Smelly Noodler's

[beak]

I have bought several bottles of Noodler's inks here in Australia from different sources, and they all have a slight odour to them; reminds me of school forty years ago! I have read that this is possibly a sign that the ink is past its prime, but want to know if this is in fact normal with this brand. Also, and possibly related, the 4006 'bulletproof' black dries instantly to a warm dark grey - not even near a deep black. and so does 'Heart of Darkness', something's wrong obviously, as so many people on this site report these as true deep dark blacks.

 

I flush pens thoroughly in water five or six times before refilling with a new ink, and contamination seems unlikely to be the reason. The previous ink used to these Noodler's blacks was always Aurora black, which behaves perfectly giving a true dead black.

 

Any thoughts and help will be appreciated.

[Glenn-SC]

I have not noticed any unusual orders in the bottles on Noodlers I own.

 

But I don't own every color of Noodlers and I assume there will be variations from batch to batch.

[tfwall]

The smell is common in many NI colours.

 

If the colour looks off to you, try shaking the ink to get everything suspended again. Barring that, batch to batch colour variations are the norm and are considered a security feature.

 

Enjoy!

Edited November 13, 2010 by Chemyst

[Possum Hill]

I have bought several bottles of Noodler's inks here in Australia from different sources, and they all have a slight odour to them; reminds me of school forty years ago! I have read that this is possibly a sign that the ink is past its prime, but want to know if this is in fact normal with this brand. Also, and possibly related, the 4006 'bulletproof' black dries instantly to a warm dark grey - not even near a deep black. and so does 'Heart of Darkness', something's wrong obviously, as so many people on this site report these as true deep dark blacks.

 

I flush pens thoroughly in water five or six times before refilling with a new ink, and contamination seems unlikely to be the reason. The previous ink used to these Noodler's blacks was always Aurora black, which behaves perfectly giving a true dead black.

 

Any thoughts and help will be appreciated.

I just uncapped my bottles of Noodler's Black, Polar Black and Lexington Gray. They all have the same slight odor, and have since I bought them. I'd probably call the smell "chemical", not knowing exactly what it is. I suppose it might be the component that keeps stuff from living and growing in the ink.

 

Noodler's black inks are supposed to be really black and HOD should be blackety black; gray shouldn't happen unless the bottle says it's gray.

 

Agitating the bottle before filling the pen is good practice with Noodler's inks. (It's also a good idea with many others.)

 

It almost sounds like there is still some water left in the pen feed after flushing. Do you use the 24hr nib-down-wrapped-in-paper-towel method of drying after flushing?

 

To get a good idea of the color of ink in the bottle you can dip a wood toothpick in the ink and write a few characters.

Edited November 13, 2010 by Possum Hill

[Ink Stained Wretch]

I have bought several bottles of Noodler's inks here in Australia from different sources, and they all have a slight odour to them; reminds me of school forty years ago! I have read that this is possibly a sign that the ink is past its prime, but want to know if this is in fact normal with this brand.

Noodler's inks have always had some sort of an odor to them for some people. They changed their biocide some years ago and the newer bottles should smell a bit like citrus. Older bottles have a more chemical smell. And I have an older bottle of a Noodler's ink that now smells of ammonia. I suspect that the old biocide broke down and ammonia is one of the decay products. I haven't had the time to to go through my large stash of Noodler's inks to see how many may be "ammoniated" now , but I'm hoping it's a rare thing.

 

Also, and possibly related, the 4006 'bulletproof' black dries instantly to a warm dark grey - not even near a deep black. and so does 'Heart of Darkness', something's wrong obviously, as so many people on this site report these as true deep dark blacks.

4006? What's that?

 

For Noodler's inks I find it best to shake the bottle up well before you ink the pen. About a year after Noodler's Black was first introduced we had a short panic on the USENET group about this. Once you shake it up enough it's just fine.

 

Shake it and look at the bottom of the bottle. Make sure the cap is on quite tight! Make sure that you get the inside bottom of the bottle clean of ink. The ink will preferentially settle into the edges and corners of the bottle's bottom. It can be hard to see if the black ink has all been shaken off the bottom, but look to see if the bubbles are along the edges. With some other colors it's easy to see if any ink is still on the bottom. The black ink makes it a little harder to see.

[WendyNC]

To my nose, quite a few of the Noodler's inks (particularly the bulletproof ones) stink to high heaven with that "chemical" smell, which I find is slightly different among the various colors I have. In fact, there are times when I can't use Bad Blue Heron, as much as I like it, because the smell will give me a headache. However, all the odors are chemical/antiseptic smelling.

 

I don't shake my Noodler's bottles because I find that makes many of the inks get bubbly due to all the surfactant in them. Instead, I gently turn them over and over (trick I learned from a chemist I dated long ago). If that's not enough to do it, I'll roll the bottle back and forth between my hands, first cap up and then cap down. That's what fingernail technicians do to mix nail polish without getting air bubbles in it.

