EFNIR: Noodler's Black

[LizEF]

Extra Fine Nib Ink Review: Noodler's Black

This is review #236 in my series. Here's the YouTube video:

Post-recording notes: It behaved so well in the sample vial - not clinging to the walls, not staining the inside of the cap - that I decided to risk putting it in a converter and the Prera (rather than the Penmanship and a cartridge), but this may have been a mistake.  It clung to the inside of the plastic pipette (a softer, probably rougher, plastic), holding on for dear life.  Guess we'll see what happens at the end of the review period...  BIG mistake...

Cleaning involved swabs, pipe cleaner, toothbrush, water, and pen flush.  It's possible part of the section none of that can reach is still stained.  The back of the nib had to be wiped clean (yes, I fully disassembled the pen).

It's a little warm. Similar in color to De Atramentis Archive Ink, but darker.  Every other black ink I had was either cooler, or too dark to tell (De Atramentis Document Ink, Platinum Carbon Black, Noodler's Heart of Darkness, and Pilot Mixable Colour Black).

Here's the video I made of the ink moving around on the microscope slide.

Errata: There's an apostrophe missing. I leave it to you to figure out where.

Zoomed in photo

Screenshot

Scan of Completed Review

Absorbent Paper Close-up (top is puzzle paper like thick newsprint, bottom is old 20lb copy paper)

Line width (The "h" in Rhodia. Magnification is 100x. The grid is 100x100µm. The scale is 360µm, with twelve divisions of 30µm each. The line width for this ink is roughly 355µm. With 236 inks measured, the average line width is 296µm.)

Microscope image (400x. Just after slide was made. Near the edge of the slide. Appearance of deposited silt is similar to what I've seen in pigmented inks.)

Microscope image (100x. The other end of the slide where some ink had collected. (I slid the cover slip a little to help get the ink more evenly spread - this is the side with less ink.)

Microscope image (400x. A spot in the middle with more silt-like appearance.)

Microscope image (400x. With scale to show particle size.)

Water Test Results

Previous Review: Diamine Jalur Gemilang.

Images also available on Instagram: @zilxodarap.

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

View a list of my inks, complete with review results in a google sheet.

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've fallen in the trap of being beguiled by an ink's supposed good behaviour and the having pens, section soaking in water glasses or cleaning solutions (driving my wife nuts  ). I guess if you really want to get rid of the staining you need a bit of Doyou or Red Rattler's Red. Though in my experience after a while, and few inks after the staining disappears by other naughty inks 😛

I've read that some use a drop of this ink to render water loving inks, water resistant, so it might be good for that

I see that Quin's biggest "room" is his backpack

I wonder if there'll be a King/ Brother Klaw character appearing at some point. 😸

Thanks for making Tuesdays so special 🙏

 

 

 

[InesF]

Thank you @LizEF for the story, for the microscopy images and movie and for introducing a clinging ink! 😄

 

It's a black ink - full story told. 😎 

(remark: I guess, such a bad behavior would not had happened with one of the colourful inks ... 😇)

 

However, in support of @yazeh's idea, me too would like to see Claw appearing in the story.  

(remark: did you know the episode of Star Trek 1^st generation where the crew entered a castle inhabited by a strange magician who morphed into an oversized black cat to hunt the Trekkies?)

[LizEF]

2 hours ago, yazeh said:

Great review as usual @LizEF 

Thanks, Yazeh!

 

2 hours ago, yazeh said:

I've fallen in the trap of being beguiled by an ink's supposed good behaviour and the having pens, section soaking in water glasses or cleaning solutions (driving my wife nuts  ). I guess if you really want to get rid of the staining you need a bit of Doyou or Red Rattler's Red. Though in my experience after a while, and few inks after the staining disappears by other naughty inks 😛

  Yes, lesson learned.  Both those cleaner inks are on my "sample" list, but as you know, I won't need to buy inks before the end of next year...

 

2 hours ago, yazeh said:

I've read that some use a drop of this ink to render water loving inks, water resistant, so it might be good for that

Huh.  That could be interesting - might make a nice muted version of said other ink.

 

2 hours ago, yazeh said:

I see that Quin's biggest "room" is his backpack

 

2 hours ago, yazeh said:

I wonder if there'll be a King/ Brother Klaw character appearing at some point. 😸

Well, now you've planted the idea.  Perhaps there will be a Demon Klaw!    At night, when it's dark outside and most of the lights in the house are out, little boy goes into demon-mode, arching his back and fluffing his tail and racing around like a crazy cat. Makes me laugh every time.

 

2 hours ago, yazeh said:

Thanks for making Tuesdays so special 🙏

You're most welcome!

[LizEF]

34 minutes ago, InesF said:

Thank you @LizEF for the story, for the microscopy images and movie and for introducing a clinging ink! 😄

You're very welcome!

 

34 minutes ago, InesF said:

It's a black ink - full story told. 😎 

(remark: I guess, such a bad behavior would not had happened with one of the colourful inks ... 😇)

Right!?

