Noodler
Noodler's ink, was developed by a US pen collector Nathan Tardit, from Massachusetts.
Noodler makes standard, lubricating, eternal and invisible inks. The standard inks are what one would expect.
The lubricating inks have a cleaning and lubricating agent. Noodler refers to this as the American Eel series. The labels on Noodler inks are always interesting, look for the eel on the label and that ink will contains lubricants for use in moving seal mechanisms.
The Eternal are permanent inks and the invisible inks are can only be seen under a black light.
The permanent inks have dyes that react with the cellulose of paper and then dry permanent. Just what you need to address those envelopes. But take care, flush out your pen as if the ink mixes with other ink it looses it qualities of the reactive dye.
They also make a special ink, not for fountain pens, they call Emperor Blue. More details on this special ink is near the bottom of the page.
All the inks come in a tall bottle 90 ml but the eternal inks come in a 35 ml bottle. The tall bottles help with filling large nib pens, but there is some skill in not putting the pen too deep into the ink and getting in the threads etc. Once in the threads, it seems no matter how you wipe the pen, there are always small traces of ink that you will see on your fingers.
Over the years the line and colours keep expanding. There are now a number of major groupings of their ink:
Freeze Resistant Inks
There are inks such as Polar Blue or Polar Black. The inks are said to resist forming a solid mass of ice.
Eternal
inks that resists the effects of time - moisture, humidity, UV light, acids, water exposure, and many common detergents such as dish soaps and household ammonia, as well as alcohols and acetone. Noodler says that ball point pens have no resistance to acetone so ball pointink can be rinsed off a cheque in 8 seconds.
Bulletproof
will resists all the known tools of a forger, UV light, UV light wands, bleaches, alcohols, solvents, petrochemicals, oven cleaners, carpet cleaners, carpet stain lifters, and of course...they are also waterproof once permitted to dry upon cellulose paper.
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Navy
This is a wonderful bold blue that I call blue-black - not a colour combination I was thinking about when I saw the name on the label.
The colour, Navy is a meant to be a replica of a 1930s Navy ink made for a local drug chain by the Old Colony Ink Co. of Massachusetts. Noodler's desribes it as a deep/darker blue with faint turquoise tingeing. I certain agree with the deep/dark blue. It is also said to be almost a waterproof as Legal Lapis, so be careful with this ink.
So far in writing with theink I have been taken a real liking to this colour.
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Midnight Blue
This is part of Noodler`s regular line of inks (not freeze resistent, eternal or bulletproof) and I found it to be a very solid rich blue. Very close to Manhattan Blue, the colour below. Good flow. Reasonable in terms of drying time. I liked it a bit more than the Blue Black that I also use on a regular basis, and is shown further down this page.
Starting in 2009 I began having problems with this ink in terms of the time it takes to dry and smearing.
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Manhattan Blue
Introduced in 2006 as an exclusive ink for New York pen dealer Art Brown, Manhattan Blue fills a need I have had for a rich, dark blue ink.
I am liking this ink and it is quickly becoming one of my Inks Of Choice.
Noodler as well as Private Reserve have been making exclusive runs of inks for either retailers as in the case of Manhattan Blue, or pen shows (Washington DC Series). |
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Ottoman Azure
I find this an interesting blue. It has a sharpness of colour that makes writing stand out. The thought behind this ink was to create a colour similar to the tiles of the famous Blue Mosque in Istanbul.Good flow. Noodler reports that this is one of the most difficult of its colours to produce. My only issue with this ink is while I really like the colour, it is subject to smudging so let it dry.
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Tinamen Red
A nice rich red. No orange undertones. |
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Apache
This goes along with my Shoreline Gold from Private Reserve. Certain makes the short note on a card standout. The scan really brings out the yellow shading that takes place with the ink. |
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Legal Lapis Blue
I write with in with a broad M1000 nib I was quite impressed with the rich blue tones to the ink. I think this one will be a keeper. So I wrote with the ink, let it dry on the paper and then help the paper under the tap and ran water over the paper.
On the left is a scan of what happened. Was I impressed with how the Legal Lapis Blue retained its colour and had almost no running of colour on the paper. There is the slightly blur or blue near the end of the line I made under the "Lapis Blue". Just incredible.
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Blue Black, Permanent
This colour does not have the rich blue tones of Private Reserve Midnight Blues, but the Noodler Blue Black is a good strong colour, here written with a Oblique Broad M800 nib there are good dark and light characteristics and yet it does not have a washed out appearance.
I repeated the process with the Permanent Blue Black ink. Wrote with it. Let it fully dry on the paper and than held the paper under the tap as water ran across sit.
I was impressed in that the writing stuck. There were a fair amount of ink that became flue as seen by the amount of blue stain on the paper, but nevertheless, the writing did not just run off the paper.
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Borealis Black
Noodler calls this a conventional black ink that would be found back in the 1950s. Regardless of the era it came from, I have really enjoyed this ink. Very rich black and it is smooth.