[corniche]

Greetings Beak,

 

I'm not familiar with Noodler's Inks; however, to address the faded color of the ink- be sure the pen has been given 24-36 hours to completely dry out after flushing. Otherwise, there may still be water in the channel diluting the ink and giving it that faded look. After flushing, leave it un-assembled so it can air dry for 24-36 hours before re-loading it with ink.

 

Best wishes,

 

Sean

Edited November 13, 2010 by S. P. Colfer

[Ink Stained Wretch]

I don't shake my Noodler's bottles because I find that makes many of the inks get bubbly due to all the surfactant in them. Instead, I gently turn them over and over (trick I learned from a chemist I dated long ago). If that's not enough to do it, I'll roll the bottle back and forth between my hands, first cap up and then cap down. That's what fingernail technicians do to mix nail polish without getting air bubbles in it.

I don't think I have the patience for that. I shake them up quite vigorously and just live with the bubbles. Since I'm usually using a syringe to fill a cartridge with the inks I can just go below the layer of bubbles to get the liquid ink. They do bubble up though, don't they?

[Possum Hill]

I don't shake my Noodler's bottles because I find that makes many of the inks get bubbly due to all the surfactant in them. Instead, I gently turn them over and over (trick I learned from a chemist I dated long ago). If that's not enough to do it, I'll roll the bottle back and forth between my hands, first cap up and then cap down. That's what fingernail technicians do to mix nail polish without getting air bubbles in it.

That's real class and refinement compared to the crude "give it a good shake" method we guys tend to recommend. :roflmho:

Edited November 13, 2010 by Possum Hill

[KCat]

I'm like Wendy (maybe it's a girl thang) but almost every one I've ever smelled has a strong "chemical" smell to my nose. And most inks have some level of it for me. PR can be pretty strong too. Some others (Diamine, WM, Namiki) are milder.

[Ink Stained Wretch]

I'm like Wendy (maybe it's a girl thang) but almost every one I've ever smelled has a strong "chemical" smell to my nose. And most inks have some level of it for me. PR can be pretty strong too. Some others (Diamine, WM, Namiki) are milder.

Women have a superior olfactory sense compared to men. A woman's olfactory bulb in the brain is actually larger. The current theory is that because women are pregnant for so long they need to be able to detect poisons better than the males do and so natural selection has caused this gender difference to evolve.

[corniche]

I'm like Wendy (maybe it's a girl thang) but almost every one I've ever smelled has a strong "chemical" smell to my nose. And most inks have some level of it for me. PR can be pretty strong too. Some others (Diamine, WM, Namiki) are milder.

Women have a superior olfactory sense compared to men. A woman's olfactory bulb in the brain is actually larger. The current theory is that because women are pregnant for so long they need to be able to detect poisons better than the males do and so natural selection has caused this gender difference to evolve.

 

 

I thought it was because women are supposed to do all the cooking and their more acute sense of smell helps them not only detect poisons but also food that has turned.

 

All the best,

 

Sean

[SamCapote]

I have bought several bottles of Noodler's inks here in Australia from different sources, and they all have a slight odour to them; reminds me of school forty years ago! I have read that this is possibly a sign that the ink is past its prime, but want to know if this is in fact normal with this brand. Also, and possibly related, the 4006 'bulletproof' black dries instantly to a warm dark grey - not even near a deep black. and so does 'Heart of Darkness', something's wrong obviously, as so many people on this site report these as true deep dark blacks.

 

I flush pens thoroughly in water five or six times before refilling with a new ink, and contamination seems unlikely to be the reason. The previous ink used to these Noodler's blacks was always Aurora black, which behaves perfectly giving a true dead black.

 

Any thoughts and help will be appreciated.

 

Every ink has a smell. It is impossible to know what you are smelling without each of us smelling your bottle and comparing it to how ours smells. Now if you happened to be a hot babe (verified by recent photos), I would be willing to smell your ink for you, and provide "constructive feedback."

[Possum Hill]

 

I thought it was because women are supposed to do all the cooking and their more acute sense of smell helps them not only detect poisons but also food that has turned.

 

All the best,

 

Sean

You might want to consider engaging a food taster.

[corniche]

I thought it was because women are supposed to do all the cooking and their more acute sense of smell helps them not only detect poisons but also food that has turned.

 

All the best,

 

Sean

You might want to consider engaging a food taster.

 

Hello Possum Hill,

 

That's my cat's job.

 

All the best,

 

Sean

Edited November 13, 2010 by S. P. Colfer

[karinh]

Like Wendy and KCat, I also find some Noodler's inks to be very stinky in a chemical way. The bulletproof and Baystate and other special ones are so irritating to me that I don't use them much any more. Noodler's normal range of inks (and PR and Sailor) I find a bit smelly but they de-stink enough in a pen that it doesn't bother me to use them.

 

It's annoying because I love the colours that give me a migraine but such is life, I guess. I'm pretty sensitive to lots of other smells and chemicals so I am definitely not blaming Noodler's inks.

 

I think if it's a chemical smell, Beak, it's probably normal but if it's musty or off then maybe not. Hard to say without being able to sniff it and compare to another bottle the same.

[SamCapote]

The smell is common in many NI colours.

