Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Noodler's Burma Road Brown - Fountain Pen Ink Review

I just got a bottle of this ink and I really like it. I figured it would be perfectly suited to my 1940s Parker Vacumatic, being that this is a replica of inks used during that time period (Noodler's V-Mail series). From what I understand, it isn't a replica of V-Mail ink, but just of inks of that vintage. I tested it on a number of papers with varying results. It also doesn't like to flow very well in my Vacumatic, at least compared to the Quink Blue-Black I had in it previously. It takes a while to get it started, whereas the Quink Blue-Black started immediately. I have to shake the pen to get it going, and once it gets going it's fine. I'm not sure what to make of that, and I'll do further testing after the review and update this with my findings when I do find something out.

Note: The scans show the ink darker than it shows up in real life. In real life it's a little less dark and shows more shading than the scans show.

Here is the written review on Rhodia paper: 
Click to Enlarge


Here is the continuation on Staples Sustainable Earth Sugarcane Bagasse paper:
Click to Enlarge

And here is the review finale on 20lb. copy paper:
Click to Enlarge

Close-up Sample (still a little darker than it is in real life):
Click to Enlarge


My conclusion in a nutshell is that this is a great looking ink with some bulletproof capabilities. It is not completely waterproof/eternal, but it holds up well after being run under the tap and soaked for a while. It leaves behind the writing in gray (the bulletproof component of the ink) but some of the brown washes away. I would be completely gung-ho about this ink if it wasn't for the slight issue of it starting hard in my Vacumatic. It might just be the pen though, and I will update this in the future with my findings after I either try it in a different pen, or try a different ink in my pen. 

-Derek (ThirdeYe)

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Spring Giveaway 2011 Winners

Out of the 4 entrants I had, two winners emerged. The first winner, according to Random.org, is Alex of Economy Pens. The second lucky winner is... Arisu. Both winners will be notified by e-mail. If I do not get a reply within 48 hours, I will offer the items to the next person according to random.org. Thanks everyone for playing, and I'm sure there will be more giveaways in the future if you weren't a winner this time.

Derek

Monday, April 11, 2011

Derek's Office Supply Giveaway - Spring 2011

Spring is here and the weather has been getting nicer. Therefore, my giveaways should be getting nicer as well. This time I have multiple items up for grabs. This also includes some of the items I have reviewed recently. I should also note that all of these items are brand new and unused. The Sharpie Accent highlighters I found to be very good at highlighting text in those shiny paged textbooks back in college. The Pentel Twist-Erase pencils are really cool, the eraser extends by twisting the back of the pencil. I measured the eraser and it's over an inch long.

Two lucky winners will receive:

  • 1 Bic Ultra Round Stic Grip (Green)
  • 1 Bic Ultra Round Stic Grip (Black)
  • 1 Sharpie Accent Liquid Highlighter (Yellow)
  • 1 Pentel Twist-Erase QE407 0.7mm Pencil (Dark Blue Barrel)
  • 1 Uni-Ball Onyx Micro (Black)



The rules/conditions are the same as last time. You must be a follower of my blog to be eligible to enter (It's fine if you just started following after reading this). This contest is open to anyone in the United States & Canada, due to a lack of funds for overseas shipping. The contest will end on April 18th, 2011 at 11:59PM EST. If anyone has any questions, feel free to e-mail me at thethirdeye at gmail dot com. To enter, please send me an e-mail this time around so that I can have a valid e-mail address for you without you having to post it here for the world to see. :) I will reply to your e-mails to confirm your entry. Thanks everyone, and good luck!

-Derek (ThirdeYe)

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Bic Cristal Gel Giveaway -- Results

For this giveaway I used the random number generator on random.org, with the three entrants numbered in order of receipt.

And the lucky winner is...

George! Congratulations. You will be contacted by e-mail.

Sorry for those of you that didn't win, but don't be discouraged... I'll have another giveaway up shortly :)

-Derek (ThirdeYe)