Your Favourite Purples/Violets

[PithyProlix]

I have loved reading what's been posted - please keep 'em coming!

My favorite color is purple but I didn't really get on the wagon of interesting ink until a year or two ago and I'm still exploring. I've tried to limit myself to inks that are less than about $0.40 USD per milliliter so that's kept me out of the Japanese inks, on the whole. No one sells samples where I live and there are a very limited number of vendors with reasonable shipping costs to me - only one of those vendors has been selling samples during the past year (even then, they have a pretty limited selection) - so I don't get much of a chance to 'try before I buy'.

 

So, all that just to say my experience with different inks is probably quite low compared to many posting here. But hopefully I make up some of that with enthusiam. 

• L'Artisan Pastellier Callifolio Bourgogne - To me, a very soulful color, similar to Herbin Poussiere de Lune. Yes, it's a burgundy but I consider burgundy to be on the far red side of purple. 
• Some light to medium grey purple but I'm undecided. So far, I love Diamine Vivaldi, Callifolio Cassis, and Kobe #32 Tamon Purple Gray. I really want to try Robert Oster Sydney Lavender & Summer Storm, and PenBBS 346 Misty Mountain (and Colorverse Anti-Matter and Egoistar Grey Scandal and Sailor Chu-shu ... there are so many ...). I'll probably never decide on one (and why should I?).
• Vinta Mulberry (Ubi) - This one is currently leading the pack in my quest to find a color that comes close to matching the dark purple yams like you can see in my profile picture. There are a few that I'd like to try that might topple the Vinta - some of those include Franklin-Christoph Tenebris Purpuratum, Penlux Mo Plum, Van Dieman's Blackberry Jam, and Robert Oster Dark Chocolate & Berry d'Arche.
• L'Artisan Pastellier Classique Lilas is my 'passionate purple'.

Others:

- I've just found what I think is a good pen for Robert Oster Barossa Grape and, once I live with it a while, I suspect it will become a favorite.

- Like @ENewton, I haven't found a good pen for R&K Scabiosa but I still have high hopes for it. 

- Other favorites, though perhaps borderline purples, are the grey-purple-blue/blacks (not always in that order) Diamine Chopin and Callifolio Baikal.

 

Very, very interested to try:

- TAG Stationery Kyo-iro Soft Snow of Ohara & Kyo-no-oto Sakuranezumi

- PenBBS 227 Purple Jade

- I've recently become fascinated with many of Robert Oster's purples. In addition to the ones already mentioned above: Charcoal, Claret, Cult Blue, and Purple Jazz.

- Herbin Bleu Myosotis

- Papier Plume Mardi Gras Indian Purple

 

[Carrau]

1 hour ago, PithyProlix said:

I have loved reading what's been posted - please keep 'em coming!

My favorite color is purple but I didn't really get on the wagon of interesting ink until a year or two ago and I'm still exploring. I've tried to limit myself to inks that are less than about $0.40 USD per milliliter so that's kept me out of the Japanese inks, on the whole. No one sells samples where I live and there are a very limited number of vendors with reasonable shipping costs to me - only one of those vendors has been selling samples during the past year (even then, they have a pretty limited selection) - so I don't get much of a chance to 'try before I buy'.

 

So, all that just to say my experience with different inks is probably quite low compared to many posting here. But hopefully I make up some of that with enthusiam. 

• L'Artisan Pastellier Callifolio Bourgogne - To me, a very soulful color, similar to Herbin Poussiere de Lune. Yes, it's a burgundy but I consider burgundy to be on the far red side of purple. 
• Some light to medium grey purple but I'm undecided. So far, I love Diamine Vivaldi, Callifolio Cassis, and Kobe #32 Tamon Purple Gray. I really want to try Robert Oster Sydney Lavender & Summer Storm, and PenBBS 346 Misty Mountain (and Colorverse Anti-Matter and Egoistar Grey Scandal and Sailor Chu-shu ... there are so many ...). I'll probably never decide on one (and why should I?).
• Vinta Mulberry (Ubi) - This one is currently leading the pack in my quest to find a color that comes close to matching the dark purple yams like you can see in my profile picture. There are a few that I'd like to try that might topple the Vinta - some of those include Franklin-Christoph Tenebris Purpuratum, Penlux Mo Plum, Van Dieman's Blackberry Jam, and Robert Oster Dark Chocolate & Berry d'Arche.
• L'Artisan Pastellier Classique Lilas is my 'passionate purple'.

Others:

- I've just found what I think is a good pen for Robert Oster Barossa Grape and, once I live with it a while, I suspect it will become a favorite.

