Noodler’s Has The Blues – Inks That Is

Noodler’s has the blues and that makes fountain pen users lucky, especially me since Dick Egolf of Luxury Brands sent four for my writing pleasure and review. Happy, happy, joy, joy!

Two are new to the Noodler’s line, 54th Massachusetts, a bulletproof blue-black, and Q’E-ternity, a fast-drying Bernanke series Blue-Black. The other two have been around for years, Air-Corp Blue-Black and Turquoise. It will take weeks to truly explore them but a quick look will do for now.

Keep in mind that my scanner is old and challenged by so much color. None of the images were adjusted. Consider the colors relative rather than absolute but some remarks follow the images to help reveal the differences. Images tend to blow feathering and indistinct edges out of proportion, especially viewed at the scanned size that will appear when you click the image. So don’t expect to see much feathering in the real world unless you use a loupe, and if you do, we need to talk

Noodler’s Blues – A Comparison

• 54th Mass is less green than the other three and a very dark if fairly middle-of-the-road blue-black
• Q’E-ternity is very dark and has more green than 54th Mass but not as much as Waterman Blue-Black
• Air-Corp is very dark with some green to it. This one can almost pass for black from a pen with a heavy flow.
• Turquoise leans toward the darker side of the turquoise range but can be diluted to a beautiful paler shade.

Ottoman Azure was already in my collection. It’s a pretty blue with a hint of green and has become a regular in my rotation. It works well from any sized nib so that makes it particularly well-suited to a fickle pen user like me.

Noodler’s 54th Massachusetts Ink

Noodler’s Q’E-ternity Ink

Noodler’s Air-Corp Blue-Black Ink

Noodler’s Turquoise Ink

Noodler’s Ottoman Azure Ink

Notes on each ink:

• 54th Mass – Bulletproof (waterproof), no feathering, good flow, no bleed-through on Rhodia, slow drying time on Rhodia but less so on cheaper paper. Color more pale on cheap paper with mildly indistinct outlines but little feathering.
• Q’E-ternity – Water resistant, moderate to heavy bleed-through, feathering worse on Rhodia than on cheap paper, drying time very fast with a fine nib. Designed to prevent smearing so even lefties can write with a fountain pen.
• Air-Corp Blue-Black – Water resistant, good flow, no bleed-through, minimal show-through, slow to dry, no feathering on Rhodia but does on cheap paper. Diluting produces very good shading. Dry-writing pens should bring out the green element.
• Turquoise – Mildly water resistant, very good flow, feathering on cheap paper, minimal show-through, no bleed-through on Rhodia, slow drying time. Not terrific on cheap paper. Great for flex due to shading and flow.
• Ottoman Azure – Water resistant, very good flow, good shading, minimal show-through, no bleed-through, good to fair drying time depending on paper. No feathering on Rhodia but some on cheap paper.

Noodler’s 54th Massachusetts Ink on Ampad Gold Fibre

Noodler’s Q’E-ternity Ink on Ampad Gold Fibre

Noodler’s Air-Corp Blue-Black Ink on Ampad Gold Fibre

Confused? This group of inks took some sorting to figure out how to use them. The short version:

• 54th Mass – Bulletproof, non-green blue-black. Most versatile of the blue-blacks tested.
• Q’E-ternity – Water resistant, fast drying, greenish blue-black that may work better on cheap paper than Rhodia.
• Air-Corp Blue-Black – Water resistant, greenish black that can be diluted to produce shading.
• Turquoise – Somewhat water resistant, dark turquoise that pairs best with good quality paper. Great for flex nibs. Shades well.
• Ottoman Azure – Water resistant, well-rounded ink but can very mildly feather on cheap paper.

At $12.50 MSRP for 3 oz, Noodler’s is a good value for fountain pen ink. Most Noodler’s take well to dilution with distilled water which makes the value for money even greater. But do take care when opening the bottle. It’s generously filled to the brim and could splash that waterproof ink all over your tidy desk or clothes. Trust me on this one.

More reviews of these inks at Fountain Pen Network:

• 54th Mass
• Q’E-ternity
• Air-Corp Blue-Black
• Turquoise
• Ottoman Azure

The grid paper is from a Rhodia Bloc No. 14 pad and the lined paper is from an Ampad Gold Fibre 5″x 8″ pad.

Update: 54th Massachusetts Ink Meets Its Mate and water tests on FPN.