Noodler's Heart Of Darkness Dry Time

[Kvothe_011]

I recently purchased my first black ink, Noodler's Black, and while I love the colour saturation and permanence of the ink, the long dry time and smearing are inconvenient. I am a left handed side writer so fast dry time and smear resistance is a key aspect when it comes to inks. I've read a few reviews about HoD (Heart of Darkness), and my question is: how fast does this dry on cheaper loose leaf paper (I'm a student) and does it feather/spread significantly? Thanks!

[Arkanabar]

IMX, HoD is better behaved than original Black in all the areas you cite. However, you can remedy most of original Black's misbehavior by diluting it with water, ideally distilled. Most Noodler's inks can readily handle dilution up to 1:1.

 

I recommend disposable polypropylene bulb pipettes and ink sample vials for this, both of which are readily available from online pen shops such as Anderson Pens and Goulet Pens. I've been happy patronizing both, but have no further affiliation with either.

Edited January 15, 2017 by Arkanabar

[Kvothe_011]

IMX, HoD is better behaved than original Black in all the areas you cite. However, you can remedy most of original Black's misbehavior by diluting it with water, ideally distilled. Most Noodler's inks can readily handle dilution up to 1:1.

 

I recommend disposable polypropylene bulb pipettes and ink sample vials for this, both of which are readily available from online pen shops such as Anderson Pens and Goulet Pens. I've been happy patronizing both, but have no further affiliation with either.

Thanks for the advice! I have some ink syringes and sample vials coming in so I'll try it.

[ErrantSmudge]

You could also order some ink samples of HoD (Goulet Pens sells them), and try the two inks out on the paper you plan to take notes on.

Edited January 16, 2017 by ErrantSmudge

[Kvothe_011]

You could also order some ink samples of HoD (Goulet Pens sells them), and try the two inks out on the paper you plan to take notes on.

I might just do that. Do you have any ink recommendations? I might just get a whole batch of samples.

[ErrantSmudge]

I see you're in Canada, so shipping costs might be an issue for Goulet Pens. There's probably a Canadian vendor who offers ink samples too.

 

Amongst the Noodler's blacks, I did an informal bake-off of four of them, based on ink samples:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/281635-inky-t-o-d-color-swatches-black-please-post-your-pictures-and-tell-us-your-thoughts/?p=3761391

 

I tested Heart of Darkness, Standard Black, X-Feather, and Bernanke Black.

 

Very short summary: Heart of Darkness dries much faster than Standard Black, but it does have showthrough issues with cheaper paper and Standard Black does not. I think you should test HoD on the paper you wish to use, to see if showthrough is acceptable for you.

 

Bernanke Black is marketed as a fast-dry ink. (Technically, it is a fast-absorbing ink). It does dry very quickly on cheap paper, but has significant issues with feathering and showthrough so I wouldn't choose it unless you really need the fast dry time.

Edited January 16, 2017 by ErrantSmudge

[Kvothe_011]

I see you're in Canada, so shipping costs might be an issue for Goulet Pens. There's probably a Canadian vendor who offers ink samples too.

 

Amongst the Noodler's blacks, I did an informal bake-off of four of them, based on ink samples:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/281635-inky-t-o-d-color-swatches-black-please-post-your-pictures-and-tell-us-your-thoughts/?p=3761391

 

I tested Heart of Darkness, Standard Black, X-Feather, and Bernanke Black.

 

Very short summary: Heart of Darkness dries much faster than Standard Black, but it does have showthrough issues with cheaper paper and Standard Black does not. I think you should test HoD on the paper you wish to use, to see if showthrough is acceptable for you.

 

Bernanke Black is marketed as a fast-dry ink. (Technically, it is a fast-absorbing ink). It does dry very quickly on cheap paper, but has significant issues with feathering and showthrough so I wouldn't choose it unless you really need the fast dry time.

 

This is invaluable!! Thank you so much! Shipping costs and conversion rates prevents me from buying from Goulet, which is unfortunate because I absolutely adore them as a brand and company. There are a few e-commerce fountain pen stores in Canada, primarily WonderPens, and I've had a good experience with them. They do offer ink samples, but their ink range isn't as extensive as Goulet Pens. Anyways, thank you again for the ink comparisons!