Ink Review: Noodlers Navajo Turquoise

I know I posted the PR Plum review earlier this month but I had written that one some time ago and just not scanned it in. So the Noodlers Navajo Turq. Is the first one I have written out in a while. The scan is not that fantastic but you get the idea. His is a great ink, a beautiful rich color that to me speaks of the lovely tropical seas that I wish I could see and hope that I do someday. No feathering no bleed through there is a little bit of shadow but it is not anything to worry about. There i.e. beautiful shading that just adds to the fantastic color. It would be beautiful even solid but with the shading just that much more. A fantastic wet rich color.

Dry time is not too bad on this one. Most noodlers take a lot longer to dry but this one would be good for left-hander on the right paper. I would not recommend they use it on something like Sugar Cane or Clairefontaine Triomphe. Water test is a mega fail but it does not claim to be bulletproof. While you can see that, much of the color came off you can still read it. Over all THUMBS UP.

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Ink Review: PR Plum

Did anyone miss me? I know I have not done any reviews in a while but I have been pretty sick so here we go I will start reviews again with a purple..PR Plum.

This was my first shot at a PR ink and of course because I love wet ink I had to get the Plum, I have been told the Tanzanite was even wetter but the jet pens was out of it when I ordered. So here is the lovely PR Plum. I love it. Over all the ink behaves very well on my paper it is a deep rich saturated color with a lovely wet line. I can see no feathering or bleed through. I have some small showing through on the otherside of the notebook page but nothing that would keep one from using both sides of the page. Plum doesn't have a large amount of shading, but there is some subtle work. Because of how wet the ink is the dry time is a bit slow but I think on the right paper it would be great for a left hand writer or just one who is careful. Make sure to keep this one away from water it does not like it at all.

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Ink Review: J.Herbin 1670

Photo by Margana from FPN

This ink made it to me from France because I was too impatient to wait for it to be ready and available here stateside. I am glad I made the plunge and got it early. This is a great rich red. This is what I would call a Roman Lady red and is great and saturated. Herbin says it is modeled after the reds of the old royal court and I can see that.

The ink behaves very well flowing freely and in a good wet line from the nib. No feathering at all and no bleed through. I did not see any shadowing either which is even better so you can use both sides of even the thin paper. For myself I did not see a lot of shading just a hair, which is very pretty.

Dry time is in line with other Herbins, on a more absorbent paper I would say a left-hander would have no trouble using this one. The sugar cane paper seems to leave things on the top of the paper more than absorb. This ink does not do well with water at all. Over all as long as they offer it this is a keeper red for me.

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Ink Review: Noodler's Baystate Blue

The infamous Baystate blue some have called it the Pen eater. Well when I placed it into my Conklin Mark Twain signature, I can say it did not melt in my hand or explode on impact. Now I will say this is the only ink that will not be used in my standard Jinhao F5 for review. Because of the unique compounds in this ink, many think it is best to choose one pen and dedicate it to Baystate Blue only. Not wishing to have a magically melting pen this is what I did and my pretty Blue Conklin fit the bill.

Now onto the ink itself. The ink is a vibrant well-saturated and pretty blue. It is unique and you will not find the same color blue elsewhere so that hype is true. The flow was very well for my pen with no feathering on the paper. There was no bleed through and very light shadowing. I do not see much shading in the ink but I do not mind there not being much because it is such a very nice blue on its own.

Dry times are a little long so if you are using a dip pen or are a lefty just be careful of it. I would not say do not use it because it is just too nice of a blue not to use it. If you want to make a statement while still sticking to the professional standard this would be a good ink. Just make sure you are informed about all of the claims before putting it in your pen so you can make your own choice.

The reaction to water was a pretty good one I was impressed. This is going to be a daily use ink for me. This from a gal who does not use a lot of blue (usually).

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Sneak Peek: J. Herbin 1670 Ink

Here is a little sneak peek at the New ink from J.Herbin they call it simply 1670. I will be doing a full review.

Ink Review: Noodler's Lexington Gray

Another Noodler’s and one that I honestly never thought I would have. The idea of a gray ink just never hit me, but a friend asked me to review this ink for them so here I am. The ink lays down a very nice very wet line and has some subtle but pretty shading. It is hard to see in the scan but I promise its there, subtle like a wisp of grey mist. There is some very slight feathering but you cannot notice it without looking very close, no bleed through and some slight shadowing on the other side of the paper.

In this review, I did forget to write a dry version of the Lexington Gray as I have in all of my other reviews. however because it lays down such a nice wet line I am going to assume that aside from the shading being muted out (as it often is in a finer nib for all inks) that it will look very similar. The ink is supposed to be modeled after the Lexington, which it does well, but the other thing I think of when I look at this ink is Confederate Gray’s so bring on the civil war historical thoughts.

The ink has a nice dry time and does not take as long as some of the other Noodler’s Inks and the water did not have any affect on it at all which since it is listed, as a bulletproof ink is what I would expect.

