Noodlers Bad Belted Kingfisher

[Honeybadgers]

The "Bad" series are Nathan Tardif's response to a challenge he had running - remove his bulletproof black from paper without destroying it, and win a prize.

 

It took an MIT student and a laser, but it was done. So the new inks, dubbed "bad" are now laser proof, as well as bulletproof (waterproof, bleach/ammonia proof, archival)

 

It's also just a great, well behaved ink. The flow is excellent, the color is deeply saturated, there's very little shading, no sheen, very little feathering in a very wet F on the worst copy paper I have ever seen, almost no bleedthrough on said paper, and little to no showthrough. Dry times are instant on copy paper, average to quick on Rhodia.

 

Like almost all Noodlers inks, no sheen or special color effects on good paper.

 

The only downside (and this simply is unavoidable) is that on Rhodia, water will lift a little bit of the surface ink off, causing mild smearing, though the original lines where pen touched paper are still perfectly legible. On copy paper, almost nothing happens.

 

Are there snazzier blue-blacks with sheen and shading and all that jazz? Sure. But they won't outlast your grandchildren!

 

When you need a professional colored ink that stands out just enough on documents as to indicate an original signature without bleeding or feathering like mad on whatever paper it's on (provided you use an F or EF nib) this blue-black has you covered.

 

I've got an M nib coming in the mail so I can run the gamut of "everyday" nibs that you could use. The lamy EF-B are all quite wet, so look at the 1.1 for what a dry nib would look like.

Edited June 29, 2017 by Honeybadgers

[Chrissy]

I'm confused: Is this Bad Blue Heron per the title, or Bad Belted Kingfisher per the post?

[Honeybadgers]

Derp. Kingfisher. Stupid late evening posts.

 

Thanks for pointing it out

[Chrissy]

In that case, thank you for the review. I prefer this one to Heron anyway.

[KKay]

I have this ink too, and really like it a lot. It has been a great performer for me in a XF and F nib. It does have a little spread on cheaper paper especially. I use an XF nib to write checks with BBK because of that spread, the check paper is awful. Most of the Noodler's inks tend to have spread, but not all of them by any means. (Green Marine had no spread, which I also love-but don't have yet) I have this BBK, BBM, and Lexington Gray. I don't leave them in my pen for more than 8 days or so, before flushing them. I never let them dry out. Other than that all 3 have been top notch inks. I haven't mentioned them all, just the ones I've tried that are more permanent type inks.

[kestrel]

Great review of a wonderful ink. This has been my signature ink since its initial release. It inhabits a Pelikan M800 with a .9 mm Binder Italifine nib and the combination brings smiles to everyone who tries it. Great flow and well-behaved on most papers. I have to clean out the pen more often than with non-warden inks but that is a small price to pay for the color and the permanence.

[Honeybadgers]

One thing I noticed using it extensively this week is that it has pretty substantial nib creep. Not enough to actually drip or wind up in the cap, but it is there.

[KKay]

I have used it in 3 pens. I had nib creep in only one of them.

[inkstainedruth]

I tried this one a few years ago, but the color didn't wow me. At least I think it was this one (I also keep getting BBH and BBK confused). But thanks for the review.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[KKay]

I think it looks decent, especially on Tomoe River paper. It even has some shading. I got this as a working color, and for the unique properties. It isn't an ink I would normally write a letter with. I actually like the Bad Black Moccasin just a little better, and it is a dark black with the same qualities. It also feels like it has some good lubrication to it. I have not tried any of the other Warden inks, just two...BBK and BBM.

[kestrel]

I tried this one a few years ago, but the color didn't wow me. At least I think it was this one (I also keep getting BBH and BBK confused). But thanks for the review.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

BBK is the darker of the two. BBH is too pale for my taste. The ink, that is. I always enjoy seeing the actual birds.

[Honeybadgers]

I tried this one a few years ago, but the color didn't wow me. At least I think it was this one (I also keep getting BBH and BBK confused). But thanks for the review.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

Totally understand it. It's not an exciting color. It's an extremely utilitarian one.

 

I actually quite like parker quink BB as far as blue/blacks go. I have a bottle of the new nemosine blue/black that looks really nice on the way, I'll review it soon too.

[Lazarus Long]

I have a bottle that is several years old. It is much greyer than the review pictures show. It is slightly more blue than Noodler's Midnight Blue.

 

I don't use it much, as it isn't very well behaved - it suffers from feathering/woolly line and tends to clog up my Safari.

 

[KKay]

How long do you leave the BBK in your pen before it clogs? Was it clean when you put it in? I leave BBK in for a week and no more. I flush it after one week. I use the pen everyday when it has this ink in it. (even just a small paragraph is enough)

[inkstainedruth]

 

Totally understand it. It's not an exciting color. It's an extremely utilitarian one.

 

Well, I don't mind utilitarian inks -- I'm a fan of blue blacks. But that one was just a little too teal meaning for me....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[kronion]

 

But that one was just a little too teal meaning for me....

This is exactly why I like this ink so much It is not just another blue-black, but can have a distinct teal/greenish touch, which makes it look very interesting. Not everyone's cup of tea, I guess...

 

From my limited experience, I get the strongest teal component with a broad stub job on Clairfontaine paper. The ink can look more plainly blue-black with other combinations, as you can see in the review.

[marlinspike]

Does anybody have a recommendation for an inexpensive but nevertheless nice pen that behaves well with this ink? I like the idea of having a check signing ink, but I've had too many pens suffer damage that happened to have noodler's in them (that said, ~10 years ago noodler's, before it was even really readily commercially available) to risk it in one of my nicer pens.

[stephenchin]

Reviving this old post to share at least one solution to marlinspike's question:

 

I use one of the 60's Sheaffer $1 cartridge pens, and fill an empty Sheaffer's cartridge with Noodlers. The older $1 cartridge pens had hard rubber feeds and tipped steel nibs that were very smooth; the cartridge stains badly but is easily replaced--and with the transparent barrel (in one of many colors) it's actually possible to track your ink level. They offer excellent flow and smooth writing--better than many current German steel nibs.

 

I've had Noodlers Legal Lapis in one for several years. I've never had to clean it, it's never clogged, and I have refilled the cartridge several times. It sits on my desk and is used once a month to write checks and it starts up every time (the chromeplated cap is slim and even though slip-fit it keeps the nib from drying out.

 

I am currently testing out the new Chinese Moonman Wancai (also using the cartridge rather than filling it with an eyedropper. I will let you know how the Bad Belted Kingfisher works over the next few months with the new German plastic feeds and the Chinese steel nib.

 

One last slightly nicer option is to buy an Indian ebonite Ranga with a replaceable Schmidt or Jowo nib unit and fill with cartridge/converter. Again, the modern plastic feed will likely clog faster and flow worse than vintage hard rubber but you can have a chunkier, better looking, more expensive option if you use this ink every day in a business setting.

[Honeybadgers]

Does anybody have a recommendation for an inexpensive but nevertheless nice pen that behaves well with this ink? I like the idea of having a check signing ink, but I've had too many pens suffer damage that happened to have noodler's in them (that said, ~10 years ago noodler's, before it was even really readily commercially available) to risk it in one of my nicer pens.

 

 

I've been putting standard noodlers in all of my pens at every price and have had no problems at all. I do dilute the more hypersaturated colors though.

 

If you're really worried about it and want a cheap, reliable check signer, look at the wing sung 601.

[Arijit]

I heard that the BBH and BBK inks degrade quite fast, that is, thr inks have a very short shelf life, a year or two at most. Is it true?