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December 18, 2016 / Ken Crooker / Babble, Ink / 9 Comments

I’m So Bluuuuuuuu…For Youuuuuuuuu!

A comparison of ten medium blue fountain pen inks (Blackstone Barrier Reef Blue, De Atramentis Steel Blue, Noodler's Navy, Levenger Empyrean, Noodler's Ottoman Azure, Pelikan Edelstein Topaz, Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-Peki, Robert Oster Blue Sea, Robert Oster School Blue, Toucan Bright Blue). This image shows the water test in progress.

A Comparison of Blues Similar to Noodler’s Navy

Google+ has a really nice fountain pen community going. It’s not super busy there, but a group of dedicated regulars keep the conversation going. There’s a lot of information sharing, show-and-tell, and (of course) questions & calls for recommendations. Regular contributor Nathan stopped in to ask for recommendation: He was looking for a blue similar to Noodler’s Navy, but that was even more water-resistant.

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!!!!

I knew that Noodler’s published a
list of their inks with their special properties (water resistance, UV resistance, bulletproof, etc.), so I pointed him to that and recommended he look at some of the “Warden” line of inks (i.e., Bad Blue Heron and Bad Belted Kingfisher). But I got to thinking of all the similar blues I have in my collection from other brands. I have no idea how water-resistant they are, so I figured I’d pull out my glass dip pen, write up some samples, and throw water all over them. Here’s what I found…

The Contenders

Including both samples and bottles, I have about 170 different inks. It’s certainly not a huge number compared to what’s out there, but I was able to pick out nine inks in (roughly) the same family as Noodler’s Navy. Well, Levenger Empyrean isn’t really all that close, but I knew it would have some level of permanence, so I included it anyway. I left out a couple of KWZ inks because (1) I only had room on my sheet for 9 other inks; and (2) the two KWZ inks are not from their Iron Gall line, so I expected no water resistance (which was the focus of Nathan’s search). The inks in this comparison include:

Blackstone Barrier Reef Blue
De Atramentis Steel Blue
Noodler’s Navy
Levenger Empyrean
Noodler’s Ottoman Azure

Pelikan Edelstein Topaz
Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-Peki
Robert Oster Blue Sea
Robert Oster School Blue
Toucan Bright Blue

A comparison of ten medium blue fountain pen inks (Blackstone Barrier Reef Blue, De Atramentis Steel Blue, Noodler's Navy, Levenger Empyrean, Noodler's Ottoman Azure, Pelikan Edelstein Topaz, Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-Peki, Robert Oster Blue Sea, Robert Oster School Blue, Toucan Bright Blue). Samples include writing from a glass dip pen, cotton swab, and lined grid for the water test. This image shows the ten samples before the water resistance test.

The Results

So the most important thing we’re looking for here is water resistance. Nathan was looking for something bulletproof that he could use for things like work and check writing. Navy is only partially bulletproof, so he wanted something more permanent. Unfortunately, none of these inks was more water resistant than the Navy he started with, so this test didn’t really produce a viable alternative. However, some of these inks can also be classified as partially bulletproof/water-resistant, so I thought it was worth sharing the results with my dear readers.

A comparison of ten medium blue fountain pen inks (Blackstone Barrier Reef Blue, De Atramentis Steel Blue, Noodler's Navy, Levenger Empyrean, Noodler's Ottoman Azure, Pelikan Edelstein Topaz, Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-Peki, Robert Oster Blue Sea, Robert Oster School Blue, Toucan Bright Blue). Samples include writing from a glass dip pen, cotton swab, and lined grid for the water test. This image shows the ten samples after the water resistance test.

 Closest Colors (Writing):

  • Pelikan Edelstein Topaz: Maybe a tiny bight lighter, but differences are largely imperceptible.
  • Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-Peki: Slightly less green component, but the tone of the color is about the same.
  • Robert Oster School Blue: Little bit more vibrant and sheenier (I just made that word up right now. Call Oxford and Webster!).

