Noodler's La Coleur Royale

There's just nothing like a good bottle of ink...

Some of my fellow pen enthusiasts understand what I mean when I say that even though I didn't need a new ink, I felt like it was about time for me to purchase one. Browsing the Goulet Swab Shop for hours comparing swabs was a lot of fun, but deciding which ink I wanted was difficult. I have a love for dark blue inks and La Coleur Royale, though not blue, fits into that dark category very well. 

Equipped with the usual Noodler's qualities and characteristics of good flow, durability after exposure to water, no showthrough (on good paper) and average drying time, the allure of this ink really comes down to color, and it really is a rich, soothing purple. I don't have other purples to compare this ink to, but I can say for sure that it is my second favorite ink, following Noodler's Red-Black. Though not a drawback for me, this ink doesn't have much in terms of shading, writing a very consistently colored line, even with an italic nib. But the color is so fantastic despite this!

One of my dilemmas when purchasing an ink is whether it will be useful in my life.  In the academic and professional world, a bright orange ink won't cut it, and sometimes there are just inks more suited for different environments and situations. Finding an ink that is professional and interesting at the same time is the reason I use my fountain pens in every academic task, because it brings me out of a rut of dull and boring pens and allows me to take extreme pleasure in every single word I write.

I don't necessarily feel like a king after using La Coleur Royale, but I certainly feel more distinguished.

Eternally Inked,

The Classicist

Noodler's Piston Filler on Rhodia paper...

Ink Review: Noodler's Bad Green Gator

I have a confession: I love Noodler's Inks. So far, I haven't found one that I've been displeased with. Sure, I've tried other inks, but the permanence of Nathan's creations over at Noodler's are the most attractive features to me, while other inks offer special appearance under UV light or the ability to resist freezing in even in the coldest Chicago winters.  The ability of the written word to survive longer than the writer and potentially outlast the life of the very paper upon which it was written is one of the most attractive features of the fountain pen and these very special inks.  Personally, I was interested in getting a dark green colored ink that would be acceptable for turning in on papers for classes.

Bad Green Gator.... Bad Green Pine Tree just didn't sound as tough.

The Bad Green Gator is an ink that is part of the Warden Series of inks that were developed after a student at Yale cracked through Nathan's bulletproof inks.  Noodler's apparently has an offer to the public that if they can remove his bulletproof inks from an ordinary check that he will pay them $2000 as long as they show him how they did in person. Nathan then takes that method and develops an ink that is impervious to it. The Warden Series is the response to that Yale student's laser removal. Yes, lasers.  Now your fountain pen ink can be laser-proof!

Fantastic on Rhodia Paper!

The ink was a bit darker than I expected and less washed out than anticipated, and both points were immensely pleasing. I would compare this to a dark evergreen for those of you whose computers won't display colors adequately.  The ink flows well from the nib of my Noodler's Nib Creaper Fountain Pen (Review to follow soon, hopefully).  This ink is very susceptible to feathering on cheaper papers, but not too much more than Polar Blue or Black.  This ink arrived in the mail just in time to write Christmas letters, for which I feel the color is perfect. The letters that I used are made of paper that is conducive to feathering, but I couldn't afford anything more expensive, so I somewhat expected it.

Japanese practice went well.

On Rhodia paper, the ink didn't feather at all and was fantastic in helping me study for my Japanese quiz.  I have not yet tested this ink against water and various removal methods (including lasers) but I think that I can go without testing this one, especially since acquiring a laser could be quite costly.  Even though I don't write many checks, I still appreciate the idea that whatever I write is permanent in every way possible, made available at a very reasonable price.