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)

1 comment:

  1. I've tested this ink too and I'm afraid that it's one of the inks I like least. The color is too somber for writing, though it looks great for sketching/drawing. I have also noticed that it is very dry. It is easily the driest ink I've tested. Thankfully I only got a sample and not a whole bottle.

    ReplyDelete