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Beautiful!
Thanks for the review.
Alejandro

Thanks for the review. Looks like a great red-violet kind of purple.
Mmmm...another bulletproof to add to my growing collection. I can't wait to find this one.

You'll have to search. From the info I've received there were only 10 bottles made. Someone correct me if I'm wrong please though. The info I have is scarce. I think the 3 on the bottle means I have bottle #3 of it.

this is funny. look on the bottle of La Coleur Royale and you'll see one of the craziest labels -- Louis's beheading, and the subtitle "the final color of the king"!!

what does the subtitle say on this bottle? I bet it's something subversive... With Nathan (and with such a small run) you're always in for something ... well ... interesting!

The subtitle reads:

This bottle is limited to ten **** *********** at Raleigh 2004

***= words I can't read.

Very interesting catch though. I have both bottles and didn't notice that nor made any connection!

I wish Nathan would put a nice, bulletproof/eternal purple in his regular lineup.

Grats on getting this ink!

Thanks.

I have not seen Iraqi Indigo in person but I'd imagine that is an eternal/bulletproof ink. It is sold by pendemonium. I'll be purchasing one as soon as legal lapis comes in as well. No connection, blah blah blah.

Nice review!

Just a question about the paper you've used. Is that some kind of standard template for FPN? I've been away for a while and I'm being curious...

The review paper I used was one I created about 2 weeks ago as I started to do more reviews. It is linked though here courtesy of Ann Finley. The public one I created is a form fillable PDF so people can fill in some of the portions with their own information.

http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...showtopic=56604

Ooops, seems it isn't working. I think I may have caused that. I'm checking into it.

Violet Vote (once known as Iraqi Indigo) is indeed a bulletproof/eternal. However, I want a more purple purple, a deep purple. I've put off Violet Vote for quite a while. I'll get it eventually, though.

Kiavonne... there are several purplish eternal inks... check Deirdre's scans to find out what they look like (no offense to Sam, but I wouldn't trust the Pendemonium scans)... UK Socrates is a reddish purple; looks a lot like this particular color. Mata Hari used to be a red-magenta and now is a deep murky purple. Highlands Heather used to be a purple-grey but now is a red-grey-brown (could marginally be considered purple, but it's even less so than Iraqi Indigo). And then there's the Russians. Kuprin is a red-magenta (so it's not a purple). Lermontov is deceiving and is more pink than it looks purple. Tchaikovsky looks closer to a good purple, but it still might be too pinkish; I've never seen this one in person and only in a few scans, and am puzzled by how it's different from Lermontov. There's also a few (Vanda Miss Joachim, Stockholm Indigo, Lotus Grace...) but those will be harder to obtain. I'd probably go with Socrates or Tchaikovsky or Vanda to get something that looks like this "Color of the King" ink.

And don't forget that a purple is very easy to mix. If you have full-bulletproofs in red and in blue, then you're in business.

And my recommendation is to skip going for full bulletproof (because they tend to be pale and have poor operability).. I like to self-mix semi-bulletproof colors, in which case you could add something like Wampum to Iraqi Indigo, or any one of the above purples, to get something more to your liking.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll sit on it for now.

I have Socrates. Not a real purple at all. I was actually kind of disappointed in the color, but I keep a pen inked with it. Lermontov was awful (to me, in my opinion). Had a neon pink cast to it. It was the only bottle of ink I've ever given away.

I agree with kiavonne--I like Iraqi Indigo/The Violet Vote, but I wish there was a standard bulletproof purple that actually looked purple without being reddish or pinkish! I've tried Lermontov, and it's interesting, but the pink undertones are kinda weird. Mata Hari's Cordial is a muddy dark purplish-grayish color (at least in my pen)--it's okay, but not a bright purple. Vanda Miss Joachim still has some pinkish undertones to it (though not quite as much as Lermontov), and I'd classify Lotus Grace as more of a magenta--neither of those look close to the "Color of the King" ink on my monitor. I haven't tried Socrates or Tchaikovsky, but the former looks too reddish and the latter looks like it might still have a hint of pink in it from the samples I've seen online.

C'mon, Nathan! Help us out here! I'll probably start experimenting with mixing, but I'd love a straight-off-the-shelf bulletproof purple, too!

He has the perfect purple, imo - Wampum - but he needs to make it bulletproof. I'd settle for water resistent, even.

The Socrates I have is much more magenta than this, and my Highland Heather is a light pinkish gray. I bought them a while back, so I'm guessing old colors?

