Graf Von Faber-Castell Violet Blue

[lapis]

Introduction


1. All of the other new GvFC colours issued previously to this one -- http://www.graf-von-faber-castell.com/writing-instruments/editions/ink#_1914036341 – sort of excited me (well, at least a little) because as regards colour, I found them all to be of really "high quality". Especially their own names seemed to be more than appropriate, well-fitting. Not wanting to offer you an injection of contemplation, this is IMO neither a violet blue nor a blue violet, but rather a light violet or light purple.
2. Those predecessors all appeared (again, at least to me) to be quite rich, deep and saturated in tone. But this one (Violet Blue) looks more diluted, washed out, to some extent lacking in character.

So, I think I'll now put some colors in your FP life, this time with my glass dip pen from Herbin.... Here's a list of the new, presently available GcFC inks – in the order of their appearance chronologically -- simply in an attempt to demonstrate that this new color is in fact lighter than the other, previous offers by that company:


Packaging
Again, no reason to convince you to purchase this ink, but reason enough to show you what the bottle and box look like (as if you didn't already know).




Their packaging, bottles, and above all the lids belong to be very best ever made for FP inks. That treat has, however, remained with the ink described here. Those commodities are all very well made and sturdy, and... in contrast to a lot of other companies' containers... they are very easy to open and close. I call that solid and yet elegant craftmanship. I prefer these things to those of Iroshizuku, and the new Montblanc (since 2009) and Caran d'Ache (since 2013). In any order! But I know that if you don't like the ink, that's no reason for you to buy a whole bottle of it.

Properties
First off a drop on a piece of kitchen towel. Thanks for the idea here, Vis! It's by no means a good replacement of a real chromatography but it does provide an idea about how homogeneous an ink's colour constituents can be.


This ink is obviously a violet – as stated – but with at most a very slight hint of blue. The defalcation I ensue is that it is not the other way around, but that is my problem.


So here's what a piece of writing looked like after it was soaked under water for 60 seconds (and then dried):


By "Document proofed", they mean the following (which is stated in their own website provided above): "An ink is called indelible if it is smudge-resistant, reproducible, light-fast and waterproof, cannot be erased and is resistant to many chemicals and solvents." Now I myself never worry about any dissolution pilloried by alcohol or acetone, I only worry (if ever) about water in the form of rain or a cup of tea. If I really want to get rid of any writing, I can alwas light it on fire or use some concentrated sulfuric acid....

 

 

 

+

 

 

¯

 

I must say, I have a lot of inks which will not stand up to something like that!

Papers
Today, 6 types of paper. The front sides show no basic differences, except that some feathering is more evident on Moleskine and Leuchtturm, however little. Most interesting IMO is that both Rhodia papers – especially the yellowish 90 g/m² show a darker colour. But (if I may say "unfortunately") there is no alteration of the ink's "blueness".


And now to the backside (har, har). These cut-outs are in the same order (from top to bottom) as in the last scan. As usual, Moleskine and Leuchtturm cough out the highest degree of bleeding. An inexpensive hp copy (Inkjet) paper is even less offensive here.


Comparisons
Here's a comple of contenders. Yes, this is full of problems. First, "violet" or "blue"? Secondly, how do I know when it's going to be bluer or redder? Thirdly but not last of all... the darkness and/or saturation depends on so many things.


Availability and notes
l Actually, although this is certainly not one of the most well-known brands, and it's price is quite high, I think that it is not all that hard to find. Do not forget that these are 75-ml bottles and the end sum of dough per ink volume is IMO -- for such a "good" ink and packaging -- acceptable. Here's a list of mine from March 2016 with a few currently available inks together with their list prices in Euros here in Germany, including our 19% sales tax:

l Note that this ink (as well as all of the others in this series) is also available in cartridges.
l FWIW, do not mistake these inks (in this series) for the two inks (Black and Royal Blue) both in the old, completely different 62.5-ml bottles. But that is a completely different story.

Summary
l The "colour" of this ink itself maybe isn't as bad as I found it. That all depends on what you're looking for. Could you use a new violet or blue?
l The general properties are all good, better than "average", especially its durability. It can be marked with a highlighter with no smudging at all!
l Just like the other inks in this series, these are IMO the best bottles (including their lids) and boxes on the market. Even better than Iroshizuku's and the newest MB's and CdA's.
l As to the price, consider the price per ml, or simply stick to a sample.

Mike

 

[0xabad1dea]

I agree I don't see anything blue about it (except in the paper towel drop) ... but it looks reasonably in line with the other colors from its series to me. It's not too punchy a purple.

 

An extremely comprehensive review (thumbs up emoji, but I assume this forum software would choke on literal emoji)

[migo984]

Thanks for the review Mike. Thorough as usual.

 

I love this ink; it has the same slightly "faded" vintage charm of the previous 2 GvFC releases (Deep Sea & Midnight, which I don't find to be overly rich colours). I've developed a liking for 'subtle but not insipid' inks.

 

It looks a good match for the Heritage pen.

[lapis]

Thanks. I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds this ink neither blue nor rich. Actually, I don't hate it at all; I was just expecting something different.

And... 'subtle but not insipid' inks... I like that one!!

 

Mike

[zaddick]

Another great review. Thank you for so much care and detail.

[fountainpagan]

Thank you very much for your review, extremely comprehensive.

