I use only a few, the HoD is the black of choice for me. Otherwise, I like Diamine and Akkermann much more. Baystate Blue, although a great color, destroyed a Lamy.....
Noodler's
- Thread starter AllenG
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Wow, Akkerman inks.
I did not know that this was known or available outside The Netherlands.
I have not had the pleasure of using these myself, but the packaging is absolutely stunning to say the least.
PW Akkerman inks have been more accessible in the last year. I have a few and very much enjoy the inks and the bottles.
As far as the OP: Noodler's inks are a mixed bag. With all the offerings that Nathan brings to the table not all are going to be great. There are more than a few that I like. Kind of crazy to admit this but I actually prefer his pens to his inks. (ducks).
As far as the OP: Noodler's inks are a mixed bag. With all the offerings that Nathan brings to the table not all are going to be great. There are more than a few that I like. Kind of crazy to admit this but I actually prefer his pens to his inks. (ducks).
I used to use a lot of Noodlers because it was well priced and readily available, since branching out to use Diamine, Private Reserve and J Herbin, I use the Noodlers a lot less.
While good inks, I do find that the Noodlers tends to be harder starting/cloggier than the others.
While good inks, I do find that the Noodlers tends to be harder starting/cloggier than the others.
Depending on the day you ask me, the ink I love or hate the most is Noodler's Bad Blue Heron. The only pen it seems to work well in is my Sheaffer (1995) medium nib, which has a very generous feed. All my other pens clog up. It also exhibits a significant amount of nib creep.
But there is no blue-black like BBH (blue-grey with undertones of teal?)...and no other ink has exhibited the same tenacious colorfastness. So I just keep BBH in the only pen it works in, which is fine because I absolutely *love* that Sheaffer nib. Because of its fussiness, though, I tend to use BBH for personal correspondence but I carry Montblanc Midnight Blue in a Lamy 2000.
I have had not clogging issues in any of my pens with Noodler's X-Feather or Gruene Cactus. However, neither of those seems to behave as well as the Diamine inks I have on hand -- Red Dragon (love it!) and Claret (my daughter's).
But there is no blue-black like BBH (blue-grey with undertones of teal?)...and no other ink has exhibited the same tenacious colorfastness. So I just keep BBH in the only pen it works in, which is fine because I absolutely *love* that Sheaffer nib. Because of its fussiness, though, I tend to use BBH for personal correspondence but I carry Montblanc Midnight Blue in a Lamy 2000.
I have had not clogging issues in any of my pens with Noodler's X-Feather or Gruene Cactus. However, neither of those seems to behave as well as the Diamine inks I have on hand -- Red Dragon (love it!) and Claret (my daughter's).
Been running it in my Sailor Pro Gear without any issues what so ever.
54th Mass is Noodler's second best ink of all time. Bulletproof Black is the best of his inks.
I actually really like Noodler's Inks. And Private Reserve. Saturated & bright colors all the way . . .
I do have a bottle of De Atramentis for my vintage pens, and will probably get a few more non-Noodler's/Private Reserve as I have heard that these 2 brands are potentially problematic for vintage pens.
I do have a bottle of De Atramentis for my vintage pens, and will probably get a few more non-Noodler's/Private Reserve as I have heard that these 2 brands are potentially problematic for vintage pens.
I am running Bad Black Moccasin in a vintage Sheaffer (has a new sac) without issue.
i think its older sacs that have had issues in the past. but different inks are so chemically different between colours in each brand just because one colour has anproblem wont mean another will
I use several different Noodler's inks, and carry some Creapers as my daily pens at work. Last Thursday, I filled up one of them with Liberty's Elysium. Today, I wound up with a chunk of gummy ink between the tines. I know, bad on me for leaving a pen filled for that long without writing, and Noodler's pens have issues, etc. But my other Creapers with De Atramentis Oriental Red and Bad Black Moccasin had no such issues.
