review: noodler's antietam

I'm starting to dive into my personal collection of fountain pen inks with this entry. I've got plenty, so hopefully you'll stick along for the ride!

When I ordered this bottle, I received a plastic bottle rather than glass. As of this update, Noodler's has switched back to glass bottles, though you might receive a plastic one if your supplier is working through back stock. I don't have any strong feelings about plastic over glass!

Right off the bat, I want to mention that I've been slowly diluting this ink since the day I bought it. When I have room, I'll add about a milliliter of distilled water to the bottle. Noodler's inks are so saturated that it doesn't change the color at all, but it does help a lot to cut down on Antietam's otherwise ridiculous dry time.

Noodler's Antietam is a red-orange color.

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Antietam is slow to dry, taking more then 45 seconds even when diluted. Tiny dots of it where your pen lingered will want to stay wet forever! This is definitely an ink you want to pair with a blotter.

It has a decent amount of water resistance, which was surprising. Some of the pigment washes off, but you can still see your writing.

Antietam has pretty good shading. In finer nibs, it's much more orange. It has no sheen.

It shades a little on Tomoe River paper, though I think my pen was quite wet while doing this writing sample.

I've compared it here to some other oranges and reds that I own. Diamine Ancient Copper is by far the most similar, and they're practically indistinguishable. You won't need one if you have hte other. Diamine Blood Orange is more red. Monteverde Mandarin Orange and Graf von Faber Castell Burned Orang are both true oranges. Kobe Arima Amber is a less saturated orange.

I quite like this ink color, but I probably wouldn't buy it again. Obviously, diluting this ink means that I have more of it, and I might never finish this bottle before I lose it to mold or evaporation or my own forgetfulness. It's a gorgeous color though, and the price is very affordable.

Where to buy

• The Goulet Pen Company: bottle / sample
• JetPens: bottle
• Pen Chalet: bottle / sample
• Wonder Pens: bottle + sample

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This post was updated on 6/30/19 to match my current review methodology.