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Ink Review: Noodler's Dragon's Napalm

I liked the name of this ink from the get go. I thought it would be interesting to use an ink called Dragons Napalm. Now the bottle claims that it is a Sepia Shading Carmine and honestly, I do not see that. What I see is a very vivid orange with a little bit of red in it. So while it does not look (to me) like what it says on the bottle it is still a fantastic orange. Bright and vivid and easy to read on the page, because it is not TOO bright.

Once again, I used my Staples paper and the Jinhao F5 pen what can I say I watch Mythbusters and like to keep variables to a minimum as they do. The line is nice and wet when laid down and does not bleed through the page there is minimal shadowing on the other side of the paper and no feathering at all. Dry time is about the same as other Noodler's inks and a lefty will want to be careful. There is not a very good water tolerance either.

Using my Dollar SP-10 a dry writer the line is not as intense and there is not any shading at all but it is still a very nice intense color but just dryer and fine line written. Overall if you like Orange and like saturated ink this is a great color for you.

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Paper Review: G.Lalo Vergé de France : Rose

Here comes another paper review hot off the presses. G.Lalo Verge De France has been one of my favorite papers they have a fantastic quality and a wide variety of colors. I plan to do reviews of several of the colors from the line because they each show different inks differently. So first, up we have the Rose color large tablet.

I used my trusty Jinaho (a friendly reader pointed out I had it spelled wrong…although my pen honestly does say Jinaho maybe it is a pen oppsy ;) ) F5 with Medium nib loaded with De Atramentis Caramel (can I say again how much I love this ink?). I also pulled out my little no name pen that I got from xfountainpens.com loaded with J.Herbin Perle Noire.

The large size tablet for G.Lalo is Letterhead size (8-1/4" x 11-3/4") you can also get it in a smaller size if you prefer smaller paper. The paper is a good quality weight and there is no bleeding or show through even with a wet writer like my Jinhao. It is very fountain pen friendly as would be expected for a higher end quality product.

The retail price is $15 on the large tablets and puts it in the higher end of the price range but even from an El Cheapo like me I think the price is worth it. G.Lalo has been making stationery since the 1920 and it shows this is a quality product that lends an air of class and elegance to your correspondence. There is a little bit of drag to the pen (not as smooth as Clairefontaine Triomphe) but because of the antique laid feel of it and the lines there, that is to be expected. It is not a rough paper by any means but has a little bit of texture and feel to it.


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Ink Review: Noodler's La Couleur Royale

This is another fantastic ink that I fell in love with almost instantly Noodler’s La Couleur Royale is a great very rich and saturated ink that is blue with a hint of purple to it. Now the name color royal makes you think about royal purple and this is not really royal purple however as royal purple is much warmer, but that aside I still love this color.

There is very subtle shading to the color and overall it behaves well. There is no feathering and no bleed through at all. There is a little bit of show through on the other side of the paper but it would not stop you from writing on the other side.

It dries relatively fast for a Noodler’s but a Lefty would still want to be careful. It does not stand up to water well at all but is not advertised to so that is to be expected. Over all it is a great rich ink that offers a nice wet line and will add some uniqueness to your letters without being “over the top” if you don’t like the “weird” colors.


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Ink Review: J.Herbin Rouge Caroubier

Picture from Inky Journal

This is a nice shade of red over all, but it is not one that I personally see myself using a lot. I tend to prefer deeper reds, but if you like lighter reds this one may be more to your liking. The flow started slightly dry but as I wrote, it improved so it may have been a nib problem instead of an ink one. I could not see much shading on it, there is very slight feather on very wet sections no bleed through. Slight shadowing that might keep you from writing on the other side.

The ink does get much less intense with a finer nib and that is one of the reasons I do not like it as much. The dry time is reasonable and this ink would be okay for lefties.It does not deal well with water at all. While it is not my favorite Herbin, I would not turn anyone away from using it if they like the shade. The ink behaves well it just is not a shade for me.

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Paper Review: Staples Bagasse Composition Book

Here we go with another first for the Ink Rack, the first paper review. Since I have been, doing all of my reviews in one notebook it seems only fitting that my first Paper Review is the Paper that I have been using for my reviews. You will have to excuse the miss spelling on my written scan I have a bad habit of spelling Bagasse wrong.

The Staples Bagasse Composition notebook is 9 ¾” X 7 ½” with a bright white paper that has tan/ orange lines that are easy on the eyes. The cover is an Eco friendly Kraft kind that can also be decorated if you like a little bit more spice if you prefer it. Each book contains 100 sheets and I paid $2.49 for mine so it will not break the bank and I find it to be a good deal.

I used two pens and two inks on the paper for testing a Dollar SP-10 with Noodler’s Tiananmen ink and the Jinaho F Nib with Noodler’s Polar Black ink. Both inks faired very well. The paper is perfectly smooth and crisp; there was no bleed through and no feathering. A little bit of show through happens when the ink flow is wetter. The paper is thin but that does not seem to have any affect on how well it takes ink. The paper is very fountain pen friendly.

