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Thread: Prejudice Against Noodler's Ink

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    Senior Member thagbert's Avatar
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    Default Prejudice Against Noodler's Ink

    There seems to be some prejudice against Noodler's among several pen experts (unidentified).

    It may be that Noodler's is the new kid on the block and more established brands like to take shots at them.

    Should I be concerned about using Noodler's?
    Last edited by thagbert; July 23rd, 2014 at 12:22 PM.
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    Default Re: Prejudice Against Noodler's Ink

    Pen hygiene and no issues here.
    Fountain Pen Sith Lord | Daakusaido | Everything in one spot

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    Default Re: Prejudice Against Noodler's Ink

    I have had zero problems with Noodler's Black, Walnut... some other colors. I'm glad I don't care about Bay State Blue, otherwise I'd have to think hard about risk.

    There are some Noodler's inks that seem to have a greasy consistency. I don't like to use those. I mean, I don't use those.

    Whatever ink -- pay attention and flush your pens (clean them). Should be fine.

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    Default Re: Prejudice Against Noodler's Ink

    I have talked to a fair number of pen restorers and vintage pen sellers, and I just don't know. I think "prejudice" is a strong word, since it implies something unfounded, whereas I can't ignore the experiences they relate.

    And on the other hand, anecdotal evidence from Noodler's users is that most Noodler's inks are safe for most pens. I can't ignore that either.

    I put it down to this: in my experience, all the more saturated inks, whoever the maker, seem to need more careful pen hygiene than less saturated inks. And all the Noodler's inks that I have used are very saturated. To me, "pen hygiene" includes not just careful cleaning, but also not keeping an ink too long in a pen.

    Bay State Blue is a different matter from what I've heard, and not just the staining. I seem to remember someone here posting a picture of a Safari feed that was destroyed by BSB. And I have heard about that with another pen, too, though I can't remember the brand. My friends who use that ink all put it in a special-purpose pen. And they love it.

    For myself, I've tried a lot of their inks, and they just aren't my cup of tea. But I love seeing them in my penpals' letters.

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    Default Re: Prejudice Against Noodler's Ink

    I wouldn't worry. Clean your pen regularly and you should be fine.

    The exception would be Baystate Blue and its family. They are chemically different. You should be more careful with these. The Baystate Blue in particular has a tendency to stain pens.

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    Default Re: Prejudice Against Noodler's Ink

    I am absolutely not an expert, but yes, I tend to steer clear of Noodler's. Not because of any quality issue, they seem to be good inks, and the bulletproof ones are excellent. But, I have tried several of their inks, and find too much showthrough with all of them. Bear in mind, most of my writing is at work, and the paper quality there is poor. If I used good paper, my response might be different.

    Well, there we go.

    Ken

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    Default Re: Prejudice Against Noodler's Ink

    Yup, aside from BSB and the staining issue (which I knew about so I only put it in certain pens), I've had zero issues and I have.. *thinks*.. 8 bottles of Noodler's? I've put them in vintage and modern pens. I just don't let inks dry out in my pens, whether vintage or modern, especially saturated inks. But that goes for all inks over here, not just Noodler's.

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    Default Re: Prejudice Against Noodler's Ink

    8 bottles here and I can't even tell you how many samples, only one problem. Whales mans sepia stained my Konrad, I have tried bleach, ammonia you name it.

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    Default Re: Prejudice Against Noodler's Ink

    I have used several of the Noodler's inks. No issues, it seems economical.

    I have read some of the rants and articles by pen repair persons about Noodler's damaging pens. They don't seem to be able to present proof positive that Noodler's caused the damage in each case, but they have a hunch Noodler's is the cause. In some cases, like ruined sacs, there have been defective sacs on the market. How can they prove that's not the cause. Then came the "boutique inks" statement. The Pelikan people threw that at me about using non-Pelikan ink in their pen, causing the section to become unglued. It's easy for repair people to accuse the ink of being the problem. I say poor materials and/or poor workmanship is the issue.

    There's about a snowball's chance in hades that I will buy any Pelikan ink.

    These arguments blaming the ink are posh, tosh and gibberish.

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    Default Re: Prejudice Against Noodler's Ink

    Have used 54th Mass. and Red-Black with absolutely no problems. I do dilute the 54th Mass. 4:1 with distilled water.

    All in all, from what I have read, I would not be concerned about using Noodlers inks with the exception of Bay State Blue.

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    Default Re: Prejudice Against Noodler's Ink

    Three of four of my currently inked pens have Noodler's in them. 5 O'Clock Shadow, Black Eel & Whaleman's Sepia. No issues and no problems. YMMV.

