Noodler's Pasternak - A poetic grey....

[Yazeh]

A complex grey belonging to the Russian series, an homage to the great Russian Poet, Boris Pasternak.
In its early iteration (2012) this ink was purple

Pasternak was born in an integrated Jewish Russian family. His father was a painter, his mother a pianist. As a four-year-old, Tolstoy visited their house, to listen Pasternak’s mother play the piano.
A young Pasternak by his father Leonid 1910, Courtesy of Wikipedia.

In his youth he met Alexander Scriabin, the great Russian composer, and decided to become a musician but after six years of toil he realized he had no talent. So, he abandoned music and studied philosophy in Germany, but to no avail. Thankfully he settled on literature: Poetry and translation

Here is a sample of his work (translation used from Poemhunter) on TR 68gr
1Pasternak - TR68gr.jpeg
and Midori…
2Pasternak - Midori.jpeg


While like many Russians artists, he embraced the promise of the revolution, he soon became disillusioned. He survived the great purge. It is said that Stalin had written besides his name: leave alone this cloud dweller. Yet his lover was sent to the gulag and had a miscarriage. Some say he survived maybe, because he translated works of Georgian Literature. Stalin was from Georgia/Russia.

The culmination of his work was Dr. Zhivago, his only work of prose, for which and his poetry he was awarded the Nobel prize for literature, which brought him disgrace. He died two years later.
Sketych - Midori.jpeg



He died two years after, is dishonour for having accepted/awarded the Nobel prize (though he rejected it, 6 days after). Dr. Zhivago was published in Russia in 1988.

I don’t know why Nathan has settled on grey. I am not familiar enough with Pasternak’s work. However, the complexity of the chroma has convinced that the literary imagery of this genius would demand a cacophony of colour to create a vibrant grey.
Chroma.jpeg

Now for the ink:
This is a dream ink for an occasional sketcher, on good fountain pen paper. The ink is wetter than the other Russian inks, I tried and it would embrace copy paper like a long-lost lover, never to let go. I preferred it most in my medium Jinhao. I enjoyed less with EF/F nibs, though truth be said, I’m not a fan of fine lines in general, unless I’m doodling. With TWSBI Stub, was a bit difficult to control. Though enjoyable to write.

Here is an unrelated sketch:
Sketch - TR68gr 1.jpg

Note Russian series inks are more expensive than standard bulletproof inks.
Ink is bulletproof. However, excess ink will wash away as you can see on the left image.
Passternak Watwetest.jpeg


· Pens used: TWSBI Go STUB – Jinaho 450 fude/ medium nib, No name F/EF nibs.
· Shading: Quite a bit on good paper.
· Ghosting: No
· Bleed through: Yes on copy paper
· Flow Rate: Wet
· Lubrication: Cushiony
· Nib Dry-out: No.
· Start-up: No
· Saturation: Deep rich grey. Though on absorbent paper it turns into a dull grey.
· Shading Potential: Yes
· Sheen: None
· Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Not noticed
· Nib Creep / “Crud”: No
· Staining (pen): Very easy to clean…
· Clogging: None
· Water resistance: Excellent
· Availability: 90 ml bottles

[Yazeh]

I forgot this sample to contrast between EF/ M nibs.

The poem is prophetic. Written two years before Pasternak's disgrace for winning the Noble prize. Prophetic:
Paper is TR 68 gr


Pasternak EF.jpg

[DrPenfection]

ok ok ok . . . you convinced me. I need to give this one a try. This looks like a lovely grey ink and I love the shading.

[Yazeh]

ok ok ok . . . you convinced me. I need to give this one a try. This looks like a lovely grey ink and I love the shading.

It is a lovely one to my eyes Dr. P... but this is the first grey that has convinced and tempted me. Get a sample from Vanness. They give you enough ink to go through many pens...

[Pterodactylus]

Yazeh, great review. 👍
Question to your as I think you are an experienced Noodlers ink user.
Often it is said that these inks lack consistency (color vise) over produced batches (the company is mainly a one man show).
How is your experience regarding ink color consistency?

Personally I have only a few Noodlers inks, not only because they are difficult to get in Europe (actually stopped buying them).
I like e.g. Noodlers Navy (perfectly fine ink)
I also own Apache Sunset (great Showcase ink) and Golden Brown (often use it for drawing), but both lack long term stability in pens (after some time in pens they just don’t dry anymore (forever)).

