EFNIR: Noodler's Borealis Black

[LizEF]

Extra Fine Nib Ink Review: Noodler's Borealis Black

This is review #186 in my series.  Here's the YouTube video:

Post-recording notes: Cleaning took a little longer than usual, but was surprisingly easy, requiring only water! The ink is black to the eye and black in the pictures.

The line width measurement is one of the lines used for dry time.  Magnification is 100x.  The grid is 100x100µm.  The scale is 330µm, with eleven divisions of 30µm each.  The line width for this ink is roughly 340µm. (For the curious, with 186 inks measured, the average line width is 292µm.)

The microscope slide was yawnville (so not included), though like the past couple of blacks, it was dark red in places.

And here is a screen of the final result, for those not interested in the video:

Scan of Completed Review:

Zoomed in photo:

Absorbent Paper Closeup (top is puzzle paper like thick newsprint, bottom is old 20lb copy paper):

Line width measured via microscope at 100x:

Water test results:

Images also available on Instagram: @zilxodarap.

Previous Review: Diamine Oxford Blue.

Want to influence the inky sequence?  Take the "next ink" poll.

Need to catch up on The Adventures of Quin and Makhabesh?  Find the whole story here.

Hope you enjoy.  Comments appreciated!

[yazeh]

Great review as usual @LizEF 

I believe I read somewhere that it was one the blackest black. But the long dry time, close to eternity. Poor Makhabesh must feeling that way, right now, until he can get his claws into Snek

[LizEF]

6 minutes ago, yazeh said:

Great review as usual @LizEF 

Thanks!

 

6 minutes ago, yazeh said:

I believe I read somewhere that it was one the blackest black. But the long dry time, close to eternity.

It is very dark.  The arrow is pointing at the "y" of eternity, which smeared slightly...

 

7 minutes ago, yazeh said:

Poor Makhabesh must feeling that way, right now, until he can get his claws into Snek

Poor Makhabesh indeed.  I finished writing the story up through review 209 yesterday - exciting stuff from 193 through 210.

[yazeh]

6 minutes ago, LizEF said:

Poor Makhabesh indeed.  I finished writing the story up through review 209 yesterday - exciting stuff from 193 through 210.

Out of curiosity, do you write each story paragraph on the spot or do you copy it from an already written text, which has been written in advance?

[LizEF]

2 minutes ago, yazeh said:

Out of curiosity, do you write each story paragraph on the spot or do you copy it from an already written text, which has been written in advance?

I copy it, though sometimes I make minor tweaks (just in wording, not in meaning) and then go back and update the typed version (I have a text file with everything and use that to update my website).

 

I tend to think up the story in spurts, and write it out and break it into review-sized pieces until the inspiration goes dry. I think this is the longest portion I've ever pre-written (18 reviews' worth).

 

I write notes on al the points in the review, so I don't forget, but only the story, quote, and writing prompt are copied verbatim, the rest is made up based on the notes.

[LizEF]

@yazeh, here's the half-page form I use to prep my review (from this ink):

 

(I'm sure without it I'd forget something. )

[yazeh]

9 minutes ago, LizEF said:

I copy it, though sometimes I make minor tweaks (just in wording, not in meaning) and then go back and update the typed version (I have a text file with everything and use that to update my website).

 

I tend to think up the story in spurts, and write it out and break it into review-sized pieces until the inspiration goes dry. I think this is the longest portion I've ever pre-written (18 reviews' worth).

 

I write notes on al the points in the review, so I don't forget, but only the story, quote, and writing prompt are copied verbatim, the rest is made up based on the notes.

Thank you so much for showing your creative process. That must take a lot of work. I use a different system, which is beyond the scope of this thread

 

[LizEF]

7 minutes ago, yazeh said:

Thank you so much for showing your creative process. That must take a lot of work. I use a different system, which is beyond the scope of this thread

You're welcome!  Feel free to PM or post in Chatter.  We're probably not the only people interested in how other writers go about things.  In my case, the story has to come to me - I just observe and record what I observed - but I know more productive people succeed in planning and plotting.

 

PS: That's also why I couldn't do it on the spot - I'd probably go blank and we'd get no story at all.

[TSherbs]

I found this ink far inferior to Aurora Black, the ink that Mr. Tardif is said to have deconstructed to make this. 

[LizEF]

1 minute ago, TSherbs said:

I found this ink far inferior to Aurora Black, the ink that Mr. Tardif is said to have deconstructed to make this. 

I've never used Aurora Black, so others will have to chime in on that.  This ink just didn't really stand out in any way to me - well, if you want the garbage man to hurry up and empty your can, this ink might help. Otherwise, meh.

