Complete List of Waterproof Inks

[*david*]

I have sometimes bought ink I didn't like, but always from people who were prompt, helpful, & honest.

[NeoTiger]

  pvdiamon said:

Per this link, Sheaffer is only rated as fair in Clarks.  According to that book, Pelikan black sounds like one of the more water resilient of the non water proof inks.

While Clarks must have put a lot of work into his ink tests, I would prefer to keep the list I posted to just inks that some of us have personally tested or even better, have photos of tests.

 

I don't mean to say that Clarks isn't trustworthy, but rather it would be a better idea to just buy the Clarks Sampler (rather than repost his work) if we wanted to know his results.

 

So yeah... has anyone actually tried Pelikan Black? Is it worth adding to the list? (Or would the Pelikan Black mentioned in Clarks actually be Pelikan Font India, which is in the waterproof list already?)

Edited August 28, 2006 by NeoTiger

[blueiris]

For what it's worth, I've tried the Pelikan 4001 Black. Also in my test were a mix of 3 parts Noodler's Green Marine+2 parts Pelikan Black, and Private Reserve Lake Placid. I submerged written samples on cheap spiral-bound paper and a scrap of letterhead, somewhat heavier-weight and nicer paper.

 

Submerged, all three showed a bit of lift-off on the cheap paper, less on the letterhead. I agitated the water slightly, and the green aspect of the Green Marine mix started to disappear on both sheets, as did the blue of Lake Placid. Pelikan Black seemed not to budge much from the letterhead, but it faded a bit on the cheap paper, though not as much as the Green Marine Mix. This was in the sink, so I washed my hands with Dove soap and let the soap rinse off into the test (nothing really happened to the paper from the soapy water, and the Pelikan black I accidentally smeared on my hand stayed put, too).

 

After about an hour submerged, the Lake Placid is completely gone. The Pelikan Black remains dark on the letterhead, faded but very readable on the cheap paper (looks like it was written in a watery-black ink with a finer nib than before). The green part of the Mix disappeared on both sheets but the writing is still legible, decent on the letterhead and somewhat faded on the cheap paper.

 

The Pelikan Black did a lot better in this test than I had expected, and its performance varies by the type of paper. It was not difficult to rinse out of the pen, either.

[krz]

Great list! Thanks all.

[HeathnKara]

Where can you buy the Prussian Blue Noodler's?

 

Heath

[sonia_simone]

I don't know of a Prussian Blue Noodler's. I just checked the Luxury Brands site, which I think is probably the most comprehensive listing, but it is not listed there either.

 

Unless it's a limited edition for one of the ink vendors (I did check Pendemonium & Swisher's, and they don't have a PB), you might be thinking of Diamine Prussian Blue, which is fairly well distributed. peartreepens.com, pendemonium, and The Writing Desk in Britian all have it.

[L&R]

  HeathnKara said:

Where can you buy the Prussian Blue Noodler's?

As I recently learned, it is a www.missing-pen.de exclusive; note that Noodler's inks do not show up on the web site, yet.

 

Bye.

[sonia_simone]

Aha, thanks Luca for solving the mystery!

[HeathnKara]

Thanks for the info Luca.

 

Heath

[pd999]

Hi all,

 

does anyone know how the 3 Noodler's waterproof Black inks compare: (1) Bulletproof Black, (2) Polar Black, and (3) Eel Black ?

 

Cannot find any direct comparison of 'blackness', waterproofness, nib creep etc between these three versions, so would be grateful for members experiences, photos etc.

 

Don't have copy of Clark's sampler, but would prefer FPN'ers personal experiences anyway.

 

Also, why have 3 waterproof versions of the same colour ?

 

Thanks,

Peter

[arvadajames]

Thanks for the list. It is always nice to have a selection of inks that may contain inks not be bullet proof or even trully water proof, but are water proof enough to address letters etc. One that I recently tried was Private Reserve Copper Burst. You can soak it in water and everything but the red color disappears, but the red does remain and remains legible. So, while not truly waterproof it is good enough that you could still get a letter through if it got wet.

[Sidney]

  pd999 said:

does anyone know how the 3 Noodler's waterproof Black inks compare: (1) Bulletproof Black, (2) Polar Black, and (3) Eel Black ?

 

Also, why have 3 waterproof versions of the same colour ?

I can't help you on how they compare as I only use 'bullet-proof' Black. But, I can say that 'bullet-proof' Black is Noodler's regular black that just happens to be 'bullet-proof'. Eel Black has been discontinued along with all the other Eel colors (IIRC). Polar Black is made to replace the Eel Black (IIRC) and also to satisfy fountain pen users that live where it gets extremely cold.

[NeoTiger]

I'm not too sure about which are blacker or less black, but here are the main differences:

 

Noodler's Black is just their plain bulletproof black. Moderate to dark in blackness (comes out quite black in most of my pens), designed to minimise feathering, can't be washed out with anything, in some situations can be smudged with a wet finger.

