Private Reserve "flannel Gray" Ink - Is This Normal?

[Intensity]

I received my first 3 Private Reserve inks ever, so I have no point of reference for what they should be like. Only one of them (Avocado) has a date code on the bottle (Dec 2017).

 

I've opened Avocado, and it looks pretty normal. Bit thick, but I've read that's how PR inks go:

 

Then I opened Flannel Gray and saw that there are some concentrated gray particles stuck in clumps to the sides of the bottle and in the cap. There's some color separation in the cap. Note: the tiny white dots in the cap are just air bubbles.

 

Is this normal for Flannel Gray? It also has a smell which the other two inks don't, or at least they have minimal smell. Flannel doesn't quite smell any kind of moldy I'm familiar with, just slightly pungent and kind of botanical, I guess. Difficult to decide what it reminds me of most. Edit: correction, my Ebony Blue also has that smell, but less "turned", bit milder.

 

 

Does the second bottle look safe to use? Have you seen similar deposits on your bottles? None of my other inks do this, so I wanted to double-check. If the gray "sediment" is okay, can I just shake the bottle well in hopes of redistributing all the parts?

 

I'm also not completely sure about Ebony Blue, but it's so dark and non-translucent, I can't really tell anything yet. Looks okay so far, just some concentrated thick bits of blue in the cap.

Edited July 28, 2020 by Intensity

[Parker51]

Well, there is a lot of Old Private Reserve ink out there and the person who bought the Company after the origonal owner died has decided to not replace it and remove it from the marketplace. I know this from personal experiance as she refused to either replace the ink I had purchased from a closed Pen Store (the owner had died and the new old stock ink was sold at auction as part of the sale of the inventory), nor pay me what I had paid for it (at or below wholesale). She told me which inks were known by her to have problems and I don't recall Flannel Grey being one of them. That however does not mean it is a good bottle of ink. It may have become contaminated at some point and if it smells wrong, it smells wrong for a reason.

 

She told me that some of the ink had dates of manufacture, but much did not. She indicated that she thought ink should have an experation date. Montblanc has that on their inks. I am unaware that she had them placed on the ink she had made for her and that she sold. Who made the ink for her she did not share.

 

If you can return it, do so.

 

Also, there are a couple of rumors that things may be changing in regard to Private Reserve continuing as it has in the past.

 

If anyone can confirm them, please do so. The first is that Private Reserve ink has started to be made in India. By whom is a mystery, as well as to if this was a subcontractor for the owner, or if the brand has been sold.

 

The second rumor is that there is no new Private Reserve Ink. This may be related to the first report and reflect a temporary disruption in the supply related to production in India and difficulties with shipments given the Pandemic, or it may reflect that the Brand has been sold. I doubt Private Reserve Ink has been permanently discontinued as the last owner I talked to would likely sell it if she was unable to make a sufficient profit as she would want to get a return on her investment and if she has gone bankrupt then we will need to wait to see if she reorganizes, or liquidates her company and the brand is sold.

Edited July 28, 2020 by Parker51

[Intensity]

Waiting to use Flannel Blue until further feedback. Meanwhile inked up a medium stub pen with Ebony Blue, and it's dreamy. "Creamy" comes to mind when describing the feeling of writing with Ebony Blue on Tomoe River, and creamy looking flow too. Results in good shading on most paper I've tried so far. Not liquidy, so pretty crisp lines are preserved.

[azbobcat]

I received my first 3 Private Reserve inks ever, so I have no point of reference for what they should be like. Only one of them (Avocado) has a date code on the bottle (Dec 2017).

 

I've opened Avocado, and it looks pretty normal. Bit thick, but I've read that's how PR inks go:

 

Then I opened Flannel Gray and saw that there are some concentrated gray particles stuck in clumps to the sides of the bottle and in the cap. There's some color separation in the cap. Note: the tiny white dots in the cap are just air bubbles.

 

Is this normal for Flannel Gray? It also has a smell which the other two inks don't, or at least they have minimal smell. Flannel doesn't quite smell any kind of moldy I'm familiar with, just slightly pungent and kind of botanical, I guess. Difficult to decide what it reminds me of most. Edit: correction, my Ebony Blue also has that smell, but less "turned", bit milder.

 

 

Does the second bottle look safe to use? Have you seen similar deposits on your bottles? None of my other inks do this, so I wanted to double-check. If the gray "sediment" is okay, can I just shake the bottle well in hopes of redistributing all the parts?

 

I'm also not completely sure about Ebony Blue, but it's so dark and non-translucent, I can't really tell anything yet. Looks okay so far, just some concentrated thick bits of blue in the cap.

