Organics Studio Blue Merle Ink Review

I didn't go to this years Atlanta Pen Show with much of a shopping list but one ink was definitely on the radar: Organics Studio Blue Merle. I assumed the Anderson's would have it at their table, and with an exchange of American currency a bottle was mine.

Organics Studio bills Blue Merle as a recreation of vintage Carter's ink. I'll admit I have no idea what Carter's ink is/was, but the goal was to create an ink with very few ingredients that behaves well and is easy to clean. In my testing so far, all of these things are true.

What drew me to Blue Merle, of course, is that is a blue black ink. Yet another one added to my collection! Blue Merle leans heavy on the grey side of the spectrum, making for a nice rain cloud type of color. Grey is one color I can handle in my blue black inks and this one is nice.

The behavior of this ink is a huge selling point. It flows great (I used my Pilot Custom Heritage 92 with a bold CI nib), shades wonderfully, dries reasonably fast, and cleans well. I've used it in a range of pens so far and have had zero issues wherever I have tried it.

In the grand scheme of things, Blue Merle probably will not crack my Top 5 blue black inks, but that's not a mark against it. It is a fun ink that is in the rotation often and always provides a great writing experience.

Ink Links

-- Zebra F-402 Retractable Pen (The Newsprint)

-- Tombow Zoom 505 Mechanical Pencil – 0.5 mm – Brown (No Pen Intended)

-- Now & Then Eco-essential Pen and Pencil (The Pencilcase Blog)

-- Pen Review: Lamy 2000 (The Pen Habit)

-- Diamine Red Dragon (Inklode)

-- The Epic Refill Reference Guide: Rollerball, Gel and Ballpoints (The Well-Appointed Desk)

-- Pensée Sticky Note Roll (All Things Stationery)

-- Sailor 1911 Black Luster Fountain Pen - M Nib (The Clicky Post)

-- Delta Horsepower Fountain Pen Review (THE UNROYAL WARRANT)

-- TI Post Raw Video Review (Jim Krenz - YouTube)

-- Review: The Rest of the Nockco Kickstarter Pen Cases (Fountain Pen Quest)

-- A Fair Shake: The Field Notes Bic Clic (From the Pen Cup)

-- Rohrer & Klingner Alt-Goldgrun ink review (Peninkcillin)

-- Golden Bear Pencil: A Review (The Finer Point)

-- Why on earth would I want to use a pencil? (The Cramped)

-- Pilot Vanishing Point Review (Modern Stationer)

-- Vases Constructed from Hundreds of Pencils by Studio Markunpoika (Colossal)

-- Review: Pelikan Tradition M200 Clear Fountain Pen - Fine (Gourmet Pens:)

-- What I'm Using Now (and Recently) (Notebook Stories)

-- Diamine Kensington Blue Ink Review (Write to Me Often)

-- Shelterwood (The Gentleman Stationer)

-- Dudek Modern Goods - Part 2 (Interview with Mike Dudek) (Pentulant)

-- Pilot Juice gel ink pen review (Pens! Paper! Pencils!)

-- Retro51 Tornado Bocote Rollerball Pen Review (Flounder's MindThots)

-- UNIBALL SIGNO 207 (M Y . D A I L Y . T E A)

-- Autopoint All-American Mechanical Pencil Review (Dave's Mechanical Pencils)

Phase Two: Fully Operational

A big thing happened on Wednesday: The Shop at NockCo.com launched!

You probably know this by now, but I wanted to be sure to discuss it here becasue I wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone who has supported The Pen Addict all of these years. You guys and gals played a huge role in making this dream come alive and I wanted you to know how appreciative I am. It's pretty amazing honestly.

When Jeff and I got together last summer and laid the groundwork for Nock Co. we weren't sure how far we could take it, but we were convinced we had something. Phase One: The Kickstarter, went reasonably well despite several delays. We learned a lot about producing our cases, and we learned a lot about ourselves. We gathered all of that information, fine-tuned it, and had the nerve to think we could open a sustainable business selling pen cases of all things. I mean really, say that out loud. "I run a business that makes and sells pen cases."

It's pretty awesome, huh? It's a tick above "I write a blog and record a podcast about pens." :)

In all seriousness, I owe a debt of gratitude to all of you and a deep down thanks for your support and encouragement along the way. Jeff and I are completely stoked about how far we have made it and are even more excited about what we have planned for the future. We hope you join us for the ride!

In case you missed it, Jeff did a nice wrap-up post of Launch Day complete with a slideshow of some of the action in the shop (and a prime view of my posterior). Be sure to check it out.