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Black swan in English Roses I love inks with a story. This is one of them. The quintessential English rose, the Rose of York, is a white rose. Obviously this is not it. However, Nathan’s inspiration of this ink is the memory of a British Lady who visited her mother’s garden when he was a child. And this ink is indeed a homage to her, the first British person he ever met. The lady avoided looking at the poppies, reminding her of the loss she endured during the great war and focused on the roses. One can say that Black Swan in English Roses is a poppy by extension, and the title and artwork englobe the ‘innocence” of prewar and the “coming of age” of post war. You can check this video This is an extremely well-behaved ink and ghosting and bleed through are non-existent even on Hillroy copy paper, which ghosts bic and pencil. Ink is quite water resistant: Sample text on Tome River 68gr Dry time is reasonable on non absorbent papers, though apparently in its earlier incarnations it was not. Note the 20s dry time is for a broad nib on TR.... Hammermill Hp 32 Comparaison • Pen used: Noodler’s Ahab, Lamy Safari broad • Shading: Yes • Ghosting: None • Bleed through: None. • Flow Rate: Wet • Lubrication: Nice • Nib Dry-out: Not noticed. • Start-up: No problem. • Saturation: Rich and dark. • Shading delightful • Sheen: None, thankfully • Spread: None seen. • Nib Creep None • Staining: No. • Clogging: Nope • Water resistance: Water resistant • Availability: Only in bottle 90 ml bottles.

Has anyone had issues with Noodler's Black Swan in Australian Roses not shading? I recently purchased my first bottle and loaded it into a pen with Goulet stub nib that worked wonderfully with other shading inks, but Black Swan looks dull and flat with very little shading. It also feels dry coming out of the pen. Yes, I fully cleaned it before filling it. And yes I've tried it on quality paper, including Rhodia, Mnemosyne, Fabriano, Midori and HP Premium Laser - no distinct shading on any of them. I also dip tested with a bold nib and had the same result. Any thoughts?

A few weeks ago I was watching Nathan Tardiff's video concerning BSiar. I posted a question in the comments (I'm muskndusk on youtube) asking about the colour changes. Recently I received his response. He said: To which I responded: He has also changed the video description to include this information. If anyone wants to check this, the link is: (Click on the 'watch on youtube' button to read the comments.) I'm not criticising either Nathan or Noodler's, I'm just confused. There does seem to be an appreciable difference in the ink, many people on this forum have commented upon it, so what is really going on? If I order an ink, will I receive the colour I expect? I'm confused.

I just cobbled together this nifty Waterman from spare parts. I swapped the nib out of a broken Waterman snorkel-type pen, re-sacked it and had a great pen! Then I put it in my pocket, went to work, and then pulled it out of my pocket to see the barrel was broken right behind the section. BOOM, out came the electrical tape. And then I made some writing samples! What do you think of the Black Swan in North African Violets?

So here is my new creation and my new go to red. I wanted something with a little more vibrancy them my Monaco Red for this years Christmas cards, and this was perfect. It is what I have always wanted a red to look like. By the way, the paper is HP 32# Premium. Hope you enjoy it.

Black Swan in Australian Roses and Private Reserve Naples Blue were both thinned 50%.

This homemade ink is the result of me wanting a darker red than Noodler's Nikita could provide and me having too much time on my hands. I looked up recipes on FPN that included inks I had on hand, and I came across Black Swan in North African Violets. I thought it was a great ink so I experimented with adding Heart of Darkness to it until I could get a shading, dark, dark red. After great toil, this was the best I could come up with. It works nicely in a flex pen, but it also looks pretty good in the F Noodler's pen the Nikita came with.

This is a poem I wrote for my girlfriend who was having trouble with an unpleasant work colleague. Inks are all Noodler's: Black Swan in Australian Roses, Lexington Gray, and a diluted combination of Nikita and Heart of Darkness I call "Soviet Perseverance".