I’ve finally started the next batch of ink reviews and, spoiler alert, these are for three of my favourite inks. The first is for Noodler’s Heart of Darkness.

The ink gets its name from the novella by Joseph Conrad, which he based on his experiences of the Congo in Africa. The story in turn was adapted as the movie “Apocalypse Now”. I haven’t read the book, or watched the movie apart from a few clips on TV, I realise that the latter is such a major omission in my movie-watching CV that I’ve just ordered it from Amazon. What’s this got to do with ink? Probably nothing, but it’s a cool and approriate name.

The label shows a jungle scene, with an elephant (the ears look authentically African) and what I assume to be the lord of the demon catfishes. As I doubt that the latter has ever been caught on film instead we are treated to a lifelike drawing. The text on the label is limited to “Heart of Darkness” in English and French, “Eternal” and “4.5oz”. The latter is probably with most significant with regard to this review, as it gives me my first opportunity to review the Noodler’s 4.5oz, after having floundered when trying to say something new about the 3oz bottles in recent reviews.

Let’s get the fact that he box is a typical Noodler’s white box with black line-art, upsized for a 4.5oz bottle, out of the way quickly. So what about the bottle? It’s purely functional, which I approve of – no surprise there, but it’s a different functionality to the 3oz bottle. The 3oz bottle is fine for filling conventional fountain pens, whereas the 4.5oz bottle is pretty awful for this. The neck is narrow and the bottle is deep, not a good combination for a cartridge converter or piston filler, for example, but necessary for the eyedropper in the cap of the 4.5oz bottle. That’s where this comes into it’s own – for filling eyedropper pens. In fact, when I bought my first bottle I decanted some into an empty Diamine bottle, just to make it easier to fill more conventional pens.

I’ve bought two 4.5 oz bottles so far. The first came with an unbranded Platinum Preppy (the bottom one of the pens in the photo able) intended to be used as an eyedropper pen. The o-ring was broken, so I needed to replace it with one I had to hand, which was a more chunky one. The plastic on these pens is very brittle so the cap quickly cracked, hence the classy piece of sticky tape wrapped around it in the photo. Despite it’s limitations I really like this pen and have used it to label almost every one of the Word Cards on this site. The second bottle came with two free pens, one a free flex pen of the type which seems to have replaced the Preppy (the top one in the photo), the other a “Charlie” pen, which I will leave to Mr Tardiff to describe.

I’m not a great fan of the newer flex pens. I can’t get on with the nibs and find the sickly smell of the plastic offputting. Although the Charlie pen uses the same plastic it has a different nib and I look forward to trying it with Baystate Blue. I’ll report the results another time.

The first bottle was from my usual US Ebay supplier, the second was from Niche Pens in the UK. As Noodler’s inks are difficult to get in the UK, I took the chance when I had it to get another bottle, even though it will be along time before I need it. There’s no discount that I can see for buying a larger bottle, but the free pens make up for that. Ingnoring shipping I would consider the ink to be reasonably priced.

The test pen on this occasion was a Pilot Metropolitan Violet Leopard with a medium nib. Usually I would use the Pilot MR Black, and I did try using this pen initially for the review, but the flow was so heavy that it looked like I was using a broad nib. I can only assume that as this pen has received so much use that the tines have spread or become more flexible, whereas the Violet Leopard (being newer) seems to be more of nail-like and gave what I felt to be more representative results. It is true that this is a very free flowing ink.

Water resistance was almost total – running water made no visible difference, I assume because any ink that did move was washed away. The droplet test moved some of the ink, just giving a faint grey overlay where some of the ink moved. I hadn’t left the ink to dry very long either before running the test.

Cleaning was surprisingly easy. Drying time was fairly quick at 25 seconds.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

The writing experience was great on this paper, I was however really surprised to see some feathering. I even tried a few writing samples on other sheets of Rhodia Dot Pad paper with the same results, although on Rhodia lined paper no feathering was apparent. I didn’t find it pronounced and maybe wouldn’t have noticed it if I wan’t looking for it. Maybe I’m just making excuses for an ink I already like. I usually use this pen with a Kaweco Dia 2 with a fine nib, which isn’t the most free-flowing pen, so I gave this a try too – some feathering was still visible. There can be no arguing with it being black though, with the minimum of shading.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

Some spread here, and still some feathering but it looks even blacker than on Rhodia, if that is possible.

Yellow Post-It

A little feathering again but the ink performed well on this paper. The black holds up too, not truning to grey.

Field Notes – Pitch Black

Considering the feathering on better paper, I was expecting bad results, but although there was still some feathering it was acceptable. The blackness is diluted to dark grey, not a great surprise and still just acceptable.

Mnemosyne Word Card

Only on the fringes of the swab is any real variation visible – on the rest of the sample it’s more the texture of the paper under the lights.

Conclusion

It’s always interesting to use an ink that I already liked under more rigorous conditions and to find a flaw. The feathering really was a surprise, but not one that’s going to stop me using the ink any time soon, mainly due to its other qualities. It’s still fairly quick drying and as water resitant as any other ink I’ve used so far, and above all it’s truly black with the minimum of shading – just what I want.

I’ve heard the phrase “as black as the inside of a coffin on a moonless night” used quite often, and it sums up this ink perfectly, so I tried Googling to find the origin, and got as far as the movie Beverley Hills Ninja (1997). I want this to be wrong – if anyone knows of an earlier source, please post it in the comments.

Noodler's Heart of Darkness - Close Up

Noodler's Heart of Darkness

Noodler's Heart of Darkness - Word Card

The post Noodler’s Heart of Darkness Ink Review appeared first on Stationary Journey.

So after a brief hiatus I’m back to familiar territory – an ink review. I’ve postponed the Diamine reviews a little longer because the opportunity arose to review Noodler’s Park Red, courtesy of Pen Chalet (penchalet.com).

So here comes the disclaimer. This ink was supplied free of charge by Pen Chalet. I was not paid to write the review, which is my honest assessment of the ink, and is not influenced by the fact it was supplied free of charge.