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    Default Re: Prejudice Against Noodler's Ink

    Quote Originally Posted by GardenWeasel View Post
    Three of four of my currently inked pens have Noodler's in them. 5 O'Clock Shadow, Black Eel & Whaleman's Sepia. No issues and no problems. YMMV.
    That is my experience too. I'm checking out the rumors.

    I had heard about Bay State Blue. Apparently it is the superman of inks.

    I use the Bulletproof/Eternal inks for writing that I want to survive the ages.
    Last edited by thagbert; May 6th, 2013 at 10:11 PM.
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    Default Re: Prejudice Against Noodler's Ink

    Anecdotal evidence is never conclusive evidence. A handful of inks is no guarantee.

    However, neither is a blanket condemnation of Mr. Tardiff's products. One must bear in mind that he hasn't simply produced an extraordinary number of inks, as impressive as that would be. No, he has produced a wide range of inks of differing properties, and it is not hard to grasp that there are a lot of differences in the chemical and compositional makeup of those ink forumlas. For instance, BSB is very well known to be a, um, special ink. It is pretty much different from most any other inks (even, to a degree, from the other Baystate inks). To say that I have three pens inked with others (and I do, and more) doesn't say anything whatsoever about the performance and other aspects of BSB.

    I love Noodlers, I really like the cut of Nathan's jibs (except for some of the politics), but I'm not blind to potential problems. To say "never use a Noodlers product in your pen" is probably not right, but certainly hedges bets; to say that "every Noodlers ink is perfectly benign" is the polar extreme. Something in the middle, taken with a grain of caveats, is probably on the mark.
    Last edited by Jon Szanto; May 7th, 2013 at 12:26 AM. Reason: Caught a typo
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    Default Re: Prejudice Against Noodler's Ink

    After ten years of using Noodler's, none my pens has been stained or damaged by it. I have 23 bottles, at least a dozen samples, and at all times at least one pen filled with a Noodler's ink. While there haven't been any issues, like most inks, it takes matching ink to pen to paper. When that is done well, it's a great product.

    My daughter has had a Lamy Safari filled with Noodler's Black for years. That pen gets a cleaning about every third fill and it never fails to write well. I'm not fanatical about hygiene but I've learned how far I can push my pens to perform without a cleaning. A thorough rinsing between fills is good with any ink.

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    Default Re: Prejudice Against Noodler's Ink

    Quote Originally Posted by drgoretex View Post
    I am absolutely not an expert, but yes, I tend to steer clear of Noodler's. Not because of any quality issue, they seem to be good inks, and the bulletproof ones are excellent. But, I have tried several of their inks, and find too much showthrough with all of them. Bear in mind, most of my writing is at work, and the paper quality there is poor. If I used good paper, my response might be different.
    There was a recent thread over in that other forum in which the OP suggested that many of the Noodler's ink are actually oversaturated, and that they may work better for many people if they are diluted 50:50 with distilled water.

    I find the Noodler's inks that I have to be somewhat less free-flowing in certain pens than the rest of my inks. I have yet to try the dilution experiment though.

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    Default Re: Prejudice Against Noodler's Ink

    I would say that it is less prejudice against Noodlers ink as it is against more saturated inks. It seems that more saturated inks are meant to be "higher maintenance", and apparently used with care in vintage pens.

    Personally, apart from my Parker vacumatic pens, I will use any ink in any pen. I have quite a few bottles of Noodlers ink, and enjoy using them very much. There are other "safer" inks that also tend to stain - I've found that several Diamine inks have that tendency, so I avoid using them in pens that are demonstrators, and can't be completely disassembled and cleaned.

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    Default Re: Prejudice Against Noodler's Ink

    I've had no issues with the few bottles I've been able to get. The only one I keep in a 'dedicated' pen is the Prime of the Commons which is in a black Pelikan 205. And that's just because of the nib-creep! Having said that, it looks really good with a blue-steel nib!
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    Default Re: Prejudice Against Noodler's Ink

    I have a lot of Noodlers ink. I would say the same as others BSB is a special case and Q'ternity was odd all the others are amazing inks and worthy of a try, as for BSB, I now have a demonstrator Ahab that is now a shade of blue but as a dip ink it's fabulous.

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    Default Re: Prejudice Against Noodler's Ink

    BSB ate my hamster.

    Apart from that no problems with Noodlers (well any worse than any other inks - nib creep and the like).

    carl

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    Default Re: Prejudice Against Noodler's Ink

    No issues with any Noodlers inks and have never tried BSB. As with any brand of ink, I wouldn't leave it in, especially a vintage pen for a long time.
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