Noodler's Black Waterproof Fountain Pen Ink - Bulletproof,3 ounce

Review of 'Noodler's Black Waterproof Fountain Pen Ink - Bulletproof' First of all, I love this product. I highly recommend it and I would definitely buy it again. Here's why: It is black as opposed to blue black, it is smooth, it glides easily, there is no smudging as it dries quickly on paper but never on the nib, and it works beautifully on my Moleskine notebook as it does on regular (cheap) ruled notebook paper. I doubt it is meant to be used to draw, however, I used it to do some quick calligraphy on a used, dry coffee filter and it worked with minimal (insignificant) bleeding even on that coarse paper. Type of pens used: (1) Waterman classic (France), medium nib, with twist converter cartridge. (2) Alvin Reform Refographs (Germany - two decades old), sizes .50 (size 2) and .30 (size 00). Because the Waterman was clean and completely dry when I filled the cartridge, the ink flows pretty much solid black. Because the Refographs were freshly washed and the cartridge as well as the nib casing contained water, the ink flow varies from grey (more of a heather grey than a bluish grey) to black. Under no conditions have I seen any bleeding from this ink, not even when spotted with drops of water (once dry on paper). Big thumbs up from me. Because the ink comes in a glass bottle a few inches high, and the ink is nearly overflowing over the rim of the bottle, it is very easy to reload the Waterman twist converter. I am not sure how I will 'suck' up the ink from the bottom of the bottle once I use it up. For the Refographs, because they have disposable cartridges that I have always refilled, I used a new nose/ear bulb (yeah, yeah, the blue ones used to extract boogers from babies' noses!) from the pharmacy to refill the cartridges. But I'm pretty sure any other dropper or even a syringe would have worked as well as long as the whole refilling process is done with care. Perhaps I will do the same with the Waterman converter when its time comes around. While some reviewers criticize the ink as not being 100% black, I found that for the way I use my pens, mainly for writing, the ink is more than adequate in opacity and in warmth (I cannot stress enough how I dislike blue black inks - just personal preference). I hope this review helps you.

All the bad reviews are from people who used the wrong types of paper, then wonder why their ink doesn't dry or is not waterproof. I weep for the state of our great nation's public education system. It literally says right on the bottle: "Bulletproof on cellulose paper, yet washes off plastic with water." You know cellulose, the polysaccharide that makes up plants' cell walls, and therefore a primary component of paper? This ink utilizes a special dye that chemically bonds to cellulose compounds, imparting it with feathering-resistant, quick-drying, and waterproof properties. The ink was designed specifically to be used on normal, inexpensive paper, so you don't have to shell out $15 a piece for those fountain pen notebooks. For example, I'm using it on Mead Five Star notebooks from Walmart (which were previously unusable with normal fountain pen inks), and it works perfectly—no feathering or bleed-through, waterproof, and it dries in 5 seconds. Obviously, if you use this ink on those fancy Clairefontaine or watercolor paper that's been coated/made with cotton, the special dye cannot bind to the cellulose fibers, so it just sits there, wet and ready to be washed off. P.S. I did noticed that even after the ink has dried, a finger swipe will still produce a tiny amount of smudging. This is due to how concentrated the ink is—there is so much dye that after all the cellulose fibers have been soaked, some dye remains on the surface. I just diluted it 1:1 with distilled water and the issue is fixed.

I am not an expert on ink or fountain pens. I use this with a Lamy Safari Demonstrator and an EF nib, with the converter. Have been using it for about a month, almost daily during that time. At first the ink was drying dark grey. I was disappointed. Then I started using a different kind of paper and refilling the converter by dipping the nib into the ink instead of trying to refill the converter by itself. After that, black ink. I suspect it was more the paper than the ink filling method that made the ink black or gray. It's been a nice black on every paper I have used it on since that first day though. Waterproof. Dries very quickly (almost instantly) on every paper I have used it on, even - to my surprise - parchment. Smudge proof almost immediately - within about a second for me. Flows nicely. Nice density. And even though I am going through it rather quickly at one refill every four days (as I am filling up a very detailed research journal which must be archival), there is still lots and lots left. You do get nib creep, but that doesn't do anything. I don't care if there's ink on the nib. I care if it writes smoothly, is waterproof, and works well in my pen. It does. So...as far as I know about pens and ink... I would say this is the best I have used. Take that as you will, since my experience is not extensive with fountain pens.

