Noodler's Upper Ganges Blue Ink Review

[TSherbs]

I am reviewing this ink as a result of the agreement with Amberlea and her latest PIF (the Covid quid-pro-quo).

 

Noodler's Upper Ganges Permanent Blue

 

This ink looks funky in the bottle, like a cross between Noodler's Blue and radiator fluid. It does not look on paper like it does through the glass of the bottle.

 

Please forgive my lousy handwriting and my first attempt at an ink review. Since the ink is also touted as completely permanent, I soaked strips of paper with the ink on them in each household liquid that I currently have in my bathroom closet (results below).

 

Conclusions: Upper Ganges Blue is a fairly quick drying mid-blue with strong permanence. It did not like my narrowest nib much, was somewhat pale for my liking in the 0.5 nib, and looked best in my wet 0.8 Nemosine nib (since this was a funky-looking Noodler's permanent ink that I had not heard of before, I put it only in my cheapest pens that are also easy to clean). The ink did bleed through the Rhodia 80gsm paper where it pooled. It is a strong ink that wants to soak into the paper and bond with it (with a death grip). I had a few hard starts when I paused to think about what to write next. No skipping, though.

 

Results below.

 

Thanks to Amberlea for the PIF (and there were several samples, too).

 

Blessings to all.

 

 

and the soak tests (after 5 minutes of full immersion in the liquid):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Intensity]

Very pleasant vintagey hue. I've been a fan of this color range lately. Thank you for your comprehensive review!

[yazeh]

Great review.... Great ink... Love that shade of blue.... Calming....

[cattar]

Meh on the color. Wow on the permanence.

Thanks for the review, color comparisons & soak tests!

[Tas]

[inkstainedruth]

I'm in agreement with cattar. I tried UGB a few years ago, and while the permanence impressed me, I didn't like the chalky color or the fact that it was light almost to the point of illegibility (and I wondered whether the lightness would be an issue if I say, tried to sign a check with it -- my bank at the time frowned on anything that wasn't blue or black -- because it was almost in the color range of "non-repro" blue.... (Mind you, this was the same bank that didn't bat an eye over Noodler's El Lawrence or Kung Te Cheng.... )

Thanks for the review, though.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[DrDebG]

Very nice review! Thank you for doing this.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Nice review! Thanks. I'm a fan of faded, vintage-looking blues.

[amberleadavis]

GREAT REVIEW! Glad you are enjoying it.

[Eclipse157]

Thanks for sharing! I love this kind of pastel blues, but my experience with Noodler's, especially his bulletproof inks, keeps me from splurging anymore... KWZ Azure #1 here I come! The water resistance is so nice tho...