Customer Reviews

Noodler's Black Waterproof Fountain Pen Ink - Bulletproof

5 star:		(64)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I write with Noodler's Black (the brand's "standard" black ink) almost every day because I can't always choose the paper to write on. Noodler's Black can be used for two-sided writing on bad paper, even newsprint, which is rare among all the fountain pen inks in the world.

I also write with Noodler's Black because it's waterproof, forgery-proof, good-looking, and pleasantly smooth during writing. I confidently write checks with Noodler's Black, and it is safe for signing valuable or important documents too (when black is an acceptable color; ask your lawyer).

Please keep in mind that the Noodler's company carefully says which of the brand's colors are waterproof and which are not. In my experience Noodler's Black is by far the best Noodler's color for writing on both sides of bad paper.

One behavior you might notice, if your pen's nib is an exposed metal surface (not covered with colored enamel), is that Noodler's (standard) Black spreads itself over exposed metal surfaces. This "nib creep" is harmless behavior because the ink doesn't run down onto the grip area. Wiping the ink off the nib is only temporary; more ink will soon spread to replace what you wiped off. Again, this is harmless behavior and a very small price to pay for the security of your marks, signatures and important handwritten texts.

[For the record, I used this ink with the Cross Century II Medalist medium-nib fountain pen.]

Like others have said, this ink has some impressive qualities.

As soon as I opened the bottle (the bottle is glass, and attractive - like the bottles of old), I noticed that it was full to the very brim. While subjective looks have nothing to do with the quantity of ink one actually gets, it's helpful in getting the nib in deep enough not to pull up air, but not so deep that it's overly dirtied.

This ink wipes off of solid surfaces easily - it's much easier to clean off than the Higgins Fountain Pen India I used before. It also doesn't seem to cause "nib goo" on the underside of the nib - which was a regular occurrence with the aforementioned Higgins, particularly when drawing (I draw as well as write).

I decided to see exactly how waterproof this stuff is. While it wasn't a scientific test by any stretch of the imagination, I licked my finger, and rubbed over a completely blackened portion of a sketch I did - and none ended up on my fingertip. The drawing showed no effect, either.

The pen writes more smoothly than before, as well as starting more quickly after pauses with the cap removed.

All-in-all, I think I'm sold on this stuff from now on. =:o)

I just bought my first fountain pen a few months ago, Lamy Safari Charcoal Fountain Pen - Charcoal, Medium Nib L17M bought the converter for it, Lamy Safari Converter Z24 and proceeded to fill it with this fine Noodler's black "bulletproof" ink. I do a majority of my writing in Moleskine journals, Moleskine Large Ruled Notebook and while the paper can sometimes be inconsistent when accepting fountain pen ink, (bleeding & feathering) I have not have had any problems with this particular ink. I also have a bottle of Noodler's Le Colour Royale (a dark purplish blue) and unfortunately, that particular color does bleed & feather slightly in the same Moleskine. Le Colour Royale is not Bulletproof/waterproof, and I wonder if that's the difference.

Of note, there are many journals that can handle fountain pen ink with no bleeding at all, such as Clairfontaine and Miguel Rius. I'm just partial to the Moleskines.

I love using the Black Noodler's ink for doing pen & wash watercolor art.

I think this is a reasonably priced product, and I'm quite pleased that it's made in the USA, which I try to buy as often as possible.

Noodler's black is an excellent product that has worked perfectly for me in a wide variety of pens. It's not the blackest black on the market (Noodler's Borealis Black is the blackest of the 25+ black inks I've tried), but standard Noodler's black is black enough, and it's amazingly tenacious once it's dried on paper.

I've put samples under a faucet for fifteen minutes with hot water pouring over them, soaked them in concentrated bleach solutions overnight, hit them with every conceivable cleaner from carpet cleaner to dry cleaning fluid, and the writing's still there. Noodler's black bonds with paper using cellulose-reactive dyes, and that bond is extremely strong.

When using a wet pen, sometimes extra ink is laid down on the paper. The ink that bonds with the cellulose is permanent, but any extra ink that's laying on top is not. Water will rinse away the excess ink, but the writing will be as strong and as solid as when it was first written.

I've found Noodler's black very easy to rinse out of my pens and off of my skin. Because the ink has to bond with cellulose to become permanent, it rinses very easily compared to other inks labeled as "permanent". It will bond with the cellulose in cotton fabric, so be careful not to spill it on cotton clothes. Pour it on synthetic fabrics, though, and it comes right out. I had a small spill on my carpet, and I cleaned it up with paper towels and water, without leaving any stain behind. Additionally, Noodler's black is pH neutral, so it won't eat through some metals the way acidic inks can.

I've been using Noodler's black for years, and it's performed flawlessly as I've worked my way through multiple bottles.