- Like @ENewton, I haven't found a good pen for R&K Scabiosa but I still have high hopes for it. 

- Other favorites, though perhaps borderline purples, are the grey-purple-blue/blacks (not always in that order) Diamine Chopin and Callifolio Baikal.

 

Very, very interested to try:

- TAG Stationery Kyo-iro Soft Snow of Ohara & Kyo-no-oto Sakuranezumi

- PenBBS 227 Purple Jade

- I've recently become fascinated with many of Robert Oster's purples. In addition to the ones already mentioned above: Charcoal, Claret, Cult Blue, and Purple Jazz.

- Herbin Bleu Myosotis

- Papier Plume Mardi Gras Indian Purple

 

RO Summer Storm has an enticing name, but is very disappointing as an ink for writing (see multiple review comments), as it is remarkably dry and faint as a color (even Photo-Flo did not improve it enough for me).  As many have commented, it is perhaps more useful as a drawing ink.

[PithyProlix]

3 hours ago, Carrau said:

RO Summer Storm has an enticing name, but is very disappointing as an ink for writing (see multiple review comments), as it is remarkably dry and faint as a color (even Photo-Flo did not improve it enough for me).  As many have commented, it is perhaps more useful as a drawing ink.

Thanks for the info. There are many positive reviews too and I am intrigued enough by the color to want to give it a try, if only in a sample quantity. 

[ENewton]

11 hours ago, PithyProlix said:

 

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). 

 

 

How nice that Barossa Grape works well in your Parker 45!  I hope that your extra fine will give you similarly satisfying results.  I think the next pen in which I will try Barossa Grape is a wet cursive italic from Peyton Street Pen Works.

 

As for Scabiosa, a few years ago, I tried it in a rebranded Jinhao x750 with a medium nib.  The color was splendid when I had just filled the pen but subsided quickly as I worked my way down the page.   As for corrosion, I and at least one other person on the forum have experienced some when using Scabiosa in a Platinum Balance with a plated nib.  

 

 

 

[Detman101]

Was tempted to post "Sailor - Manyo Nekoyanagi" but it's more blue than purple for me and my pens.
However...my favorite REAL purple is "Diamine - Kong Girls".
Shimmery sheeny purpley heaven...love it!

 

[bunnspecial]

I'm not a big fan/user of purples on the while, but the ones I do use are the ones that can almost pass for very dark blues.

 

The two I have in that category are Lamy Crystal Azurite and Montblanc Ultramarine. I don't see a ton of difference in the two inks, and the Crystal has the benefit of being about half the price and a lot easier to find.

[sirgilbert357]

I just got my bottle of J. Herbin Amethyste de l'Oural and it is amazing. I mostly bought this to give to my two girls to put their Pilot Kakunos, but I can already tell I'll be using it quite a bit too.

 

The flow is excellent out of my Lamy Al-Star and the shimmer particles have been very consistent when I do my part to roll the pen between my palms a bit every half page or so.

[inkstainedruth]

What nib width are you using on the al-Star with Amethyste de l'Oural?  I keep wanting to open my bottle of it (and also to try the same I have of Vert Atlantide), and I don't really have a lot of pens that I'd feel safe putting a shimmer ink in (and one of those, the last time I flushed it out, made some horrible cracking noise back where the piston knob is....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[sirgilbert357]

27 minutes ago, inkstainedruth said:

What nib width are you using on the al-Star with Amethyste de l'Oural?  I keep wanting to open my bottle of it (and also to try the same I have of Vert Atlantide), and I don't really have a lot of pens that I'd feel safe putting a shimmer ink in (and one of those, the last time I flushed it out, made some horrible cracking noise back where the piston knob is....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

Medium nib. But I have a 1.1 and 1.5 mm nib for it too (haven't tried those yet). It flows very well. If it clogs, I'll just pull the feed. Lamy Al-Stars and Safaris are easy enough to fully disassemble. Their converters even come all the way apart, if you ever have to go that far.

 

I'm picky about which pens I'll put these inks in too. Currently, only the Al-Star, Jinhaos or Wing Sungs get the shimmer inks. All have feeds that can be pulled for deep cleaning.

[ENewton]

1 hour ago, inkstainedruth said:

What nib width are you using on the al-Star with Amethyste de l'Oural?  I keep wanting to open my bottle of it (and also to try the same I have of Vert Atlantide), and I don't really have a lot of pens that I'd feel safe putting a shimmer ink in (and one of those, the last time I flushed it out, made some horrible cracking noise back where the piston knob is....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

In my experience, Amethyste de l'Oural has so little shimmer that I would not hesitate to use it in any cartridge converter pen.  Most recently, I used it in a medium cursive italic from Peyton Street Pen Works; it gave me no problems (and no shimmer either).