As is often the case with the more politically charged Noodler’s inks, there is YouTube video giving the significance of the name of the ink and of the symbolism of the label:

I won’t therefore repeat the backstory here, but there also a Wikipedia page for Park Sang-hak.

The ink normally retails at $12.50 for a 3oz bottle (excluding shipping), which would put it into the modestly priced category. From this review onwards I will disregard shipping costs in the value for money assessment – this varies so much with supplier and location that it distorts the results.

The box and bottle are the standard Noodler’s 3oz offer, and the bottled was filled to the brim.

The test pen on this occasion was a yellow Pilot Prera.

The ink showed some water resistance, leaving a pink line under running water, but text was obliterated by water drops. Cleaning was easy. Drying time was (by my standards) fairly quick at around 20 seconds.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

This ink is unusual in that it looks pinkish-red while still wet, which can be seen on the inside of the cap in the photo above, but this changes slowly on drying to take on a more orange tint (as shown on the Word Card). I was still struggling on how to describe the final colour when I did the writing test, and have now settled on coral (i.e pinkish orange). Again the photos give a fairly truthful representation of this colour. The moderate shading adds to the interest.

Overall the ink performs well without any flow issues or hard starts.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

Again good performance on this paper.

Yellow Post-It

On the first of the tricky papers flow and coverage were good, even over the top of the Post-It where there are traces of adhesive. The ink also looks good on the yellow background.

Field Notes – Pitch Black

Surprisingly good performance on this paper too – only minimal feathering, bleed and spread.

Mnemosyne Word Card

A fairly accurate representation of the colour, although the greater absorbancy of this paper seems to have masked the shading somewhat.

Out of curiosity I decided to run the “cotton bud on a Ryman Memo Block sheet” shading test, which I haven’t used in a while. The result wasn’t as dramatic as with inks known for their shading properties, but at the right angle it did show a green sheen which had not been apparent before.

Conclusion

This is a good performing Noodler’s ink, without the quirks of some of more interesting colours, such as long drying times our cleaning issues.

Suitable for markup, the more subdued red is easier on the eye than many, and the unusual shade means this ink could still be useful for general note-taking (at least if you want those notes to be eye-catching).

I would definitely restock when the time comes.

Thank you to Pen Chalet (penchalet.com) for the opportunity to review this ink.

Noodler's Park Red - Shading Test

Noodler's Park Red - Close Up

Noodler's Park Red

Noodler's Park Red - Word Card

The post Noodler’s Park Red Ink Review appeared first on Stationary Journey.

The last in this series of ink reviews (and the third in the trio of fast drying inks) is for Noodler’s Q’E-ternity.

Just the title of this review presented me with a problem. What is the correct way to spell the name of the ink? Some ink names are inconsistent and I would normally refer to the label on the bottle in the first instance, but in this case it isn’t there. Is it on the box? No – only a few symbols ($& the a third one I can’t make out). What about the Noodler’s website? It’s given as “Q’E-ternity” – excellent, but there is an embedded YouTube video immediately below and in the title it’s spelt “Q-E’ternity” (the dash and the apostrophe are swapped). On the Goulet Pen Company website it’s given as “Q’ternity” (the first “E” is lost), while on the Pure Pens website (from where this ink was bought) it’s given as “Q.E’ternity” (we now have a period). Does this really matter? Beyond affecting how the slug for this page is formatted, of course not. In the end I’ve settled with the version on the Noodler’s website, simply on the grounds that if it was wrong it could have been changed easily. Moving on.

The label is an altered version of the US 100,000 dollar bill, featuring President Woodrow Wilson. This is another satire on US monetary policy, and Quantitative Easing in particular. As with the other inks in this trio, I’m not going to dwell on this, save to provide a link to the relevant YouTube video featured on the Noodler’s website:

Back to the ink itself, which cost £10 for a 3oz bottle, which I would class a low cost. The 3oz bottle and box are the usual types.

The test pen was a yellow Pilot Prera, with a medium nib.

The black component of the ink showed some water resistance, leaving a grey line. The blue component washed away. Water drops obscured any text. Cleaning was easy.

The dry time in this instance was around 20 seconds – still not instant, but fast compared to my usual tests.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

The ink performed well, and since blue-black inks don’t rank highly on my list of preferred inks the fact that this one leans more to blue is not a problem to me.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

Still a good experience and no feathering that I could see.

Yellow Post-It

Now we have some feathering but overall it’s still okay.

Field Notes – Pitch Black

Despite the feathering and bleed, this is still okay.

Mnemosyne Word Card

Yes, I know I’ve been inconsistent with the spelling – but that’s what I thought it was when I labelled it. There is feathering on the top edge, but unlike Bernanke Blue this didn’t carry through onto other papers (except Field Notes).

Conclusion

Overall I found this to be a good performing ink and I like the colour – mainly because it doesn’t look like a typical blue-black to me. I will be using it again.

The post Noodler’s Q’E-ternity Ink Review appeared first on Stationary Journey.

The next in this batch of ink reviews, and second in the trio of fast-drying Noodler’s inks, is for Bernanke Blue.

Two ink reviews in one day – is this the start of a sprint? No, but much of what I said in my last review of Bernanke Black apply here, so for the backstory and video I refer you back to that review. The only outward difference here is that the label says “Bernanke Blue” instead of “Bernanke Black” otherwise the labels appear the same.

This ink also came from a UK supplier for £10.00, so I would class this as a low cost ink.

The test pen on this occasion was a Pilot Prera Green Demonstrator with a medium nib.

Water resistance was almost non-existent, and water drops completely obliterated and text. Cleaning was easy.

As with Bernanke Black, I was unable to get near-instant drying on good quality paper – although the drying time was noticeably faster at around 20 seconds on Rhodia.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

Generally okay – but it feathers on Rhodia.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

Some spread and feathering.

Yellow Post-It

Possibly the most extreme feathering I’ve seen so far.

Field Notes – Pitch Black

It spread so much it was like writing with a felt tip.

