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Noodler's Akhmatova Named after the great the Russian poetess, Anna Akhmatova. Famous and beloved before the Revolution hounded after, until death of Stalin. On a trip to Paris, she befriended an unknown and impoverished Modigliani, who drew her several times. She was famous for her signature shawl, even in the height of poverty, she managed to stay regal... The ink harbours a deep melancholy, recalling that of coniferous forests in the deep of winter under a grey day. It reflects well Akhmatova's soul. For the sake of this review, I have cropped pages, to give a hint of the dynamic of this ink and not my musings.... Chroma Comparison: This is one of the best, if not the best eternal ink I have ever tried. The ink is so will lubricated that beckons you not to force the nib but let the pen glide. I could buy this ink for the tactility of it, only. Ink is eternal/ bullet proof/ fluorescent. The shading is best experienced on white and bright paper. Dry time is super fast. Cleaning nothing was left. Water test: On Hilory one of the most absorbent papers I know: On Peter Pauper Paper (Thick absorbent paper) On Hammermill Multipurpose Paper 20 lb On Midori The ink is so smooth that I wrote a whole page with a reverse Lamy broad.... (midori) Tomoe River classic Tomoe River 68 gr (thicker) A couple of sketches... • Pen used: Noodler’s Ahab / Lamy Safari Broad/ Jinhao Medium • Ghosting: None • Bleed through: None. • Flow Rate: Wet • Lubrication: Out of the world. • Nib Dry-out: Needs a well-sealed pen. • Start-up: None • Saturation: Murky and dark. • Shading Yes. • Sheen: No • Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: None. • Nib Creep / “Crud”: None • Staining (pen): It doesn’t stain. Very easy to clean. • Clogging: Nope • Water resistance: Waterproof/ Eternal/Fluorescent. • Availability: Only in bottle 90 ml bottles.

Hello, I see a lot of inks and colors that I really think I would enjoy. However, 90% of what I use my FP for is journals that I want to have many years from. Hopefully until the day I die which I hope is years from now 🙏 😃 I only use eternal inks, noodlers, carbon platinum, a few others. All are waterproof and or archival. I guess I don't understand why I, anyone, would want to use inks that aren't going to last or wash away. That leads to my question.... how good are non "eternal" inks? When it says non-waterproof will it actually just wash away or become completely illegible? If I splash or dunk it in water will I lose the writing, or will it just become super light? Not worried to much about lighfastness because it enclosed in a journal. Wont see much light while storing. I guess I'm hoping for, and looking for, reasons that would make it ok to use fantastic colors in my journal. I guess my biggest fears would be if for some reason my journals were introduced to water or moisture. Or if the ink just fades away after time. Any thoughts or help would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Polar Brown is one of my favorite inks. Ironically, I’m not a fan of the color. It’s somehow bland. It can be a frustrating and finnicky ink, depending the pen used. But in this day age, where the veil on life’s non-permanence and uncertainty has been torn to bits, an ink, as permanent as the paper it bonds with is a source of comfort. When I first got into inks, being too lazy, I ordered a bunch of mystery samples. There were two Polar Browns. When I inked my pen, I told myself, what have I done to deserve such an ink in double amounts. But it grew on me, to the point that I bought a bottle, and I always have a couple of pens inked up, just in case, I have to jot down some important information, words of wisdom, sign a check or write a shopping list. Not a pleasant feeling when your painstakingly craft list melts after an impromptu drizzle or stray snowflake…… It dries in less than 10 seconds with a wet medium nib, and 3 with a fine on Rhodia dotpad. On copy paper it’s instantaneous. However, it takes forever to dry on Tomoe River with a wet nib, but it shades. With a fine nib, 45 seconds, until smudge free… It is also one of the easiest inks to clean out of a fountain pen. I’ve tried it even in a vintage Waterman and cleaning was a breeze. Personally, this is one of those rare inks that I would not use with a stub/ oblique nib/ fude. With a wet/ wide combo it would ghost and bleed through unabashedly. Though sometimes I prefer that dark rich brown, haunting the paper, than the mild muted brown it usually is. I’m not sure if it would be happy in a dry pen. I have had it in a Jinhao 992 for a year with no problem. In a Jinhao 450 with a fude nib, it had flow issues but when I changed the nib to a medium it was much better. When it flows, it’s a joy to write with. And unsurprisingly Polar Brown, loves Noodler’s nib creeper. On Rhodia dot pad Rhodia Back On Tomoe River Swab comparaison On Amazon Copy paper - Front Back On Hilroy - King of the fountain pen unfriendly notebooks Back Yesterday it was raining. So, I decided to do a permanence test.... Note the Black Swan in English Roses was actually Sailor Yodaki... Before After 2 hours under rain/sleet/snow After 18 hours under constant rain Finally I subjected the visible texts to swabs of alcohol on the left side and bleach to ride side....