If Nathan takes votes, I'm adding my vote to asking for a bp purple!

Nice scan of an ink I'd love to have! Unlikely, given its rarity. (I did laugh when I saw ole Louis XIV on there - not a person you'd think of when thinking of Nathan. )

For the full resistance to UV light, the contrast will end up being less - that is just the nature of UV light resistance. As for the Russian and Singapore colors, put them under a fluorescent black light and watch what happens before your eyes - there is indeed bright purple there within the hidden wavelengths.

A Purple Wampum with Baystate Blue water resistance and intensity can be made in the 1940s style...but for bulletproof qualities it would have to combine the properties of several different families of inks. People might get quite upset with such an ink if they are expecting a conventional ink...but it would have "all of the above" in terms of properties and contrast/depth.

The difficulties in pleasing a greater number of people will appear when the contrast is dramatically increased - that is the Baystate Blue road. High levels of contrast will require much stronger and more dramatic dye families.

Anyone for a periwinkel purple? We made nearly a dozen for Sam at Pendemonium early on...but she kept rejecting them as not being quite "periwinkel enough". That seems to be a color everyone thinks of differently.

The closest color to the "Color of the King" was that in the first 3 runs of the UK "Socrates", which was changed later due to one of the components not being as UV light resistant as the one that replaced it (I wanted 100%, not 93%).

One of the "Color of the King" bottles has a small palladium disk imbedded in the glass at the rear and has no number etched in the front - under that disk is a mid-grade diamond carved into the letter "N". A similar stunt was pulled with the "Red Oak Garnet" bottles, each of which had a garnet imbedded in the glass and a pure silver oak leaf overlaid beneath it as if the garnet stone were a mere acorn. Glass is hard to work with that way - and eventually unexpected cracking and chipping discouraged me. There are also two bottles that have glow in the dark caps that state "Redeemable - 1 - Gallon" and a serial number - which have never been claimed!!


So - dark and high contrast, dark and standard contrast and properties, or periwinkel?

Decisions, decisions.

In a perfect world, I want standard Noodler's Purple on bulletproof steroids, lol. I like the purple. I like Baystate Blue. I have the Concord Grape. I'm not afraid to use the 1940's style formula inks, I'm all for them. However, I really want a nice purple bulletproof with archival qualities. If I have to settle for less contrast to get bulletproof/archival, I would, though I wouldn't mind that 1940's everything-and-the-kitchen-sink ink, too. I'd find a pen that loved it.

I couldn't fully appreciate the Russian inks, I suppose, because I don't have any blacklight sources. They are vibrant under standard lighting, so under black light, I imagine they really stand out.

Nathan, if I win the lotto any time soon, I'll be making a substantial investment in your company, lol. I just want it all, I guess.

A bp Wampum (whatever its composition) would be spectacular! I use Bay State Blue in a couple of pens and have no complaints at all. Love how vibrant it is. Concord Grape is on my to-buy list, but I love Wampum's deeper richer hue.

Very cool!

I've been looking for a very dark purple without magenta/red/burgundy undertones -- I just stated elsewhere more like a Zhivago in purple. Not so much vibrant as dark -- and more bluish than reddish, but actually reading more blackish. While Purple Martin and PR ebony purple are on my list to try, near-bulletproofness would be a nice extra, as I've been tending toward using the more water-resistant inks lately.

(Periwinkle is pretty, but I guess my own eye registers enough inks out there that are near enough, should I be looking for that shade.)

Dag Nabbit. It's not my bottle that's for sure!! I would have gone for 1 gallon of ink, that'd be insane!

p.s. I have bottle #3

-penguin

I have Russian Lermontov and Rachmaninov, and I knew the Russian colors had black light qualities, but I had no idea the Singapore colors did, too (I have all of them)! [searches for a place to get a cheap black light]



Yes (I want it all)! Maybe there's enough room in the market for all three? I would love a "dark and high contrast" bulletproof purple ink for writing margin notes, for personal correspondence, and for my journals. I have Baystate Blue, and am not afraid of the 1940s qualities, if the ink could be made as high contrast as possible but still possess all the great bulletproof/eternal qualities (I'm not as concerned about resisting forgery, but I'd love archival properties/UV resistance/waterproofness).

I, too, would settle for less contrast to get the bulletproof qualities, if the tradeoff had to be made. But the unique 1940s "everything" ink has really piqued my curiosity! I'd love to get a better sense of what you mean by people getting "quite upset" if they expect a conventional ink--what would be the perceived problems? Would the flow be stingy? No problem--I'd get my nib adjusted and/or I'd add some InkSafe. Would it stain a lot more? I'd just try to be more careful, and live with inky fingers. Hell, I'd flush my pens outside, if I was worried about staining my sink! But I realize not everyone would feel the same way.

I would use a "dark and standard contrast and properties" bulletproof purple for more formal correspondence, for class note-taking, and for official paperwork that doesn't require blue or black ink. And I could definitely use a bulletproof periwinkle for the same things that I'd use the dark/high contrast ink, too! (I'd gladly take the Pendemonium "rejects"! )



That is seriously cool! Whoever has these bottles are really lucky ducks!

Thanks again for being so willing to make inks that are innovative and make so many of us so happy!

I'm just worried about the group who expect EVERY fountain pen ink to be as weak as a certain blue and blue-black made in Paris that washes off if exposed even to just a foggy day! There was a fellow in Thailand who really painted the whole brand as awful because he did not know how to adjust his nib with one of the custom Indian market inks (which had extreme durability to all light sources), then apologized after I sent him a long e-mail explaining each and every brand and how to adjust them (after he had sent me a detailed list). His pens then worked just fine. If Noodler's could afford a secretary....things would be better on the e-mail front! As it is, we have to rely on distributors to handle that and the answers can sometimes get complex...especially if the questions are unique and very specific - as well as complex.

As the standard - it would work instantly with the Platinum pens...such as those given away with each eyedropper bottle. No adjustments are ever needed with those pens right out of the box. It is as if Moore eyedroppers came back to life from 1920 (ever notice how a Moore safety can write with every single vintage ink one can get their hands on made between 1880 and 1950? Truly a universal writing design!). As for staining, I would only be concerned with cheaper grade porous plastics (the kind used for discount bathroom shower curtain rings and plastic toilet seats) and certain very light colored semi-porous resins that are made of vegetable matter. By "porous" I mean a plastic that under magnification has air pockets and a rough surface - looking like over cooked oatmeal under the scope that responds to pressure and can sometimes be indented with just a fingernail. If I were a major pen manufacturer - those plastics would be banned from the factory forever.

Just my $0.02

arcflashlight.com

I am so liking the king's jheri curl

Thanks for the clarifications!

Maybe you could have a "package insert" in each box, like you get with prescriptions, with a FAQ or explanations that this is a special ink, nib adjustments may be necessary, etc.? Of course, this wouldn't answer all individual questions, but maybe it would at least alert potential users? Managing expectations is key--if they "expect" it to be like a weak, traditional ink, then they may be sorely disappointed, but if they're expecting a unique, innovative ink, they may understand and enjoy it better? And the distributors can put "warnings" on their websites as they see fit. Did the Baystate Blue thing improve after some distributors started explicitly saying that this ink may stain? (I'm assuming there were enough fans of the ink family to make the addition of 2 more colors worth it.)

It seems a pity to deprive those of us who would be willing to make adjustments as necessary (or find other workarounds) of such unique inks because of those who may have a negative reaction. But I understand that having a bunch of complaints and attempted returns is not sustainable for a company with margins as thin as yours!

There is just no way to please everyone. As with BSB, use with caution. They don't have to use it. Noodler's has such a diverse line of inks. If someone doesn't want the "everything" ink, there are lots of others to choose from in various degrees of formula. Honestly, I don't know what other ink maker out there has such a huge line with such diversity. I enjoy my standard Purple, and I use Concord Grape. But, I still want the "everything" ink. Heh, I'm just like that. I'm committed to it if it happens. It would probably be my go-to purple. As with pens and Bexley being the one I will stand behind, so Noodler's is the ink I will stand behind.

This is all just my opinion and choice, of course. I respect others who have their own choices and opinions.

has there ever been an "all of the above" ink available from Noodler's? I think if it was test-marketed as an exclusive with a website warning, it could be examined how people feel about such an ink. (for those too lazy to go up and read Nathan's post, I'll summarize that an "all of the above" would have BSB-like vibrance, II/VV-like bulletproof archival properties, and have standard purple-like roundness of color (could one say shading is this parameter that people desire?)

I think the problem with BSB was that everyone RUSHED to get some of it and some people used it recklessly before the guinea pigs (the ink-first FP-users, not the celluloid-a-holics) could report on its properties. With an initial exclusive seller, this problem could be circumvented, since all the info would be coming from one place.

Thanks, Deirdre!