 

35 minutes ago, InesF said:

However, in support of @yazeh's idea, me too would like to see Claw appearing in the story.  

Two votes for Klaw added.   Of course, I'm still 6 weeks ahead of you (took a week off a while back cuz I needed a break, and took this past week off for Klaw) - so it'll be a while and a half before inspiration figures out where in the story to put him - perhaps the next adventure.

 

36 minutes ago, InesF said:

(remark: did you know the episode of Star Trek 1^st generation where the crew entered a castle inhabited by a strange magician who morphed into an oversized black cat to hunt the Trekkies?)

  Vague memories.

[LizEF]

Meanwhile, were Lord Roar and Lord Kling too vague a reference?  Roar & Kling...?  Rohrer & Klingner...

[Sailor Kenshin]

Well, I got it.

 

This ink may be magical on lousy paper, but its Eternity Dry Time and bleak, moonscape micro… ahhhh, no.

 

Yes, Klaw would be a purrfect character!  
 

People, I spend ALL my time in 'that' room, and it ain't helped a bit.  😝
 

Noisy stuff goin' on der.   Thanks as always, @LizEF, for your wonderful Tuesday fun time.  

[LizEF]

3 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Well, I got it.

Thank you!

 

3 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

This ink may be magical on lousy paper, but its Eternity Dry Time and bleak, moonscape micro… ahhhh, no.

Well, the dry time is almost immediate on said lousy paper, so I'd say that dedicating a TWSBI Eco to it (for example) would be a good poor-paper option for those who need it.

 

4 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Yes, Klaw would be a purrfect character!  

 

5 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

People, I spend ALL my time in 'that' room, and it ain't helped a bit.  😝

(Though I'll bet it's helped more than you know. )

 

5 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Noisy stuff goin' on der.   Thanks as always, @LizEF, for your wonderful Tuesday fun time.

You're very welcome!

[inkstainedruth]

Thanks as usual for the comprehensive review.  

I'll admit that I was underwhelmed by the ink when I tried it, and prefer Noodler's Heart of Darkness, which dries much faster.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[yazeh]

1 hour ago, LizEF said:

Meanwhile, were Lord Roar and Lord Kling too vague a reference?  Roar & Kling...?  Rohrer & Klingner...

I was too busy looking for that darned apostrophe that I didn't hear the bell Roar and Kling

 

[LizEF]

1 hour ago, inkstainedruth said:

Thanks as usual for the comprehensive review. 

 

You're most welcome!

 

1 hour ago, inkstainedruth said:

I'll admit that I was underwhelmed by the ink when I tried it, and prefer Noodler's Heart of Darkness, which dries much faster.

 

  HoD is my brother's one and only ink.  Personally, I'm abstaining from black inks (except reviewing them) so that there's more for those people who want to use them.

[LizEF]

58 minutes ago, yazeh said:

I was too busy looking for that darned apostrophe that I didn't hear the bell Roar and Kling

[inkstainedruth]

32 minutes ago, LizEF said:

  HoD is my brother's one and only ink.  Personally, I'm abstaining from black inks (except reviewing them) so that there's more for those people who want to use them.

I'm not generally a big fan of black ink.  I never was (even in my ballpoint days I preferred blue over black ink).  

But I do like HoD -- it dries quickly, is pretty seriously black (without spreading on the page the way Noodler's Old Manhattan does), and is generally well behaved.  

Plus, it looks good coming out of the Forbidden City Konrad (with its red and black acrylic swirls).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Misfit]

If Klaw appears in the story, I hope he is a good guy. Oh, Klaweco.  Ha ha!

[LizEF]

4 hours ago, Misfit said:

If Klaw appears in the story, I hope he is a good guy.

 

4 hours ago, Misfit said:

Klaweco

[Sailor Kenshin]

9 hours ago, Misfit said:

If Klaw appears in the story, I hope he is a good guy. Oh, Klaweco.  Ha ha!

Must give this a HUGE 👍🏻!  😻

[InesF]

23 hours ago, Misfit said:

Oh, Klaweco.

[AmandaW]

23 hours ago, Misfit said:

Oh, Klaweco.

[LizEF]

Since it was a bear to find again, I'm going to go ahead and link to a thread on whether this ink is pigmented.  Some of the images herein are used there:

 

[LizEF]

 I found (more like re-found) some info that may solve the issue of why Noodler's Black seems like a pigment ink (e.g. under the microscope) but is not a pigment ink.  This is from Richard Binder's site:

Quote

Noodler’s “bulletproof” inks contain a component that causes the dye in the ink to bond chemically with the paper. Unfortunately, this bonding agent is particulate, not in solution. It settles, and you have to shake the bottle to disperse it when filling a pen. It also settles in the pen, and it can cause clogs.

So, it seems that the particulate appearance in microscope images is the bonding agent, not a pigment.  Now we know.