Noodler's Whaleman's Sepia (2016)

[justaninker]

I received my bottle of Whaleman's Sepia a few days ago, and I'm like a rabbit now - very hoppy!

 

This ink looks like reddish brown muddy sludge in the bottle. Not surprisingly it's a bit thick and dry, but its reputation as a nearly unusable ink is exaaaaaagerated. It behaves relatively well for me in a Pilot Petit1 and a preppy, both with fine nibs. If I pause for more than 10sec when writing the first stroke would be a bit hard, but that's it. I'm going to "tame" this bad boy with some decyl glucoside, a non-ionic surfactant similar to the surfactant in Photo-Flo. Will follow up with results. For now, hope you enjoy the review of the yet "wild" Whaleman's Sepia!

 

 

 

 

 

[Uncial]

I really like this ink and like you I'm not sure why it gets such a bad rap. The colour has an unusual complexity that's really pleasing in a sepia.

[EbonitePen]

Looks great and would be a great match for my adjusted extra wet pens. Thanks for the review.

[WaskiSquirrel]

I actually really like this ink. The biggest problem I've seen with it is that I need to be cautious about what pen I put it into. Some pens dry out too quickly and make this ink almost unusable.

 

But, it's one of the few brown inks I enjoy!

[inkstainedruth]

I don't remember what pen I had it in, but it would probably have been either one of the Noodler's FPCs or one of the Konrads. Aha -- just checked my notes, and it was one of the FPCs. It did better when diluted with distilled water. But before I did that it just would NOT flow.

Quite annoying, really, because the color is just amazing. I hesitate getting a full bottle, though, because of the problems I had. Maybe I need to dedicate a Charlie pen to it, the way I did recently with BSB. That way I can control the dilution more easily.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

ETA: Thanks for the review. Maybe I will give Wheelman's Sepia another chance at some point....

Edited July 14, 2016 by inkstainedruth

[zebra baker]

Love this color, but it does dry out quickly in a pen. Like Inkstainedruth, I took to adding a little water to it.

[benjitzu]

Great review of a highly underrated ink. Thank you!

 

Yes, it can dry out quicker in some pens. Yes, it does require more maintenance than say Iroshizuku yama-guri, Montblanc Toffee Brown, or Diamine Chocolate Brown (some of my other favorite brown/sepia inks). But, none of those inks can withstand much water - at least not to the degree of Whaleman's Sepia. With a few drops of distilled water, this ink flows nicely and is just plain awesome.

 

For those wanting a similar brown/sepia bulletproof ink, I really enjoy Noodler's #41 Brown. Noodler's Walnut isn't quite as bombproof but still awesome and much darker. And for those ok with mixing, Noodler's Polar Brown with added Noodler's Black creates an excellent dark brown that's also freeze resistant (the addition of Black tames the feathery and bleedthrough prone polar inks).