Comments on Snarkclaw: Moved

In my experience, Noodler's Black is totally u...

2010-10-22T01:19:53.858-07:00

In my experience, Noodler's Black is totally unaffected by exposure to water. In other words, it does not "smear, smudge, or bleed when wetted".

A problem with Noodler's inks (all of them, not only the "bulletproof" ones) is that the manufacturing and mixing is inconsistent, and sometimes you will get a bottle that is too concentrated. Then the ink doesn't fully soak into the paper, and the residue left on the surface of the paper will smear.

At that point you could send your defective bottle back for a replacement, or you could try the much quicker and easier fix of diluting it with distilled water. The ratio is not critical, and 1 part water to 2 or 3 parts ink always worked for me.

As a final tip. . . Noodler's standard Black is good, but Noodler's "Heart of Darkness" is even deeper black and soaks into paper a bit more readily. It's somewhat less likely to need dilution, and even if diluted will still look very dark.

Hi Ian, and thanks for asking! A potential ink fo...

2010-01-31T07:05:56.683-08:00

Hi Ian, and thanks for asking!

A potential ink for your purposes is Platinum Carbon black ink; this ink is basically India ink without shellac or other adhesive. I have been impressed with this ink's resistance to both water and alcohol; it has not smeared when hit with either. Theoretically, the carbon particles are fine enough to not clog fountain pens. I have successfully used this ink in fountain pens, but I would still recommend taking lots of care with it, since I have also had clogging after a few days in one pen. Fortunately, the lack of adhesive in the ink means that clogs can be cleaned.

Sailor Kiwagura Nano black ink is similar and some people have liked it a lot. I personally found it to clog my pens, but have been told that it was reformulated and works well in fountain pens now. Since it is very expensive, I have not yet bothered to find out whether this is true, particularly since I have several cartridges and a bottle of Platinum Carbon black ink to use first.

In either ink's case, I recommend first trying a fountain pen that you can afford to ruin and replace. I'm not saying that you will, but don't try these inks with your most expensive prize pen. Ideally, use a pen that does not hold a lot of ink, like a cartridge-refill pen rather than an eyedropper. I recommend this because I suggest not letting the ink sit in the pen for more than a few days between cleanings, so only keep a little ink in at a time (like a cartridge's worth). I found that the Platinum Carbon black ink could work fine in a fountain pen for a few days, but then have troubles. I kept having to rinse the nib to get it restarted, so I assume that the carbon was starting to build up in the feed or nib. Hence my recommendation that you clean the pen regularly.

Hi, I purchased some Noodlers Ink to use for ink s...

2010-01-31T01:08:12.736-08:00

Hi, I purchased some Noodlers Ink to use for ink sketchbook drawings that I wanted to colour with watercolour paints - and yes, just as you said, the ink bleeds when I do this. Shame I hadn't seen your article before I bought it. Is there any ink that doesn't do this?
Ian, Manchester, UK