Mnemosyne Word Card

Feathering is visible on the top edge.

An updated image of the Word Card is here:

Conclusion

This is a shame. The blue is bright, vibrant and saturated – reminiscent of Baystate Blue, although leaning less towards violet. I really like it. However, the combination of feathering and spread makes it a non-starter for me, at least in fountain pens. I may try it in a rollerball pen when I next have one free for curiosity’s sake.

Noodler's Bernanke Blue - Word Card

Noodler's Bernanke Blue - Close Up

Noodler's Bernanke Blue

Noodler's Bernanke Blue

Noodler's Bernanke Blue

Noodler's Bernanke Blue

The post Noodler’s Bernanke Blue Ink Review appeared first on Stationary Journey.

The next in this batch of ink reviews, and the first in a trio of fast-drying Noodler’s inks, is for Bernanke Black.

Both the name and the label are a critique of US financial policy and the Chairman of of US Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke. The thrust is that if you need to print lots of money fast (whether that’s a good or bad thing I’ll leave to others better qualified than me) then you need a fast drying ink.

Those fast drying properties are demonstrated more fully in the following YouTube video, along with more comments on financial policy:

This ink came from a UK supplier and cost £10.00 for the usual 3oz bottle – this puts in in the “low cost” category for me. The label carries on the financial critique, showing Ben Bernanke, the seal of the Federal Reserve and money being helicoptered in.

The test pen on this occasion was a Pilot Metropolitan Violet Leopard with a medium nib.

The ink showed some water resistance (black lines were still present after running a sample under water) but water drops obliterated any text. Cleaning was easy.

This ink is intended as a fast drying ink – so how fast did it dry? I wasn’t able to repeat the near-instantaneous drying on high quality paper shown in the video. In practice I found the ink to be touch dry after about 30 seconds on Rhodia. I ran this test several times. The more of these reviews I do the more I’m becoming conscious of the fact that my drying times seem to be a lot longer than many other reviews but I can only recount my experiences. I would still class 30 seconds as fairly fast, certainly compared to many other inks I have reviewed.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

The ink to be a good performer on Rhodia Paper, drying to a deep black i.e. the kind I like.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

The results are very close to Rhodia, although I note that the black is slightly lighter – still fine though.

Yellow Post-It

The experience was good overall but looking again at the writing sample I do note some feathering.

Field Notes – Pitch Black

Feathering and bleed are the problems here, and they are significant.

Mnemosyne Word Card

There is a hint of shading here which didn’t really come out in the writing samples.

An updated image of the Word Card is here:

Conclusion

Better water resistance would have been useful, and I didn’t find the quick drying properties overwhelming, but overall I would consider this to be another good performing black ink from Noodler’s. I will be trying it again and it will be interesting to see how it performs on a range of papers with different pens.

Noodler's Bernanke Black

Noodler's Bernanke Black

Noodler's Bernanke Black - Word Card

Noodler's Bernanke Black - Close Up

The post Noodler’s Bernanke Black Ink Review appeared first on Stationary Journey.

The third in this batch of ink reviews is for a blue-black ink which I understand is exclusive to Pure Pens in the UK.

This batch of reviews is for two trios of the staple inks – black, blue and blue-black. Blue-black inks are not amongst my favourites, and strictly speaking the slot should have been taken by Noodler’s Blue Black, but I aleady had a bottle of Prime of the Commons Blue-Black and didn’t feel an overwhelming temptation to but another bottle of blue-black ink just for this batch of reviews. No doubt the completist in me will take me back to that ink one day.

As mentioned above, this ink is exclusive to one supplier in the UK. The label states that the ink is a “Security Contract Ink”, and features what appears to be an imaginary conversation between two UK parliamentary rivals of the 18th Century, William Ewart Gladstone and Benjamin Disraeli. I had assumed that the term “Prime of the Commons” was another term for the Prime Minister (an office which both politicians held) – however a quick search revealed only articles mentioning this ink. So if the term has any historical significance I couldn’t find it. If any readers know differently please feel free to post a comment – I would welcome it.

The ink cost £12.50 direct from the UK, which I would consider to be a low price, considering that is for a 3oz bottle (full to the brim as usual). The box is the standard black and white line art.

The test pen was a Pilot MR White Tiger with a medium nib.

Water resistance was high with minimal colour run. Cleaning was more of a challenge – with some stubborn clots which were hard to get out of the feed. This was after several weeks but in marked contracts with Noodler’s Blue, which has been in it’s pen for the same length of time. I would recommend good pen hygiene with this ink. Dry time on Rhodia paper was quick at around 20 seconds.

One security feature of this ink is that it turns blue when exposed to bleach. I did try this out, and while there was a change it was not much as I expected. I doubt is would be obvious unless the bleached sample were to be compared to untreated ink.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

Overall performance was satisfactory, and once dry the greenish tint seemed less pronounced (or at least more attractive on a second look).

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

Similar to Rhodia, but with a bit more spreading.

Yellow Post-It

Feathering and spreading – not great.

Field Notes – Pitch Black

Not as much feathering as expected, but spreads and bleeds, so not great overall.

Mnemosyne Word Card

This looks a little on the dark side compared the the actual writing samples.

Conclusion

The results for this ink are mixed. On better papers the results are okay, but I’m still in two minds about the colour. The quick drying and water resistance are bonuses. On more challenging papers the results are poor. Perhaps for signing cheques or contracts this would be a good ink, but let’s face it those aren’t daily tasks any more, and I don’t think it would be a good idea to keep a pen inked up on the off-chance that it may come in useful one day. I can only really recommend this ink if you like the colour and are likely to use it on a daily basis on good paper.

The post Noodler’s Prime of the Commons Blue-Black Ink Review appeared first on Stationary Journey.

The second in this batch of ink reviews is for Noodler’s Blue. This should be a bog standard ink, but is it?

