The risks associated with the naming of an ink

[FrenchConnex]

[Noodler] "The day we can no longer discuss Conrad will be the day free speech and the freedom to discuss ideas and concepts between rational people....will be at an end."

 

Unfortunately, we seem to be sliding closer and closer toward that very point. Mass media, dummed down to an 8th grade reading level, the short attention spans that accompany too much TV, and minds that don't want to have to work too hard. I wonder though if enlightenment and fountain pen usage are somehow positively correlated. I couldn't be happier to hear that there will be a Heart of Darkness ink - and personally, I'm all over feather resistant and super smooth ... It can dry in its own good time.

 

FrenchConnex

[limesally]

My last question would be: feather resistant and super smooth or faster dry time and thus also - drier writing/not as smooth-slick? Chemistry permits it to be an "either or" question due to the variety of paper grades any fountain pen ink must function upon.

 

My vote is for feather resistant and super smooth. Right now I have a faster drying ink that I'm using in my moleskine and while it's convenient, I'm really not enjoying the dry writing feeling.

 

For point of reference, Noodler's Aircorp BB is about the right balance for me in drying time/feather resistance/nice flow.

[OboeJuan]

You know, I love the idea of writing "MB 149 M nib, Noodler's Heart of Darkness ink" at the bottom of my letters to people. Maybe I am depressed or maybe because Halloween is coming, but that name resonates with me. Tres cool.

 

Kath

[Lloyd]

Non-feathering, please. You can't enjoy a feathering ink in a flexy nib.

[dmmcf]

My last question would be: feather resistant and super smooth or faster dry time and thus also - drier writing/not as smooth-slick?

 

Feather resistant and smooth for me, please. I'll blot if I need to.

[lalindsay225]

Nathan,

 

As a former high school English teacher, I love the inks with literary names. Many FP users are also avid readers, and I'm sure the interesting names only add to the fun. I think Heart of Darkness (in English or French) is a great name for an ink, whether everyone gets the allusion or not.

 

Another vote for feather-resistant and smooth!

 

I'd also like to say that I'm a great fan of your inks. You have an incredible array of colors available at a good price, and all made right here in the U.S. Thank you very much for all of your hard work.

 

Lisa

[cowdad]

The wetter the better, up to a certain point.

 

And I'm glad to hear you aren't naming the ink after the Conrad work that has the word "Narcissus" in the title.

 

As far as "Heart of Darkness"--who could say much about that? They named a type of watermelon they grow in Georgia, they named it "Congo". It's a very dark green watermelon. And as far as I know, nobody ever said anything about it.

 

I'm all in favor of your naming some inks after some writers, though Conrad wouldn't be my first choice. Or anywhere on the list, though he was a very great writer, for sure.

 

I'd prefer to see an orange-red called "Sherman's March". This would fit in well with the other Noodler's red inks, but you'd probably be getting death threats from southern rednecks over it.

[WillAdams]

How about an orange-red w/ white highlights called ``White House Burning'' to evoke the War of 1812?

 

I don't think there's a need to use unpleasant imagery needlessly (some of my Great Aunt Annie Mae's husband's family were made homeless by Sherman's march to the sea --- once in language class, when a Korean instructor asked, ``What's the big deal about General Sherman?'' and the Special Forces Sergeant First Class from Boston puffed up to go on abouthis having been, ``A brilliant military strategist who brought the South to its knees with a calculated plan of destruction of property, &c.'' (as he later told me after class) was quite deflated when I beat him to the punch with, ``He was an arsonist.'').

 

For those who aren't familiar with it, the controversial book in question was published in the U.S. as _The Children of the Sea: A Tale of the Forecastle_ at the insistence of the publisher Dodd and Mead and Company --- if desired, use that as the name of an ink and people who wish to can investigate to learn the original title.

 

Yes, the word used to describe the protagonist in the original title is offensive to many people, yes, it's used in Mark Twain's _Tom Sawyer_ and while I believe it's important for people to know what it means and its historical usage and context it's more important people remember that trash comes in all colours.

 

William

 

 

[FrenchConnex]

...and while I believe it's important for people to know what it means and its historical usage and context it's more important people remember that trash comes in all colours.

 

 

Well put WillAdams - I'll have to remember that "trash comes in all colors!"

[Limner]

My last question would be: feather resistant and super smooth or faster dry time and thus also - drier writing/not as smooth-slick? Chemistry permits it to be an "either or" question due to the variety of paper grades any fountain pen ink must function upon.

 

My (belated) vote would be for smooth and non-feathering, but wouldn't it be possible to produce both? Two versions of the same color--"Heart of Darkness Smooth" and "Heart of Darkness Dry"? Cover all bases.

