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Your Favourite Purples/Violets


IlikeInksandIcannotlie

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For the sake of completion, I will  make variations of this thread for every "major" colour. So what are your favourite purples/ violets, and why?

 

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I haven't had a lot of purples, but most of the ones I've tried, I've liked. Birmingham/Nemosine's old Imperial Purple, which I think is actually Diamine's Imperial Purple, and right now Fritz Schimpf's gelassenheit are big favorites.

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This thread is timely. I just starting looking for purple inks. I just ordered J. Herbin 1798 Amethyste de L'Oural.

 

We'll see how it goes, but I'll follow this thread for more ideas.

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I started using a sample of the unobtanium Lamy Dark Lilac a few weeks ago, and it was very nice. I also like Diamine Bilberry quite a lot.

 

I've had my eye on Troublemaker Lam-Ang, but I can't find any reviews of it, and other sheeny purple Troublemakers are described as having 'sticky' flow, which doesn't sound nice.

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I'm very conservative on colours, I like to use blue inks and not much else. I never use black, by choice. I don't usually fancy using lighter colours, I find them distracting.

Among non blue colours, purple is possibly my favourite, but it has to be on the verge of blue, not of red.

Diamine Bilberry is certainly one I like.

I'm looking for dark purples that verge on blue (not black), so this thread may help me too... :)

Sailor Shigure might be one to check that I don't own yet.

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1 minute ago, kulnet said:

Beatles psychedelic purple by montblanc 

+1 - probably my favourite purple, with TWSBI Royal Purple and good old Waterman Tender Purple tying for second place.

 

I don't use a lot of purple - especially saturated purples - they're just a bit too heavy for me, but I do like a few, and there are a number of violets I like very much. Current favourites as well as those above (just those in use at the moment) include

 

L'Artisan Pastellier Callifolio Violet

GvCF Violet Blue

Herbin Violette Pensee

kyo-no-oto keshimurasaki (which is very grey, but still just a purple IMO)

Robert Oster Ruthenium, 

 

Octopus Fluids Pastell Blue Iris 

Pennonia Orgona

Vinta Maskara

these last three are probably my current crush inks along with 

Sailor Jentle Fuji Musume for a more sensible version

and of course Sailor Manyo Nekoyanagi, if the violet part of it counts!

 

I also use a lot of violet/purple leaning greys and browns, but I don't think they belong here.

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I prefer vintage inks like:

 

Waterman's Patrician Purple

Sheaffer Lavender

Stafford's Violet

 

If using modern, then, in no particular order:

 

Pilot Iroshizuku Murasaki-Shikibu

Van Dieman's Black-Tongue Spider Orchid

Kaweco Summer Purple

Scribal Workshop Grape-Beary (their Beary inks come in little honey bear bottles)

 

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Caran d’Ache Ultra Violet for me. A dusty, plummy purple. Doesn’t scream purple at you and can be used in a professional setting, but it is an individual and attractive colour.

 

I heard somewhere that Caran d’Ache inks are made by Kaweco. Don’t know if it’s true but some of them are at least quite similar. Kaweco Summer Purple might be a less expensive alternative.

 

Herbin Poussière de Lune is in the same kind of ball park, but redder. Also very nice.

 

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Ooh, my favorite?  That's a toughie -- I don't think I could limit myself to just one.

So, in no particular order:

vintage Quink Permanent Violet, Lamy Dark Lilac, Noodler's Kung Te Cheng (although that's more indigo with purple undertones), Purple Heart and North African Violet, Edelstein Amethyst LE, Iroshizuku Murasaki Shikibu and Yama-budo, and KWZI IG Violet #3 and IG Gummiberry (still haven't made up my mind about IG Violet #2).  There are other ones I have, but those are probably the top ones.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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Diamine Tyrian Purple

KWZ IG Gummiberry 

KWZ Pink Brown

Diamine Damson

J Herbin Poussiere de Lune

Diamine Violet

Diamine Grape

FP Ink Orphanage-Is an ink not working with your pens, not the color you're looking for, is never to see the light of day again?!! If this is you, and the ink is in fine condition otherwise, don't dump it down the sink, or throw it into the trash, send it to me (payment can be negotiated), and I will provide it a nice safe home with love, and a decent meal of paper! Please PM me!<span style='color: #000080'>For Sale:</span> TBA

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Most of my inks are purple.  Here are my six favorites:

  • Sailor Kobe Suma Purple.  A dark, earthy purple.  If this had been the first ink I tried, I might never have looked farther.   
  • TAG Kyoto Kyo-Iro Soft Snow of Ohara.  A unique, silver-blue purple that was my favorite ink until I finally let myself pay the price for Suma Purple.    
  • Rohrer & Klingner Aubergine.  A fine, basic dark purple, probably safe for vintage pens.  I like the brand very much.  Unfortunately, this ink is no longer available.  
  • J Herbin Amethyste de l'Oural.  An attractive, medium-dark purple with such a small quantity of silver shimmer that I wouldn't hesitate to use it in any pen with a converter.  
  • Sailor Shigure.  A very dark, rich, blue-leaning purple.  
  • Pilot Iroshizuku Murasaki Shikibu.  A bright, floral purple.  

