Private Reserve Tanzanite

[TheNobleSavage]

http://img203.exs.cx/img203/2469/tanzanite4xo.jpg

[Leslie J.]

I keep meaning to get some Tanzanite. The flow properties alone make it a must have IMO. I'm not wild about the colour itself, but I'm sure it could be tweaked a little without losing the flow quality. A Tanzanite gemstone is a medium hued purple-blue colour. So I think this one is appropriately named.

[wimg]

Hi NS,

 

No problems with this ink? I understood Richard B. had some problems with it in vintage pens, which is why he uses a Wateran Violet + Florida Blue mix instead, these days.

 

It certainly looks very nice.

 

I think these posts of yours are going to set me back an inordinate amount of money for inks alone...

 

Kind regards,

Wim

[TheNobleSavage]

I dont know which topic I posted in but I do not use PR or Noodlers ink in my vintage pens Like Vacumatics or touchdowns. I seem to stick with Parker, sheaffer and Diamine . Any of the other inks that are highly saturated seem to slow the flow of ink even if it is Tanzanite or PR Plum. Maybe its just my pens but thats what I have noticed. Vintage Piston Fillers on the other hand can take any ink and they seem to keep on ticking without a problem!!!

[krz]

Great review Noble Savage. I just bought a bottle and it's great. It does make my most strangulated fountain pens sing like a bluebird.

 

The color reminds me of Dioxazine Violet in watercolors. I like that shade.

 

All the best,

Edited October 22, 2005 by krz

[Maja]

I have heard anecdotal evidence about PR Tanzanite affecting piston-fillers, causing the seals to swell (something to do with an excess of surfactant). I mentioned it in another thread a while back, but just wanted to post it here, too. It's a great ink and a great "laxative" for hard-starting pens, but I am a bit wary of using it in piston-fillers for the reason above.

 

Edit: How rude of me not to thank you for the ink review, Noble Savage! I know you did a whole bunch of ink reviews here on FPN when you won a large ink lot on eBay .

 

Thanks again,

~Maja

Edited October 22, 2005 by Maja

[Dillo]

I dont know which topic I posted in but I do not use PR or Noodlers ink in my vintage pens Like Vacumatics or touchdowns. I seem to stick with Parker, sheaffer and Diamine . Any of the other inks that are highly saturated seem to slow the flow of ink even if it is Tanzanite or PR Plum. Maybe its just my pens but thats what I have noticed. Vintage Piston Fillers on the other hand can take any ink and they seem to keep on ticking without a problem!!!

Hi,

 

I do that too. Most pens use Pelikan, Diamine, Sheaffer, Sailor, and Aurora.

 

I reserve my Private Reserve, Noodlers, and Parker to a few pens. In fact, I have a special pen that is made for these inks that kills the vapor lock. That pen is modified to use very slow and stingy inks.

 

Soon, I will have to get that tanzanite! How is the dry time? What will the color be like for a pen that flows like a river?

 

Dillon

[Inkanthropist]

Nice review, Noble Savage. I recently bought some PR Tanzanite in an attempt to cure an old Conway Stewart of its skipping. It worked perfectly, and I really like the colour of the ink. Dillon, you asked about the drying time and use of the ink in pen that already writes on the wet side. I have found the drying time to be a bit of a problem - this is a *very* wet ink, so it's very slow to dry, in my experience. If you can bear the wait, though, it's definitely worth it. You might find the ink just too forthcoming in a wet writer. I tried it in a Pelikan that normally writes very freely, and it was too much: I quite literally could not stop the ink from coming out of the nib. I've come to think of PR Tanzanite, then, as a medicine to cure pens that skip, and I probably won't be administering doses to my already-healthy patients.

[SigP228]

A very nice review Noble Savage and some really great sample pictures. A very accurate rendition of the bluish purple color.

 

I have a early 90's vintage Waterman pen with a stingy feed that has given me fits with a variety of inks. While it will work with Quink and Skrip, I tend to like vivid colors and most inks failed miserably in that pen. I tried some Tanzanite in it and it started behaving like a different pen. The ink feeds beautifully in the Waterman. The laxative of the inks is a good description for this ink.