Following from the last review, this ink has no backstory, and no special properties. Instead, the boldest claim on the minimalist catfish label is “Always pH Neutral” – exciting stuff. Other than this, the ink came in the standard 3oz bottle enclosed in the standard box. The only mysterious thing about this ink is I can’t recall who I actually bought it from – and I can’t find anything in my emails either – which is strange. It’s not one of Noodler’s more expensive inks so it should fall into the moderately priced category.

The test pen in this case was a Silver Pilot MR with a medium nib.

Water resistance was negligible – almost nothing was left on the paper after holding it under running water for 30 seconds, and drops of water obscured lines quickly. Drying time was slow at over 2 minutes. The ink was however very easy to clean from the pen.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

The ink flowed exceptionally well, even after being in the pen for several weeks. The hint of teal doesn’t really show in the scan.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

Another smooth flowing writing experience.

Yellow Post-It

The yellow background brings out the teal in this scan.

Field Notes – Pitch Black

Field Notes papaer triumphs again – the ink is washed out and feathers badly.

Mnemosyne Word Card

The Word Card doesn’t really show the depth of shading this ink is capable of.

An updated image of the Word Card is here:

Conclusion

This ink show almost no water resistance and is slow to dry (at least on Rhodia), but it’s smooth flowing and easy to clean. So it has it’s advantages and disadvantages. Why has it become one of my favourite inks? One property trumps the rest – the colour. My inner poet has let me down on this occasion, and I can’t really say what sets this blue apart from so many others. The scans and photos above don’t really show is either. So instead, below is a rough and ready shading test on Rhodia Paper – all settings on auto under artificial light. The teal still doesn’t show through, but I think it gives a better idea of the depth of colour this ink can give.

If you find blue inks boring, then this is unlikely to sway you, but for someone like me, who enjoys a blue ink if the colour is just right, then this one is worth trying out, even just a sample.

Noodler's Blue - Word Card

Noodler's Blue - Close Up

Noodler's Blue - Word Card

The post Noodler’s Blue Ink Review appeared first on Stationary Journey.

After what seems like an eternity, here is the first in the latest batch of ink reviews, which in this case is for Noodler’s Black.

This is a no-nonsense ink – no backstory, no elaborate label – it’s a black ink, plain and simple. The label does state that it is “The only eternal black ink. Bulletproof on cellulose paper, yet washes off plastic with water”. This being the case, should it come as any great surprise that the strength of this ink is ink its functionality rather than its appearance?

Following this simple theme, the only decoration on the label is the catfish, representing the Noodler’s brand. The ink comes in the standard 3oz bottle, and was purchased from my usual Ebay supplier, so fell into the category of moderately priced.

The test pen was a Pilot MR with a medium nib.

The pen was originally filled before the Kaweco pen reviews were carried out, and the pen was writing very dry when I came to carry out the review, so I refilled the pen with ink again. Flow was okay after that, but I did note that the ink had started to feel on the dry side after a few days following the original fill.

Water resistance was excellent – possibly the best of any ink I have tried so far. Under running water there was no obvious change in the lines. Water drops caused only a small amount of smudging. Cleaning was more difficult than usual, with some heavy sooty deposits, but the pen has been inked up for several weeks. The ink was almost completely dry after 2 minutes, but could have done with longer.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

The ink laid down a decent, uniform line and flow was okay, but I like my blank inks much more deep than this. Overall the ink looks to me more like different shades of dark grey, not black.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

Overall okay – not much more to be said – the line is still too weak for my taste.

Yellow Post-It

Still okay, but the line is still weak.

Field Notes – Pitch Black

This is where the surprise came – minimal feathering and bleed through on this very challenging paper. If only the line was a deeper black.

Mnemosyne Word Card

This really shows the amount grey shading, which is not really what I want from a black ink.

An updated image of the Word Card is here:

Conclusion

I was dreading writing this review, because when I first received this bottle of ink I was disappointed. I had heard great things about Noodler’s Black, which appeared to be the “go to” black ink for so many people. I had already tried a few Noodler’s black inks, and had been pleased with the results. This one would be different. I inked up a Pilot MR and tried trusty cotton bud on a Word Card. I found the results insipid, and after a few days in the pen I found the ink on the dry side too.

Then I tried it in my Pilot Capless Matte Black Pen, which puts down a lot more ink and should have given a darker line. Yes, the flow was better, and stayed so after a few days, but the line was not appreciably darker – it was still too grey for me. When I decided to base this batch of ink reviews around what could be considered the “staple” inks, i.e. black, blue and blue-black, I knew I would have to reassess and try to be objective about an ink that I disliked when I used it first time around.

So here I go. Taking a balanced view this ink is probably as waterproof as you are going to get and is one of the best performers I have seen on Field Notes Paper, which is no mean feat. The dry time isn’t great, although many of my favourite inks have very poor drying times. Cleaning was a bit more tricky than usual, but the pen had been inked a long time and I didn’t need to use anything other than water (and patience). After a few days the ink did start to feel a bit dry, but I didn’t experience hard starts until the pen had been left for a while unused. So for me it really all boils down to lack of depth of the black, which means I won’t be using this ink on a regular basis. This is purely a matter of taste, and others may find it the perfect ink for them.

Noodler's Black - Word Card

Noodler's Black - Close Up

Noodler's Black

Noodler's Black - Word Card

The post Noodler’s Black Ink Review appeared first on Stationary Journey.

The last in this batch of ink reviews is for Noodler’s Zhivago. This is another “Speciality Issue” ink, which I have had a tendency to like so far.

The name of this ink harks back to the novel “Doctor Zhivago” by Boris Pasternak, set during the turmoil of the Russian Revolution. The label shows numerous Russian emblems – too many to try to identify, even if I could.

The standard 3oz bottle leaked a little in transit. The box suffered the most, so I didn’t include it in the usual group photo and the label was partially disfigured. The bottle came from my preferred Ebay supplier and so I would consider the ink moderately priced.

The test pen in this case was a Pilot MR with a medium nib.

Water resistance was moderate to good. Cleaning was okay, but with some sooty deposits which took a little longer than normal to remove. The drying time was around 30 seconds.