Less than a week isn't long to leave ink in a pen without writing. I have pens from several different makers filled with Diamine inks that write fine after sitting for a week or so. I too try not to let them sit filled for more than a few days without using them, but once in a while I end up with too many inked pens or forget about one.
I prefer, Diamine, Pelikan, and Pilot Iroshizuku inks these days. I used to have several Noodlers inks. The nib creep bothered me, and I worried that such saturated inks may damage a pen. I was lucky with the Noodlers I owned and researched the colors I chose before I bought them to make sure no one had noted problems. I got tired of worrying about it, though, so now I stick to ink brands I'm more confident with.
-Andy
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I love the color but find the ink kind of dry/scratchy. Thinning it with distilled water worked well but have found some similar alternatives I tend to favor these days.
LOL. It's so automatic I omitted. I water 54th down, especially in pens that been repeatedly refilled and the drying time accumulates saturation. Improves the shading, keeps color from going near black in density, helps it flow even better and eliminates the oversaturation bleed that streaks if dried ink gets wet.
What are some of the inks you favor?
I think that Noodler's and Diamine seem to compete for the largest stable of ink to select between, and I tend to vascillate between the two. Diamine writes sooo nicely and is so easy to clean out that it makes me happy, but the lack of water-resistance makes me back away as so much of my writing is work related and I'm hesitant to put ink to paper in charts where a bit of water can cause it all to go awry.
I think that Noodler's are a great value for the amount of ink you get, but they can be hard to clean out if not diluted, they creep up the nibs like crazy, and can dry up quickly and make for a clogging mess if you're not careful. That being said, I love my BSB. It lives happily in a Safari dedicated to it and it makes me happy to write with it. I also love Aircorp Blue Black, though that's almost as bad of a name as Private Reserve's Blue Suede. Lexington Gray is a really nice ink with good ease of use. I loved the color of Liberty's Elysium and El Lawrence, but writing with them was more painful than ink should be. I've been cautiously enjoying 54th Mass, but I hate the nib creep and it's just SO saturated. I'm going to try watering down it and El Lawrence and see how that goes. Past those, I've tried many many samples, which is part of the fun I guess.
I wouldn't hesitate to try out Noodler's. Just make sure you don't throw it in a pen and leave it for a year!
I think that Noodler's are a great value for the amount of ink you get, but they can be hard to clean out if not diluted, they creep up the nibs like crazy, and can dry up quickly and make for a clogging mess if you're not careful. That being said, I love my BSB. It lives happily in a Safari dedicated to it and it makes me happy to write with it. I also love Aircorp Blue Black, though that's almost as bad of a name as Private Reserve's Blue Suede. Lexington Gray is a really nice ink with good ease of use. I loved the color of Liberty's Elysium and El Lawrence, but writing with them was more painful than ink should be. I've been cautiously enjoying 54th Mass, but I hate the nib creep and it's just SO saturated. I'm going to try watering down it and El Lawrence and see how that goes. Past those, I've tried many many samples, which is part of the fun I guess.
I wouldn't hesitate to try out Noodler's. Just make sure you don't throw it in a pen and leave it for a year!
I tried a sample of Liberty's Elysium and loved the color, so I went and bought a whole bottle. Now that I know how much of a pain it is, I'm going to start using J. Herbin Eclat de Saphir for my daily blue. Much more well-behaved, and similar colors.
I've tried a bunch of samples of their black inks, and haven't found one yet that I like better than J. Herbin Perle Noir. I also didn't find any reds that piqued my fancy. I do like their Kiowa Pecan though, but I use it pretty sparingly.
Out of curiousity, what kind of ratio do you gents use when diluting 54th Mass.?
I've tried a bunch of samples of their black inks, and haven't found one yet that I like better than J. Herbin Perle Noir. I also didn't find any reds that piqued my fancy. I do like their Kiowa Pecan though, but I use it pretty sparingly.
Out of curiousity, what kind of ratio do you gents use when diluting 54th Mass.?
