Welcome back to Duck's Doodles, today the topic of discussion is the Goulet Pens exclusive shade of Noodler's Ink, Liberty's Elysium.

This ink is marketed as "water resistant and semi-bulletproof" ink. (Noodler's defines their bullet proof classification as "Noodler’s Ink that resists all the known tools of a forger, UV light, UV light wands, bleaches, alcohols, solvents, petrochemicals, oven cleaners, carpet cleaners, carpet stain lifters, and of course…they are also waterproof once permitted to dry upon cellulose paper.")

For this ink test, I used the Starbucks' Reserve Field Notes. In addition to this ink test, I wrote with this ink for the day at work in my Three Missions Field Notes notebook and some standard copy paper.

Coloring

This ink goes down as a gorgeous shade of blue. It's a consistent ink that gives a depth to the vibrant blue color. It looks like a "traditional" fountain pen blue, something you might see used in a TV show with an older setting or in your grandparent's attic. This shade contrasts well on white paper, making it easy to read; something that I consider in all inks I try out.

There is no real sheen to the ink and very little variation as I was writing.

The name of Liberty's Elysium is truly perfect for this shade since it hits right into that sweet spot of blue shades that make me thing of the American Flag. Though this ink could have just as easily been named Goulet's Blue, since it's essentially the exact shade used in all of their branding, I'm glad they chose something with a little more flair.

Writing Experience

The ink itself goes down dry, so dry it deceives you into think it's dry when it's not....speaking from personal note taking experience on this one. Writing shortly after inking it up I found no skipping in the ink and the writing was generally smooth.

When I put this pen down for about an hour between meetings I found that getting it to start up again was a bit of a challenge, having to deal with some skipping before it would flow evenly again. Between this and the experience of loading it, I felt like this ink was a bit thicker and less watery than some of the other inks I've used in the past. Goulet's site does note that all Noodler's inks are handmade and that some some variation is to be expected; I'm hoping that the "thick" feel of this ink is from the particular batch of ink I received and not a property of the ink as a whole.

Feathering

On this test paper, the ink showed no signs of feathering. I also didn't see any signs of feathering on the copy paper I was writing on in the office.

Dry Time

This ink likes to take it's time to dry properly. I'd say on a paper that's made to take fountain pen ink this would take a good 15 seconds of dry time, but on this Field Notes book it took about 30 seconds to be dry.

I will note that when I do my dry time tests I tend to do 2 passes of the pen in a down stroke then up stroke, so there may have been a bit more ink going down on the paper than when you are writing normally, but even with this consideration I felt like a 30 second dry time puts it just to the edge of practical use for my every day writing experience and certainly is a consideration for any lefties out there.

Water Resistance

On this particular paper, this ink doesn't stand a chance of being water resistant. The water test on the right labeled "Smear Test" was allowed to dry for 10 minutes, then had 2 drops of water put on each test pattern, allowed to dry for 15 seconds, and then I ran my finger over it.

The "Blot Test" on the left had more water dropped on it than the Smear Test, and a picture was taken about one minute after I dripped the water with no further intervention.

Noodler's does note that their ink's water-resistant properties are really tested on dried ink on cellulose paper, so I wouldn't hold this test against them.

Stain Warning

The Noodler's ink clinging to the walls of of my Lamy converter.

Wow does this ink love to stain. It stains everything it touches. Which, considering I brought it to work, was thankfully only my pen and my finger tips. I ordered up the sample size from Goulet on this one, and when I saw how much it loved to cling to the side of the vial it came in I knew I was in for one stain-tastic ink. At first I was thinking that it was just the aforementioned "thickness" of this batch, and then I found out about Noodler's Infamous Bay State Blue. For those unacquainted with this ink, Bay State Blue's most famous quality is staining everything you love. From some research I've done online the Liberty's Elysium ink isn't as bad as Bay State Blue, but it still has a penchant for making the whole world blue.

Verdict

This ink is an ink that stays where it goes down; the limited feathering is definitely a point of appeal, but the longer dry time may make it impracticable for left handed daily use, or for someone like me who writes a lot and then tends to squeeze additional comments into notes I've just written. I'm willing to chalk the thickness and skipping of this ink as something due to the batch of ink I purchased, but the potential mild inconsistencies between batches is a consideration for anyone interested in buying it.

This ink is such a great writer and a the color is amazing, but I'm not sure that I want every pen I own coated in it. As my fountain pen collection grows, I'll likely dedicate one pen just to this ink, since I enjoy it enough to make purchasing a whole bottle worthwhile.

Liberty's Elysium is available in a 3 oz bottle (with some pretty cool labeling) exclusively from Goulet, which at the time of writing this is available for $12.50.