Many reviews of this ink describe it as a very dark green or green/black, and the green accents on the label echo this. However, I could see only the merest hint of green in this particular bottle of ink, and probably could only see it because I was trying very hard to. The Noodler’s website refers to this ink being of “variable combination” on a per bottle basis, which is intended as a security feature. This may explain the lack of green in this particular bottle.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

A nice regular line with minimal shading. As good as it gets for a black ink as far as I am concerned. The only drawback is that even once fully dry it was possible to smudge the ink by rubbing hard.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

A little feathering, but still satisfactory. It was still possible to smudge the ink by rubbing hard.

Yellow Post-It

Still a little feathering but the coverage is okay. Satisfactory overall, and I couldn’t see only smudging on rubbing.

Field Notes – Pitch Black

Not great, but compared to some other inks this isn’t too bad. No smudging was noted on rubbing hard.

Mnemosyne Word Card

The texture of the card shows exposes a little more shading than is typical on a smooth surface. I really want a black ink that looks like staring into an abyss, and this may be as close as I am going to get on a Word Card.

Conclusion

It’s good to finish this batch of reviews on a high note. This ink will definitely feature in my rotation in the future. There’s only one other black ink that comes as close to my ideal black ink as this one, and as I haven’t reviewed that ink yet, that will remain a mystery for the time being. While Zhivago smudges a little on smooth paper when rubbed hard, I’ve not been testing for that with other inks so I won’t worry too much about that. I also have a slight reservation that if I buy another bottle of this in the future the “variable combination” may mean the ink performs differently, but only time will tell on that.

The post Noodler’s Zhivago – Ink Review appeared first on Stationary Journey.

The next in this series of ink reviews is for Noodler’s Upper Ganges Blue, an eternal blue ink.

When I bought this ink I was under the impression that it was exclusive to the Goulet Pen Company, so that’s where I bought it from, although I can find no reference to that now. That being said, I can’t find any other suppliers who stock it either.

At $18.50 the 3oz bottle was more expensive than usual, but still within the range of what I would consider to be moderately priced. The bottle and box are of the standard type.

The label is more difficult to interpret that usual. The hand drawn label shows what I take to be the Hindu God Ganesha riding on the back of a giant catfish. Almost all of the text on the label is in Sanskrit, apart from “pH” and “USA”, and I wouldn’t know where to start trying to translate it. I’ll leave that as an exercise to those who know the language. In the bottle the ink has a distinct purple tinge to it, which disappears when used.

The test pen in this case was a silver Pilot MR with a medium nib.

Drying time was the shortest in this batch, at around 20 seconds. Water resistance was good. Cleaning was a little more tricky than usual with what I can best describe as a few blue “clots” present in the feed.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

This inks leans more towards grey, and I did find note some hard starts. Possibly not my favourite blue, but not disagreeable either.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

More hard starts, but the ink actually looks a little better on this paper.

Yellow Post-It

Feathering noted, but still okay overall.

Field Notes – Pitch Black

Feathering, bleed and a washed out appearance. Not an ink for this papaer.

Mnemosyne Word Card

Looks quite good on a Word Card – if I went on this aloneI would be more positive about this ink.

Conclusion

In normal use this ink is a little too understated for my tastes. However it’s water resistance and quick drying time are positives, and it could well go into rotation from time to time.

The post Noodler’s Upper Ganges Blue – Ink Review appeared first on Stationary Journey.

The next of this batch of ink reviews is for Noodler’s Purple Heart, a Goulet Exclusive ink.

This ink is named after the after the medal awarded to serving U.S. military personnel who are injured or killed. The label depicts George Washington awarding the Badge of Military Merit to soldiers, as shown in a painting by H. Charles McBarron. The label also provides a close up of the Purple Heart and the Badge of Military Merit, along with an eel – a clue that this ink is in fact one of the Eel Series, although none of my tests really show that property.

I have not seen the real medal, only images on the web and on the bottle label, but the colour of the ink doesn’t really appear to be identical to that used in the medal, although it is very close. The medal tends towards a bluer shade of purple, while the ink tends towards red (almost grape).

The supplier in this case is obviously the Goulet Pen Company.

The ink was part of a larger order, so shipping was combined and can’t be quantified just for the ink. Putting shipping costs aside this would a low cost ink.

The 3oz bottle and box were the standard fare. The test pen was a Yellow Pilot Prera with a medium nib.

There was some water resistance and cleaning was easy. The drying time was moderate at around 30 seconds.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

This a serious, deep purple ink, so is in the colour range that I like, along with some nice shading. I didn’t experience any problems on Rhodia paper.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

Another good writing experience. Checking the writings samples again the shading looks the same as on Rhodia paper.

Yellow Post-It

The colour was a little less saturated and coverage was not so good, but the experience was still okay overall.

Field Notes – Pitch Black

This was one of the best performing inks on this paper so far – not up to the standards of “normal” paper, but a quite satisfactory experience all the same.

Mnemosyne Word Card

The Word Card really shows off the deep saturation and serious tone of this ink.

Conclusion

This is an attractive purple ink that performs well, suitable for personal note taking. It will feature in my rotation in the future.

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The third in this set of ink reviews is for Noodler’s Gruene Cactus, which is a green ink, in more ways than one, much to my confusion.

There is nothing on the Noodler’s website giving any background information about Noodler’s Gruene Cactus. Googling “gruene cactus” just gives loads of links to reviews and websites stocking Noodler’s Gruene Cactus ink. “Gruene” is German for “Green” and it’s pronounced, er, “Green”. There’s also a district in Texas called Gruene where prickly pears are commonly used in landscaping. So is it called Gruene because Opuntias are green? Of course not – Gruene was founded by a man called Gruene. All I do know is there’s a fuzzy picture of a prickly pear on the label, so “Gruene” could refer to the colour or the place. My brain is starting to hurt.

The liquid ink reminds me of a chemistry experiment from school, dissolving chlorophyll from grass in alcohol, then separating out the different types of chlorophyll using chromatography. The ink looks to me exactly like the dissolved chlorophyll.

