Noodler's Russian Ink: Никита Хрущёв Aka Nikita

[Signum1]

http://imageshack.com/a/img921/8748/c4Q55t.jpg

Edited February 2, 2020 by Signum1

[Eclipse157]

Thank you for the review, I'm always curious to see Noodler's stuff. I can't help notice several different colors in you review... on the second line, the printed word NOODLER'S: the N is a kind of muted maroon-brick, but the first O is much brightly red. Then the 2 lines "rhodia #18..." and "Edison Herald..." are bright red, but "Drying time" is that dusty brick red again. The last three lines in cursive also show this kind of shift between hues. Am I seeing things?

[pgomme]

I have a bottle of Nikita Red. Mine's a nice. Straight red. The writing sample above tends to be a somewhat lighter red (a bit pink to my eye, maybe fuscia), with some blue on some letters. I understand that Noodler's inks exhibit variation from batch to batch -- maybe that's why.

[Signum1]

Here is the explanation to your observations.

 

1. Different size nibs will show different shades of the ink. A thin line will be different from a thick line because a thick line uses more ink due to a wider surface on a broader nib.

 

2. Dip and re-dip technique. Writer charged the nib and feed (black plastic under the nib) with ink only. As the writer declutter the mind with words on paper, the ink starts to run out. The result is a lighter shade of the ink. The writer at this moment re-dip the nib in the ink bottle to re-charge nib and feed with ink again. Why? The writer is too lazy to clean the whole pen. Easier to run tap water on the nib and feed than the work involved to clean the barrel with a piston. Once the writing project is completed, the pen goes back to storage.

 

3. Paper quality. Writing on cheap copy paper likely yield a different appearance of the ink. This Rhodia paper for fountain pens has limitations. It cannot handle a broad and a calligraphy nib (1.5 mm). You noticed some feathering. I had a novice writer complaint to me that he cannot get the same results from my ink reviews. Well, he didn't pay attention to details from my ink review. He just saw pretty colours. He bought a bunch of paper and got disappointed. Pay attention to the g/M2 paper quality used in the ink reviews and the nib size creating the visual results.

 

Hopefully one day you will be giving this explanation to a fledgling fountain pen user as he or she begins the journey of enjoying the visual pleasure of forming letters.

Edited February 2, 2020 by Signum1

[PAKMAN]

Nice, thanks for the review!

[Eclipse157]

Thanks for the explanations, it makes perfect sense now knowing that you used your pens as dip nibs. The only point where I beg to differ is how Rhodia paper handles broad nibs: I found it excellent with several inks up to 2.5mm nibs (haven't tried bigger ones, or parallel pens, yet). Knowing the character of other water resistant Noodler's ink I'm more than willing to blame (mostly) the ink for the feathering and bleedthrough.

 

Bonus question: what flag is that in your profile?

 

Thank you again.

[Signum1]

Mio amico,

 

I accept your experience with broader nibs (2.5mm); it is a case of YMMV (your mileage may vary).

 

From my observations, the Noodler's inks are mainly water resistant, but NOT waterproof. Waterproof to me means the ink REMAINS the same colour AFTER contact with water. A few of Noodler's inks satisfied my waterproof definition. The waterproof inks usually have a chalky (lighter) appearance and a chemical smell. The water resistant ink from Noodler leaves a black or grey colour after water contact.

 

The flag is Ontario, which is a piece of land govern by a smaller government in Canada. We call that a province. Most native English speakers don't know that China has provinces. Hahaha.....

Edited February 3, 2020 by Signum1

[Eclipse157]

 

I accept your experience with broader nibs (2.5mm); it is a case of YMMV (your mileage may vary).

 

Yep, very true. I'll have to try some Noodler's things with broader nibs on Rhodia

 

 

From my observations, the Noodler's inks are mainly water resistant, but NOT waterproof. Waterproof to me means the ink REMAINS the same colour AFTER contact with water. A few of Noodler's inks satisfied my waterproof definition. The waterproof inks usually have a chalky (lighter) appearance and a chemical smell. The water resistant ink from Noodler leaves a black or grey colour after water contact.

 

Yes, I've used "water resistant" casually. I meant those inks labeled "bulletproof", which like you say have a chalky appearance on some papers and that easily distinguishable chemical smell. I appreciate your precision and apologize for being vague.

 

The bulletproof inks are the biggest offenders, in my experience, with feathering and bleeding. I'm curious tho: the Nikita is not advertised as bulletproof (iirc, please correct me in case), but it behaves somewhat like one... how does it smell?

[Signum1]

Mio amico,

 

On the subject of smell, let me change the topic to answer your question. I love leather dress shoes and leather boots. I'd watched cobblers on YouTube replace the worn out sole and heel. A common remark a cobbler makes is these high end shoes (Allen Edmonds and Alden) don't use leather heel blocks for the heels. They used fiber blocks (mesh paper). When you buy a pair of high-end shoes, would you care whether the heel block is leather or paper? Hell...... No! I am looking at the style, colour, material used (full grain leather verses genuine leather or suede) and........price. Not whether the shoe manufacturer used leather blocks on the heel. In a similar manner, smell is not a factor in my ink purchases. I want to know whether the ink feathers or bleeds through the paper. I can assess those features by eyeballing the writer's writing sample of the ink.

 

Tell me, when was the last time you wrote to someone, and stated: "You gotta try this ink. It smells so......so..... wonderful!"? Hahaha......Or replace the word wonderful with the word crappy. LoL! My friend, ink is all visual.

 

Lastly, an ink addiction is a cheap pleasure. There are other addictions that cost a lot of money. My neighbour spends $300 to $400 Canadian dollars per month on alcohol. You can lose your life savings (and home) in one evening over a poker game (gambling addiction). Be happy you don't have a gambling addiction.

Edited February 4, 2020 by Signum1

[Signum1]

New Link.

 

Nikita