Parker Penman Sapphire

[umenohana]

I got two very generous samplings of Parker Penman inks from HyperCamper today. Here is the first of the two inks:

 

P.S. Oh! The paper is Clairefontaine.

Edited January 23, 2007 by umenohana

[umenohana]

Close up of the ink in flex:

 

P.S. This ink can handle the demands of flex very well. (Other inks such as FPN Galileo Manuscript Brown write well with stiff nibs, but perform poorly with flex.)

Edited January 23, 2007 by umenohana

[umenohana]

Close up of ink with a stiff nib:

 

P.S. This nib is so buttery smooth!

 

P.P.S. It's almost dead-silent!

Edited January 23, 2007 by umenohana

[lefty928]

Ooooh, pretty! Thanks for the samples of the famed ink and of your lovely handwriting. Hmm, have to send away for those Spencerian instruction manuals ...

[umenohana]

As compared to Platinum blue-black (cartridge):

[umenohana]

I think the ink looks more brilliant & prettier with a stiff writer like the Parker '51'.

 

-Hana

 

P.S. The other color HC gave me is the PP Emerald. I'll do scans of that one when my pens run out of this one.

Edited January 23, 2007 by umenohana

[Renzhe]

I've always wanted some of that...

 

Wow...your average slant on the fast stuff is about 36 degrees! :blink: :blink:

[umenohana]

Here's a blue sapphire to compare the ink color to. I'd say it's pretty darn close! :

[umenohana]

Wow...your average slant on the fast stuff is about 36 degrees! :blink: :blink:

Is that ..extreme? lol

 

-Hana

[ProfMike]

Hi Hana,

 

While the color of the Penman Sapphire is lovely (it's my favorite gem and my dearest grandmother's birthstone), your penmanship is exquisite!! I always thought I did pretty well, but after taking a look at your sample, I think it's time to rethink that. Looks like I'll have to spend some time trying to brush up...

 

Oh, darn... Looks like an excuse to break out those old penmanship books and a few inks I've been dying to try!!

 

Thanks again for your contribution and for providing some extra motivation!

 

All the best,

Mike

[umenohana]

Hi Hana,

 

While the color of the Penman Sapphire is lovely (it's my favorite gem and my dearest grandmother's birthstone), your penmanship is exquisite!! I always thought I did pretty well, but after taking a look at your sample, I think it's time to rethink that. Looks like I'll have to spend some time trying to brush up...

 

Oh, darn... Looks like an excuse to break out those old penmanship books and a few inks I've been dying to try!!

 

Thanks again for your contribution and for providing some extra motivation!

 

All the best,

Mike

Thank you.

 

It seems there's a lot I don't know about the history of this ink.. It sort of seems like casting pearls (sapphires) before swine! BTW, the sapphire is my birthstone, too.

 

I'm writing my lab notes with this ink right now on "20#" paper, and there seem to be no bleeding problems.

 

-Hana

[ProfMike]

I managed to get some cartridges of Penman Ruby on eBay and have used them in my Parker Rialtos (extra-fine nibs) without any trouble at all, regardless of the paper. Other posts have mentioned horror-stories, but I've - fortunately- been trouble-free. Hopefully I can continue to say the same thing. It's a bit on the brownish-side of a true dark red, but it's a very nice ink to work with...

 

After seeing your post, though, I've definitely got to try the Sapphire. I just recently convinced myself to get a Waterman Edson because the color of the pen's body matches a sapphire ring my grandmother wore for years. My grandfather brought the raw stone back from North Africa after WW2 - he was a tank driver - and had the ring fashioned in the early 1950s. There's just no blue that compares to it...

 

Admittedly, I'm a bit sentimental... but if I found anything that could match the color I'm looking for, I would stop my "ideal ink" search and buy a lifetime supply of whatever it was.

 

Thanks again for your review!

 

All the best,

Mike

[umenohana]

I managed to get some cartridges of Penman Ruby on eBay and have used them in my Parker Rialtos (extra-fine nibs) without any trouble at all, regardless of the paper. Other posts have mentioned horror-stories, but I've - fortunately- been trouble-free. Hopefully I can continue to say the same thing. It's a bit on the brownish-side of a true dark red, but it's a very nice ink to work with...

 

After seeing your post, though, I've definitely got to try the Sapphire. I just recently convinced myself to get a Waterman Edson because the color of the pen's body matches a sapphire ring my grandmother wore for years. My grandfather brought the raw stone back from North Africa after WW2 - he was a tank driver - and had the ring fashioned in the early 1950s. There's just no blue that compares to it...

 

Admittedly, I'm a bit sentimental... but if I found anything that could match the color I'm looking for, I would stop my "ideal ink" search and buy a lifetime supply of whatever it was.

 

Thanks again for your review!

 

All the best,

Mike

(I had to look up what an Edson is :ph34r: )

 

What a lovely story. Thank you for sharing! I hope Sapphire's the right color for you!

 

-Hana

 

(posting a pic of Edson for others like me)

[HyperCamper]

Thanks for the great review and, once again, for sharing your stunning talent with all of us, Hana!

[Armchop]

:meow:

mmmm yummy

Thanks for the scan Hana!

I normally only like Blue-Black but this is kinda alluring without being in your face!

I need more paper for my want list is too big!

 

Armchop

[umenohana]

Thanks for the great review and, once again, for sharing your stunning talent with all of us, Hana!

Thank you very much for providing me with the inks!

 

-Hana

[umenohana]

:meow:

mmmm yummy

Thanks for the scan Hana!

I normally only like Blue-Black but this is kinda alluring without being in your face!

I need more paper for my want list is too big!

 

Armchop

I'm not really a blue person, either, but I have been trying to get into it so that I may use something other than black or blue-black on forms.

 

I also should be getting a couple of Colfer's Imperial blues soon-- I can hardly wait!

 

-Hana

[Taki]

Sigh....I wish I could write like that!!!

[Margana]

Close up of the ink in flex:

 

P.S. This ink can handle the demands of flex very well. (Other inks such as FPN Galileo Manuscript Brown write well with stiff nibs, but perform poorly with flex.)

Gorgeous writing! The outlining quality of Penman Sapphire shows beautifully in your flex example but isn't evident in the sample from the "51". It produces those delicate outlines with my italic Phileas as well, so the wider line must be what it takes to bring out that characteristic and sets Sapphire apart from my other blue inks. It is with certainty my favorite blue and is delightful to see it displayed so well here.

[I am not a number]

A very quick scan of the similarity between Parker Penman Sapphire and Private Reserve American Blue. The Q-tip swab at the bottom of the samples (yes, I already know that I have appalling handwriting and thank you for not dwelling on it) and the two sentences seem to indicate to me that the Private Reserve ink has slightly more uniformity.

 

I am of course standing by to be corrected...

 

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o254/photoboris/PenmanvsPR.jpg

 

 

Edited for syntax.

Edited November 24, 2007 by I am not a number