Just ordered this for my Noodler's Ahab Flex pen, and it is great! Tips though: - If you're using a Noodler's pen like me, take out the nib and feed (black part under nib) and scrub it clean with water and soap, and put it back. A lot of users with either the ink and/or pen complain because they haven't done this - When you first get this bottle, slowly open it as you will see that it is filled to the brim with ink! On the most conventional paper like 20lb copier paper or filler paper, this ink won't bleed through the other side (unless you put blobs of ink then it will). Feathering, nope. But it may on other papers, I haven't experienced any. The darkness of this ink is as black as Pilot gel ink as used in the Pilot G-2 pen. Drying time is about a few seconds if not less than that. When filling my pen, the ink level in the bottle barely went down (and that's saying something, my pen holds more than a cartridge). This should last me a long time. For more detailed information on the "Bulletproof" qualities on this ink, visit the company's website, but in short it is (supposedly, I have no reason to test them) water proof, bleach proof, as well as archival quality. Good thing it washes off hands easily! Seeing as you'll be dipping the body of the pen into ink, you should know the ink will drip off a plastic body (like celluloid) as you pull the pen out so no worries about having to grip an inky pen. I will say this, "nib-creep" as described by other reviewers, I have experienced as well. Wiping the nib clean will only bring up more ink so I just leave it alone. No biggy, I have 3 oz. of ink anyway. UPDATE 2/5/2013: Works well with the Parker 45 with the Deluxe Parker Converter. When using a Fine nib, this thing lays down a little more ink than the Noodler's Ahab, but it glides on copier paper like glass.

The ink out of the bottle takes a long time to dry. It smears even after 10 or 20 minutes on many of the different writing and art papers. After my initial review I did some reading and found that adding water even up to 50/50 ratio helps this problem. I actually only add about 25% water to 75% ink, and it does truly make a big difference. Doesn't seem to bleed any worse, still pretty dark and black and sharp and contrasty. For writing I would say this is a great ink. The price is very good, plus add water and it's even cheaper. Though I will not be using this undiluted. I will probably fill some smaller containers using an eye dropper to get the ink ratio. I guess eventually I might even just add water to the bottle once the level goes down. It ships about as full as you could possibly get a glass bottle - careful! For art it depends. Just pen and ink, great. For any water work on top, not so much. As others point out, even after hours or days, the ink can still be effected by water and watercolor washes. It will still maintain a defined line, but some ink will cloud the area with gray. Careful light washes near the lines are not so much a problem. A hair dryer helps, but that's a pain and not practical on location. I would probably go with Platinum Carbon in such a case as it is probably the most waterproof fountain pen ink, though it has a gray sheen from some angles when dry, and is more expensive. Also De Atrimentis document or archive ink, probably the very best waterproof fp ink, though also much more expensive. Next is its performance with flex nibs which is also not that great. I have a converted Noodler's Konrad with a Zebra G nib and ebonite feed that will keep up with it. On a plastic feed I am having trouble railroading. I may try Heart of Darkness which I hear is much better in dry time and also perhaps better in flex feeds. We'll see.

I've used Noodler's inks for several years and they have always performed well until they get wet. I needed something that would be more stable in the long term, waterproof archival ink. This stuff fits the bill perfectly. The flow is consistent with no hard starts so far, and it cleans up with water so long as it doesn't come in contact with cellulose. I'm using it in a Pelikan M100 and I really enjoy writing with it so far.

This ink works perfect with my Kaweco Brass Mini Sport Fountain Pen!

The ink is AMAZING, and theyre very generous with the amount of ink they give you

Nada más abrir el bote, sorpresa agradable: viene lleno hasta arriba, bien "despachao", como se dice en la plaza :) Tenedlo en cuenta también para que no se os derrame. La tinta fluye bien en mi pluma Faber-Castell Loom y es muy resistente al agua. El color no es tan intenso como la tinta negra original de Faber-Castell que tenía antes cargada en la pluma, la Carbon Black, que es un negro más fuerte. Ésta es como un poco más gris, más clarilla, pero apenas perceptible.