 Closest Colors (Swab):

  • Robert Oster School Blue: Honestly, they’re almost identical, except that the School Blue is a little more vibrant.
  • De Atramentis Steel Blue: A little less green, but very close.
  • Robert Oster Blue Sea: It’s brighter than Navy, but not by much.

Water Resistance:

  • De Atramentis Steel Blue: For the most part, it left behind the darkest lines (other than Navy).
  • Noodler’s Ottoman Azure: Left behind light-but-fairly bright lines.
  • Levenger Empyrean: Also left bright blue lines behind.
  • Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-Peki: The lines left behind are pretty feint, but still dark enough to see clearly.

Conclusion

So none of these inks is suitable for writing checks or signing legal documents. But if you’re looking for a blue that won’t totally vanish when you spill your beer on it, there are a few viable options from this inksperiment (looks like I need to add Oxford and Webster to my speed-dial). And if you’re simply looking for a nice new mid-range blue to try, here are several great options to consider.

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Comments

  1. chrisrap52

    December 18, 2016 at 8:31 pm

    Excellent post. Great to see your respoinse. I like Noodler’s Legal Lapis. There is always Baystate Blue, Midway Blue & many others. Some many we haven’t used.

    Reply
    • Ken Crooker

      December 18, 2016 at 11:10 pm

      Thanks, Chris! You’re right…sometimes I feel like I have far too many inks…Then other times I feel like I’m only scratching the surface. Thanks for reading and for the kind words!

      Reply
  2. anothernerdhere

    January 5, 2017 at 11:55 pm

    Ken, You have done another really interesting post. Have you ever heard of Scribes Ink. It a most amazing waterproof I’ve ever used. I have Noodler’s bulletproof Bad Blue Heron and I think Scribes is better than BBH. The Scribes ink is blue grey and not close to navy or being “bulletproof” but it does a better job of retaining it color and lines than anything I see here. If you’re interested In trying it out send me a private message on google and I’d be happy to send you a sample.
    Greg.

    Reply
    • Ken Crooker

      January 6, 2017 at 6:04 pm

      Thanks, Greg! You know, I think I have heard of scribes ink once or twice, but I think you can only get it from the guy who makes it, so it almost never comes up in conversation. I’ll ping you on G+ this weekend, and maybe we can work out an ink sample swap. Thanks!

      Reply
  3. aairfccha

    January 26, 2017 at 9:04 am

    You might want to take a look at Rohrer & Klingner dokumentus hellblau (light blue), a nice blue not too far away from Noodler’s Navy and ISO 12757-2 certified. Just make sure you either use it a lot or have a pen with *tight* cap. I just dumped it out of my Lamy Al-Star (which I suspect isn’t tight enough for the limited amount I wrote with it) because I was getting hard starts again.

    http://rohrer-klingner.de/index.php?id=47&L=1

    Reply
    • Ken Crooker

      January 26, 2017 at 9:27 pm

      Hi, aairfccha, thank you so much for reading and for your suggestion. The thing that worries me about the dokumentus inks is that they are pigmented, which require diligent and frequent cleaning. I’m not sure I’d trust myself to remember to clean my pens that often.

      Reply
      • aairfccha

        January 28, 2017 at 3:00 pm

        Unfortunately some sort of downside seems to be the price for document grade ink and this is one of likely not too many which might come close to the Noodler’s Navy sample. OTOH, at least according to R&K, dokumentus ink doesn’t need any special care short of keeping it from drying out.

        De Atramentis Dokumententinte Türkis (turqoise)?
        http://www.de-atramentis.com/document-ink–84/document-ink–permanent-ink–ink–inks–473-732-927.html
        (German review of this ink with pictures, the ink is described as very wet): http://www.penexchange.de/forum_neu/viewtopic.php?f=48&t=8188

        Reply
  4. David

    March 30, 2017 at 5:45 am

    Ah, but you didn’t include Pilot/Namiki Blue – the finest blue ink on Earth (IMO of-course).

    Reply
    • Ken Crooker

      March 30, 2017 at 6:01 am

      Honestly, I have yet to try Namiki Blue. I think a lot of people share your sentiments on it. Thank you for reading!

      Reply

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