I'm a fan of Noodler's Kung Te-Cheng. Great colour as it is or diluted and great performance on cheap paper. Gosh darn permanent too. I am, however, not blind to its mischievous character. I posted here before asking if anyone's tried it on a TWSBI. I ended up passing because I was (am still) thinking of selling the pen further down the road. I've used it on some pens with no problems. The nib dries up if you don't use it for a week, but a 10 second rinse under a tap and it's good to go. There are, of course, some pens where it doesn't work. It kept clogging my Metro and I unimaginatively used it on a 78G. Ink turned to sludge. What pens do you use with KTC?

I LOVE Noodler's Baystate Blue. In my humble opinion, it is the best color of blue for fountain pens. My only complaints about it are: It is not fully bulletproof.It might not be eternal meaning it might not archival nor fade resistant.It bleeds through most of my papers I use including my checks.Rectifying the above are very important to me. I would not be ashamed to try a different brand of ink, but I do really like Noodler's products so I guess I am a Noodler's fanboy I am thinking about ordering a bottle of Noodler's Bad Blue Heron which appears to have what Baystate Blue is missing above other than it is not quite the same color. Noodler's Upper Ganges also might be an alternative, but it does not appear to be as bright as Bad Blue Heron. Noodler's Luxury Blue looks just like Upper Ganges to me, but will glow under UV light which I find kind of cool, but it is not important to me. Noodler's Periwinkle does what Luxury Blue does and kind of looks brighter, but the stock image on the Noodler's Ink website makes it hard to tell. Noodler's Polar Blue looks like Bad Blue Heron with the added possible benefits of being freeze-resistant and lubing piston-fill pens. So my question is what comes close to Baystate Blue that is bulletproof. eternal, and doesn't bleed through most papers? I did a search and found this thread about this subject, but it lists alternatives which are not really pertinent to my question above and things have changed in 6 years: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/185947-baystate-blue-alternative/ THANKS!

Do Eternal nibs have any flex? I've never had the opportunity to try one.

Here's one of the better inks in the 1 oz. Eternal series of Noodler's inks. It's soft and slightly chalky, but looks great on Rhodia. Definitely recommended! http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/901/VFJH2O.jpg

I'm probably going to get a replacement nib for my Mabie Todd pen. It has a cracked Eternal nib, but writes wonderfully smooth. So, how are the regular nibs in comparison? How is the writing experience?

In the 1980s, I used to do calligraphy for Ketubot (Jewish wedding contracts); Hebrew characters; about 30 lines per Ketubah. I always used an Osmiroid fountain pen, with Broad Straight nib. I cannot recall which ink I used; it was good, but I was never thrilled with it being jet black. Still, it flowed well and looked good at the time. I have seen several of the pieces in recent years, and the ink still looks good on most of them. But, as I mentioned, I cannot recall which ink I was using . . . all this, 1980 through 1990. 25 years later, I am writing another Ketubah, and here is the situation. I have found or cleaned up a couple of the Osmiroid pens with the Broad Straight nibs, and they seem to be working properly. It seems that the best ink that I have found in a local store (Atlanta) is Higgins Eternal (which says on the box that it works in fountain pens). Yesterday, I tried out the Higgins Eternal / Osmiroid combination and it seems to have been flowing well / looking good. I have been very careful to clean the pen after every sitting. So here are my questions: -- Any recommendations on using this combination? The entire document should take about 6 or 8 hours to write, so if I can keep the pen working properly for that duration, I will be happy. I can clean and reload the pen every few minutes / hours, if recommended. -- Can I expect this ink to hold up well over the years? I am not worried about water, but wonder about fading / exposure to daylight. -- Is there any other ink that the experts recommend, to use in the Osmiroid pen with Broad Straight nib? Hopefully, something that I could get quickly through eBay or an online seller. Thanks for this great forum!! Jeff