Noodlers Ink 3 Oz Socrates

This is a great shade of purple, and one I can use for everyday writing. It's important to me that it is also waterproof, fade resistant, forge-proof, and archival. I appreciate the thought & care that goes into the Noodler's line of inks and being handcrafted, I don't particularly mind the slight color variation that sometimes occurs from batch to batch, it doesn't stray too far. One important thing to note, this ink has a bit of "spread" to it. It isn't really a "wet" ink but it spreads, and makes my fine-tipped Pilot pens write like a medium or broad. In my stub pen it reduces the amount of lineweight variation, but not too bad. I don't mind that for most applications, and I've never had a pen with this ink hard-start or skip. Great ink, great company.UPDATE: This has become one of three "everyday" inks that I use. Tips for this ink: If you refill your pen carefully WITHOUT agitating the bottle, the ink will be more pink. If you agitate the bottle (invert it a few times and gently swirl it before uncapping) the pigment will mix and look deeper purple. The pigment definitely settles, so if color consistency is of concern, give it a little shake before use. Also, I mentioned that it "spreads", making it look more bold than expected. I have found that this is due to excess ink in the feed after refilling and letting the pen "rest" with the nib upright for a while will drain off the excess and lineweights will be as expected. Great ink!

Highly inconsistent color, poor quality control (2018 is redder, 2020 is bluer). See attached photo. I tested this ink for 28 days in 2018, in sun, snow, sleet, and rain-direct contact outside with no fading and no water solubility wash-off. Therefore this ink is water and UV-fade resistant. There was no pen (various Lamy, Cross, Twsbi, Pilot, Pentel, Manuscript, Speedball) clogging (January, 2018 to August, 2020). Cleaning at each re-inking is unnecessary. 2020 "blue" formulation, see left in photo, is currently under test to compare with the "red" 2018 version. The bottles of (all 10, I own) Noodlers inks are over-filled and burst out ink with some pressure, when first opened -- highly annoying, a mess and wastes ink. I speculate the bottles are filled at a colder temperature and opened at a higher temperature, resulting in expansion. I suggest refrigerating the new bottle overnight before opening and even then, slowly releasing any pressure.Over time (2.5 years) I have given this ink a 4 star, then 5 star rating. Due to inconsistencies in color and stated annoyances, I now drop the rating to 2 stars. I long for the red version available again. I will probably try mixing the bottles and/or adding some red ink after testing for compatibility.

This is a very lovely purple color and it is water/fade proof as advertised. Unfortunately, it is also a very "dry" ink. That sounds really weird but if you know fountain pens then maybe you understand what I mean. It doesn't flow well in the pen I have it in, and doesn't have the same smooth lubricity in writing that many of my other inks have. I love Noodler's inks but this is unfortunately one of my least favorite.

A beautiful rosy purple, and bulletproof. Once, I accidentally dropped a journal into a rain puddle, and the rain washed away irrecoverable memories. From that event, I vowed to use only bulletproof or eternal inks. Noodler's has such a nice collection of bulletproof and eternal inks, that I can honor my vow.

I love this ink .... royal purplish ... I feel like a king (not a philosopher ... at least I don't think I feel like a philosopher ... true knowledge exists in knowing that I know nothing ...)