The 3oz bottle wasn’t from my usual Ebay supplier, so the shipping was slightly higher than normal, but the overall cost I would still consider to be moderate.

The box and bottle were as normal. The test pen was a Pilot Prera Green Demonstrator with a medium nib, and the ink complimented the pen well.

The drying time was rather long at around 1 minute 30 seconds. Cleaning was easy and the ink showed little water resistance.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

This ink gave a really nice writing experience, with some shading as an added bonus. The colour is a really nice vibrant green, with a hint of (but not too much) blue or emerald.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

Another good experience and attractive colour.

Yellow Post-It

The flow was slightly restricted and the feathering increased – otherwise the experience was still okay.

Field Notes – Pitch Black

Well it couldn’t last forever, and on this paper the ink feathers, bleeds, spreads and ultimately goes a bit weird. The changes of ever needing to use this ink on this paper in reality are remote anyway.

Mnemosyne Word Card

Looking good, and showing a nice range of shading.

Conclusion

Mid green inks are limited in their application (probably restricted to markup) and it’s taken a while for me to find a few that I like – and this is one of them. Not really for general use, but if you really want your letters to stand out you could do a lot worse.

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“Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.” ― Marilyn Monroe

What the heck brought that on?

The second in this batch of ink reviews, for Noodler’s Black Swan in English Roses, that’s what!

I will defer to Mr Tardiff again for the story behind this ink (which bears more significance than normal this year):

This 3 oz bottle came from my preferred Ebay supplier and so I would consider it moderately priced. The bottle and box are the usual fare. The test pen on this occasion was a Pilot MR White Tiger with a Medium nib – a nice match it was too.

There was partial water resistance. Cleaning was easy enough, but with the same sooty deposits as Black Swan in Australian Roses. Drying time was on the long side at 1 minute – this really does seem to be a feature of deeply saturated reds.

As this is another shading ink, I tried the snappily titled “cotton bud on a Ryman Memo Block sheet” test again, to great effect. Not only did it show up the full range of colours this ink is capable of, but also revealed a greenish gold metallic sheen in some areas. Very nice too.

I like it so much you get to look at it twice.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

On this paper it’s a rather nice, if a little understated, brownish red, with a hint of burgundy. A very nice notetaker, and the shading shows. I checked the smell again, and its still fruity but the vinegar hint has gone.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

Nice shading again, a good experience.

Yellow Post-It

Good again, with a nice contrast, despite a little skipping.

Field Notes – Pitch Black

Some feathering, but little bleed through and spreading. A good experience. I was expecting the colour to mute a little, but it didn’t.

I originally messed this review sample up – I mislabeled it and it appeared on the wrong review first time around. When amending the sample for rescanning I used a pen with a different nib – resulting in more feathering and more bleed through, showing how sensitive this ink is to the pen used.

Mnemosyne Word Card

Truly bizarre – this looks like a different ink – and not a very nice one either. More brown than red, like a washed out terracotta. If I had seen this before buying the ink I probably wouldn’t have bothered.

An updated image of the Word Card is here:

Conclusion

I have tried this ink with other pens (including flex), and the results can be as variable as with different papers.

I wish this ink was waterproof, and quicker drying, but I will embrace those imperfections with good grace. In fact, I would go so far as to say that if this ink had to be reformulated to change it’s colour and behaviour it would be a tragedy. I’m more than happy to live with its foibles, and it has become easily one of my favourite inks.

Noodler's Black Swan in English Roses - Sheen

Noodler's Black Swan in English Roses - Close Up

Noodler's Black Swan in English Roses

Noodler's Black Swan in English Roses - Word Card

Noodler's Black Swan in English Roses - Close Up

Noodler's Black Swan in English Roses

Noodler's Black Swan in English Roses

Noodler's Black Swan in English Roses - Word Card

Noodler's Black Swan in English Roses - Shading

The post Noodler’s Black Swan in English Roses Ink Review appeared first on Stationary Journey.

This is the first in the next batch of ink reviews (all Noodler’s again). The delay has been a little longer than expected – sorry about that. This is a shading ink, designed to show a wide range of colour variation, including the “Black Swan”. I bought this bottle in June and is the older (less purple) formulation, since it appears to be identical to a sample I bought a year ago.

There is a video on YouTube which describes both the shading and the label, so I won’t repeat that information here:

The 3oz bottle was from my favoured Ebay supplier, so I would describe the price as moderate again. The bottle and box are the usual types. The test pen was a Pilot Metropolitan Violet Leopard with a medium nib..

The was some water resistance, although the different dyes clearly have different levels of water resistance. Cleaning was easy enough, but it did have to take a little more care with the feed as there was a dark sooty deposit – the kind I associate more with many black inks. Drying time was about 30 seconds.

As this is specifically a shading ink, I tried to test this with some flex pens so that I could upload the results. However I couldn’t produce anything that adequately exhibited these properties. The Word Card sample didn’t really show it off the possible range either, so I tried playing around with a cotton bud and a Ryman Memo Block sheet, and got something that’s a bit more interesting:

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

I’ve written before than I either like my purples to be bright and bold, or dark and brooding. This ink doesn’t really fall into either category, so it is a little bland for. The shading on this paper with this pen doesn’t really stand out either. The slightly dry behaviour tempts me to try it ink the Pilot Capless when it next needs refilling.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

The results are very similar to Rhodia paper.

Yellow Post-It

The performance was okay, but I would normally expect purple inks to stand out on a yellow Post-It – and it didn’t in this case.

Field Notes – Pitch Black

[Update 21/09/2014 – the original review incorrectly inked to a scan of Noodler’s Black Swan in English Roses – sorry about that. This has now been corrected.]

This actually wasn’t too bad at all compared to many other inks, maybe the slightly drier behaviour helped.

Mnemosyne Word Card

The swatch clearly shows the wine coloured tint, but only hints at the shading this ink is capable of.

An updated image of the Word Card is here:

Conclusion

Once combined with the right pen this could be a stunning ink, as shown by the shading sample. However, in a standard pen it’s a little too bland for me. The new formulation looks closer to the type of purple I like, so I may give that one a try when the opportunity arises.

