Messing With Purple Inks And Dark Lilac

[mamajones]

I tried to post this before but lost all my text when trying to upload images. So if you will excuse the double-posting, I will post the beautiful purple images first and then post the story next!

 

 

 

 

 

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[mamajones]

As anyone who met me at the Chicago Pen Show can attest, I love bright colors. And I've always especially loved purples. When I starting hanging out here late last year, I kept hearing about that mythical purple beast, Lamy Dark Lilac. It looked great, but I wasn't going to pay that much for a bottle of ink, I thought indignantly. So instead I bought a pack of Dark Lilac cartridges on ebay and figured I'd try it out, someday.

 

Just recently I bought some Montblanc Lavender Purple and Sailor Jentle Shingure. I've also been using a lot of the DeAtramentis Aubergine (I have it in both the Alexander Hamilton and Giacomo Puccini bottles). So today became the day to break out one of those Dark Lilac cartridges and see what all the fuss is about.

 

As you can see, I inked up a couple of Lamy pens with 1.9 nibs and did a comparison on three different papers. And oh yes, the Dark Lilac is pretty spectacular, much brighter than I expected. Its flow was not as even as the Aubergine, but it sure is pretty. Worth $80 a bottle? Probably not. Maybe not. Maybe. Maybe not.

 

When I looked at my other purple inks to see if there were any more I'd like to compare, it hit me, a EUREKA moment! Perhaps a mixture of Pelikan Violet with the DeAtramentis Aubergine might be close to Dark Lilac. I mixed them -- 2 parts Violet to 1 part Aubergine -- and sure enough, the result was very close! My mixture is, of course, labelled on the sample sheets as Darien Purple #2. I also inked up some Pelikan Violet so those people who aren't very familiar with it could see why I thought it might work.

 

A hint of magenta might make my mix a little closer, but overall, I think it's pretty good. It's even got some of the crazy sheen, but that doesn't seem to have come across as well in the photos as in life. (I might try throwing in some magenta, but not until tomorrow morning: it is pretty late here in the east!)

 

I am curious to know what the eagle eyes of the inky-enablers think of my little experiment!

Edited July 9, 2017 by mamajones

[Hallel]

That's not bad at all. How does the ink settle after a few days?

[mhguda]

Fairly close, but my not so eagle eyes can't really see what you actually have in front of you, after 1) your scanner and 2) the upload and 3) my monitor make of it... Even so, based on what I see, I'd try adding a tiny bit of the Pelikan to your mix... But even if you don't, I'm betting you like your Damien purple 2. I think it's very nice, so enjoy!

[mamajones]

So I was busy for a couple of days, but I finally was able to fiddle with the mixture enough to satisfy my eyes.

 

I ended up adding Pilot Iroshizuku Tsutsuji, a gorgeous pink with a lot of sheen, to the Pelikan Violet / DeAtramentis Aubergine mix.

 

In the meantime, I also received a bottle of Bungubox L'Amant, so I put that in for comparison.

 

 

[mamajones]

Here are pictures of the sheen:

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, here is a splash of my mixture -- pretty good sheen, I think!

 

[Chrissy]

I had a tiny sample of BB L'Amant. I thought it was a lovely ink, but knowing how expensive BB ink is I haven't tried to buy it so far.

 

I think your purple looks just as good. When I copied BB L'Amant I found it needs a little more red than some purples.

[migo984]

Very nice mix. Much better with the Iroshi added. I have a couple of bottles of the Lamy but much prefer L'Amant. It's a sheen monster too. I'm lucky to have a few of the vase bottles of it.

[mamajones]

Thanks for the responses.

 

I do think my final mix looks good, but fiddling with the mix has just made me long for a bottle of the Lamy Dark Lilac (I only have a box of cartridges)... I've been looking at bottles on ebay and thinking "it's only money"....

 

The L'Amant is pretty gorgeous: as I said, I love bright colors. And sheen.

