Noodlers Black Swan in Australian Roses

I got this fantastic (and complementary) bottle of Noodler’s Black Swan in Australian Roses from our friends over at Goldspot when I did the review of the Edison Collier Fountain Pen.  I’ve been enjoying it ever since that review, so I thought we would take a quick look at it today.

Noodlers Black Swan in Australian Roses – Inside the Bottle

Inside the bottle of Noodler’s Black Swan in Australian Roses, you can get an idea of how the color will look on paper.  When you see the ink that has run down the inside top of the neck, it leaves a really nice dark purple or maroon hue.  It kind of reminds me of drinking a glass of wine, although I would not recommend anyone drink their ink.

Noodler’s Black Swan in Australian Roses Writing Sample

Writing with the Noodler’s Black Swan in Australian Roses has to date been a fantastic experience.  The ink lays down smooth and with no nib creep, feathering, or bleeding, PLUS it looks seriously amazing on paper.  The ink has what I would say are three distinguishable tones ranging from a light rose color to a more deep maroon and finally an almost deep dark black.  In the writing sample above, I show the ink as it writes with three different fountain pen nibs including a Lamy Safari XF, a Pelikan M215 F nib, and the Edison Collier Broad nib.  The ideal pen to use this ink with is really something with an italic nib so you can REALLY show off the great array of shading that it pulls off.  Unfortunately I do not have a pen with an italic nib, or even a flex nib which would also work well with this ink.  You can however check out the awesome review and writing sample over at Seize the Dave to see some impressive calligraphy and sketching.  You can also get some different shading effects with the Noodler’s Black Swan depending on the type of paper you use, and the type of light you view it under.

In the scan above (click it  for a larger version) I was impressed with the fact that you can even see the shading with the EF nib, typically you need to use a wider nib to get a good look at the shading of particular inks.  I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary with this ink in terms of how it acts.  Like many other Noodler’s inks that I’ve used, it behaves very well.  I didn’t get any nib creep to speak of, and the ink flowed nicely leaving no show through or feathering behind.  I also mistakenly filled my Lamy Studio (XXF nib) with this ink without rinsing out the last few drops of the Pelikan Edelstein Topaz that was in there before.  The result was an ink with similarly nice shading that is about the same color as the Rhodia ruled line markings on the above scanned Levenger paper.  Unfortunately I don’t have the exact mix, or even scans of anything I can show here, it was all work related.

Noodler’s Black Swan in Australian Roses definitely has a luxurious look and feel to it.  The whole time I was using it I felt like I should be sitting in a study with a giant mahogany desk, and matching mahogany book shelves inlaid in the walls while sipping cognac in a smoking jacket and writing some very important letter with this ink.   If you are looking for a unique ink that has a distinguished look to it, this is a fantastic option.

©2016, Brian Greene. All rights reserved.