 

Polar Black is designed to withstand cold temperatures without freezing, not sure if this affects the performance. I'd say don't bother trying unless you really need to use it in cold weather.

 

Eel Black is part of the Eel series, where extra lubricant is added for piston pens.

 

I've also heard that the Swishmix Black is very black, quick drying, and bulletproof, but possibly feathers on some papers.

[BillTheEditor]

  pd999 said:

does anyone know how the 3 Noodler's waterproof Black inks compare: (1) Bulletproof Black, (2) Polar Black, and (3) Eel Black ?

 

Cannot find any direct comparison of 'blackness', waterproofness, nib creep etc between these three versions, so would be grateful for members experiences, photos etc.

 

Also, why have 3 waterproof versions of the same colour ?

All three are waterproof. Polar Black is the "blackest," Bulletproof Black and Eel Black seem about the same to me.

 

Different people report different experiences with nib creep in the Bulletproof Black. It seems to depend on the pen as much as the ink. I have seen very little nib creep with the Bulletproof Black, the most pronounced is on a #44 stub nib on a Parker 75, and even then you have to look closely to see it.

 

Bulletproof Black was the original Noodler's offering, sfaik. Eel Black was devised to solve lubrication and flow problems in piston fillers and in certain older nibs (widely separated combs) respectively. Polar Black was designed for fountain pen users who live in very cold places, and it also has the same lubricating qualities as the Eel Black. So it's three specific formulations for three specific problems/challenges.

 

Someone else here has said that Eel Black and the other Eel inks have been discontinued. I don't know that to be true, but that doesn't mean anything. I do believe that the Eel inks were never big sellers, and don't seem to be carried by many vendors. I'm thinking I may just go to Polar Black after my current supply of Bulletproof Black runs out, since the Polar Black is the darkest of the three (and pretty darn black compared to all other black inks, too), lubricates like the Eel, and there are no performance issues with it even in a "temperate" climate (if you can think of Texas as "temperate" -- but we don't have sub-zero winters).

 

Hope this helps.

[pd999]

Thanks for the replies,

I think I'll try the Polar Black next, as it seems the most black in colour, has good lubricating properties, is now 'bulletproof' (2006 version), is the same price as regular 'bulletproof' black, and could be handy when traversing the North Pole !

Best wishes,

Peter

[missing-pen.de]

Hello,

 

 

this is my first thread on this forum community.

 

My name is Rolf Thiel from www.missing-pen.de (Germany) and you can buy the Noodler´s in Prussian Blue (only made for missing-pen / Germany) and the other Noodler´s

 

inks at me. This blue ink is waterproof and the price is 11,50 € / 90 ml (+ postage).

 

Payment with PayPal is no problem (my account: info@missing-pen.de)

 

 

The Noodler´s ink are still not on my homepage (sorry), but you can order this and some other ink brands (and many, many writing instruments) per E-Mail: info@missing-pen.de

 

or over my shop: www.missing-pen.de

 

 

 

I have this ink brands on stock: Noodler´s, Diamine, Private Reserve, Yard-O-Led, Rohrer & Klingner, Herbin, Standardgraph, Caran d´Ache and many more...

 

Look at my ink site (still not all brands online) : http://www.missing-pen.de/shop/lieferprogx...929abe7089c26b3

 

 

When you have some more questions, please mail me.

 

I´m happy to hear from you...

 

 

Best wishes...

 

 

 

 

 

Rolf

 

www.missing-pen.de

 

 

 

 

 

 

missing-pen

 

Rolf Thiel e.K.

 

-writing instruments & more from the internet-

 

D-67435 Neustadt / Weinstrasse

 

GERMANY

 

E-Mail: info@missing-pen.de

 

www.missing-pen.de

[Ink Stained Wretch]

  Schuttwegraeumer said:

  NeoTiger said:

Disadvantages:

Ink likes to creep out onto nibs

Is not resistent against mechanikal stress on some paper sorts.

Um. I'm not sure what that means. Do you mean that you can still tear the paper after it's been written on?

[*david*]

  Ink Stained Wretch said:

  Schuttwegraeumer said:

  NeoTiger said:

Disadvantages:

Ink likes to creep out onto nibs

Is not resistent against mechanikal stress on some paper sorts.

Um. I'm not sure what that means. Do you mean that you can still tear the paper after it's been written on?

On some kinds of paper, if you rub the dry ink with your thumb, it smudges.

[FLZapped]

Time to add more inks!!!

 

 

Russian and UK eternal inks @ Pendemonium

 

-Bruce

[NeoTiger]

Thanks for that Bruce.

 

Russian eternal inks added to the list. Man those names are hard to remember.

 

I've put the approximate colour of the ink next to each name, but some of the colours were hard to decide in the scans, so don't trust my definitions.