Where Is The Blue In Noodler's 54Th "blue-Black"?

[Flaxmoore]

I like 54th, but where's the blue part of blue-black? Even swabs or spreading a drop with a razor like a palette knife shows only hints of gray. I can tell it's not black, but where's the blue?

[TheRealScubaSteve]

This is an ink that lightens significantly with a broad(er) nib. It is unmistakably blue with a medium or broad or italic.

[alaskazimm]

I've been diluting my latest bottle of 54th to 80% (4:1 ink:water) and that has helped bring out some more of the blue tint in my fairly wet Lamy Safari F. I haven't tried to go any further than 80% yet, but it seems dark enough that it could take a little more. The dilution hasn't affected the bullet-proof qualities of the ink.

[Miz Black Crow]

I've gone all the way to 1:1 ink:water, but I'd stop around 2:1 or 2.5:1 to keep the flow properties. Dilution DOES bring out the blues in 54th Mass.

 

In an XF nib it comes out almost green for me, which was disorienting, and made me mistakenly believe I didn't like it when I bought it. Now, when diluted, I really love it, especially in a flex nib; it shades better when diluted, and definitely shows its blue-ness.

[ailevin]

I've been diluting my latest bottle of 54th to 80% (4:1 ink:water) and that has helped bring out some more of the blue tint in my fairly wet Lamy Safari F. I haven't tried to go any further than 80% yet, but it seems dark enough that it could take a little more. The dilution hasn't affected the bullet-proof qualities of the ink.

+1

 

For me dilution improved dry time, reduced nib creep, and did bring out a little more blue. I tend to use Japanese F or European XF, though I also like 54th Mass in a somewhat fine (.6 mm) cursive italic. With more ink flow, the shading and blue tones are more noticeable, but if I want a bluer blue-black, I mix up Namiki Blue + 15% Noodler's Bulletproof Black or Namiki Black by weight.

[cameron331]

This is one of my favorite inks, I see the blue comes out in a variety of pens. Which pens have you tried it in?

[TheRealScubaSteve]

Bad Belted Kingfisher is another ink that looks very dark witha fine nib.

[EricaTX]

I see the blue in my Parker Sonnet italic nib.

[UDog]

The blue is there, but you can't see it.

[ailevin]

The blue is there, but you can't see it.

Reminds me of Mark Twain's comment that Wagner's music is much better than it sounds.

[JimCouch]

Looks like gold to me.

[jean]

I like 54th, but where's the blue part of blue-black? Even swabs or spreading a drop with a razor like a palette knife shows only hints of gray. I can tell it's not black, but where's the blue?

 

Hello,

 

There are difference between the batches. This ink was bought has one year of interval in the same business

 

http://img11.hostingpics.net/pics/83483654th1.jpg

 

http://img11.hostingpics.net/pics/96757654th3.jpg

[Sandy1]

 

Hello,

 

There are difference between the batches. This ink was bought has one year of interval in the same business

 

http://img11.hostingpics.net/pics/83483654th1.jpg

 

http://img11.hostingpics.net/pics/96757654th3.jpg

 

Hi,

 

Many thanks for the comparison!

 

Its not unusual for there to be a bit of 'wobble' between batches of hand crafted inks, and there's the factor of shaking the bulletproof inks.

 

But what you've shown is much more than wobble - its a definite shift.

(Reminds me of the difference between the 1st iteration of Noodlers #41 Brown and the current iteration of that ink.)

 

Here's the swabs and swatch of N54M from my Nov 2013 Review:

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2013/Ink%20Review%20-%20Noodlers%2054%20Massachusetts%20N54M/INK212_zpse01f6deb.jpg

 

 

If one wants an ink with a performance profile that is quite similar to N54M, but with a greater Blue aspect, kindly consider Noodler's Benevolent Badger Blue, a bespoke ink for Badger & Blade.

 

Paper: HPJ1124

Pen: Platinum President Purist + 22K B nib.

Originals are 60x30mm.

 

NBBBl:

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2013/Ink%20Review%20-%20Noodlers%2054%20Massachusetts%20N54M/INK244_zps238bb15d.jpg

 

N54M:

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2013/Ink%20Review%20-%20Noodlers%2054%20Massachusetts%20N54M/INK248_zps713b7e1e.jpg

 

 

Also, there's the option of trying to conjuring a blend to increase the Blue aspect of N54M. My SWAG for a starting point would be 15% water + 15% Noodler's Polar Blue + 70% N54M.

 

Bye,

S1

[inkstainedruth]

What Jean and Sandy1 said.

The sample I got of 54th Massachussetts was a dark tealish blue-black. The bottle I have is much lighter and bluer. I like them both, but it was a little startling (to the point that I wondered if I needed to shake up the bottle a bit).

Incidentally, there's a thing at the bottom of this page that says "Also tagged with one or more of these keywords: blue-black, 54th" and the box that text is in is moderately close in color and tone to what my bottled version looks like (although I haven't made a direct comparison).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[UDog]

Reminds me of Mark Twain's comment that Wagner's music is much better than it sounds.

[Wheatflower]

Looks like gold to me.

Well played, well played.

[Morphling27]

Even in the same pen, 54th looks blue, black, green, grey, and another color that doesn't exist yet, to me. Paper, stroke, all that seem to give it a different color.

 

Interesting how diverse the ink is, given it's 'just' a blue-black.

[Flaxmoore]

Well, took it down to 2:3, 40% ink in water, no blue. Think mine is just an abnormally dark bottle. Strange that two bottles of ink would differ so.

Edited March 14, 2015 by Flaxmoore

[Manalto]

Sequoia is another Noodlers color that looks black to me, unless it's next to black. Also a candidate for dilution?

Edited March 14, 2015 by Manalto

[Flaxmoore]

I just blended some with BSB. Insane, maybe, but now to see if it gets weird or stays usable.