Overall if you are looking for a good note taking book or a journal and of course, if you are looking for a book to do your ink reviews on if you ask me this is a perfect book. Moreover, the fact that it is Eco-Friendly makes it even better in my book.

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Ink Review: J. Herbin Perle Noire

Photo from a Flickr Photo Stream



Black ink number two for me and back to the J.Herbin that I enjoy very much (not to say Noodlers isn’t good). The Perle Noire is not as saturated as the Noodler’s Polar black, but it is still a good deep true black. I used my Jinaho F5 M nib once again and it flowed smoother than the Polar Black and still laid down a very nice wet line. I felt that it behaved better but the PB also behaved fairly well. There was no feathering or bleed through on the bagesse paper. There was some slight shadowing but I feel you could still write on the other side of the page.

Using my Jinaho fine point dried up the line some but it still laid down a nice black line that would be good for any professional work. I really do prefer colors over all but the right black works for me when I need black. Perle Noire dries a bit faster than the Polar Black IMO so it would be preferable for a lefty. If I had to pick between the two inks to have just one this Perle Noire would be my pick. It also has a fair resitance to water the residue does come over but you can still clearly see the words.

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Ink Review: Noodler's Polar Black

My scan bleached a little bit of the color out of this ink. I have needed a black in my ink arsenal for a while and I now have two. J. Herbin Perle Noire and Noodler’s Polar Black. The Noodler’s is the one I decided to try first as I have taken a liking to their saturated colors. I like nice thick saturation with my wet writers.

When writing with this ink my very first thought as it came out of my Jinaho F5 M Nib and onto my Staples Bagesse paper was wow THIS is BLACK. Moreover, that opinion held as I continued to write. There is light shading with my M nib, and none with the fine nib. But over all I found it to be a well behaved ink. It did not feather, nor bleed through on my Bagesse paper although it did shadow some.

It is a good black with a standard drying time for saturated inks. The only thing I did not yet get done is the water test however; I will be completing that soon and updating the review. This is labeled as a Bulletproof and Freeze proof ink.

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Ink Review: J. Herbin Lie de Thé

This is an ink that I have been considering for a while but having read some reviews about it being baby diaper green shaded when wet made me nervous. Nevertheless, when I was picking up a bottle of Perle Noire I decided to pick it up as well and test it out. I love to copy historical documents and I am always looking for the perfect brown to place on my Ivory Parchment.

Tested again with my Jinaho F5 M nib and on Staples Bagesse composition notebook to try to keep variables on the ink tests similar.

The ink behaves very nicely on this paper laying down a nice wet line. It has no feathering and no bleed through although there is some dark shadowing on the other side of the paper. There is a subtle but pretty shading to this brown. And it stands up fairly well to water although it is not bulletproof. There is a green hue to it but on paper without a darker brown near it, you will have a hard time noticing it.

The ink dries at a decent “standard” time faster when a laid down with a drier writing pen so lefties may want to think about using a finer nib that writes a little drier.

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Ink Review: De Atramentis Caramel

An FPNer who wrote me a letter and used this color on one page introduced this ink to me. Instantly I knew I had to have it. Which is a little strange because I generally only use Antique browns and this is not one? Nevertheless, I loved it I had to have it. The ink is a smaller company and harder to get but once again thanks to an FPNer I found it at Art Brown (no affiliation) and ordered it.

This review was written again with my Jinaho F5 M nib and written on Staples Bagesse
composition notebook paper. This ink behaves nicely and lays down very wet. While it is wet it does not feather and did not bleed through on this paper, it did not show any shadows on it either. It has in my opinion beautiful shading.

The dryer line was written with a No name Fine nibbed pen that is usually very dry. Again, the ink behaved nicely, you will notice that the shading is not as noticeable but the pretty golden brown is still clear and even with my dry pen it laid down a wet line.

Dry time is a little high because of how wet it sets down so lefties will want to be careful again. But this is such a beautiful ink I think it is worth the extra care and dry time. And a bonus is that while your writing it smells like a yummy Caramel candy. The scent only lasts 10 minutes so it is for the writer not the person who will get the writing.

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Ink Review: Noodler's Tiananmen

Here it is my first review of an ink for the blog. As my first, I chose Noodler’s Tiananmen and what an ink it is. Tiananmen is a fantastic dried blood red once it is laid down on paper. It behaves nicely and does not show any feathering on the Staple’s Bagesse paper that was used for my review.

The pen used was a Jinaho F5 with medium nib and offered some shading while laying down a very nice wet line. When I switched to the Dollar SP-10 with fine nib, you could see less shading and a slightly drier line but it was still a nice rich red.

You will have to pardon the scan quality I am still adjusting to using my scanner. Overall, you can get a general idea of this ink by looking at my scan. It does not stand up very well to water, but it does not make any promises too, and it does take a little long to dry something for lefties to think about.

Over all I would recommend this ink if, you are looking for a nice deep rich blood red.

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