I loaded three pens with the Black Eel. My collection isn't nearly as extensive as many people's, so I chose an assortment; a new Scheaffer Agio (medium), a 20-some year old Montblanc Meisterstruck (medium) and a fairly older Parker 21 (fine) in need of restoration. I also loaded it into a couple cheaper models (all fine) I have around, a Wearever, etc., just to see how it worked.
I performed the tests on Hammermill 20lb great white copy, on some random archival paper I had around, on 3x5 index cards and on standard legal pad paper.
The color is, as far as I could discern, the exact same as the regular black. Side by side under natural and flourescent light yielded the same darkness and opacity.
Indeed, in the very fine steel nib which was in need of restoration, the ink seemed to lubricate a bit better than the standard ink. Enough to make a significant difference, probably not. With the better flowing ink I feel I held the pen a bit lighter as well, and not being an accomplished scribe, that helped my technique so there were compounding factors.
When writing with the medium nib, the flow was like a stick of butter on a plate of glass. I liked the feel although at times it got a bit sloppy, and I wasn't properly forming the letters. Again, someone with superior penmanship would not have an issue with this.
Regardless, I didn't notice that much creep or feathering even with the cheaper paper. The fine nibs still had a tendency to scratch here and there, in particular when writing quickly (such as note taking) but it never dropped, spattered, blobbed or otherwise.
Drying time, water resistance, etc. all comparable to the standard black.
I was going to do a more extensive review, but honestly I don't feel like there's all that much to review, at least not for the pen-paper combinations I employed. If I had to choose between the two, I'd go with the Eel because it is the same price and works well with all the pens I currently own. If I owned many pens, and kept different inks in them, then I may prefer to specialize, but the black eel presented itself to me as a very good value, multi-purpose ink. Bulletproof BLACK EEL Noodler's Fountain Pen Ink
I was already a devotee of the regular Noodler's Black, and I wanted to try the lubricated "American Eel" variant. My first surprise was how much lighter in shade this stuff is. I was expecting the same coal-black shade as the non-Eel version. However, after seeing more comments from other people, I've begun to suspect it was my regular Noodler's Black that's the anomaly -- and also, that Noodler's ink simply has variations from one batch to the next that I'll have to learn to live with.
My second surprise is that this Black Eel ink doesn't seem to lubricate as much as the Blue Eel ink (which is not waterproof) that I have used before. Blue Eel was distinctly slick on the page. With Black Eel it's hard for me to discern any difference from the regular stuff.
I'm still a huge fan of Noodler's ink, and of Noodler's Black in particular, but I've got to say this particular "American Eel" was a bit of a let-down to me.
For fun, I have kept my personal check with my signature on it for couple hours under the water. The Noodler ink has not lost its strength. I use this ink mainly for making drawings rather than writing and it works perfect for me. At least, I know my drawings won't disappear into the water in the case of flooding :-) I like the deep, dark black color of this ink. It works well with all my 5 fountain pens and black Noodler has become my favorite ink now. - Black - Fountain Pen - Archival - Noodlers'
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