Noodler's — Tolstoy — Ink Review #63

Noodler's — Tolstoy

 

Ink Review # 63

 

Originally posted on FPN: May 22, 2023

 

Ink: Tolstoy

Series: Russian

Type: Bulletproof 

Brand: Noodler's

Country: USA

Availability: 90 ml bottles / 3 oz bottles

Pens Used: Pilot Kakuno (Japanese EF), Pilot Elite (Japanese EF), Lamy Safari (EF, F, M, B)

Description

Disclaimer:

I’ve been avoiding reviewing this ink, mostly because I dislike Tolstoy. 

About Tolstoy

I read some of his books in my youth and recently watched a documentary about him, preparing for this review. I was impressed by his very modern vision of the school system (reminding me of the modern Finnish school system) and the “liberating” of his serfs.

He became erratic in the second part of his life. The highlight, I believe, is being excommunicated by the Russian Orthodox Church.

He wanted to deprive his wife and children of the royalties of his books in favor of charities. It left me perplexed, as it was his wife who transcribed his undecipherable handwriting of his early masterpieces.

The 2009 film The Last Station deals with Tolstoy's struggle to balance fame, wealth and his ideal of living devoid of material things.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0824758/

The Ink

However, this is an ink review. 😛

I don’t like this ink. Filling the pen was a torture. The chemical smell is awful and thankfully dissipates with time. It gave me a headache and a couple of sneezes. 

This isn't a good ink. It has startup issues: it hated the Pilot Elite, had hiccups with the Lamy Safari until I wrote a few lines, but tolerated the Pilot Kakuno well.

Like many permanent inks, the more the ink stays in the pen, the more time-consuming it is to clean. Might as well get a worthwhile ink and not this one. The Pilot Kakuno’s transparent section was tainted in a lovely blue hue, and no amount of elbow grease would remove it. After several hours, it was clean. The Safari needed an overnight soak, and 5 minutes in a pen flush as a safe measure.

I recommend it only to those,who have no sense of smell, love Tolstoy, like a challenging ink, have a light touch, use well-sealed pens and work under UV lights. 😀

The greatest part of this review was discovering the fantastic color photographs by Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky.

You can see most of them here:

https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/empire/ethnic.html

Chroma

Writing Samples

Note the difference between the EF in Pilot Elite and Kakuno. I really had to press hard to make the Pilot Elite to write.

Rhodia

Midori

Tomoe River 68 gsm

Note: Tomoe River used here is 68 gsm, not the thinner 52 gsm version commonly referenced in reviews.

Hammermill 20 lb

Back

Photo

Tomoe River 68 gsm

Water Test

The left side was held under running water for 10 seconds. Kitty was waterproof.

Comparison

Artwork

Inktober52, Prompt: Beard.

Noodler’s Tolstoy, Sailor Kiwa-guro.

fluorescence:

Ink Characteristics

·      What I liked: Fast dry times, spectacular fluorescence (I'm pushing it!)

·      What I did not like: Name, flow issues, chemical stench and bleed-through, to name a few. 

·      What some might not like: Same as above, minus the name.

·      Shading: No.

·      Ghosting: Yes, on most papers.

·      Bleed through: Depending on nib and paper. If you’ve got a heavy touch for sure.

·      Flow Rate: Wet.

·      Lubrication: OK.

·      Nib Dry-out: No.

·      Start-up: It didn’t like Pilot Elite. Lamy stopped working after a few days without use.

·      Saturation: Sort of.

·      Shading Potential: Dismal.

·      Sheen: No.

·      Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Didn’t notice.

·      Nib Creep / “Crud”: Yes.

·      Staining (pen): Possible.

·      Clogging: No.

·      Cleaning: Pain. 

·      Water resistance: Excellent.

 

Feel free to share your experience, feedback, or any other comments. The more the merrier. 😊