Private Reserve Black Cherry

[amin]

I am pretty new to fountain pens and very new to inks, so I'm not the ideal person to do a review. Since writing this review, I've come to realize that two things I like less about this ink are that it dries on the slower side and even sometimes smudges when dry. Oh well, take it easy on me, this is a first try. I tried to adjust the color in Photoshop so it matches what I am seeing.

[tooloose-letrek]

Thank you for this. That looks very nice indeed. I will see if my local ink seller carries that color. I haven't seen it before, so it must be new.

[Roger]

Good write, Amin. Gorgeous aamof.

 

To my eye, it looks as if PR named the color perfectly. Black Cherry skin, indeed!

[JeffTL]

Beautiful color -- and yes, it does look like a black cherry. I may have to try some.

[southpaw]

Great review - THANKS! Love the color, but as a leftie, I couldn't handle slow drying and easy smudging.

[amin]

Thank you all for the kind words. It's a unique color I've been using quite a bit. Southpaw, glad I could help you avoid the smudgefest!

[sp_maher]

Nice review. I love this ink. I use it in my favorite Parker 51 as my standard combo for grading papers. It's much warmer than standard reds and is therefore less harsh. Hey, when you're giving kids bad news you might as well do it gently. I haven't really experienced any drying issues...yet.

[Slush99]

That looks like a nice ink color! nice review

[Larry T]

Good job on the review. I bought a bottle about a year ago at the Paradise Pen store in Troy, Michigan. It lives in a Sailor 1911 with a fine nib. I like the ink because it still looks very contrasty when applied with a very fine nib. You are correct about the long dry time, you have to be careful not to smear the ink, but the results are worth it IMHO. BTW if anyone makes it to the Paradise pen store in Michigan, ask for Kathy and tell her Larry sent you. Great lady, but she has collected altogether too much of my money!

[KendallJ]

I had a bottle, or maybe still have it. THe color does not age well it seems after a year, it is more of a reddish brown than the dark cherry color.

 

Noodler's Tienanmen (sp?) is a similar color, with a little faster drying, and more red tones in it.

[BobR]

Thank you, great review. I like this color, a bit better than PR Burgundy Mist I think. It reminds me of a darker version of Noodler's Antietam.

[Maja]

I am pretty new to fountain pens and very new to inks, so I'm not the ideal person to do a review.

 

Not at all....If you've seen the ink, you're qualified to write an ink review!

 

Thanks for taking the time to do this review, Amin. It looks like a really nice colour. I love the colour red...and my Waterman Havana Brown has become a fast favourite, so this ink sure looks like a winner to me! I know what you mean by the slow drying times, though; this is a property of my PR Tanzanite and PR Plum inks as well. They are nice rich colours, though. Oh, make sure you don't leave them in pens with clear barrels/inkview windows for too long, or they might be permanently stained (because of the ink's high saturation)

[tooloose-letrek]

A friend of mine owns a wonderful pen shop...and she is also a PR dealer. When I saw this color, I knew I had to have a bottle and called her. She did not have it in stock but told me I could make my own using PR inks. Here is the recipe she gave me:

 

two parts Burgundy Mist

one part Copper Burst

one half part Plum

one part Black Magic Blue

one part Midnight Blues

 

I did pick up a bottle of the Burgundy Mist as it looks pretty close. It is a nice color but I think I still need (as in 'will die without') a bottle of Black Cherry.

Edited October 19, 2005 by tooloose-letrek

[amin]

Thank you all for the nice words. Glad to be able to introduce others to this. It was disappointing to hear from KendallJ that this ink doesn't age well...

[tooloose-letrek]

I am a black ink guy, using Aurora Noir most all the time.

 

However, the color of this ink you reviewed really caught my eye. I went to my favorite ink dealer and she didn't have it, but Burgandy Mist looked pretty close. It was but it wasn't 'it.' So...I headed in to another pen dealer today and nabbed a bottle of Black Cherry. All I can say is...WOW. What a wonderful color!

 

I've decided to write my next journal alternating with Black Cherry and Midnight Blues. The two together really knock my socks off.

 

There goes seeing life in only black and white.

[Velma]

I love PR Black Cherry, but I've had two bottles go from that lovely burgundy to dark brown. No SITB, or anything of that sort: the ink distinctly changed color. The current bottle has what appear to be crystallized ink on the sides.

 

(I've had two bottles of PR Burgundy Mist do the same thing. This week, I am using Sheaffer Burgundy, which is well behaved, and glowering at the PR bottles.)

[tooloose-letrek]

I love PR Black Cherry, but I've had two bottles go from that lovely burgundy to dark brown.

Darn, this really bums me out. Does the dried ink change color with time?

 

If it doesn't change color after drying, maybe I need to buy a fresh bottle, write my fingers to the bone (not giving the ink time to turn sour) and let that be that.

 

You say Burgundy Mist does the same thing? This might require a letter to PR!

 

(Just in case there is no solution, do you know anybody else who sells about the same color? This one REALLY caught my eye.)

 

You said you had two bottles turn on you. Have you ever had another bottle NOT?

Edited October 21, 2005 by tooloose-letrek

[Velma]

I love PR Black Cherry, but I've had two bottles go from that lovely burgundy to dark brown.

Darn, this really bums me out. Does the dried ink change color with time?

 

If it doesn't change color after drying, maybe I need to buy a fresh bottle, write my fingers to the bone (not giving the ink time to turn sour) and let that be that.

 

You say Burgundy Mist does the same thing? This might require a letter to PR!

 

(Just in case there is no solution, do you know anybody else who sells about the same color? This one REALLY caught my eye.)

 

You said you had two bottles turn on you. Have you ever had another bottle NOT?

The dried ink doesn't change color. And the thing is, the second Black Cherry and Burgundy Mist were replacement bottles, sent to me at no cost by Terry (?). I feel awkward about complaining again. I might just buy a new bottle of the Black Cherry, and give it one more try.

[tooloose-letrek]

I might just buy a new bottle of the Black Cherry, and give it one more try.

I have another post about ink combinations and MAJA incl. this link PR ink Link and you will see at the bottom of the page that the page author noted problems PR had with 'red' colored inks. ones that have been discontinued.

 

BTW, I already emailed PR early this morning about this. I'll report back here what they say.

[tooloose-letrek]

I just got an email back from the PR people.

 

Here it is:

 

I have had no one complain about the 2 inks changing color.  It is possible

but no one has reported it to me.  I have had 3 bottles of Cofpper Burst

change color and two of the 3 went overseas.  I suspect it might have to do

with radiation possibly through customs.

As far as mixing colors, any of our current production inks may be mixed.

At one time we produced 3 colors which should not have been mixed with other

inks but they have long been discontinued.  The three colors were Candy

Apple Red, Tangerine Dream and Hot Bubble Gum.

Hope this helps

Thanks

Terry

 

I hope this helps.