Noodler's Monkey Hanger - Exclusive!

[The Good Captain]

Announcing one of the new Noodler's inks - Monkey Hanger! Also exclusive to Pure Pens in the UK. It's the first of the ones that I've seen 'in the flesh' but hope to get the others on due course. Ross and the team do a far better job of describing the reasons for the name than I could so here is what they say.

 

 

New and exclusive Bright Blue Bulletproof Ink in 3 oz glass bottle (Approx 90ml)

In October 2015, Ross and his father Ray, visited Nathan in Massachusetts to see where Noodler's is made and the man behind the brand.

Over lunch, with Nathan's parents, who help with the ink production and packaging, we discussed a new Bulletproof Blue ink for the UK to compliment the best selling Bulletproof Black and exclusive Prime of the Commons Dark Blue ink. We tried colours that would give the right characteristics and loved the bright Blue that has become Monkey Hanger.

The name... Nathan is a history buff and loves a story behind a name - You may have seen the great names behind some Noodler's inks and pens with a their historical, political and local links to his home town area.

An unusal story came up, which occured in Hartlepool in the North East of England during the Napoleonic Wars. A french ship was wrecked off the coast and all the crew were lost (or fled). When the local fishermen boarded the ship, they found a monkey in a naval uniform, dressed as such for the amusement of the French crew. Because England was at war with France and because the fishermen had never seen a Frenchman, or a monkey apparently, they took the 'French Spy' into custody and arranged an impromptu criminal trial on the beach. Extremely unfortunately for the monkey, the locals found it guilty and sentenced it to... well, the name gives the end of the story away. A very sad casualty of war, but it is unfair to criticise the ignorant locals from a different time in history. The story is so unusal that it ignited Nathan's interest and he began imagining label designs almost immediately. A few short months later, the ink arrived and is available now!

 

And here are my scans, in my usual, basic style.

 

 

 

As you can see, a slightly finer line makes quite a difference, even though they are the same nib width - Fine - in theory, by the same manufacturer. Personally, I prefer the 580 F over the Vac 700, but that's by the by. There's a bit of feathering with the wider nib but as the back view shows; the only real bleed-through was from Baystate Blue.

 

Now for the soak tests. Firstly; before.

 

 

And now, after 30 minutes soaking and then a rinse.

 

 

I was actually surprised at the excellent result from Diamine Asa Blue! Of course, Noodler's Midway Blue is not designated 'bulletproof' as such, but doesn't do too badly.

 

All in all, a very satisfying ink and I'm sure I'll enjoy the Brexit and Britannia's Blue Waves, when I get some.

 

[visvamitra]

Not my color but thank you for excellent review.

[Barkingpig]

Your review was thorough & enjoyable; if someone wanted another "blue" ink, they would probably like this one.

 

(BUT for me, "it's NO salamander!")

[lapis]

Thanks for the interesting and informative review. However, for me too, it's not my colour. As they say here, nothing half-size, nothing full-size. In other words, it's (again, for me) not a real blue, a sky blue, a turquoise blue, but rather just a plate of left-overs.

 

Still, thanks again.

[lgsoltek]

I expected a darker colour from the swab. But it turns out to be too light for my taste.

[grainweevil]

Thank you for the review, Skipper. Pure Pens' swab mislead me too; it's considerably paler than I expected. I suppose it's plus point is that it is pale and yet bulletproof, which could be just what someone's looking for. Not sure that's me just now, but you never know.

[The Good Captain]

Your review was thorough & enjoyable; if someone wanted another "blue" ink, they would probably like this one.

 

(BUT for me, "it's NO salamander!")

You are right - it's definitely NOT Salamander!!!!

[mallymal1]

Thanks for the review GC. It's a maybe for me.

[ethernautrix]

Every once in a while, I get a hankering to use a cheerful, bright blue. This looks very appealing! Thanks for the review.

[Masque]

I want this; not for writing on its own, but for mixing. There is a dearth of permanent light colors. What a treat.

[amberleadavis]

Another great review. Midway is a fade proof ink so this looks like a terrific update.

[bjmoose]

It seems that unlike the majority of replies - I really like the looks of this ink. I am a fan of turquoise and light blues. I also love the name & the story story behind it. I must acquire some of this, as I was born in the Year of the Monkey...

[Gloucesterman]

Great story. It would be interesting to see a few pages with Nathan's explanations of name origins. Yeah, I know Nathan has more than enough to do just keeping "us ink vamps" somewhat satisfied.

 

Thank you for the review AND the Nathan's "Just Believe It".

 

P.S. THANKS NATHAN!!!!

[amberleadavis]

http://www.sheismylawyer.com/2016_2_Ink/09-September/slides/2016-09-22_239.jpg

[The Good Captain]

http://www.sheismylawyer.com/2016_2_Ink/09-September/slides/2016-09-22_239.jpg

Indeed. What do you require?

[amberleadavis]

You were one of my first CRV co-participants so I'll just send you the letter like above and you write back. They will be enroute shortly.

[French]

just to show my lack of culture, I read "Monkey Hanger" and immediately thought of the big tall handlebars on some of the custom motorcycles . After reading the story, I needed to look up the handlebar name...Ape Hangers.

Thank you for the history and the review. I must say, that is a stunning shade of blue.

french

[Beechwood]

Enjoying this ink for the wrong reasons. I find it runs broad in my daily user, which may be useful for some, but the rel benefit of the ink is that it blends very well, have tried it with 10% CS Green and it looks great.

 

Oddly, the ink looks like paint in the bottle.

[Kenlowe]

If anyone in the UK would like a 30ml of this ink please let me know.