Polar Blue

Blue ink. It’s traditional, standard, in most cases expected. Many describe it as ‘favorite,’ many won’t consider anything else. Earliest memories are of the old blue and yellow boxes of Sheaffer Skrip Blue from Griffith’s Drugstore, the place where I also bought Sheaffer fountain pens for around $2.00.

But as one of the cigarette commercials used to say, ‘You’ve come a long way baby.’ These days there are more brands and shades of blue ink than I can count. A quick look in my sample book shows thirteen shades of blue in seven brands. Some of my favorites have for several years been Waterman’s Florida Blue, De Atramentis Guiseppe Verdi Blue and Iroshizuku Ajisai (hydrangea). And while thirteen shades of blue ink will sound to some like way too many, there are a few of us for whom ‘too many’ is hard to get a handle on. Take for example the blue ink sample I got today from Brian Goulet.

NOODLER’S POLAR BLUE

Looking at the name on the bottle, the reaction was something like, “Oh, another blue.” I was also not too impressed by the fact that the blue had come from Noodler’s… Time now for me to wipe out that first impression and admit that this Polar Blue from Noodler’s is not only an exceptional shade of blue, but also a well-behaved ink.

A word about the name—Polar Blue may very well be the perfect name for this chilly shade of blue. It has a cold milkiness that hints at the white of snow, or the fur of polar bears. From the first moment the ink colored the page, I saw a blue resonant with the idea of ‘polar.’ Good name.

I’ve felt some ambivalence about Noodler’s ink in the past, and there aren’t many bottles of it in my collection. Most often in my experience an appealing color was not often matched with good performance in one or several fountain pens. Too often it had a dry, un-lubricated feel, a lack of the preferred wetness. Not sure what they’ve done, but the more recent samples of Noodler’s ink display an altogether different quality. Noodler’s Red and Noodler’s Walnut are good examples of what I sense as an improvement. Now the Polar Blue has come along to reinforce my evolving opinion of Noodler’s ink.

I tested the Polar Blue in a Pelikan Souverän 600 on two kinds of Clairefontaine paper—cream colored paper in the Rhodia Webbie and white Triomphe stationery. Results were better on the white Triomphe, which had less feathering. The cream paper showed only a very slight tendency to bleed, probably to a degree most people would overlook. On both papers the ink is wet and well-lubricated. The one thing missing is any noticeable shading; this is not an ink that offers much in that area. There was also a measure of bleed through on both papers. I suspect that writing front and back with Polar Blue might result in a less than ‘clean’ look.

One quality of the ink that will please many is the fast drying time. Believe it or not, Polar Blue dries before you can reach out and swipe a finger across the just written numeral. Obviously an ink that will make left handed writers happy.

Looking around at other blue inks, finding a match or similar shade of blue wasn’t easy. The Polar Blue has nothing like a twin, but the closest could be the Lavender Scented ink made by De Atramentis. The two are pretty close in my view.

Overall, the Polar Blue rates a high score. This frosty blue will make a great holiday gift or stocking stuffer. Thanks again to Brian at the Goulet Pen Company.

Wishing all a very merry Polar Blue.

Tea & Walnuts

Two very warm and individual brown inks arrived yesterday from Brian Goulet’s Inkdrop. This time Brian has selected an assortment of samples which he very aptly calls, “Mudslinging,” and which includes five shades of ‘muddy’ brown ink, plus a bonus sepia ink new from Private Reserve. Of the six samples, the Lie de Thé from J Herbin grabbed my attention right off, because it’s an ink long on my wish list. The other color that struck me as bold and off the curve is the Noodler’s Walnut.

Hard to speculate on what is prompting the interest, but judging from all the variety out there now, brown ink has suddenly become the new thing in ink colors. Look back as recently as two years ago at what was then available in brown, and you’d have difficulty seeing more than three or four brands offering a brown ink. Seems now that every ink maker out there is stirring up pots of brown.

But in my opinion brown is a hard color to get right. I expect that mixing up a batch of something in the ‘brown’ family is pretty basic at this point, but getting it right, getting all the desired qualities working together in an original shade is perhaps where the challenge lies. And to my delight, there are a few of them who have gotten it bang on target.

J Herbin’s Lie de Thé is one of those, and Noodler’s Walnut is another—one milk chocolaty, the other dark and bold. No hesitation in describing the Walnut ink as dark and bold, but I have sat staring at the Herbin ‘related to tea’ ink for forty-five minutes and still can’t settle on an accurate comparison. It does not look especially like tea, even tea with milk; it doesn’t look like coffee, nor milk chocolate. Because of a faint yellowish cast, what I am most reminded of is a spoonful of water stirred into soil from China. What I can say about this color is that—for those partial to brown—it is a pretty shade, and one that is standard enough to be rated useful, and not merely a mood ink. You could sign your mortgage with this ink and illicit no more than “Mmm…pretty color” from your banker. In the same sense, the Noodler’s Walnut is dark enough to pass for brown-black under ‘civilian’ eyes. For my tastes these browns are a combination made in ink heaven.

Writing… I tested the Herbin Lie de Thé in a Lamy 2000 with what I believe is a medium nib. (The Lamy 2000 carries no identifying marks as to nib size.) Granted the Lamy is a most agreeable pen, but it is sensitive to an ink that lacks cooperation, and with Lie de Thé, ink and pen sort of hit it off and wove themselves into immediate partnership. Great flow of ink; the Lamy 2000 tends to be a wet pen. Shading is good, giving to the lines what most would call a good balance. Saturation is okay, but this is not a shade that invites deep saturation, though there is enough to produce the kind of written page most are comfortable with. I will give this mix from J Herbin a bunch of gold stars, and soon dial up Ink Nouveau for a bottle of Lie de Thé.

For the Noodler’s Walnut I chose a Sailor Professional Gear, medium nib. This pen is what I call picky about inks, and is often quick to stubbornness with certain inks. I have on occasion felt like it was flashing signals telling me to change the ink. But it took right to the Noodler Walnut, and I admit to being surprised at that. With notable exception, Noodler ink has been less than cooperative in many of my fountain pens. Not so with the Walnut, and this too is one I will buy, or beg from Santa. With this one you will get tremendous saturation that leaves the backside of your paper free of all but the faintest show through. Shading is hard to discern, though it is there when you look carefully. Darker inks tend to not advertise their shading.

I scribbled a lot with both these inks and never had a problem with slow drying time. Reasonable and not an issue, though left-handed writers may have some concern.

My conclusion? Click on Goulet Pens and get yourself a bottle or sample of these well-rounded mudslinger browns.