When researching inks (the Fountain Pen Network forum is a great resource), one will quickly find that Noodler's Ink is very popular among those interested. The company produces an unusually wide selection of inks. Despite this range, each ink is generally well-balanced and behaved. Their Bulletproof Black is no exception - it's a very well behaved ink that doesn't feather or bleed. The fact that it's waterproof on paper gives me peace of mind, and if I wrote checks, I would probably do it with this ink. The only negative thing that I can think of is that this ink and many other Noodler's Inks exhibit so-called "nib-creep." While writing, you'll notice that some ink comes out of the slit on the nib and creeps outwards. Some may consider this unattractive, but I'd say that the other positives greatly outweigh this problem. Besides, I sort of like the look of a little ink on the nib.

An individual bottle of Noodler's ink may seem a little expensive at first, but when I buy one, I really feel like I'm getting my money's worth. Each bottle is 3 ounces, which, in case you don't have a fountain pen, lasts a very long time. I'm a college student, and even if I write with the same ink for an entire semester, every day, I'd be surprised if I'd make it a third of the way through the bottle.

To be honest, I think that Noodler's Ink makes a good role model for a small businesses. They're very generous in the amount of ink per bottle - each one is literally filled to the brim; make sure you don't spill when you first open it! And of course, they're based in the USA, which gives me a little sense of pride. Overall, the ink and the company behind it deserve 5 stars.

Amazon, on the other hand, could do some improvement. The ink was pretty poorly packaged, and I felt that it was a little miracle that it didn't shatter during shipping. Amazon or whoever packages it should put some more bubble wrap around the ink bottle to be safe.

Accidents do happen, and Noodler's Black has one huge advantage over other inks. It washes off your fingers with ease. No need for soap or scrubbing; just rub your fingers together under a slow stream of water and it's off in seconds. If you happen to drip a little while filling your pen, it comes off easily on plastic, metal, or glass. However, it won't stick to plastic coated paper or write over correction fluid/tape; but on normal paper, it is permanent..."bullet proof" as advertised. It doesn't clog and flows perfectly in my Montblanc 146 and Pelikan M200. I think it's the best all around ink made.

I have acquired an assortment of Lamy pens in various nib sizes and half a dozen different colors of Noodler's ink that I fill into the converter cartridges. I am a fan of Noodler's ink but not of this particular flavor - "Black Bulletproof" which I bought upon recommendations listed here on Amazon. It worked fine in a medium nib pen, but is terrible in an extra fine nib. Unlike other Noodler's inks that I use in an extra fine nib, i.e., Forest Green (wonderful ink), this particular black fails to flow well and leaves a torn, jagged line on just about any paper I try. I have just ordered a bottle of "Heart of Darkness" in the hopes I can obtain a consistently clean thin dark black line through an extra fine nib.

The bottle the ink came in was filled to the brim, which was very satisfying to a penny-pincher like me. Bulletproof black flows nicely out of my charcoal Lamy Safari with a Fine nib; it also complements the color of the pen very nicely. Like other reviews have noted, the ink performs much better than expected on even poor quality paper. But it also kind of depends on the size of the nib you're using and how wet your pen writes. But in most of the pens I've used, there hasn't been too much variance.

The color of the ink is just a touch lighter than I would like, but its very dark nonetheless. I'm not too sure if the product info page lists it, but the bulletproof black is fraud-proof and pretty much permanent on paper. The ink works by bonding chemically to cellulose, the stuff paper is made of, but it'll wash out of your hands and pen without too much difficulty. Just make sure you don't spill the ink on a white shirt or something.

Just as a warning, some fountain-pen users and some repair-guys don't encourage the use of Noodler's bulletproof black in fountain pens due to the possibility of clogging due to the high solute content in the ink. But if you're using a fairly inexpensive pen, like the Lamy Safari, then it really isn't that much of a concern. From what I can tell, the potential damage is VERY minimal, especially compared to the great qualities of this ink. The only other potential problem I can see with the bottle they provide is when the ink level is really low; it'll make refilling with a converter or piston kind of difficult. The way I plan on getting around this is by using a syringe to refill my old cartridges. But I can definitely see how the bottle design could pose a problem for refills.

I recently received a Sheaffer calligraphy set that I have been really enjoying. The pen was fine, but I was having difficulty using the pen for writing in Blackletter. When it came to replace the ink, I decided to fill the converter with Noodler's (rather than use one of the disposable cartridges that came with the set) to see if I could tell the difference. It was night and day. I literally stopped mid-line changed ink, and it was astounding. Rather than being pulled through the paper and spreading out like the Sheaffer ink did, the Noodler's stayed right where I wrote. This led to a much more pronounced effect in my writing, with much sharper edges on my calligraphy. I was having trouble getting the squared look before, but now my thicks are squared and my thins remain thin. I recommend this ink to anyone that is considering using bottled ink over cartridges. I have not tested the long term use of this ink in my pens, but I am predicting no issues (it works well in my other fountain pens nicely). I look forward to being a customer of Noodler's for many years to come!

In short, the ink is awesome. It flows flawlessly from my new Pelikan and my old Esterbrooks (better than any other ink with the old 9128 nib). Bulletproof is no lie either. I wrote a sample page, waited less than a minute, then put it in my son's bath water (good thing the wife didn't see that) and it still looked amazing. The only paper I've seen feathering on so far is the cheap Post-It note paper.

Lots of ink for the price, made in the USA, and better than anything else I've tried in 20+ years of fountain pens.