[Sailor Kenshin]

7 hours ago, LizEF said:

I copy it, though sometimes I make minor tweaks (just in wording, not in meaning) and then go back and update the typed version (I have a text file with everything and use that to update my website).

 

I tend to think up the story in spurts, and write it out and break it into review-sized pieces until the inspiration goes dry. I think this is the longest portion I've ever pre-written (18 reviews' worth).

 

I write notes on al the points in the review, so I don't forget, but only the story, quote, and writing prompt are copied verbatim, the rest is made up based on the notes.

Kewl!  👍🏻
 

Let's see…black.  Eternal dry time.  Attracts garbage trucks.

 

Need I say more?

 

However, @LizEF, I thank you for this latest, AND for the peek into your creative process!  

[LizEF]

53 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Let's see…black.  Eternal dry time.  Attracts garbage trucks.

 

Need I say more?

 

53 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

However, @LizEF, I thank you for this latest, AND for the peek into your creative process!

You're very welcome!

 

PS: I'm guessing you folk didn't see it, but this round, my creative process was sparked by a headache... And I'll just quote a bit of that here:

Quote

If anyone wishes to change my mind on what color Essri is (the snek, not the ink), now's your chance.

[Sailor Kenshin]

I made the mistake of trying to reply to your profile, but here:

 

Awwww…..I get not headaches, but Bees In The Bonnet, and have to get up several times to deal with the ideas.  Mostly, they're about cleaning.  Once in a rare while, writing. 

[LizEF]

16 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

I made the mistake of trying to reply to your profile, but here:

 

Awwww…..I get not headaches, but Bees In The Bonnet, and have to get up several times to deal with the ideas.  Mostly, they're about cleaning.  Once in a rare while, writing. 

When I can't sleep, it's almost always story ideas that I think of, but sometimes it's one of those monster-sized to-do lists of things I ought to do but will probably never finish.

[mizgeorge]

Thank you @LizEF as always, even though this poor ink seems to have been damned by faint praise (not to mention its various undesirable characteristics). No chance of me ever wanting this one on so many levels....

 

I also loved the glimpse into how the storytelling happens. I'm worried about Essri's colour though - I feel he's doomed to be a murky little snek but surely the High Wizard wouldn't have spotted him if he didn't have at least a bit of colour somewhere...

[LizEF]

14 minutes ago, mizgeorge said:

Thank you @LizEF as always

You're very welcome!

 

14 minutes ago, mizgeorge said:

even though this poor ink seems to have been damned by faint praise (not to mention its various undesirable characteristics). No chance of me ever wanting this one on so many levels....

Ah well, how would we know this unless we tried it out.  Apparently, there's at least one person (on reddit) for whom this is their favorite ink.

 

15 minutes ago, mizgeorge said:

I also loved the glimpse into how the storytelling happens.

 

16 minutes ago, mizgeorge said:

I'm worried about Essri's colour though - I feel he's doomed to be a murky little snek but surely the High Wizard wouldn't have spotted him if he didn't have at least a bit of colour somewhere...

I'm not telling (yet).  His color is revealed in review #202 (a long way even from inking - ink 190 is in my pen right now - plenty of time to change it).  So feel free to suggest a color or multiple colors and a pattern.  If you absolutely can't bring yourself to suggest color(s), feel free to suggest colour(s)...

 

(This page has a section on the various patterns snakes sport, in case it's helpful. )

[yazeh]

Snek, snek, snek

 

[LizEF]

28 minutes ago, yazeh said:

Snek, snek, snek

 

LOVE it!

[arcfide]

While others probably don't like this one, because of how it competes directly with more traditional inks, I think this might be one of the only Noodler's Blacks that has any appeal to me at all. For some reason, Noodler's seems to be in love with using a black component that leads all of their blacks to a very murky, messy, ugly (IMO) brownish sort of black with the wrong tones. It's just my least favorite style of black. This one, and *maybe* X-Feather Black, are the only ones that even remotely have me thinking about them. Unfortunately, it seems that Nathan has to make them very viscous, so without seeing how dilution would make this one work or not work for me, and given that I have so many other options, it's not nearly as appealing as some of the other Noodler's inks, IMO. However, if I do get a Noodler's black again, it would probably be this one. 

[LizEF]

8 minutes ago, arcfide said:

...without seeing how dilution would make this one work or not work for me...

Can't help with that, but I can tell you that the paper towel used to pick up the water from the water test had a sort of greenish grey cast to it, if that tells you anything about the underlying color.