 

 

I am a lover of Private Reserve Inks. Like Noodlers it is a highly saturated ink. Any type of "Grey" ink is nothing more than a diluted form of BLACK. Most BLACK inks use "Lamp Black", and -- for a better word -- is nothing more than Soot. Now depending upon solute the Lamp Black was suspended in. IF the bottle was unopened that does not mean that there was no evaporation of the solute -- usually water -- which would make a highly saturated ink even more so -- which might be the reason for the clumpy appearance. One way you can sort of "Date" Private Reserve Inks is by their Bottles. The EARLIEST Private Reserve inks were sold in OVAL bottles of 50 mL. More recent Private Reserve Inks are sold in 66 mL bottles. Someone who is a REAL aficinado of Private Reserve Inks could probably could probably date an ink simply by looking at the Bottle, Cap, and Color.

 

Perchance when you opened the bottle was it FULL, or did it look like there was a little ink missing? If the latter then assume Evaporation, which could be solved simply by putting some fresh DI water in it, and shakiing the bottle up.

 

Of some concern is the smell. The smell could be due to the solute that was used; or it could be caused by a biological agent. IF it was a biological agent, then generally you would see it floating on the surface of the ink, in that case best to simply pitch the ink -- but DO SAVE the bottles. Me?!? I do have some of the OLD Private Reserve 50 mL OVAL bottles. IF you know some Lab Junky -- especially if they are Microbiologists -- see if they could spread 0.1 - 1.0 mL of the ink on a Nutrient Agar Plate and incubate it at 35 degrees C. for 48 - 72 hrs. and see if anything grows on the agar. If something grows on it see the above treatment, but DO save the Bottle.

[Honeybadgers]

If the residue comes off if you gently invert the bottle a few times, I'd call it safe. If it's "stuck", problem.

 

Also, no film on top of the ink itself indicates it's probably safe.

[Intensity]

The gray stuff won't budge from the cap or the sides of the bottle after vigorous shaking. I'll probably contact the manufacturer for replacement of that particular bottle.

 

It's a cylindrical 50ml bottle, not oval in my case. None of the three bottles were totally full like Noodler's bottles would be. You can see on my photograph the ink levels. Those photographs were taken with the ink still unused.

[Parker51]

The gray stuff won't budge from the cap or the sides of the bottle after vigorous shaking. I'll probably contact the manufacturer for replacement of that particular bottle.

 

It's a cylindrical 50ml bottle, not oval in my case. None of the three bottles were totally full like Noodler's bottles would be. You can see on my photograph the ink levels. Those photographs were taken with the ink still unused.

Please check earlier threads on the way they resolved problems with Private Reserve Ink.

 

I have bumped an earlier posting by someone else that you may want to read so as to make it easy to find.

 

As I recall one person was able to get the retailer to replace the ink.

 

The posts are very informative and might give you some idea of her earlier behavior.

 

If she has changed her mind and is willing to replace inks please let us know.

 

I still have a large amount of Private Reserve Ink that I did not destroy (her suggestion) that I would be happy to have replaced at her cost, possibly as a gesture of contrition for her earlier behavior. Heh, some people do change, especially when they get an idea of the nature of the hobby, it is a hobby and no one has to buy anything, especially ink.

Edited July 28, 2020 by Parker51

[Crobe]

Private Reserve Gray Flannel used to be one of my favorite inks. It was a nice color gray and, for me, was fairly waterproof on paper. Over time I had bought a few bottles and was getting low on the latest. I drove to Artlite in Atlanta and bought a new bottle.

 

When I took the cap off, I was surprised to see a green hue in the bottle. Writing with it confirmed that it was a greenish. I emailed PR and the reply stated that they were unable to get one of the dyes they used in Gray Flannel and were using a substitute.

 

I have looked for the email, which I must have been deleted, being a few years ago (2014, has it been that long?). I do have a comparison scan which shows the green hue in the new (unable to post it).

 

As a result I switched to Diamine Grey.

 

I have a very small amount of old Gray Flannel and have compared the smell with the new. Neither smells peculiar.

 

Does anyone know when the original owner died?

 

Mike

[Intensity]

I actually got this ink because it's green-tinted gray. I have yet to hear back from Private Reserve about this bottle. In the meantime I've got this ink filled in an easy-to-clean test pen. The ink is really translucent and highly shading, difficult to read due to being quite pale. I don't know if it's because the gray dye saturating out onto the bottle and cap, leaving the liquid ink more pale. It's less saturated than any of my other gray inks.