量）

我与淘宝墨水商家谈论过，他出售墨水许多年了，即使是他也只能不确定地告诉我＂颜色的差异 因为美国是手工制作， 一大桶出来， 确实会有 上层 和下层， 下层料 颜色会深点，可能的哈＂

Edited April 1, 2025 by PLANRD

[Monophoto]

"Color variations happen because Noodler’s is handcrafted in the US—pigments might settle differently in large vats. Deeper color from the bottom layer, maybe?"

 

I don't believe Noodler's inks involve pigments, so the second half of this explanation is wrong. But it is a known fact that the components used to make ink can vary over time, and small makers like Noodler's can't possibly stockpile large quantities of those components so that they can produce consistent blends. 

 

Even larger manufacturers have a problem with consistency of ink color.  For example, so a search on this forum for discussions about Lamy's Deep Lilac and Petrol inks and the whinging that resulted when newer versions of those inks didn't match the original 'special edition' colors.

[yazeh]

It's simple really. All you need is to check dry times, waterproofness & chroma. 

I doubt if there is any other color but black/charcoal in the chroma. All you need is to put a drop on a paper towel and dip it into water. If there's any color, but black it's counterfeit. 

If dry time is fast and ink is waterproof you have the real deal, if not, I wouldn't use a counterfeit ink, unless is a cheap disposable pen. 

Otherwise, If you need a waterproof ink, I believe Hero and some other brands have very nice inks.

 

Good Luck

 

[inkstainedruth]

@PLANRD -- In addition to what other people have said, Nathan Tardif has more or less said that there will be "inconsistencies" between batches of his inks (which he claims is a "feature" in that someone can tell when a different batch of the "same" ink is used multiple times in a document at different points -- basically a way of knowing that something has been altered or updated).  

Mind you, I'm not overly convinced of his explanation....  For instance, my sample of Lexington Grey was a great disappointment, because the color was so pale -- especially given the various reviews of it I'd seen online of it.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

ETA:  In addition, pretty much any ink, no matter the brand, is likely to appear differently on different paper and also coming out of different pens (e.g. a pen that writes wetter or drier than another pen, and/or has a different nib width on it).

[PLANRD]

Thanks, everyone! I’ll reserve this questionable 90ml Lexington Gray ink for cheaper pens. Despite its performance differences from my first bottle, it does have some water resistance.  

A big part of my pen/ink obsession is tied to *names*. As a player of *Warship Girls* and *World of Warships*, I’ve collected:  
- Sailor pens with anchor engravings,  
- Noodler’s Lexington Gray & *Blue ghost* (matching the USS Lexington CV-2 and CV-16 carriers),  
- A Platinum 3776 in a color scheme reminiscent of Lexington’s feather hair accessory from the game.  

Recently, I grabbed a Sheaffer Saratoga—its lighter blue eerily mirrors the game’s Saratoga shipgirl’s hair ornament. Such a fun coincidence.Maybe I’ll add a Sheaffer Admiral someday… or not. I hope authentic Lexington Gray would not ‘sink’ Saratoga. 

Edited April 2, 2025 by PLANRD

[Patrick L]

Hi PLANRD ,

                       I read your post with interest. It's true that there are sometimes color variations from some  ink manufacturers , but this problem is especially true with  Noodler. Some people don't mind  but I find this unacceptable. And the fact that they don't put a batch code sticker on their bottles make matters worse.  Do you remember if the ink bottle was completely full when you opened it? Noodler confirms  on it's website that "All our bottles are completely full". If your bottle was not completely full then it may be that you purchased a counterfeit ink.

                         Regards

                         Patrick

[PLANRD]

On 2025/4/7 at PM1点02分, Patrick L said:

你好，PLANRD，

                       我饶有兴趣地阅读了您的帖子。确实，有些墨水制造商的产品有时会有颜色差异，但Noodler 的这个问题尤其严重。有些人并不介意，但我认为这是不可接受的。而且他们没有在瓶子上贴上批次代码标签，这让情况变得更糟。您还记得打开墨水瓶时它是否完全装满吗？Noodler 在其网站上确认“我们所有的瓶子都是完全装满的”。如果您的瓶子没有完全装满，那么您可能购买了假冒墨水。

                         问候

                         帕特里克

Thank you for your help . My new 135ml bottle of Noodler’s Lexington Gray just arrived, and it performs almost identically to the one I bought back in 2017. I’ve concluded that the 90ml bottle from the secondhand platform was indeed counterfeit (though it had decent fast-drying and water resistance, it lacked the subtle bluish undertones of Lexington Gray and showed slight feathering).  

 

I plan to pass it along to a friend—after explaining its questionable origin—who owns many inexpensive pens and enjoys experimenting with different inks anyway.

[jean]

A simple way to check if it's Noodler's ink.

Simply wipe a cotton swab saturated with bleach over the ink once it has dried on the paper.

If the ink fades, it's not “bulletproof” ink, which is what Lexington gray is.
If it doesn't fade, it may still be a nano-pigmentary ink.