Noodler notes that the ink is water resistant on most paper grades but it is not one of their bulletproof inks. For me that is good news as it means with a couple of washes it can be removed from clothes. Noodler says this ink will survive a trip to the mailbox in the rain. Well living in Vancouver, BC I will be able to test that claim on many days.
I find the ink to have good flow, a smooth ink to use with a good sharpe crisp black colour.
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Baystate Blue
Not sure about this colour, but I was drawn to it when I saw it in the store. I have cleared and filledup a pen and will try the ini out over the next few weeks. Clearing your pen, when you switch to this ink, is important as it has a different composition than other Noodler's ink. This ink is more alkaline with a pH rating of 8 to 9 (listed on the bottle label). There are cautionary notes on the label not to mix this ink with other Noodler inks.
It is bright, I have seen it referred to as "electric"and I know why that term was selected. This is one of Noodler’s waterproof versions of a blue used in the 1940's. Note, it is waterproof when it dries.
The ink is to replicate a blue that was produced in Boston in the late 1940's. Another time I will pick up the other two colours in the Baystate line: Baystate Concord Grape and Baystate Cape Code Cranberry.
Do be careful with ink in terms of spills or getting it on your fingers. I am only going to use it for very specific uses. When this ink gets on things, and it dries, well it is very permanent. To stain a stainless steel sink is something!
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Army Green - nice deep rich colour (Mary Ann Marler)
Black, Permanent - this is the famous waterproof ink by Noodler. The in uses a cellulose reactive dye that remains its water soluble properties while in the bottle, and in your pen according to the company, but becomes permanent when it dries on paper. Thanks Guy for your review of ink. Seems like it is a real winner.
Eternal Brown, Permanent
Good flow, leaves a good wet line on the paper. Thanks Guy
Fox Red
Permanent - good flow to this ink. About twice as wide of a line than the Permanent Black. Thanks Guy.
Hunter Green, Permanent
Good flow, leaves a good wet line on the paper. Thanks Guy.
Luxury Blue, Permanent - good flow, leaves good wet line on the paper about twice a wide of a line than the Permanent Black. Thanks Guy.
Nightshade - dark, brown/purple, with some folks says this is muddy in tone (Mary Ann Marler)
Ottoman Rose
A medium magenta rose colour (Mary Ann Marler). I have been using this ink quite a bit and with a medium nib it leaves a dark rich line of ink on the paper. Some smudging wile the ink dries.
Sequoia
dark, rich moss green (Mary Ann Marler)
Standard Green
From a number of sources this colour is reported to be close to the Penman Emerald Green.
Turquoise - When you fill up it has a good deep rich tone. As I wrote with the ink it seemed to have a lighter appearance on the page especially with a broad nib. I no longer use this one as I found that it was subject to smudging, well after normal trying should have occurred.
Zhivago - this is a nice rich-toned black ink. Ink flow seems to be very good although it is not a true black and is made with a dark green undertone to the ink. I have found that over the past year or so I have moved back more to the rich tones of the Private Reserve line.
The folks at WorldLux and really great at getting the product out the door the day it is ordered. I also have nothing but good things to say about the folks at Pendemonium as my orders for Noodler ink come from then well packed and promptly acknowledged and shipped. True to the advertising, the bottles are big. You are getting a full 3 ounces for your money. I like the narrow deep shape. Makes filling a big-nib pen easier. But when they clang together, my only concern. They just don't have that heavier clunk that other bottles of ink seem to give out.
Noodler makes a good ink and I enjoy using it. There are discussion threads (www.pentrace.com) with warnings from individuals on the use of the ink. Some of the inks tend to dry too slow and are subject to smudging on the paper.
Noodler's Emperor Ink - Not For Fountain Pens
I was fortunate to get a bottle of this very special ink from the folks at Jet Pens. I have purchased my iroshizuki ink from Jet Pens. They have good prices, they ship their products out promptly, and everything is packaged appropriately so there are no disappointments when the ink arrives.
Noodler produced this special ink, in a very limited quantity of 146 bottles. It was their attempt to replicate the colour, depth, behaviour, properties and general characteristics of the first royal ink of ancient China. As such, that was the first ink with a table colour chemical base instead of less stable organic materials.
Originally this was done to create a ink that would not be subject to colour changes and fading.
Noodler even supplies two special pens, to be filled with the eye dropper, for this ink. Both plastic pens with clear bodies, one has a stainless steel nib, the other a felt-like-tip to make beautiful broad stokes.
Emperor's ink is a bold purple with deep blue hues. The stainless steel nib is too fine for my everyday writing but I tried out the ink creating some labels on which I have to print very clearly. The ink has good flow and dries reasonably quick.
With the felt tip eye-dropped-filled pen big bold stokes just flow from your hands. It was actually quite a lot of fun to use.
The colour is a very rich blue-purple, no red or violet tones at all to this ink. If this colour was available for a fountain pen, I could see using it on a regular basis. A page of writing looks very pleasant to the eye.
Noodler named the ink in honour of the 77th lineal descendent of Confucius, Mr. Kung Te-cheung. The large bottle, 4.5 oz, comes with an eye dropper to fill an appropriate pen. If you are every able to come across this ink, do not use it in one of your fountain pens.