 

I have a question concerning your price's list (very helpful BTW). The 60ml bottle of Akkerman ink costs, at their site, 15€ + shipping costs. How do you get the price of 16,50€ for 150ml (are there 150ml bottle, and where?), please?

[lapis]

Ahh... good question. They used to sell (from their own store, only, which is in Holland) the 150-ml bottles. About 2-3 years ago they discontinued that size and then started to sell only new, 60-ml bottles but with about the same shape. They still sell the same 31 different colours and their inks are now AFAIK sometimes also sold elsewhere, at least in th U.S. If you really need and/or want the 150-ml variety, all I can think of is to contact them here (they also have a Dutch site) or search the Classified/Market/Mall sections in our forum. Or add a "Want to buy" post there. Good luck!

 

Mike

[Zut Alors]

Thanks for a comprehensive review.

 

Especially in the Rhodia examples it reminds me of Diamine 'Damson', a colour suitable for multiple uses.

[jmccarty3]

What an excellent and thorough review! Of all the GvFC blues, I must say I prefer the Cobalt and Midnight to the Royal and the Violet, and, like you, I don't really consider the Violet to be much of a blue at all. It looks better to me on the ivory paper.

[ENewton]

On my screen, it looks like a dilution of Kaweco Summer Purple. Is it similar?

[lapis]

Another good question! And here's an adventuresome answer....
That may be a possibility, and I see it in this site: (which is not "nicely designed" to use their own wording there) like this, e.g.:
http://mostwanted-pens.com/WebRoot/Store7/Shops/e60de448-d164-483b-99d8-c17ff698b0ff/567C/EE4F/48BC/71B1/50CA/0A48/3521/386B/kaweco_inkwell_purple.jpg
That is also to be seen in another site (equally inadequate) and both list 8 different inks, all available in bottles and in cartridges, and that is also what my bottle looks like.
But in an even older site (http://www.kaweco-pen.com/extern/ePaper/epaper/ausgabe.pdf) where you have to go to page 26 by youself, there are, again, 8 inks -- maybe the same inks -- but with different names, like

schwarz / black
sepia / earth brown
aubergine / lavender
rot / orchid rose
schwarzblau / blue black
königsblau / lagoon blue
türkis / caribbean turquoise
waldgrün / palm green

But the silly thing is that whatever the names are (and/or once were), they are not stated on the bottle or lid or ribbon, and there is also no box.
.... Sooo... what I have is likely aubergine/lavender and that may be the same as your summer purple. Maybe it's that easy. I confess, I wrote "No Name" in my list of comparative inks as a form of protest to the issue.

Mike

[namrehsnoom]

Thanks for the detailed review. I like the color on the white Rhodia paper, but I personally find it too washed out on the other papers. And I love the highlighter test - didn't even know such a thing could be done with fountain pen inks...

[ENewton]

Another good question! And here's an adventuresome answer....

That may be a possibility, and I see it in this site: (which is not "nicely designed" to use their own wording there) like this, e.g.:

http://mostwanted-pens.com/WebRoot/Store7/Shops/e60de448-d164-483b-99d8-c17ff698b0ff/567C/EE4F/48BC/71B1/50CA/0A48/3521/386B/kaweco_inkwell_purple.jpg

That is also to be seen in another site (equally inadequate) and both list 8 different inks, all available in bottles and in cartridges, and that is also what my bottle looks like.

But in an even older site (http://www.kaweco-pen.com/extern/ePaper/epaper/ausgabe.pdf) where you have to go to page 26 by youself, there are, again, 8 inks -- maybe the same inks -- but with different names, like

 

schwarz / black

sepia / earth brown

aubergine / lavender

rot / orchid rose

schwarzblau / blue black

königsblau / lagoon blue

türkis / caribbean turquoise

waldgrün / palm green

 

But the silly thing is that whatever the names are (and/or once were), they are not stated on the bottle or lid or ribbon, and there is also no box.

.... Sooo... what I have is likely aubergine/lavender and that may be the same as your summer purple. Maybe it's that easy. I confess, I wrote "No Name" in my list of comparative inks as a form of protest to the issue.

 

Mike

 

The No Name in your list of comparative inks is much browner than my Kaweco purple. My Kaweco purple looks very much like your scans of Violet Blue.

[Jackokun]

This is an awesome review Mike, I specially enjoy the part of a couple of comparisons and there are about 30 inks there

 

But I'll say this, I had preordered this ink and is on the mail, so I'll hold any radical decisions of stay and go until then.

[Pensei]

Good review. I really do like those bottles.

[mehandiratta]

u saved me some good money

[DrDebG]

Thank you for great review. I like GvFC inks for their subtlety - cobalt blue is my favorite. Because of your review, however, I ordered and just received a sample of Violet Blue. I just loaded it in my Pilot VP with stub nib and appreciate again the subtlety of color. It reminds me of violet flowers.

[lapis]

Thank you for great review. I like GvFC inks for their subtlety - cobalt blue is my favorite. Because of your review, however, I ordered and just received a sample of Violet Blue. I just loaded it in my Pilot VP with stub nib and appreciate again the subtlety of color. It reminds me of violet flowers.

 

That sounds good. Glad you like it. Your last sentence might tell me why I think Migo (see Post #2 up top) has chosen such a neat Avatar (which wasn't there three months ago....)

Mike

[Alexandra]

Thanks for the thorough review. By your description this ink seems to have a lot going for it and the color is nice, just kind of...flat.