 

If the colour looks off to you, try shaking the ink to get everything suspended again. Barring that, batch to batch colour variations are the norm and are considered a security feature.

 

Enjoy!

 

All inks have a smell. Some of the older ones used Phenol which is quite a morning eye opener. Many of us shake all of our inks well. It's good for them. Get's all those dyes properly latticed back up--especially inks like Noodlers that have much higher dye concentrations to give their intense colors.

 

There is no such reality as Noodlers having batch to batch color variations as the norm. That's another in a long line of expected inflammatory diggs from this member against Noodlers. Also there is no reality to claiming that batch variations, when they have occurred on occasion are done as a security feature. More lies intended to undermine the brand.

 

I'm relatively certain that the "chemical smell" with Noodler's is coming from the biocide.

 

The other things to do in verifying your black ink is black is dip a paper clip, toothpick, or something relatively clean and streak a line onto paper.

 

The most likely scenario is the residual water in your pen. If you didn't get it all out, and don't want to wait for it to dry, just draw up a load, eject it back into the bottle, and draw up a second filling. That will put the tiny extra water back in the bottle, but Noodler's has such a strong dye content, you won't even notice the effect. Some people dilute their Noodler's 50:50 with water to make it go even farther, despite it's very low price already.

[KCat]

 

I thought it was because women are supposed to do all the cooking and their more acute sense of smell helps them not only detect poisons but also food that has turned.

 

All the best,

 

Sean

 

I thought it was so we could tell when you guys were coming home from the hunt and were less than a mile or two away

 

Truthfully, I used to drive my husband nuts when he would walk in the front door and I would yell, from the back bedroom, "OH Lord, you had the Garlic Shrimp and Scallops again, didn't you?" Or these days, I can tell from the back room if he has opened the box of Cheerios in the kitchen. (Those things STINK!)

 

Back to the ink. Sam mentioned Phenol - I love Penman Emerald but the smell is serious! sometimes I fill the pen and then just let it sit for a day or two without using it.

[arunmadhav]

 

I thought it was because women are supposed to do all the cooking and their more acute sense of smell helps them not only detect poisons but also food that has turned.

 

All the best,

 

Sean

 

I thought it was so we could tell when you guys were coming home from the hunt and were less than a mile or two away

 

Truthfully, I used to drive my husband nuts when he would walk in the front door and I would yell, from the back bedroom, "OH Lord, you had the Garlic Shrimp and Scallops again, didn't you?" Or these days, I can tell from the back room if he has opened the box of Cheerios in the kitchen. (Those things STINK!)

 

Back to the ink. Sam mentioned Phenol - I love Penman Emerald but the smell is serious! sometimes I fill the pen and then just let it sit for a day or two without using it.

 

 

Interesting. I am going to try smelling my inks each time I fill now. The ink reviews don't talk much about this aspect...hmmm. :hmm1:

[beak]

I have bought several bottles of Noodler's inks here in Australia from different sources, and they all have a slight odour to them; reminds me of school forty years ago! I have read that this is possibly a sign that the ink is past its prime, but want to know if this is in fact normal with this brand.

Noodler's inks have always had some sort of an odor to them for some people. They changed their biocide some years ago and the newer bottles should smell a bit like citrus. Older bottles have a more chemical smell. And I have an older bottle of a Noodler's ink that now smells of ammonia. I suspect that the old biocide broke down and ammonia is one of the decay products. I haven't had the time to to go through my large stash of Noodler's inks to see how many may be "ammoniated" now , but I'm hoping it's a rare thing.

 

Also, and possibly related, the 4006 'bulletproof' black dries instantly to a warm dark grey - not even near a deep black. and so does 'Heart of Darkness', something's wrong obviously, as so many people on this site report these as true deep dark blacks.

4006? What's that?

 

For Noodler's inks I find it best to shake the bottle up well before you ink the pen. About a year after Noodler's Black was first introduced we had a short panic on the USENET group about this. Once you shake it up enough it's just fine.

 

Shake it and look at the bottom of the bottle. Make sure the cap is on quite tight! Make sure that you get the inside bottom of the bottle clean of ink. The ink will preferentially settle into the edges and corners of the bottle's bottom. It can be hard to see if the black ink has all been shaken off the bottom, but look to see if the bubbles are along the edges. With some other colors it's easy to see if any ink is still on the bottom. The black ink makes it a little harder to see.

 

4006 is the Noodler's ink number for 'Black' bulletproof - at least that's how it's labelled here in Australia.

I was not aware that for perfect drying the pen had to be paper-towelled for so long - had imagined that the little water left in the pen would be insignificant. I tend to refill by 'flushing' the new ink in and out of the pen two or three times, so, I imagine lessening the effect of any residual water. I can say that none of my other inks suffer dilution when refilling like this; Aurora black is black as can be. I think that I may try emptying the Noodler's inks into fresh bottles and making absolutely sure that there is no concentrate left in the corners of the bottle, though I can detect none by looking as I stir and shake. Thanks to all - and it seems that nobody else has experienced this warm grey instead of dead black from Heart of Darkness?