Above is a writing sample of Noodler’s Black Swan in Australian Roses in the new Noodler’s Flex Nib Piston Fill fountain pen. I’ll have more thoughts about the pen later, but this is my first attempt at using a flex nib fountain pen, and I think the Black Swan ends up shading quite nicely with it.
Update: Inkophile has a spot-on review of the Noodler’s Nib Creaper pen.
Update: Leigh Reyes has a demonstration using the Creaper and the Black Swan ink to draw.
Rating: 5.0
November 30, 2010
The award for most poetically named ink goes to Noodler’s Black Swan in Australian Roses – one of the most poetic inks I’ve reviewed this year. Black Swan is a brand new ink from Noodler’s that was just released in late November. It is a moderately saturated ink with lots of very moody shading, and was designed to show off the shading potential of flex nibs.
Rating: 3.0
August 03, 2010
Noodler’s Widowmaker is a hard color to pin down, as it changes character based on the underlying paper. On the bright white paper of a Rhodia pad, it comes across as a very dark, earthy magenta, whereas on the cream color of a Moleskine notebook, it looks a bit like dried blood, with a brown cast to it. While the ink itself is highly saturated, and thus the hue doesn’t actually change, the contrast between the ink and the paper greatly affects one’s perception of it.
Rating: 5.0
July 25, 2010
Noodler’s Kung Te-Cheng is a beautiful, imperial ink that is the color of sapphires dipped in an indigo dye. According to the manufacturer, this ink is their attempt to replicate the characteristics of the first royal ink of ancient China – an ink was used during government exams during the age of Confucianism. Due to the connection to Confucius, they have named it after his 77th direct descendant, Kung Te-Cheng (1920 – 2008).
Rating: 3.5
May 10, 2010
Noodler’s Shah’s Rose is an aptly named ink – I’ve had roses in my garden this exact color. It is a beautiful dusky pink, just slightly less purple than a true magenta. It is highly saturated, and I recommend shaking the bottle before using to make sure that the dye has not settled out. It exhibits moderate shading in wide nibs, but is extremely consistent in fine nibs.
Rating: 4.0
March 28, 2010
Noodler’s Navajo Turquoise is a beautiful, medium-tone blue with a hint of green – very close to cyan, but just a bit darker. It is highly saturated, and I recommend shaking the bottle before using to make sure that the dye has not settled out. It exhibits a nice degree of shading in wide nibs, but is fairly consistent in fine nibs. While this ink is pretty on white paper, its true beauty comes out on cream-colored paper, where its green tones come to the surface – creating a beautiful jewel-like color.
Rating: 3.0
March 07, 2010
Noodler’s (Bulletproof) Black is the first bottled ink that I added to my ink collection. I had heard many good things about the ink, and while many of those things are true, there is one major issue that is difficult to overcome.
First, Noodler’s Black is as black as night. Pitch black. When poets refer to an inky blackness, this is the ink that they have in mind.
