Noodler's Dromgoole's Blue Steel

[musicman123]

The ever-generous Amberlea Davis sent me a small sample of this ink as part of our SuperPinks program. She said that this is her daily carry ink (right Amber?) and that it is amazing. After using a converter full of it, I do like the color very much, but because of a couple behavioral quirks, it probably will not be my daily carry. 

 

This review will follow my normal standard format for reviews, with pictures following a small blurb. The pictures were taken with an iPhone 6, back camera, in artificial lighting. Effort has been made to show the true color, but your milage may vary depending on your monitor. If you would like to see all my ink images, you are free to go to http://files.goviralforyou.com/Inks/Reviews

 

Here is a preview of the ink. It is a blue ink, that is not too dark, nor too bright. Overall, it is a very balanced color.

 

http://files.goviralforyou.com/Inks/Reviews/Noodlers/Dromgoole's%20Blue%20Steel/Ink.jpeg

 

Here is the nib and paper used. I used my favorite Nemosine Singularity Demonstrator in a TWSBI B nib, which is a little finer than my Nemosine B, but not by much. I used my standard, HP 28lb copy paper, which is now discontinued. This paper is very comparable to the HP 32lb which is still readily available, and which I will be switching to very soon.

 

http://files.goviralforyou.com/Inks/Reviews/Noodlers/Dromgoole's%20Blue%20Steel/Paper%20and%20Nib.jpeg

 

Here is a swab of the ink, made using the back of my nib. I did not have my Q-tips available at that time.

 

http://files.goviralforyou.com/Inks/Reviews/Noodlers/Dromgoole's%20Blue%20Steel/Swab.jpeg

 

The ink exhibits average characteristics. The flow is very wet, and it provides a decent amount of lubrication. There is not too much shading because of how wet this ink is. As you can see, there is a noticeable amount of feathering, especially on the very wet spots. There is quite a lot of show through on this 28lb paper, and some minor bleeding. There is no dry smear at all. http://files.goviralforyou.com/Inks/Reviews/Noodlers/Dromgoole's%20Blue%20Steel/Characteristics.jpeg

 

http://files.goviralforyou.com/Inks/Reviews/Noodlers/Dromgoole's%20Blue%20Steel/Characteristics%20%202.jpeg

 

This ink is one of the quickest drying inks in my collection, possibly contributing to the back characteristics this ink exhibits. The ink dries in roughly 7 seconds. 

 

http://files.goviralforyou.com/Inks/Reviews/Noodlers/Dromgoole's%20Blue%20Steel/Dry%20Time.jpeg

 

Here is a poorly drawn ghost to show how the ink looks with sketching, and coloring. http://files.goviralforyou.com/Inks/Reviews/Noodlers/Dromgoole's%20Blue%20Steel/Ghost.jpeg

 

Here is a comparison with other ink colors. Use this as a calibration for your monitors and the photos. I did not intend this to show similar colors. Note that Dragon's Napalm sparkles because of added Luster Dust. See the "Th-INKing Outside the Bottle" thread for details.

 

http://files.goviralforyou.com/Inks/Reviews/Noodlers/Dromgoole's%20Blue%20Steel/Comparison.jpeg

 

Here is a water test. The top grid had drops of water placed for 10 seconds, then vigorously wiped downwards. The bottom text did not receive any drops of water and was only wiped with in the same motion as the grid. The ink fared quite averagely in this test. The ink performed very average on this test. There was noticeable lifting, and a good amount of wet smear.

 

http://files.goviralforyou.com/Inks/Reviews/Noodlers/Dromgoole's%20Blue%20Steel/Water.jpeg

 

http://files.goviralforyou.com/Inks/Reviews/Noodlers/Dromgoole's%20Blue%20Steel/Water%20After.jpeg

 

Lastly, here is a scan of the review. Use the scan to read the rest of the review. I did not intend for it to show color accuracy. The pictures are the most accurate representation of the color. 

 

http://files.goviralforyou.com/Inks/Reviews/Noodlers/Dromgoole's%20Blue%20Steel/Scan.jpg

 

That's all folks! I would give this ink a 6/10, just because of the issues with it. If you liked this review, stay tuned for more to come!

[visvamitra]

The feathering looks awful.

[musicman123]

The feathering looks awful.

It's a bit bad right now, with this nib. It could be better with an F nib I guess? It doesn't feather on Rhodia or CF so rest assured.

[amberleadavis]

You might want to have this pen looked at... I love WET writing pens and wet writing inks. This ink shades and doesn't feather in any of my pens (and I only use Broads or Italics) and I've used it on a lot of different papers. (On the recycled papers, it can show bleed through).