Oh my goodness, this ink is amazing! It's a lovely deep black colour and you can run the page under a tap, scrubbing it with a nailbrush as soon as you've written it. This stuff resists bleach, water, oil, whiskey and I'll update this review if it doesn't resist sunlight. It's also pH-neutral so it won't corrode your pen's nib. Despite this ink being "bullet proof", it doesn't clog your pen as it doesn't contain particles and is water-soluble. The way it becomes permanent is by chemically-boding to cellulose (i.e. what paper is made out of). Thus it won't clog your pen (and it hasn't clogged mine yet). It's also safe for the vast majority of pens, whether modern, vintage, expensive or mass-produced. This ink flows better and wetter than Parker Quink, and whilst it's not the fastest-drying ink, I'd be willing to bet a left-handed writer could use it if needs be (although Noodler's do actually make a quick-drying ink range for lefties). I have written on rubbish papers like newspaper with this ink and it actually did a modestly-good job of resisting bleed-through and feathering (better than other inks I've tried), although if you really wanted an ink with those properties, Noodler's make an anti-feather ink specifically for this purpose! On most papers, there's no visible feathering or bleed-through, which is excellent. The colour is a lovely deep black, which seems to be comprised of grey rather than blue/purple pigments like some other black inks. That said, the smoothness, wetness and flow of the ink aren't quite as good as my favourite inks made by Diamine. If you have a troublesome pen that is a difficult starter or skips, try Noodler's lubricated "Eel" inks instead, or use Diamine's inks (most of Diamine's aren't waterproof though). Also, whilst this is a good black colour, Diamine again win against Noodler's with their Onyx black - although it's a narrow victory, and Diamine's onyx black also seems to show hints of being derived from blue/purple pigments. I suppose it comes down to what you want from your ink. For everyday writing with no worries about being waterproof, fading, etc., and just wanting the most comfortable writing experience, nothing will ever beat Diamine, especially for the price. However, this ink comes a very close second in terms of depth of colour and smoothness/flow. Factor in the fact that this ink resists almost all the known tools of the forger (I write notes for the milkman/postman, which are left outside, with it, sign cheques with it etc) and is designed to preserve the written word until the end of time... well, nothing can beat Noodler's. It's a bit pricier than competing inks, but you get much, much more for your money. I think Noodler's is the closest any writing ink can get to a Jack-of-all-trades. It nearly does everything, and does it almost perfectly. Oh, one last thing... the bottle is FULL. Literally. It is filled right to the brim. Even the act of dipping your pen into it risks making it overflow. Be very careful on first opening! You really do get every last drop you pay for. I also like that it's a tall bottle, which unlike flatter bottle designs as used by most ink manufacturers, means you'll be able to fill your pen easily right down to the last few drops, without having to tilt the bottle.

C'est une encre, que j'ai découverte par hasard. Son prix est intéressant et le flacon (pas si large, mais surtout d'une bonne hauteur) est parfait pour le rechargement de mon stylo à piston. Les flacons plus bas et plus larges ne me permettaient pas de pomper correctement, arrivé à un certain niveau (système de piston interne), d'où l'intérêt pour cette encre américaine. A proprement parler, elle est d'un beau noir foncé (pas bleu/noir), mais pas le plus profond que je connaisse. Elle reste néanmoins excellente pour l'écriture - temps de séchage très correct. En outre, elle est parfaite sur la plupart des supports que j'utilise, y compris sur certains papiers recyclés de moindre qualité. Pour l'instant, l'encre ne traverse pas la feuille et je peux utiliser le verso sans souci. Il me semble également que mon trait s'est affiné, en comparaison avec d'autres encres employées pourtant avec la même plume, ce qui me plaît d'autant plus. Je rachèterai ce produit qui répond largement à mes attentes. Beau contenant en verre et bon contenu (90 ml).

nothing matches the waterproof quality, can use watercolor on the ink

Perfect quality!