Noodler's Black Swan in Australian Roses - Word Card

Noodler's Black Swan in Australian Roses - Close Up

Noodler's Black Swan in Australian Roses

Noodler's Black Swan in Australian Roses - Shading

Noodler's Black Swan in Australian Roses - Word Card

Noodler's Black Swan in Australian Roses - Close Up

Noodler's Black Swan in Australian Roses

Noodler's Black Swan in Australian Roses

The post Noodler’s Black Swan in Australian Roses Ink Review appeared first on Stationary Journey.

For the last in this batch of ink reviews, I have chosen Noodler’s Tiananmen, which according to the label is a “Specialty Issue”. This isn’t the only Noodler’s ink that is so described, and I’ve already reviewed a few others, but I’ve only picked up on the description now. I’ve not been able to find out what “Specialty” actually means, but the inks from this series I’ve reviewed so far (Ottoman Azure, Ottoman Rose and La Couleur Royale) have all had attractive colours and been good performers.

The Chinese consider red to be an auspicious colour, which is stated on the label for this ink. The name and label evoke the protests of 1989. While those protests led to the deaths of hundreds (or possibly thousands) the image on the label shows a symbol of hope, the so called “Tank Man” confronting a column of tanks. The label also states “One day, China will be free!” One could argue that while Western businesses continue to rely China to keep costs down and so maximise profit, that day will be a long way off but as I’m not about to start a boycott and throw away my Apple products I won’t get on my high horse just yet.

This 3 oz bottle came from my preferred Ebay supplier so I would consider the price moderate. The box and bottle are as standard. The test pen was a Pilot MR White Tiger with a medium nib.

Water resistance was minimal. Cleaning was easy enough, which was a bit of a surprise for a saturated red. The drying time was extended at more than 2 minutes, leading to easy smudging. This was less of a surprise – long drying times are something I am starting to associate with saturated inks, reds in particular.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

Performance on this paper was good. The only downside was the long dry time which led to easy smudging. The colour is a deeply saturated red with a slight hint of brown – I really like it.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

No complaints on this paper – performance was good.

Yellow Post-It

Good performance from this ink on the Post-It too.

Field Note – Pitch Black

Another ink falls at the feet of Field Notes paper – lots of feathering and bleed.

Mnemosyne Word Card

The saturation of this ink shows through, with more than a hint of shading.

Conclusion

Another “Specialty” ink that proves to be a good performer. The only downside is the dry time, but that is starting to become as feature of red inks that I like (and more saturated inks in general). I really like this one, and is already near the top of my list of “good” reds.

The post Noodler’s Tiananmen – Ink Review appeared first on Stationary Journey.

The next in this batch is a bit of an oddity – a ink of the colour seen on the terra cotta warriors of China. It also reacts under UV light, although I have no means of testing that at the moment.

I’m not even going to try to cover the story behind this ink – I will leave it to Mr Tardiff instead:

The video also gives details of the intricate label and showcases the UV properties, so I won’t attempt to describe those any more here either. Yes, it’s been a long week and I’m feeling tired.

This 3oz bottle was ordered through a US website, not my usual Ebay supplier. The bottle itself cost $12.50 but the slightly higher than usual shipping cost pushed it into the moderately expensive category. The bottle and box were the standard 3oz combo. The test pen on this occasion was a Pilot MR with a medium nib.

Water resistance was limited and handwriting was obscured by the droplet test. Cleaning was slightly trickier than normal with residue hanging around in the feed longer than usual. I wouldn’t call it difficult though. Drying time was quick at less than 10 seconds.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

This ink feathered on Rhodia, which is unusual – not to a great extent but it is there. There was also some bleed through. Otherwise performance was okay, except for some occasional dryness. Oddly to my eyes the ink looks a little redder than on some other papers, although the scan doesn’t show it, and it’s still too pink for me. In fact all the scans look pinker than in reality.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

Performance was okay, but still some feathering.

Yellow Post-It

That’s some serious feathering.

Field Note – Pitch Black

More feathering and bleed.

Mnemosyne Word Card

Even the Word Card photo looks slightly pinker than in reality.

Conclusion

This ink is just slightly too pink for my taste. While it would otherwise be good for markup the feathering even on high quality paper limits its usefulness. Maybe one to play around with more when I have some spare time – and a UV light.

The post Noodler’s Qin Shi Huang – Ink Review appeared first on Stationary Journey.

For the next in this batch of ink reviews we have another with a French name – Noodler’s La Reine Mauve – which also links to aristocracy and revolution. This is an “Eternal” ink with features to defeat forgery. Unlike other similar inks I have tested recently I could actually see myself writing a cheque with this one.

According to its label, this ink is also “guillotine proof”, but that doesn’t form part of my test suite, so I cannot confirm this property. Apparently Marie Antoinette loved purple, so she is depicted (decapitated) on the hand drawn label, offering a plate of cake to what looks like a possum hanging from a tree and a large purple catfish. It’s a strange image, so I won’t dwell on it any more.

This bottle came from a US supplier (not my usual Ebay store) and picked up higher than usual shipping charges. Coupled with the fact it comes in a 1oz bottle (for the usual price of a 3oz bottle) I have to class this ink as expensive.

The dinky 1oz bottle still has the same cap and neck associated with a 3oz bottle, so filling a pen is not a problem. The box is a scaled down version of the usual black line art on white box (but with less detail).

The test pen was a Pilot MR (medium nib).

Water resistance was very strong. Cleaning was difficult – it took a lot to shift the last traces of the ink especially from the feed – where it seemed to have partially congealed. Dry time was extended at about a minute.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

This is a truly beautiful ink, with a colour that I would describe a stormy violet purple. On this paper it is very dark. The main problem is the weird ink flow – varying from on the dry side to almost too heavy, giving an unpredictable line width.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

Ink flow on this paper was better and more consistent – but with a tendency to spread, giving too thick a line.