 

This image is from a BB Pelikan that was modified to be wetter.

http://sheismylawyer.com/She_Thinks_In_Ink/Inklings/2013-Ink_747b.jpg

[amberleadavis]

And, you are welcome.

[musicman123]

You might want to have this pen looked at... I love WET writing pens and wet writing inks. This ink shades and doesn't feather in any of my pens (and I only use Broads or Italics) and I've used it on a lot of different papers. (On the recycled papers, it can show bleed through).

 

This image is from a BB Pelikan that was modified to be wetter.

http://sheismylawyer.com/She_Thinks_In_Ink/Inklings/2013-Ink_747b.jpg

Huh.... am I doing something wrong? It seemed to feather on most of my non-special papers. I didn't try it on my new HP 32lb though, so I may get some better results there!

[amberleadavis]

You aren't doing anything wrong. Have you only tried it in that one pen? It looks like DBS is too wet for that pen. If so it may be that you should use a dry ink in that particular pen.

[musicman123]

You aren't doing anything wrong. Have you only tried it in that one pen? It looks like DBS is too wet for that pen. If so it may be that you should use a dry ink in that particular pen.

So far, only one pen! I think I'm gonna use my Xezo Leggionare, which is known to be pretty dry, to me at least.

[TheRealScubaSteve]

So far, only one pen! I think I'm gonna use my Xezo Leggionare, which is known to be pretty dry, to me at least.

 

If it feathers on either paper I sent you, it's the pen.

[amberleadavis]

I look forward to your results.

[musicman123]

I look forward to your results.

I look forward to your results.

Should I update this thread or start a new one? Is there an unwritten convention for this kind of stuff?

[amberleadavis]

This is your thread, so update it.

[musicman123]

I look forward to your results.

 

The result are in! With the finer/dryer nib on HP28lb Copy, I did not notice much feathering at all, even on the wet spots. I can conclude that the other nib was wayyyyy too wet for this ink then. 

 

http://files.goviralforyou.com/Inks/Reviews/Noodlers/Dromgoole's%20Blue%20Steel/Finer%20Nib.jpeg

[inkstainedruth]

Thanks for the review, and the update with a different pen.

I think I'm going to pass on this one though. I'm not enamored of the color, and prefer 54th Massachusetts, which is a tad less teal/green.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Veltri]

I prefer the colour in a wet pen - less green and darker - like your first images.

 

It doesn't feather for me in a Jinhao 750 and has that darker but still popping colour.

[Flaxmoore]

Looks almost like Tsuki-yo to my eyes. Would be nice to have a 14c/ml alternative to the 56c/ml Iro.

[amberleadavis]

Looks almost like Tsuki-yo to my eyes. Would be nice to have a 14c/ml alternative to the 56c/ml Iro.

 

It's similar enough for general use and it's water resistant.

[musicman123]

Looks almost like Tsuki-yo to my eyes. Would be nice to have a 14c/ml alternative to the 56c/ml Iro.

 

 

 

 

It's similar enough for general use and it's water resistant.

 

 

I agree and it's cheap enough to warrant skipping the Iro. The Iro water tests always bothered me.

[mhguda]

I too received a sample of this ink from Amberlea, and have only today been able to load it into a pen. The pen in question is my new Deccan Bullet senior, an Indian ED filled medium sized beauty with a fine stiff nib.

The color I see from the ink is less intense than any of the samples shown here. It's still a nice color, but frankly I wasn't as bowled over as I had expected from earlier posts regarding this ink. Maybe I need to test it with a broader nib - trouble is I have none for this pen, and, this pen being the eyedropper-filled wonder it is, all the ink I had is now in the barrel...

I did find that increasing the slit between the tines a little in width improved the flow of the ink, and I got a nicer color as a result.

 

Thanks Amberlea for making this sample available to us for playing with. I am using it on my favorite paper, Tomoe River, and that brings out all the best qualities of both pen and ink, so I will enjoy every last drop.

[musicman123]

I too received a sample of this ink from Amberlea, and have only today been able to load it into a pen. The pen in question is my new Deccan Bullet senior, an Indian ED filled medium sized beauty with a fine stiff nib.

The color I see from the ink is less intense than any of the samples shown here. It's still a nice color, but frankly I wasn't as bowled over as I had expected from earlier posts regarding this ink. Maybe I need to test it with a broader nib - trouble is I have none for this pen, and, this pen being the eyedropper-filled wonder it is, all the ink I had is now in the barrel...

I did find that increasing the slit between the tines a little in width improved the flow of the ink, and I got a nicer color as a result.

 

Thanks Amberlea for making this sample available to us for playing with. I am using it on my favorite paper, Tomoe River, and that brings out all the best qualities of both pen and ink, so I will enjoy every last drop.

I do agree that the ink is better in a broad wet nib. In a dry one, the ink is a bit dull.