Why I Like Noodler's Inks

Having spent 22 years in the U.S. Navy as a Postal Clerk and almost another
14 years with the Postal Service, I have seen my share of letters that were
undeliverable because they had gotten wet and the addresses had completely
disappeared. Based on this, I now use Noodler's waterproof inks for
addressing envelopes. Here are links to a sampling of a page written with
Noodler's Aquamarine (which is extremely waterproof) mixed with a few
eyedroppers of Noodler's Swishmix Nile Ebony before and after it was soaked
in water for over an hour (it is still wet in the second scan).

http://www.swisherpens.com/cspens/Aq...Mix_Before.jpg

http://www.swisherpens.com/cspens/Aq..._Mix_After.jpg

There are some that don't like the way the Noodler's "waterproof" inks
adhere to the nib when in use, but for me it is worth it to have a water
based "waterproof" ink that can be used in a fountain pen. I have heard
some say they would never use this type of ink in a fountain pen but have
yet to see any proof that any Noodler's ink has ever damaged a fountain pen.
Here are a couple photos of the pen I currently am using loaded with the
mixture mentioned above:

http://www.swisherpens.com/cspens/No...Ink-on-nib.jpg

http://www.swisherpens.com/cspens/No..._Ink_Clean.jpg

In the second shot I took the nib out of this pen and rinsed it off with
plain cold tap water.

This ink may not be for everyone (not sure why), but for those that want a
permanent waterproof ink for addressing envelopes, writing checks and other
important documents, I don't think there is a better fountain pen ink on the
market.

Nathan Tardif (maker of Noodler's and Swisher Pens inks) is a friend of mine
and I know that he would never put a product on the market if thought it
might in some way damage someone's pen. I use his ink in both vintage and
modern pens and have not had any of my pens damaged by his inks. I'm not
saying that some of his ink might not stain a pen, but I have yet to see any
pens that were damaged by Noodler's inks. Yes, some of the earlier bottles
did have problems with mold which he replaced at no cost to the consumer.
Once this problem was identified, Mr. Tardif took the necessary steps to
correct this problem (we have never had a report of any mold any and of the
Swishmix or current Swisher Pens brands of inks). I have not heard of any
problems in any of the Noodler's inks that were made within the last year
(possibly longer than this). My recommendation is that you at least try
this ink in an inexpensive pen before writing it off. I used to use Aurora
Black in all my pens and now I only use Noodler's "Swishmix" Nile Ebony.
There's nothing wrong with Aurora black, I just like having a permanent
waterproof ink in my fountain pen when signing checks and writing letters.

Best wishes,

Chuck Swisher -

Swisher Pens, Inc. - www.swisherpens.com

Tele: (757) 539-2209, TF: 1-888-340-7367, Fax: (757) 925-2787

What a great post, thanks Chuck. In the last year or two I've become a
bit of a shill for Noodler's inks. Just this week a got a bottle of
Aircorp blue-black that I love so far.

No trouble over here with 3 different Noodler's inks in these pens:
Lamy 2000
Namiki VP
Pelikan M75 GO

Chris
http://amateureconblog.blogspot.com/

On Sat, 31 Dec 2005 14:17:58 GMT, "L, not -L" wrote:
From that day on, I have taped over fountain pen'ed addresses to prevent
reoccurrence.

I'm a recent convert to fountain pens, bujt it seems to me that part of the fun
of using fountain pens is the ability to use different color inks than are
available in prefilled pens.

I don't remember where I read it, but someone suggested rubbing a candle over
text that needs to be protected from water. I've used it since when addressing
envelopes and it seems to work pretty well. (Did a few test runs at the kitchen
sink before trusting it.) Using the candle wax also seems somehow appropriate
for the nostalgic feel I get from using fountain pens.

L8r,

- Argent

Argent wrote:

I'm a recent convert to fountain pens, but it seems to me that part of the
fun
of using fountain pens is the ability to use different color inks than are
available in prefilled pens.

I don't remember where I read it, but someone suggested rubbing a candle
over
text that needs to be protected from water. I've used it since when
addressing
envelopes and it seems to work pretty well. (Did a few test runs at the
kitchen
sink before trusting it.) Using the candle wax also seems somehow
appropriate
for the nostalgic feel I get from using fountain pens.

Using wax is fine for helping to keep the address dry, but please keep in
mind that automated sorting equipment used by the postal service cannot
(does not) read some addresses written in lighter colored inks. To prevent
your letters from being delayed due to them having to be sorted manually, I
recommend that you use a dark ink (preferably black, blue-black or dark
blue), white or light colored envelopes, print don't write the address and
don't cover the address with anything shiny. Letters with addresses covered
with cellophane tape tend to get rejected by the automated sorting equipment
at a high rate and end up having to be processed manually (one of the techs
told me it was caused by the light used to read the addresses reflecting off
the tape) . I hate seeing mail delayed when it could easily be prevented,
but it's your letter and mail that requires manual processing helps to
ensure my job until I reach retirement age. :-)

Best wishes,

Chuck

Disclaimer: I do not speak on behalf of the postal service, only as someone
that has seen thousands of letters delayed due to the reasons mentioned
above.

On Sun, 01 Jan 2006 23:33:23 -0500, Argent wrote:

On Sat, 31 Dec 2005 14:17:58 GMT, "L, not -L" wrote:
From that day on, I have taped over fountain pen'ed addresses to prevent
reoccurrence.

I'm a recent convert to fountain pens, bujt it seems to me that part of the fun
of using fountain pens is the ability to use different color inks than are
available in prefilled pens.

I don't remember where I read it, but someone suggested rubbing a candle over
text that needs to be protected from water. I've used it since when addressing
envelopes and it seems to work pretty well. (Did a few test runs at the kitchen
sink before trusting it.) Using the candle wax also seems somehow appropriate
for the nostalgic feel I get from using fountain pens.

L8r,

- Argent

I use something from an art supply store that artists use on art that is
not waterproof. Like charcoal and watercolors.

Am 2.1.2006, TheHiddenPoster schrieb:



On Sun, 01 Jan 2006 23:33:23 -0500, Argent wrote: On Sat, 31 Dec 2005 14:17:58 GMT, "L, not -L" wrote:

I use something from an art supply store that artists use on art that is
not waterproof. Like charcoal and watercolors.

You mean fixative?

I use it for graphite (pencil), charcoal, and pastels. With these
media, water is less a problem than smudging from contact with other
papers and fingers. But gunk is gunk, and at the very least, a little
gunk over your ink won't hurt.

For envelopes, I just use MB Blue Black. It's not perfectly water
proof, but even after a good soak, enough of it will remain to be
legible.


--
Barutan Seijin --