Noodlers Aircorp Blue-Black

[penguinmaster]

http://facstaff.uww.edu/pellizzt/Ink%20Reviews/Noodlers%20Aircorp%20Blue-Black.jpg

[limesally]

Nice review, and the colour looks true on my monitor. My experience is exactly the same as yours, except that if you happen to have a crappy moleskine (as opposed to one of the good moleskines), the blue component will bleed through (to a degree relative to the paper crappiness).

 

I usually have an M150 filled with this at all times, but right now it has Zhivago in it. I actually *miss* this ink when I don't have it in a pen!

 

eta: How did you get your review template printed on Circa paper without mutilating the smurfs? Or did you print it on regular paper then punch it?

eta again: I really like the font you use for your template - what is it?

Edited December 23, 2008 by limesally

[penguinmaster]

Nice review, and the colour looks true on my monitor. My experience is exactly the same as yours, except that if you happen to have a crappy moleskine (as opposed to one of the good moleskines), the blue component will bleed through (to a degree relative to the paper crappiness).

 

I usually have an M150 filled with this at all times, but right now it has Zhivago in it. I actually *miss* this ink when I don't have it in a pen!

 

eta: How did you get your review template printed on Circa paper without mutilating the smurfs? Or did you print it on regular paper then punch it?

eta again: I really like the font you use for your template - what is it?

 

I printed it first (two to a page), then circa punched it. As for the font on the template it is FFFtusjbold. Found here.

http://www.dafont.com/fff-tusj.font

 

-penguin

[Breck]

Cool. That's a really interesting looking blue-black. I just saw your multiple-ink scan, and this color really pops both here and on that one.

 

Maybe I only saw Q-tip swatches before or something: I never thought much of this color before, but I am definitely intrigued now that I've seen it in action in your scans.

 

No feathering on copy paper is pretty outstanding, too. Seems like someone recently was talking about this as a poorly-behaved ink, but your findings certainly don't jibe with that. Maybe it's the pen?

 

 

[penguinmaster]

Cool. That's a really interesting looking blue-black. I just saw your multiple-ink scan, and this color really pops both here and on that one.

 

Maybe I only saw Q-tip swatches before or something: I never thought much of this color before, but I am definitely intrigued now that I've seen it in action in your scans.

 

No feathering on copy paper is pretty outstanding, too. Seems like someone recently was talking about this as a poorly-behaved ink, but your findings certainly don't jibe with that. Maybe it's the pen?

 

Could be the pen I guess? I'm not really sure, I've never run into issues with most papers and this in the Pilot used in the review. That's the only pen that has seen it so far as well though.

 

-penguin

[officesupplygeek]

Nice review...I like the template idea for the circa stuff, Im a big levenger fan.

[PenTieRun]

This looks almost exactly like Noodler's Ellis Island Blue Black, perhaps a shade lighter. EI is a great ink, except for a tendency to dry in the nib if you haven't written with the pen it's in for 4 or 5 days.

[Titivillus]

Yes just like I remember it being a green blue black!

 

thanks for the review!

 

Kurt

[penguinmaster]

This looks almost exactly like Noodler's Ellis Island Blue Black, perhaps a shade lighter. EI is a great ink, except for a tendency to dry in the nib if you haven't written with the pen it's in for 4 or 5 days.

 

Tell me about it. I had that problem with the Krone Fiction I had it in.

 

-penguin

[Eleventeen]

I just put some Aircorp in a Pelikano for 'daily' use and I love it so far. On the cotton paper I make my notebooks out of it doesn't work so well but surprisingly on regular ol' Xerox 20 lb bond it looks great and has color variation without even trying to vary the stroke much. I made some notes for a co-worker and as he was reading he noticed it wasn't any run of the mill Bic throwaway and took an extra moment to look at the color this makes. Very impressed!

[SteveS]

This has been my every day ink, in a Pelikan M600, for a few months. I find it to be very practical for business use because it dries quickly enough and it creates a very legible line. And it's much more fun that any plain old black.

[djmaher]

Has anyone tried this ink in a Parker P51? I have one with a "EF" like nib, and am just curious if anyone has given this combo a tryout..

 

Thanks,

 

Dave

[Breck]

I have this ink in a Parker "51" right now. A Flighter, as a matter of fact, because, well....obviously.

 

Anyway, the ink runs wonderfully in this pen with a fine nib.* This is only my second fill with this pen, and it's a huge improvement over the Skrip Blue I had in it before. Cooler color, much wetter, better flow and lubrication, and near bulletproof as a bonus. I've definitely got a mind to keep this as the go-to ink for this pen. The pun value helps, too.

 

The color - on both Rhodia and Tsubame paper - looks greener than the scan here, but that may partially be a function of the awful compact fluorescent light bulbs that are on right now. It reminds me of what I really liked about Tahitian Pearl, but a touch more muted. Pretty far removed from what I'd call a true blue-black (using Lamy/Montblanc's iron gall formulation as my standard), but a very nuanced and enjoyable color. "Dark turquoise" is apt. I usually don't care for turquoise inks, but this is dark and sober enough that I like it.

 

I can't say enough about the flow characteristics. Maybe it's just the contrast with the desert-dry Skrip, but this is a great feeling. I'd gotten away from both Noodler's inks and P51s for a while, but this combination reminds me how great they both are, and even more of how good they are together.