[Yazeh]

Yazeh, great review. 👍.

Thanks!
Question to your as I think you are an experienced Noodlers ink user.
Often it is said that these inks lack consistency (color vise) over produced batches (the company is mainly a one man show).

How is your experience regarding ink color consistency?.

I use a lot of samples. And never twice. So I cannot say. However, Pasternak for example was purple in the beginning. And even on Noodler's site it's still purple.
Also Black Swan in Australian Rose went through quite a bit of colour change.
Here is sample of review of FPN from 2012:

Personally I have only a few Noodlers inks, not only because they are difficult to get in Europe (actually stopped buying them).
I like e.g. Noodlers Navy (perfectly fine ink)
I also own Apache Sunset (great Showcase ink) and Golden Brown (often use it for drawing), but both lack long term stability in pens (after some time in pens they just don’t dry anymore (forever)).

I mostly use the bulletproof inks.
Personally I don't like some of the shading inks... It's mostly because their long dry time.
I hope it answers your questions....

[DrPenfection]

Perhaps this might be a good time to inject some of my limited experience with Noodler's.

Let me say that I am a great supporter of small businesses, including "one man shows". I admire Nathan Tardiff a great deal because it takes a lot of time, energy and internal fortitude to produce the types and amount of ink that he produces.

That said . . . yes, I have had issues with Noodler's inks in the pass.

One issue that Noodler's, as well as other small brands (i.e. Troublemaker, Robert Oster in early years) is color consistency. One bottle would lean one direction in color, another bottle acquired later would be an entirely different color leaning the opposite direction. It is an issue that plagues "small batch" operations. This is partly because, imho, that they are not big enough to order the huge amount of base components that they need. So, the base components may have variation. Even with precise measurements, this variation in components is difficult to overcome for a consistent product. So the ink formulator tries to compensate, and still can not nail down the consistency desired. While I don't know if this is Nathan's issue, it is an issue for others.

For me, another issue relates to the ink formulation. I fell in love with Apache Sunset, Black Swan of Australian Roses, and the Eel inks. They are fantastic inks. But like Yazeh suggested, if left in a pen too long they evaporate a bit and when put to paper they never dry. Smearing then becomes a problem. And I hate inks that smear after they dry.

Finally, there is a component in several ink brands that gives me an instant migraine. I have noticed this in most of the Noodler's and KWZ inks that I have tried. I have even noticed this in some Sailor and even Diamine inks (i.e. 2021 Inkvent Thunderbolt - instant migraine!). This isn't the ink manufacturer's fault, but it is one reason why I have to avoid some ink brands when I may really love their colors.

But, because of the first issue, I am willing to try again.

[Yazeh]

Dr. P, you won't like Kung Te-Cheng then. It has that smell.
Most shading ink by Noodler's take a long time to dry. I have Apache Sunset. I never use it, even though I love the colour. I had the same problem with Walnut and Golden Brown. They are some of the most beautiful inks, I've used. But they take a long time to dry.
For some it's a problem for other no.

Another thing is that some of the bulletproof inks are difficult to clean. Difficult meaning you need to swirl the feed in ink cleaner solution.
But not as difficult as some of the sktechINKs.
Two of the Polar ink can stain (Brown/Green) which I have and use regularly.

As for Zhivago, for ex. stained one cheap Chinese plastic pen but it didn't my other Jinhao. But it doesn't smell....

[BlkWhiteFilmPix]

The ink in my couple of years old bottle of Pasternak is purple.

Yazeh, your artful writing samples have inspired me to ink one of my pens with it.

As for Pasternak himself, Stalin let him keep his dacha in Peredelkino. There's a photo of it on my Russia page.

[Yazeh]

The ink in my couple of years old bottle of Pasternak is purple.

Yazeh, your artful writing samples have inspired me to ink one of my pens with it.

As for Pasternak himself, Stalin let him keep his dacha in Peredelkino. There's a photo of it on my Russia page.

Thank you for pointing out the true colour of the ink.
Yes, Pasternak was the lucky one that got away. I truly appreciated your Russian page. We need so much gentleness, especially now. Спасибо