Noodler's 54th Massachusetts is one of those inks that goes well with just about anything. It is beautiful and has good shading qualities, yet it can still be used in a professional setting. I like a good ink that can be used in a variety of settings. It is a wet flowing ink. I have used it in Pilot extra fine nibs, to the Lamy Joy with a 1.1mm italic nib. The wider the nib, the better the shading. However, this ink shades beautifully in a fine nib too. In this review, I used a TWSBI Vac 700 with a fine nib. So let's get down to the nitty gritty.
This ink honestly is a great all around ink. It passed a variety of tests. The paper that I used was a high quality printer paper (in which most of my fountain pen inks do not feather or bleed through. So I decided to do some of the tests on another type of paper that was more familiar to people - Clairefontaine.
The Smudge Test:
This ink is 'almost' completely smudge resistant. I admit, that I probably should have done a 1 second test, but it managed to pass the 5, 10 and 20 second tests. This test was done on both types of paper. Clairefonetaine is known to increase dry time for many types of inks, however this ink performed and dried beautifully.
The Highlighter Test:
This ink performs well under the highlighter test. Due to the fact that this ink dries fairly quick, it also performs well under highlighter use. I would say that it did smear a hair where my pen left more ink towards the end of the line. However, it was very minimal. Writing papers, making notes, and highlighting? Then this ink will perform well for you.
Feathering Test:
While feathering does in part have to do with the paper you use, it also has to do with the type of ink that is used. Noodler's 54th Massachusetts does not feather, which is great.
Specifications:
Noodler's 54th Massachusetts - 3oz bottle
Price: $10.50-12.50 (depending on the vendor)
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