Results 1 to 5 of 5

Thread: Noodler's Black

  1. #1
    Member carpedavid's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Cleveland, OH
    Posts
    32
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 57 Times in 20 Posts
    Rep Power
    0

    Default Noodler's Black



    Noodler's (Bulletproof) Black is the first bottled ink that I added to my ink collection. I had heard many good things about the ink, and while many of those things are true, there is one major issue that is difficult to overcome.

    First, Noodler's Black is as black as night. Pitch black. When poets refer to an inky blackness, this is the ink that they have in mind. It is extremely saturated and lays down a very opaque, non-shaded line in every nib and on every paper that I've used it with. It's so saturated that it doesn't matter what color or texture paper one uses – the result is a solid black line.

    Second, the ink is viscous. Neither wet nor dry, it is better described as thick and lubricating – making any pen I've used it in write smoothly. Because it of its viscosity, it tends to sit on top of the paper instead of being absorbed. Thus, I have never noticed any feathering on either Moleskine or Rhodia papers. It is also remarkably well behaved when it comes to bleed-through and show-through. It doesn't bleed through, and, despite its remarkably bold presence on the page, exhibits very little show-through.

    All of the admirable qualities above are the ones that I had heard expressed about Noodler's Black prior to my purchase, and I found all to be true. However, the one quibble that I had heard was that it took a while to dry, and this I also found to be true. On Moleskine and Rhodia papers, Noodler's Black takes upwards of a minute to completely dry. In my experience, I would often finish writing a note, wait for a minute for the ink to dry, close the notebook, and then open it up later to discover that the facing page was now covered in dark, black spots.

    It is because of the enormously long drying time that Noodler's Black is not an ink that I use regularly. I do use it for calligraphy, when signing documents, and for those special occasions that I need a pitch black line, but only for those occasions. If one doesn't mind the drying time, or regularly carries a sheet of blotting paper, then Noodler's Black is a solid ink that's appropriate for every day and business use.

    Speaking of business use, Noodler's Black is marketed as both archival and bulletproof, meaning that it can't be removed from a document. According to Noodler's, the bulletproof inks bind with the cellulose in the paper, making it impervious to most forging techniques. As one can see from the smear test on the review above, it isn't completely waterproof, but it is still quite readable even after the water is applied.

    Noodler's Black comes in a very full 3 oz. bottle. I would advise setting the bottle down on a level and stable surface before opening it for the first time, as it comes filled to the brim. Since Noodler's intentionally uses stock bottles and lids to keep their prices low, there isn't much to say about the bottle other than it does an admirable job of keeping the ink contained.

    Noodler's Black is a bold, black ink that I'm glad that I have in my collection, even if I don't use it regularly.

    Review materials: For the wide strokes, I used a Lamy 1.1mm steel calligraphy nib in a Lamy Safari. For the narrow strokes, I used a Lamy EF steel nib in a Lamy Safari. The review is written on Rhodia 80g paper.
    seize the dave - a little bit about a lot of stuff: ink reviews, origami, poetry, and more
    my ink reviews
    follow me on twitter @carpedavid

  2. #2
    Administrator eriquito's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    California
    Posts
    398
    Thanks
    41
    Thanked 233 Times in 45 Posts
    Rep Power
    10

    Default

    I truly enjoy the way you put things, David. Especially when describing the Noodler's ink bottle and how:

    ...it does an admirable job of keeping the ink contained.
    You are my new Muse of Chuckles.

    =) Eric
    Son of Ragnar

  3. #3
    The Nibsmith dannzeman's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    IOWA -- Go HAWKEYES!!
    Posts
    1,244
    Thanks
    524
    Thanked 1,837 Times in 439 Posts
    Rep Power
    16

    Default Re: Noodler's Black

    Reading your review reminds me of Noodler's Heart of Darkness. How is their bullet proof black different than HoD? i should note that I haven't experienced the long drying times you speak of with HoD either.

    Sent from my htc HERO using Tapatalk

  4. #4
    Member Kelly G's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Western Kansas - USA
    Posts
    55
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 8 Times in 2 Posts
    Rep Power
    15

    Default

    I've been through a bottle of the Noodler's Black and was OK with the ink. It exhibited some nib creep if I remember correctly, it's been awhile back. I then tried a bottle of Midnight Black from Swisher Pens - a Noodler's ink as well. It too was OK. Next I tried Borealis Black - that is one dark black ink and it was my black ink of choice until I picked up a couple of bottles of Dark Matter - a Noodler's formulation based on a mysterious ink that showed up at Nathans. The bottle was a govt. issue ink that turned out to be the black ink used at the Manhattan Project in Los Alamos N.M. during WW II. Nathan re-formulated the ink using modern ingredients and it is a very good black ink. I buy it from Swisher Pens.
    It doesn't have the nib creep problem, at least not in my Pilot VP. It dries very quickly on Ampad Gold Fibre paper (planning pad/Steno book), less than two seconds. It does feather very slightly on that paper - you need a loupe to see the feathering, at least with my old eyes.
    On Black 'n Red and Staples Eco Friendly paper it takes longer to dry, around 25 seconds with no feathering or bleed through or show through. My VP F nib writes a fairly wet line with this ink.

    I've also been using the ink in my OS Sheaffer Balance Vac filler and it performs quite well.

    For my money, this ink is very much like vintage Quink or Skrip except darker with less shading. I gave one bottle to a friend and plan to snap off a few more bottles in the near future. It also comes with a note of explanation of the history of the ink and a very nifty label featuring Dr. Robert Oppenheimer.
    Like all Noodler's inks, you want to follow your advice to open it on a hard flat surface as the bottle is completely full.

  5. #5
    Member carpedavid's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Cleveland, OH
    Posts
    32
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 57 Times in 20 Posts
    Rep Power
    0

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by dannzeman View Post
    Reading your review reminds me of Noodler's Heart of Darkness. How is their bullet proof black different than HoD? i should note that I haven't experienced the long drying times you speak of with HoD either.
    I haven't actually had any experience with HoD. It's on my list to try someday, though.
    seize the dave - a little bit about a lot of stuff: ink reviews, origami, poetry, and more
    my ink reviews
    follow me on twitter @carpedavid

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •