My Beloved Blue Merle Has Lost It's Blue . . .

[fountainpagan]

Trying ti cheer you up.

 

Humm, not working, hein?

[Tas]

All happy again ! Thanks you for trying.

 

Just heard that a bottle of Pen & Message Cigar is now on the way to me.

 

This easily makes up for my loss of Blue Merle.

[fountainpagan]

Oh Pen & Message Cigar is a beautiful ink for what I heard, and seen, at FPN. That is very good news.

Enjoy it well.

 

Glad you feel better.

[Algester]

good for you guys while I'm still mixing the ink at home but not sure if its of equal comparison as I cant get the ink on hand :<

[white_lotus]

Tas, is your Blue Merle from the first edition or something later? I have a bottle from the first edition, as well as a later one I bought when OS was shutting down. I did use the first edition Blue Merle recently but I'm not sure it was so different from its virgin state. I didn't compare at the time.

 

I'm waiting to free up some pens, and will compare both Blue Merles that I have hopefully by next weekend.

[Tas]

Tas, is your Blue Merle from the first edition or something later? I have a bottle from the first edition, as well as a later one I bought when OS was shutting down. I did use the first edition Blue Merle recently but I'm not sure it was so different from its virgin state. I didn't compare at the time.

 

 

As is often the case with me, I bought it soon as I saw it.

A wee scribble on a notepad, spotted in a photo at some show Organics Studio were at showcasing new inks. I contacted Tyler asking what it was and he kindly sent me a bottle.

 

Never mind. It was a lovely journey. Fond memories. I hope your two haven't faded . . .

[WilsonCQB1911]

I bought 7 bottles of it when he was shutting down. I love the ink. I hope this doesn't happen to me. You've got me paranoid that mine is turning gray now.

[inkstainedruth]

I was sad to see Blue Merle go away before I was able to get a full bottle. But that behavior seems definitely odd.

You might look at Akkermann #9 or Noodler's Henry Hudson Blue as possibly replacements. The Noodler's is exclusive to Fountain Pen Hospital in NYC, though. They're both blue-gray inks, but I don't recall off the top of my head how similar to Blue Merle either one of them was.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Tas]

Thanks Ruth.

 

I have about 60ml of never to be repeated "New Blue Dreggs" - a collection of many failed mixes all in one pot.

 

http://www.taskyprianou.com/fpn_new_blue_dreggs_swatch.jpg

 

And discovering ages ago that Blue Merle was not being made again I had a go at mixing my own. I lacks a certain something but it'll do . . .

 

http://www.taskyprianou.com/fpn_my_blue_merle_swatch.jpg

 

3 parts CdA Infinity Grey (although pretty sure any light grey will do)

3 parts Diamine Grey

1 part Prussian Blue

1 part Octopus Black.

[RonLyke]

Where can I buy Octopus Ink? I've tried Googling Octopus Ink, and I only get ink from octopi.

[Tas]

Visvamitra did one of his wonderous reviews here

 

You can buy them here

 

Ebay search "Octopus Ink for fountain pen 40ml glass of German manufacturers 10 coolers"

 

I really like their black, especially when washed over:

 

http://www.taskyprianou.com/fpn_octopus_black_swatch.jpg

[white_lotus]

I have two bottles of Blue Merle. One is "First Edition," the other is later. I purchased the first in March 2014 with the second purchased September 2014 or later as they were being sold off at the retailers when discontinued.

 

My original Blue Merle wasn't blue, but the slightly bluish grey did match well the color of a Blue Merle Border Collie. The second bottle had a darker blue stripe as an indicator of color, but I never opened that bottle until yesterday.

 

Here are my comparisons. Unfortunately, I don't have any writing of original Blue Merle on good paper that shows its color. I only have it on Moleskine, and while that shows slightly more blue than what I get now, I'm not sure that is trustworthy. It seems that my "First Edition" bottle hasn't changed much in the 18 months I've had it. Since I'd never opened my second bottle I cannot say whether it has changed or not.

 

This is on Mohawk via Linen paper. The iPhone isn't very good at separating these colors, or capturing them accurately. The main image here has too much red in the background (on the paper) and both inks seem a bit too green to my eye.

 

 

Some close-ups to try showing the detail and differences. Not sure I succeeded.

 

 

 

[Tas]

Ahhh . . . I remember it just like your "first edition". Not so saturated and less green.

 

Looks like you've escaped the fade - woo hoo . . . !

[white_lotus]

Thanks Tas. Just to be on the safe side, I think I'll be using it a lot until it's gone. Then I won't have to worry about any possible fading. But I love so many other colors, that resolution will be hard too...

[Tas]

But I love so many other colors, that resolution will be hard too...

 

I hear you

[RonLyke]

I bought some Blue Merle at the DC show this year. Turned out to be old gray Merle. I tried a mix as an experiment (my first mix attempt). I don't know how close it is, but at least it has a little blue. The sample has a little more gray than the scan; I don't know how to fix that. Anyhow, there it is.

[EclecticCollector]

I happened to be in Bethesda today and took the opportunity to stop by Bertram's Inkwell, where I was quite surprised to see several bottles of Blue Merle on the shelf! They definitely hadn't been there the last time I visited in May. Bert was kind enough to open a bottle and do a swab to see if it had faded, and in fact it had not. I don't know if this is NOS or freshly made bottles, but if you're looking for some unfaded Blue Merle give them a call.