 

The Aircorp B-B I have is only a sample, but there is definitely a full bottle purchase in my near future.

 

*edit to add: on the xf-f side, not the f/m side

Edited June 10, 2009 by Murderface

[Stephen-I-am]

With all of the rave reviews of this ink, I'm wondering what it would look like with a touch of red added for those of us wanting less green.

 

StephenB

[Breck]

With all of the rave reviews of this ink, I'm wondering what it would look like with a touch of red added for those of us wanting less green.

 

StephenB

 

Give it a shot and let us know!

[penguinmaster]

I have this ink in a Parker "51" right now. A Flighter, as a matter of fact, because, well....obviously.

 

Anyway, the ink runs wonderfully in this pen with a fine nib.* This is only my second fill with this pen, and it's a huge improvement over the Skrip Blue I had in it before. Cooler color, much wetter, better flow and lubrication, and near bulletproof as a bonus. I've definitely got a mind to keep this as the go-to ink for this pen. The pun value helps, too.

 

The color - on both Rhodia and Tsubame paper - looks greener than the scan here, but that may partially be a function of the awful compact fluorescent light bulbs that are on right now. It reminds me of what I really liked about Tahitian Pearl, but a touch more muted. Pretty far removed from what I'd call a true blue-black (using Lamy/Montblanc's iron gall formulation as my standard), but a very nuanced and enjoyable color. "Dark turquoise" is apt. I usually don't care for turquoise inks, but this is dark and sober enough that I like it.

 

I can't say enough about the flow characteristics. Maybe it's just the contrast with the desert-dry Skrip, but this is a great feeling. I'd gotten away from both Noodler's inks and P51s for a while, but this combination reminds me how great they both are, and even more of how good they are together.

 

The Aircorp B-B I have is only a sample, but there is definitely a full bottle purchase in my near future.

 

*edit to add: on the xf-f side, not the f/m side

 

I'm glad you like it! The flow issues are probably helped tremendously with the hooded nib of the "51". It flowed well enough for me in the pens I used it in, it was a matter more of drying out if I didn't use the pens for a few days. I have no pens inked with it right now, I'm looking at my pen stable going hmm...which one...

 

-Tom

[bengine]

Thanks for the review. I do like ABB as well, but what I loathe is the drying speed, it's just not as fast as I need it to be. I'm mainly a left-hander, so you can imagine the smear caused by this ink when I write few sentences in a hurry. I don't have this problem if I write using my right hand.

 

I agree that the flow of this pen is amazing. I tested it both in Lamy Al Star and Parker 51. Really smooth flow. It does bleed through a little on Moleskine, though.

Edited June 16, 2009 by bengine

[Geoff V]

Thanks for the review. I do like ABB as well, but what I loathe is the drying speed, it's just not as fast as I need it to be. I'm mainly a left-hander, so you can imagine the smear caused by this ink when I write few sentences in a hurry. I don't have this problem if I write using my right hand.

 

I agree that the flow of this pen is amazing. I tested it both in Lamy Al Star and Parker 51. Really smooth flow. It does bleed through a little on Moleskine, though.

 

 

I'm a lefty as well and I can tell you a trick that works like a charm for me. (I've mentioned this before, but people probably don't take it seriously.) Take a cotton darkroom/artists glove and cut off the three middle fingers. Leave the little finger intact. This provides a barrier between your hand with it's oils and the ink on the paper. Result - no smearing! ABB is my default ink, and would be unusable if it were not for this (mildly eccentric) device.

 

Regards

 

Geoff V

[bengine]

Thanks for the review. I do like ABB as well, but what I loathe is the drying speed, it's just not as fast as I need it to be. I'm mainly a left-hander, so you can imagine the smear caused by this ink when I write few sentences in a hurry. I don't have this problem if I write using my right hand.

 

I agree that the flow of this pen is amazing. I tested it both in Lamy Al Star and Parker 51. Really smooth flow. It does bleed through a little on Moleskine, though.

 

 

I'm a lefty as well and I can tell you a trick that works like a charm for me. (I've mentioned this before, but people probably don't take it seriously.) Take a cotton darkroom/artists glove and cut off the three middle fingers. Leave the little finger intact. This provides a barrier between your hand with it's oils and the ink on the paper. Result - no smearing! ABB is my default ink, and would be unusable if it were not for this (mildly eccentric) device.

 

Regards

 

Geoff V

Err, wouldn't it be kinda weird if I have to constantly wearing the gloves while writing. And I also tend to write things into my moleskine whenever it popped into my mind. So I might need to wear it everywhere.

 

Thanks for the advice though.

[agchristie]

i just got this ink and i was slightly disappointed. I want more greens and blues in it! I thought it would look like a bulletproof version of Parker Blueblack which is a beautiful dark teal but the aircorp looks far too grey. Maybe I should add some turquoise?! Which Brands would be ok for a little mixing? Diamine, Pelikan, Lamy or J.Herbin?

 

I am liking it more and more but as I use only fine nibbed pens it probably looks greyer than what you all see.

I havent had any smearing even though I am a lefty too. I actually bought this ink because i thought it wouldnt smear and is bulletproof compared to for example the pilot inks which smear dreadfully. Btw is it normal for the bottle to be filled almost right to the brim? it seemed a bit full compared to any other makers bottle. Is there a noodlers colour which is more similar to the parker BB? and preferably bulletproof or nearly?