I would not want to be without a bottle of J Herbin Poussiere de Lune--I use it frequently in my vintage pens, especially in autumn--but in most pens it is a dusty burgundy, not purple.

 

I want to love Rohrer & Klingner Scabiosa and Robert Oster Barossa Grape, which have a similar, smoky look, with Scabiosa leaning toward rust and Barossa Grape toward gray blue, but each demands a very wet pen to satisfy its potential.  They might well be my two favorite inks if I used broad nibs, but most of my pens have fine nibs, and in those both inks tend to look weak.  

 

 

 

 

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I have only two and one of them is not a favorite.  Although @MoriartyR likes it ... Caran d' Ache Ultra Violet remains one of my biggest ink disappointments... I wanted to love it but we're just good friends.   Iroshizuku Murasaki Shikibu, however is quite nice (and not too pink.)

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I only use purple for titles or couple of lines per page. For my purpose Diamine Imperial purple is very good  ink.  

Waterman tender purple is also a great ink for that purpose.

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Forgot to mention: Private Reserve Ebony Purple is rather nice. I only have experience with it from a couple of fills I borrowed from an office mate, but I quite liked it.

 

Also second the Poussiere de Lune. 'Dusty burgundy' is a good description from ENewton. I feel like the term 'chalky' might also apply, and the reddish/brown tinge to it makes it seem almost like a variant on puce. In fact, the term 'chalky puce' is a great description of the color! But despite the unappetizing sounding description, It has a very flat, matte appearance, even on TRP and somehow it feels restful to the eyes.

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10 hours ago, salmasry said:

 

I only use purple for titles or couple of lines per page. For my purpose Diamine Imperial purple is very good  ink.  

Waterman tender purple is also a great ink for that purpose.

 

Waterman Tender Purple is a great ink, especially for use in vintage pens and extra-fine nibs.  In the bright, medium purple range, I prefer the look of Iroshizuku Murasaki Shikibu, but given its versatility, not to speak of its lower price, the Waterman ink edged out Murasaki Shikibu in my list of must-have inks. 

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Stipula purple, very cheerfu, shades nicely.

Cross Violet, darker, green sheen.

Bungobx L'amant is very nice, too, about the same darkness as the Cross but redder.

It's hard work to tell which is Old Harry when everybody's got boots on.

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2 hours ago, ENewton said:

 

Waterman Tender Purple is a great ink, especially for use in vintage pens and extra-fine nibs.  In the bright, medium purple range, I prefer the look of Iroshizuku Murasaki Shikibu, but given its versatility, not to speak of its lower price, the Waterman ink edged out Murasaki Shikibu in my list of must-have inks. 

 

I totally agree.  You have found the right word to describe this excellent ink. It is  Versatile indeed. 

I have it inked in pens for weeks and weeks and it never misbehaves.  

I get the occasional sardonic jokes about my "TENDER"  ink from my daughter, but this ink is worth it. 

 

A bit off-topic, but the Waterman green is also a winner for my purpose among the green inks.  

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On 6/11/2021 at 9:57 AM, ENewton said:

I want to love Rohrer & Klingner Scabiosa and Robert Oster Barossa Grape, which have a similar, smoky look, with Scabiosa leaning toward rust and Barossa Grape toward gray blue, but each demands a very wet pen to satisfy its potential.  They might well be my two favorite inks if I used broad nibs, but most of my pens have fine nibs, and in those both inks tend to look weak.  

 

A couple days ago I received a wet writing Parker 45 with a 12k or 14k (I forget which) fine nib and inked it with Barossa Grape today. It looks really good - for me, it's a top shelf dark purple ink and definitely not weak. I prefer the extra fine Parker 45 nib - about the same line width as a Japanese fine - but I'll take this result, for now. I have a wet XF P45 that's waiting in the wings for Barossa Grape, as soon as I finish what it's currently inked with. If it works well with that P45 XF then I will buy a bottle.

 

I still haven't found the right pen for Scabiosa and I had put it aside for a while - moreover I have so many pens inked right now. But now I'm inspired by @amberleadavis's recently posted sample picture and sometime soon I'll put a cheap steel Chinese 1.1mm nib in a cheap Jinhao (992 is the model, I think) and give it a try with Scabiosa (I don't really care much if the iron gall ink corrodes that nib, if it does). Other than Japanese fine-sized nibs I really like writing with smaller italics in everyday use and, while that Chinese 1.1 is still too wide for me for everyday use, I'd like to give it my first try at nib grinding to get it thinner and sharper. 

 

My pens for sale: https://www.facebook.com/jaiyen.pens  

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