Noodler’s Blue Eel Fountain Pen Ink Review

Noodler's Blue Eel

Noodler’s Blue Eel is a lubricated ink that is designed to improve the flow of your fountain pen.  I was surprised by how much I ended up liking the color of the ink; it’s a real bright and saturated blue.  The flow is heavier as you would expect from a lubricated ink but so far has not caused problems with any of the papers I regularly use.  No real issues with bleeding or feathering.  Dry time is on the average to slow side and it is not waterproof.  This is easily one of my favorite blues.

Noodler's Blue Eel
Writing sample on Maruman Smooth-To-Write loose leaf paper.

 

Here are some great reviews of Noodler’s Blue Eel:

(I have no affiliation with the sites linked below)

Dizzy Pen – Noodler’s Eel Blue

Pentulant –  INK REVIEW: Noodler’s Blue Eel

Future Nostalgic – Review: Noodler’s Eel Lubricating Ink

 Inkdependence! – Noodler’s Blue Eel

Noodler’s Qin Shi Huang Ink Review

Noodler's Qui Shi Huang

Noodler’s Qin Shi Huang is rich red with a bit of a pink hue.  The flow is average but this ink seems to feather quite a lot on the Maruman Smooth to Write paper I used for the written review.  I tried this ink on a Rhodia No.18 pad and my Exacompta FAF pad and there was less but still noticeable feathering.  I have heard of feathering issues even with extra fine nibs which is too bad because this ink is beautiful. There is some shading and the ink is fluorescent.  Qin Shi Huang is not waterproof and has an average dry time.  I really love the color of this ink but the feathering even on high quality paper is a turn off.

The Goulet Pen Company Ink Drop October 2013

I purchased a Rohrer & Klingner glass dip pen and thought I would test it out on the lastest. For those that don’t know, Ink Drop is a subscription service through The Goulet Pen Company (no affiliation) that consists of monthly shipments of 5 ink samples.  Each shipment is $10.  It’s a great way to try ink without making a full commitment to an entire bottle.  More than once I have paid $10+ for a bottle and ended up hating it.  Last month I bought J. Herbin Gris Nuage and I know I wont be using it again…no idea why I thought a grey ink would be appealing.

Ink Drop Oct 2013

The Noodlers Qin Shi Huang and Noodler’s Antietam are my favorites.  You can read my full review of Antietam here and Qin Shi Huang here.

Noodler’s Antietam Ink Review

I am rarely a fan of orange inks but Noodler’s Antietam is special.  Antietam is a very unusual rust orange/red with great shading.  I have been using Antietam this last week and I love it.  The color varies red to orange in different pens and on different paper; it is a real chameleon ink.  The flow is good, not too dry not too wet.

Noodler's Anitetam Ink

I tested this ink on Maruman Smooth to Write paper (my go-to for use with fountain pens) and used dry cotton swabs to test the dry time.  Even after 90 seconds it wouldn’t fully dry; I got bored and gave up.  The Maruman paper is quite smooth and for most ink I see an average dry time around 15-25 seconds.  I did try later on more absorbent Exacompta 60gsm paper and it was near dry in 15 seconds and completely dry in 25.  The ink is not waterproof; to test this I waited 5 minutes for the ink to dry and wiped the paper with a damp cotton swab.  If you can put up with the long dry time Noodler’s Antietam is definitely worth a try.

Here are some great reviews of Noodler’s Antietam Ink:

(I have no affiliation with the sites linked below)

The Eccentric Orange Gentleman – Noodler’s Antietam

NakedSushi – Noodler’s Ink Antietam

Goldspot Pens – Noodler’s Antietam Ink Review

The Pen Addict – Review: Noodler’s Antietam ink