 

 

[sirgilbert357]

7 minutes ago, ENewton said:

 

In my experience, Amethyste de l'Oural has so little shimmer that I would not hesitate to use it in any cartridge converter pen.  Most recently, I used it in a medium cursive italic from Peyton Street Pen Works; it gave me no problems (and no shimmer either).

 

 

 

Wow, that's completely the opposite of my current experience. I see a ton of it on the bottom of the bottle before shaking it up to fill my Lamy up. I'd be surprised if they precisely measured the amount of shimmer that gets added to each bottle. My J. Herbin Bleu Ocean seems to have far less shimmer material on the bottom of the bottle before shaking it up....and indeed - less in writing with it too. 😐

[PithyProlix]

On 6/13/2021 at 4:43 AM, ENewton said:

 

How nice that Barossa Grape works well in your Parker 45!  I hope that your extra fine will give you similarly satisfying results.  I think the next pen in which I will try Barossa Grape is a wet cursive italic from Peyton Street Pen Works.

 

Barossa Grape made its way into the Parker 45 with a steel EF nib I mentioned previously and I am happy to report that it really seems to look great and work well with this pen. I've tried it on some ivory-colored Muji paper that is not very suitable for fountain pens, some other Muji paper that is fountain pen friendly and is colored somewhere in between ivory and white, and some white 52gsm Tomoe River, all with great results. While it doesn't seem to be overly dry it's also not very lubricated, giving a very tiny bit of a sticky, viscous feeling compared to more highly lubricated inks but not enough to bother me at all. In my opinion it's worth trying to find the right pen for.

[vtgt]

Can't fault Noodler's Baystate Concord Grape.

[Daneaxe]

In my limited experience, the best purple & violet I have written with is the Diamine Imperial Purple - which I only recently found actually has some chromo-shading in it - nobody told me, and only recently I found out by turning the bottle upside down a few times and using my dip pen with it. Color me surprised! It doesn't really shimmer, it's more like another color which comes out when a lot of ink is applied, or a broad line. This alternate color is dark grey, almost anthracite. Perhaps if used on Tomoe River paper, it would shimmer more?

[ENewton]

6 hours ago, PithyProlix said:

 

Barossa Grape made its way into the Parker 45 with a steel EF nib I mentioned previously and I am happy to report that it really seems to look great and work well with this pen. I've tried it on some ivory-colored Muji paper that is not very suitable for fountain pens, some other Muji paper that is fountain pen friendly and is colored somewhere in between ivory and white, and some white 52gsm Tomoe River, all with great results. While it doesn't seem to be overly dry it's also not very lubricated, giving a very tiny bit of a sticky, viscous feeling compared to more highly lubricated inks but not enough to bother me at all. In my opinion it's worth trying to find the right pen for.

 

Huzzah!  I agree with your opinion, hence my persistence after several years.  My best results so far have been with my Peyton Street Pen Works medium cursive italic, but almost all my writing is with fine and extra fine nibs.  So far, my Parker 51 is leading in that race, on Fabriano paper.  Not very lubricated, as you say, and still giving me hard starts now and then, but running the nib in water and scribbling on on absorbent paper for a few seconds gets it running again. 

[Arkanabar]

Waterman Violet (now Tender Purple) was my first, and I loved it for its bright color and rich hue.  I hated how it faded to pink.  So I went hunting for a purple with more fade resistance.  I eventually found evidence that Noodler's Purple was probably at least as fade resistant as Diamine Sherwood, which is good enough for me.  And the color is very much like Waterman Violet.  So it is now the Essential Purple.

[ENewton]

12 hours ago, Arkanabar said:

Waterman Violet (now Tender Purple) was my first, and I loved it for its bright color and rich hue.  I hated how it faded to pink.  So I went hunting for a purple with more fade resistance.  I eventually found evidence that Noodler's Purple was probably at least as fade resistant as Diamine Sherwood, which is good enough for me.  And the color is very much like Waterman Violet.  So it is now the Essential Purple.

 

In what conditions did Waterman Violet (Tender Purple) fade to pink?

[maclink]

Iroshizuku Yama budo and Montblanc Lavender Purple.

[Runnin_Ute]

Levenger Amethyst 

Akkerman Vorhout Violet 

Lamy Dark Lilac 

Blackstone "Purple Cashmere"

 

[Aelfattrum]

Dusky ones, Rohrer & Klingner Scabiosa and the very similar but non-iron gall Herbin Poussière de Lune.