[scribbler77]

I'd prefer to see an orange-red called "Sherman's March". This would fit in well with the other Noodler's red inks, but you'd probably be getting death threats from southern rednecks over it.

 

What redneck ever wrote with a fountain pen? Or filled one with a Noodler ink?

[christob]

While "Heart of Darkness" is in itself a very good name for a dark ink, I think I would not buy it because of its connotations however much I might like the actual colour. Would YOU like to have an ink on your desk labelled "Holocaust"? Actually, thinking about it I find the name slightly offensive, it makes a little joke by refering to a great work describing a great tragedy.

 

But in this cultural vein, how about: "the color purple", "the scarlet letter", "kind of blue" or "green green grass"?

[JuddRogers]

\[...\] You'd be better off with Shakespeare: "Othello" (black), "Richard III" or "Julius Caesar" (blood red), "King Lear" (grey), "Arden" (leaf green).

 

Lady MacBeth would make a great name for a Bullet-proof Red (out, out, damned spott)

 

[Possum Hill]

(snip)

I'd prefer to see an orange-red called "Sherman's March". This would fit in well with the other Noodler's red inks, but you'd probably be getting death threats from southern rednecks over it.

 

Noodler's ink appears to be distributed by Luxury Brands of Fayetteville, Georgia. They might balk at "Sherman's March".

[cowdad]

(snip)

I'd prefer to see an orange-red called "Sherman's March". This would fit in well with the other Noodler's red inks, but you'd probably be getting death threats from southern rednecks over it.

 

Noodler's ink appears to be distributed by Luxury Brands of Fayetteville, Georgia. They might balk at "Sherman's March".

 

Yeah, I had seen that, and I used to think Nathan was making his ink outside of Atlanta, near Stone Mountain. I figured his geographic location explained his interest in the military and his military inks, and I even planned on driving by that place some time when I was in Atlanta and seeing if he'd let me take a look a look at his operations. But then, come to find out, he's a Massachusetts Yankee, though not the liberal sort, not a Dukakis liberal.

[Sysiphus]

That label was made soon after Saddam's army was defeated - a military victory. It is now history, because the next production run it becomes "The Violet Vote" with a classic painting of the ancient Tower of Babylon and an ink stained finger suspended in the sky with a "V" of purple ink stained upon its tip

Being new to FPs, yet not new to the Iraqi conflict (currently in the middle of it!), I simply must have these inks! So, the same ink will be in both bottles? Can someone tell me if the indigo is still available? Are there others that are related to these?

[Possum Hill]

Being new to FPs, yet not new to the Iraqi conflict (currently in the middle of it!), I simply must have these inks! So, the same ink will be in both bottles? Can someone tell me if the indigo is still available? Are there others that are related to these?

 

Iraqi Indigo is listed on the Pendemonium site and appears to be in stock. See http://www.pendemonium.com/

 

I don't know if they ship to Babylon.

[Sysiphus]

Iraqi Indigo is listed on the Pendemonium site and appears to be in stock. See http://www.pendemonium.com/

 

I don't know if they ship to Babylon.

Thanks! Actually, the shipping would be to an APO (military) address. Checked out pendemonium, and it appears they may ship here!

 

[Ink Stained Wretch]

The Secret Agent is another candidate, but then, which color would you choose?

Sounds like an obvious name for another invisible ink!

 

Bush League--with a picture of Bush with the "Mission Accomplished" banner behind him.

And the bottle would be empty.

 

My last question would be: feather resistant and super smooth or faster dry time and thus also - drier writing/not as smooth-slick? Chemistry permits it to be an "either or" question due to the variety of paper grades any fountain pen ink must function upon.

I also vote for feather resistant and super smooth. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to use it on the sorts of paper that I use.

 

Noodler's ink appears to be distributed by Luxury Brands of Fayetteville, Georgia. They might balk at "Sherman's March".

I suspect that they'd be more interested in the color of money than what happened in the area they now occupy 143 years ago. I mean, it's called "Luxury Brands," not "Lost Cause Brands." And that cause was pretty awful in any case.

[Possum Hill]

Noodler's ink appears to be distributed by Luxury Brands of Fayetteville, Georgia. They might balk at "Sherman's March".

I suspect that they'd be more interested in the color of money than what happened in the area they now occupy 143 years ago. I mean, it's called "Luxury Brands," not "Lost Cause Brands." And that cause was pretty awful in any case.

 

I didn't suggest that the company supported lost causes, rather that they were unlikely to rile people up unnecessarily.

 

And what cause are you talking about? The War of Northern Aggression wasn't fought over slavery, if that's what you're suggesting, and 143 years isn't that long ago.