Noodler’s Heart of Darkness (sometimes called “HoD”) is a true black fountain pen ink with a reasonable price and a huge number of fans.
The ink is sold in a 4.5 oz bottle (about 130 ml) that is filled to the very, very top — a Noodler’s trademark move. It has a built-in eyedropper which can come in handy with your eyedropper pens.
Heart of Darkness is a true black ink with no color in its undertone, but it’s not as black as some other inks, like Noodler’s Black, Noodler’s X-Feather, or Aurora Black. Even so, it’s one of the best black fountain pen inks, so long as you get a good batch. The ink is sometimes criticized for being slightly grey, but that’s more of a feature than flaw for most buyers.
Heart of Darkness has no sheen or shading on the page.
Heart of Darkness isn’t the easiest fountain pen ink to clean and it can stain some lighter parts, but it’s rather well-behaved and reasonably fast drying. It is a pigmented ink, which means it’s water-resistant, and it’s part of Noodler’s “bulletproof” series so it’s also light-resistant and archival quality.
Noodler’s Heart of Darkness Information
| Street Price | Check Price |
| Manufacturer | Noodlers |
| Ink Color | Black |
| Secondary Color | Black |
| Bottle Size | 133 ml |
| Waterproof | Yes |
| Archival | Yes |
| Quick-drying | No |
| Tamper-proof | Yes |
| Fluorescent | No |
| Lubricated | No |
| Cartridge | No |
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