on saleNoodler's X-Feather Blue - 3oz Bottled Ink

I used to use Waterman ink, but decided that I want to use a permanent ink on high-quality paper for letters to my kids, grandkids and friends. We discuss national and world events along with what is happening in the family. I'm a history buff and love reading old letters. Letters of a Nation is one of my favorite books. I so wish I had a letter from my great grandfather as he prepared to fight, as a Confederate cavalry soldier, at Shiloh during the Civil War or one from his grandson and my uncle as he flew a PBY searching for the Japanese fleet and downed American pilots during WWII. What were they thinking and doing..and why? I met the famed historian David McCullough many years ago. He talked about visiting New England archives and reading letters and journals of both American and British soldiers during the Revolutionary War. "They were just as they were the day they were written," he said. I remember him also saying, "If you want to do future historians a favor, write letters and keep journals using high-quality paper and good ink. We don't know how long emails and electronic documents will last." I have tried several Noodler's inks including Black, Baltimore Canyon Blue, Lexington Gray, Black Eel and X Feather Blue. I have decided that X Feather Blue is the ink I will use for all of my correspondence. Black Eel is excellent in my Lamy 2000, but I prefer a a subtle darker blue for letters. X Feather Blue is a wonderful permanent ink that works well in my Lamy 2000 (M), Waterman Charleston (f), Waterman Carene (f), and Lamy Safari (f). Thanks to Goulet Pens for helping keep the fountain pen tradition alive.

It is blue and it is permanent. It's challenging to find a waterproof, archival blue ink. After it dries, you can hold your page under running water, and the ink does not budge. Impressive. It's a safe blue for the office. It's not purple, it's blue. But, it's on the purple end of the spectrum. There is an interesting and very subtle red sheen. You might not notice it, unless you're writing with a wet nib or bigger nib (medium or broad). I don't know why I was surprised to learn that it's not the same formula as the black X-feather. If you know what I mean, compared to the black, the blue goes on a lot wetter but dries a lot faster.Using an extra-fine nib, after a few days, it wants to dry out. I can scratch the nib on paper and get it to write again, so it still works okay. This didn't happen using a medium nib--stayed wet for a few weeks until I used up the whole converter. Be prepared though: if you use a medium or broad nib, you will probably be able to smell it. It's not too strong as long as you keep it away from your nose.Does it feather? It depends. On most paper I've tried it, including low-quality paper, it does great--little to no feathering. I have noticed, however, on the paper in my Leuchtturm notebook, it does feather a bit. It's not bad: you have to look closely to see it. While there's no feathering with the black X-feather, there is just a tiny bit with the blue.

Does exactly what it claims.....- low/no feathering on cheap paper- takes forever to dry on 'good' paper (rhodia. romeo, etc.)Great for bulk Christmas card envelopes, which are now often on recycled/cheap paper.

Great ink! I use it to write letters that I hope remain in the family for generations.

I put this ink in a Noodler's Ahab with a Goulet EF #6 nib. It is the perfect flow rate. The ink goes down smooth as warm butter on toast. The EF nib is so fine that the ink is quite dark. I've not used it in a wider nib yet. My favorite daily writing ink was x-feather black. The x-feather blue is on equal ground. I put it on several different types of paper and like the black... there was no feathering with the blue. This is a beautiful ink you can count on for writing. Depends on the paper but the dry time was pretty fast even on the paper where a nice went line initially went down. It seemed to dry just slightly faster than the x-feather black.