 

 

EDIT: So I just put up an ad in the Classifieds, looking for some of this rare and lovely ink. Sigh.

Edited July 13, 2017 by mamajones

[Memory]

I love that someone is just as passionate as me I'm always testing new purples and tweaking recipes. I had some really cool results diluting Sigure. It was initially to black, but a 1:12 dilution with water brought out wonderful bluish purole tones.

 

My first fountain pen ink was Noodler's Violet Vote. I'm not really sure what I'll switch to next.

 

I absolutely love the unabashed purpleness of Baystate Concord Grape, but it doesn't really play well with others. Do you have a recommendation?

[scratchofapen]

Hi,

doing a bit if necromancy here, but i wonder:

 

What is the exact recipe for the mixture that is so close to the dark lilac?

[tamiya]

Dark lilac changes perceived colour quite a bit depending on what paper its on. Absorbent &/or offwhite papers make it darker IMHO.

 

Plus it might sit in pen for days/weeks & concentrates further. I might add some water when it gets nearly black.

[mamajones]

Hi,

doing a bit if necromancy here, but i wonder:

 

What is the exact recipe for the mixture that is so close to the dark lilac?

 

Sorry, but somehow, I never wrote down the exact amount of Pilot Iroshijuku Tsutsuji I added to the original mix of 2 parts Pelikan Violet to 1 part DeAtramentis Aubergine. And at this point, I don't remember. I'd mix up the violet and aubergine first and then add a little of the other bit by bit, starting with maybe 1/2 of 1 part, until it looks right. And you really need the Tsutsuji for the sheen: it is the "secret ingredient" that really makes it look and act like the Lamy Dark Lilac.

 

And by the way, more than a year later, the colors still look the same.

Edited October 21, 2018 by mamajones

[migo984]

There is a discussion in another thread regarding Dark Lilac. I posted a pic there of my Faux Lilac mix, comprising Iroshizuku Yama-budo + Shin-kai. It’s pretty close & holds up well over time.

This is the link to my post

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/320976-does-anyone-not-like-lamy-dark-lilac-ink/?p=4039699

[mamajones]

There is a discussion in another thread regarding Dark Lilac. I posted a pic there of my Faux Lilac mix, comprising Iroshizuku Yama-budo + Shin-kai. It’s pretty close & holds up well over time.

This is the link to my post

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/320976-does-anyone-not-like-lamy-dark-lilac-ink/?p=4039699

 

Migo --

 

That does look pretty close. And it's certainly easier to make than my mix! Thanks for the link.

 

The only advantage mine has is that the DeAtramentis and regular Pelikan inks that compose the bulk of my mixture are cheaper than the Iroshizuku inks. (Which is not to say that I think they are overpriced: I really love my Iro inks, so I think they are worth every penny!)

[migo984]

Migo --

 

That does look pretty close. And it's certainly easier to make than my mix! Thanks for the link.

 

The only advantage mine has is that the DeAtramentis and regular Pelikan inks that compose the bulk of my mixture are cheaper than the Iroshizuku inks. (Which is not to say that I think they are overpriced: I really love my Iro inks, so I think they are worth every penny!)

Yes, good point re cost & is certainly a consideration.

I had the Iro inks already; I wouldn’t buy them just to make the mix. Mind you, the cost of 2 bottles of Iro is still less than the silly prices being asked for a bottle of Dark Lilac these days.

[amberleadavis]

Very nice. Thank you.

[amberleadavis]

So what was the exact recipe for your MamaJones Lilac?

[bobje]

Migo, holy cow, you weren’t kidding. Your mix of 3 parts yama budo to 1 part shin kai is remarkable, down to the shading.

 

Recently I darkened some murasaki shikibu with shin kai, probably 10 parts MS to 1 SK, and it also created a lovely darker purple. I find murasaki shikibu a bit pale.

[UDog]

Are we witnessing the birth of a new PPS rabbit hole?