Noodler's Baltimore Canyon Blue Ink Review

[aurore]

Noodler's Baltimore Canyon Blue Ink


Prelude

One of the newest among Noodler’s inks. And by a huge margin the best and the most exceptional I have tried. To cut the long story short: go and buy it, you will not regret, it is an outstanding ink.

I tested it in 2 pens: Caran d’Ache Genève F nib (quite fine and not wet), Montblanc Slimline M nib (a broader kind of M and very wet, with ebonite feed).

The paper used is Oxford (a coated paper similar to Rhodia).

The water test performed with a huge drop (it took about 12 hours to evaporate so we may call it a 12 hours soaking). The bleeding/dirt you see it actually due to a DIFFERENT ink I wrote with on the other side of the paper, deterioration of the paper (12 hours of soaking) and the fact I dropped the paper on the dirty balcony floor ). Noodler’s Baltimore Canyon Blue did not feather or bleed.

Photos taken in a natural daylight (in overall a rather gentle sunlight - in different intensities).


Description

COMPOSITION: Presumably dye based. My guess it is some kind of a newer dye. The ink is not thick, the dye load is not high (unlike most Noodler’s ink).

COLOUR: True blue, a kind of a deep sky blue (definitely not blurple, rather azure). Looks vibrant on coated papers and flatter on absorbent papers. It is a great kind of blue.

FLOW/LUBRICATION: The flow is good but not wet, it works better in wetter pens. No exceptional lubrication really.

FEATHERING/BLEEDING: None. Bleeding is possible in very wet nibs, but the ink is definitely well-behaved.

DRYING TIME: Depends on the pen's wetness, but in general quite fast.

WATER-/FADE-RESISTANCE: Completely waterproof once dried and lightfast. A real archival ink.

SHADING/SHEEN: Shading depends on the pen and paper. Sheen only in very wet pens on coated papers.

CLEANING: Quite easy with just a plain water (it may leave a very light nearly invisible film but it will disappear with a bit of effort), much easier than the majority of water resistant inks. Disappears from hands immediately with just a bit of soap. Amazing.


Summary

The ink performs great. The flow is good but drier nibs may cause a bit of skipping (especially drier fine nibs) but not a lot.
The ink is fully permanent. Amazingly permanent. Yet quite easy to clean.
The colour is appealing. Vibrant but not too vibrant (I would not hesitate using it in office). On absorbent papers the colour is flatter.

It behaves very well. Really well. No complaints

Price is superb. Appx. 19 USD in States and 12.50 EUR from lacouronneducomte in Europe. It is worth every single cent.

I have never been a fan of Noodler’s inks. At all. I don't like Nathan and I don't like most of his inks I have tried. But this ink is a real must have. There is only a couple of inks I would call must have, this ink i sone of them. You have to get it, seriously.

Caran d'Ache Genève F nib (not wet)






Montblanc M nib (wet)








Water test - 12 hours of soaking (ignore the feathering and bleeding - it's purely due to the deterioration of the paper caused by hours of soaking and a dirt I got on the paper when I dropped it on the balcony floor, this ink normally neither feathers nor bleeds)