Noodler's Rome Burning Review

There are many reasons to chose a particular fountain pen ink to meet your writing needs. You may need an ink that dries quickly, or is waterproof, or it may be a simple as liking the color. With Noodler's Rome Burning you get all of those things plus so much more. My words can't do the explaination justice so let me borrow from Nathan Tardiff, the inks creator:

"Rome Burning” has a bulletproof patrician core color of Caesar’s purple with the colors of the inferno that wash away from it with excess liquidity. As it dries there are shades of brass that can actually shine on some paper grades and can halo the darker core when using the right nib/feed combination. On very absorbent cellulose paper the patrician core can be seen in the center as the fire surrounds it – as if an eclipse of the sun.

You got that? Good. You are officially smarter than me.

My thoughts on the ink are two-fold. One, the ink properties descibed above are legit and come through in the testing I did below. Two, I will most likely never use this ink again.

As to number two, there is nothing inherently wrong with the ink, I just don't like the color. In fact, I like the washed out purple much better. That said, it performed wonderfully and dried incredibly fast. If you are looking for a copper-brown ink then this would be a great choice.

For thought number one, I had to test it to believe it myself. I cut out a little square of my Rhodia DotPad and submerged it in water for 2-3 minutes. What you see below are the before (dry), during (soaked, with a slight "inferno" showing), and after (dry and now purple). Pretty cool huh?

For more details on Noodler's Rome Burning check out these great reviews:

Flying Pony Studios

Ed Jelley

The Five Cat PENagerie

Noodler's 54th Massachusetts Ink Review

This is the point where I realized reviewing inks is going to be very difficult.

I am really happy with Noodler's 54th Massachusetts for many reasons. What I found challenging was showing the features of the ink that I enjoyed so much. The picture above is my second full pass at reviewing the ink, and there were several false starts in between. In fact, I nearly drained my 2ml sample from Goulet Pens before getting this done.

My first review was done with a Lamy Vista M nib. The ink worked great with the pen, but when it was time to photograph it I didn't think my picture showed off the ink well enough. I thought a wider nib might solve that problem, so I ordered a TWSBI Mini with a 1.5 mm Stub Nib. I had never used such a wide nib so I wasn't sure what to expect, but needless to say, I am very happy with my purchase.

What the 1.5 mm nib allowed for was more expressiveness in showing off the ink. Photography is hard for me to begin with, so on a dark ink like this it is nice to be able to show off the shading and color variations a bit. It still shows up dark though, so I do have some work to do on my lighting and editing.

On the ink itself, Noodler's 54th is classified as a blue black. It obviously leans more on the black side, and shows a lot of gray on the page. Sometimes I wonder where the blue actually is, but it shows up on the right paper and in the right light. This is an ink that I believe would grow on me the more I use it.

My ink reviews will be a work in progress. As my collection grows I will continue to add samples and work in more color comparisons. If there is anything specific you would like to see in the future please leave me a comment and I will do my best.

For more details on Noodler's 54th Massachusetts check out these great reviews:

Ink Nouveau - Noodler's 54th Massachusetts

Inkophile - Noodler's Has The Blues

Inkdependence! - Noodler's 54th Massachusetts

LostInBrittany Pens - Noodler's 54th Massachusetts Ink

Review: The Noodler's Flex Pen, Revisited

This review is by Kalina Wilson, who can also be found at geminica.com.

Not long ago I reviewed the Noodler's flex pen with mixed results.  I wanted to love it, but my pen just couldn't keep up a steady flow of ink. Thinking it was just a matter of proper adjustment I spent hours trying every bit of advice online, even carving into the ebonite feed, but the pen got no more usable. Instead of giving me a graceful, sweeping line I was ending up with awful chicken scratch because so much labor was involved in making the pen flow.

It must be concluded that at least some of these pens aren't very good straight out of the box. That's not too surprising - it's often the case with affordable fountain pens, and  the Noodler's is very affordable at $14.  At least the Noodler's Flex is made to be easily worked on, with easy disassembly and a workable feed. It's a great intention, design, and pricepoint, you can't knock that. Still, I was disappointed that I was spending more time fiddling with my flex pen than actually drawing with it.

Now to the GOOD NEWS.

In June, a few online suppliers received new shipments of the flex pens, and I picked one up in 'Vulcan Coral' from Goulet Pens.  

This one flows like a dream.  Straight out of the box! No struggle required, though I did wash the nib in soap and water as always.  I love sketching with this thing, and am already angling to grab another one next time they're on the market (that June batch is already long gone, but online retailers can put you on a list to be alerted when they're coming back). Flex nibs have a learning curve attached for those of us that aren't used to them, but now that I'm spending more of my time learning instead of cursing, I'm making some progress. 

Does this mean the new Noodler's flex pens are better?  Or is it a game of chance, since each ebonite feed is slightly different than the next?  Did I irrevocably destroy my first pen during my efforts to salvage it? Is my new flex pen made out of magic?

Who knows.  But I can tell you this - a functioning Noodler's flex pen is a thing of beauty, and a great sketching tool for artists.  It's a gamble but the payoff might be the pen of your dreams.