Yellow Post-It

Flow was erratic again, skipping completely at the start, which along with feathering didn’t give a satisfactory experience.

Field Note – Pitch Black

Heavy feathering and bleed – again not good.

Mnemosyne Word Card

This image really shows the deeply saturated purple, but leans slightly more towards blue than in reality.

Conclusion

The fantastic colour (along with the waterproof properties) made me really want to like this ink. The higher than normal price doesn’t really put me off – it’s the erratic ink flow. I will try it in other pens when times allows, but only ones that are easy to clean. I can’t see it being a daily use ink until I can find a suitable pen.

The post Noodler’s La Reine Mauve – Ink Review appeared first on Stationary Journey.

The third in this batch of ink reviews is for Noodler’s La Couleur Royale, which unsurprisingly is a deeply saturated royal blue, leaning towards violet.

The label depicts the early demise of a French aristocrat. Although I could find the same image online through Google, at the time of writing this review the original page was unavailable – so I don’t know if the unfortunate aristo is identified on that page, and if he was, in fact, a royal.

This was an Ebay purchase from the US for a 3oz bottle, so the price was in my view moderate. Box and bottle held no surprises. The test pen on this occasion was a Pilot Metropolitan Violet Leopard with a medium nib – a perfect match.

Water resistance was minimal. Cleaning was easy enough. Drying time was very long at over 2 minutes – meaning that the ink smudged easily for a long time after writing.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

This is a lovely ink to write with. The only drawback is the extended drying time, leading to inadvertent smudging. I really like the colour, which overrides the drying problem. The fact that flow was moderate didn’t detract from the writing experience, and is something I will come back to later.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

The flow felt a little more free on this paper, and overall the experience was good, despite my fumbled writing.

Yellow Post-It

Another good experience, just a slight problem with smudging.

Field Note – Pitch Black

Not too bad overall.

Mnemosyne Word Card

This swab shows more of a purple tint in reality compared to the writing samples, but it doesn’t really come over in this image, which leans more to blue.

Conclusion

This is a really attractive ink, with only the drying time as a drawback. The moderate flow tempted me to use this in my Pilot Capless Fountain Pen which has very free flow. The two together are a good combination and I can see the ink staying in that pen for a while.

The post Noodler’s La Couleur Royale – Ink Review appeared first on Stationary Journey.

For the second in this batch of ink reviews, I have selected Noodler’s Bad Green Gator, which is one of the “Warden” series, resistant to the dark arts of the forger. Why I would even be signing an important letter, or a cheque, with green ink I’m not really sure, but let’s park that thought.

The gator from which this ink derives its name is bad because it eats catfish (the Noodler’s mascot). The gator pictured on the label is however being used like a pony to pull a happy child along on a cart. The label appears to be derived from postcard depicting the “Joy Ride” at the California Alligator Farm in Los Angeles. It’s difficult to read the emotion of the alligator, but I don’t detect joy, perhaps rather homicidal intent. Judge for yourself here.

This bottle came from a UK supplier, so I would again class it as modestly priced. Standard text about bottle and box goes here. The test pen was a Pilot Prera Green Demonstrator.

The ink was strongly water resistant (no surprise there). Drying time was quick (less than 10 seconds). Cleaning was surprisingly easy.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

The colour of the ink when I opened the bottle encouraged me to think I would really like this ink. However, on Rhodia paper it was a letdown. The colour leans slightly too far towards blue – and the feathering was a surprise. The other surprise was the strong methylated spirit smell – maybe that explains the quick dry time and the ease of cleaning. Regardless, once dry, a cotton bud dipped in meths only slightly shift the ink.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

No feathering on this paper, but the ink spreads giving a broader line.

Yellow Post-It

This actually gives an interesting colour combination, but the feathering is a minus.

Field Note – Pitch Black

After the other papers I expected severe feathering – and I got it.

Mnemosyne Word Card

The ink probably looks at its best on the Word Card. If it looked like this on other papers I think I could tolerate the feathering.

An updated image of the Word Card is here:

Conclusion

Sorry Bad Green Gator, but your quick dry time, ease of cleaning and water resistance don’t outweigh the feathering and so-so colour, meaning you are not the green ink for me.

Noodler's Bad Green Gator - Word Card

Noodler's Bad Green Gator - Close Up

Noodler's Bad Green Gator

Noodler's Bad Green Gator - Word Card

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I don’t know if this is the real reason that this Noodler’s ink is called “Socrates”, but in Book IV of Plato’s Republic, Socrates states that purple is the most beautiful colour. Google, you are a wonderful thing – without you I would not have made that connection.

This is one of Nooodler’s Eternal inks, supposedly resistant to attacks by forgers. The ink was purchased from a UK supplier, priced at £12.50 for a 3oz bottle, so I would still consider it modestly priced.

The box and bottle hold no surprises. The label depicts The Death of Socrates, as painted by Jacques-Louis David.

“David – The Death of Socrates” by Jacques-Louis David – http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/436105. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

The test pen in this case was a yellow Pilot Prera, providing and interesting contrast with the ink.

Not surprisingly for an eternal ink, water resistance was excellent. Cleaning was more difficult than usual, and pen flush did help. The drying time was a little extended at around 30 seconds.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

I’ll get it over with now – I don’t like this ink. The colour really doesn’t do anything for me – I like purple inks to either be so bright so they pop off the page, or saturated and intense. This ink is too bland and subdued. It’s dry behavior could be useful for taming an overly wet pen, but why bother if I don’t like the colour?

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

Writing on this paper was so dry as to be almost uncomfortable.

Yellow Post-It

Dry again, with poor coverage – the colour doesn’t even give a bold contrast with the paper.

Field Note – Pitch Black

One of the better performers on this paper – but still feels very dry.

Mnemosyne Word Card

Washed out and leaning toward magenta – really not my thing.

Conclusion

While the eternal properties are a positive, I suppose the flipside is the difficulty cleaning the ink out of the pen. This is one of the driest inks I have tried so far, which coupled with the bland colour means I won’t be in a rush to use it again.

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