[handlebar]

I just picked some of the Tanzanite up a few days ago and really like the color!! Thanks!!!

 

Jim

[Elaine]

I love the Private Reserve colors. Their plum is my all time favorite. Unfortunatly, like Kurt I've had problems with the smudging. It's not that it takes long to dry. It's that the vibrant colors come with a cost - heavy saturation. When it dries, it leaves residue on the surface which will smudge if you brush it - long after it's dry. I haven't gotten rid of my PR stash yet, but I haven't been using it - much to my dismay.

[Viseguy]

I love the Private Reserve colors. Their plum is my all time favorite. Unfortunatly, like Kurt I've had problems with the smudging. It's not that it takes long to dry. It's that the vibrant colors come with a cost - heavy saturation. When it dries, it leaves residue on the surface which will smudge if you brush it - long after it's dry. I haven't gotten rid of my PR stash yet, but I haven't been using it - much to my dismay.

I've pretty much stopped using PR for the same reason. For my money, Noodler's strikes a better balance between saturation and drying time, non-smudging/feathering, etc.

[Betty]

This is my most favorite of all colors I own!

[_EL_]

I love the Private Reserve colors. Their plum is my all time favorite. Unfortunatly, like Kurt I've had problems with the smudging. It's not that it takes long to dry. It's that the vibrant colors come with a cost - heavy saturation. When it dries, it leaves residue on the surface which will smudge if you brush it - long after it's dry. I haven't gotten rid of my PR stash yet, but I haven't been using it - much to my dismay.

I've pretty much stopped using PR for the same reason. For my money, Noodler's strikes a better balance between saturation and drying time, non-smudging/feathering, etc.

I never had the smudging problem (after the ink had dried for some moments that is.) Could this be due to some combination of ink, pressure, flow and paper? Has somebody ever experimented with this?

 

As for Tanzanite, it does flow very well from all pens I have used it in and I like the color, though I go through a blue phase right now and have yet to decide between Aurora blue, Waterman blue, Omas (new) blue and PR American blue...

 

 

E.

[theking]

I have read some comments about the flow characteristic about this ink and decided to get a bottle myself.

 

The ink has pretty good flow, but is not the fastest flowing PR I used. The flow is significantly slower than the DC Super Blue.

 

Colorwise, the color is very close to Aurora blue (Aurora blue is really slow, almost opposite of Aurora black in terms of flow characteristics).

[Scorpio]

This is one of my favorite inks. I use it in my rotation quite often and mostly in my vinatage pens to include a couple of Touchdowns and Snorkels. I also use Noodler's inks in my vintage pens with no problems at all. Just my .02.

 

Rafael

[Slush99]

Thanks for the review. I have a bottle of Tanzanite........somewhere.....that i haven't used yet.

[ConnallMac]

I just bought a bottle of PR:Tanzanite a little over a week ago, along with a Lamy Al-Star, and so far I have been pretty pleased with it. It was my first foray into a less conservative colour, having previously stuck to blues and browns. It flows beautifully and it has a very pleasing colour to it. I don't think it will unseat brown as my colour of choice, but it will definately go into the rotation. I would also like to add the new PR:Chocolat to my ink stable. It looks like a nice, dark brown!

 

 

J. Haney

[southpaw]

Well, after all the hype about Tanzanite, I finally got a bottle to try, even though PR inks are typically a no-no for us lefties due to slow drying times. Still a bit early to tell, but thus far it seems to be doing quite well. It's drying times are more sensitive to which paper I use, but on the right paper, it behaves quite well (IOW, it dries rather quickly and doesn't smear easily). I've been pleasantly surprised. More after more time with it.

[Roger]

AAARRRRRRGGGGHHHH! I can't stand it any longer! I must go public with the fact that those of you who claim English as your mother tongue and continue to spell "definitely" as "definately" must go directly to your dictionary and satisfy yourself that I'm correct. That done, please spell it correctly in the future.

 

There, I've said it and I'm glad! (Anal, I know, but the world needs people like me...doesn't it?). You may now resume normal verbal intercourse.