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Private Reserve Ebony Purple T and 2021 Versions


amberleadavis

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Private Reserve Ebony Purple was one of my favorite inks for it's sheen and great performance. As many of you know, the original ink maker, Terry Johnson and Susan Schube.  Terry passed away in 2013.  This year, @DromgoolesHoustonDromgoole's started carrying the new 2021 versions and I have already compared the old and new versions of PR American Blue.  https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/360001-private-reserve-american-blue-new-and-old/?tab=comments#comment-4427071

 

I'll also be adding some photos so that you can see the sheen.large.1721925102_2021-07-11PrivateReserveEbonyPurple_000.jpg.ba2a3dfb5de5149e93be3235a0e28819.jpg

 

Fountain pens are my preferred COLOR DELIVERY SYSTEM (in part because crayons melt in Las Vegas).

Create a Ghostly Avatar and I'll send you a letter. Check out some Ink comparisons: The Great PPS Comparison 

Don't know where to start?  Look at the Inky Topics O'day.  Then, see inks sorted by color: Blue Purple Brown Red Green Dark Green Orange Black Pinks Yellows Blue-Blacks Grey/Gray UVInks Turquoise/Teal MURKY

 

 

 

 

 

 

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large.392914135_2021-07-11PrivateReserveEbonyPurple_001.jpg.72ade7beba640c88391aebe33cb3cc17.jpglarge.861731084_2021-07-11PrivateReserveEbonyPurple_002.jpg.f6b5b823411f40623276bf365ca51b96.jpglarge.2083892882_2021-07-11PrivateReserveEbonyPurple_003.jpg.6d56949f05e6bcb6c97f5fd2dd2dbadd.jpglarge.262413154_2021-07-11PrivateReserveEbonyPurple_004.jpg.c6c2d6705a619af80ed708b5d63498f5.jpglarge.1240998843_2021-07-11PrivateReserveEbonyPurple_005.jpg.d7e12f09e3ae3c02da639734047658ff.jpglarge.2126602031_2021-07-11PrivateReserveEbonyPurple_006.jpg.e8a8d4b5468eb9252e1785336c8db158.jpg

Fountain pens are my preferred COLOR DELIVERY SYSTEM (in part because crayons melt in Las Vegas).

Create a Ghostly Avatar and I'll send you a letter. Check out some Ink comparisons: The Great PPS Comparison 

Don't know where to start?  Look at the Inky Topics O'day.  Then, see inks sorted by color: Blue Purple Brown Red Green Dark Green Orange Black Pinks Yellows Blue-Blacks Grey/Gray UVInks Turquoise/Teal MURKY

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Here is the "T" version - as in when Terry made it - back when I first bought it. large.PR-Ebony_Purple.jpg.053ff9772ce2af301da89be7835e408f.jpglarge.2014-Ink_584-PR_Ebony_Purple.jpg.e6cab5004c371ec1c6bdf3a706ad258f.jpg

Fountain pens are my preferred COLOR DELIVERY SYSTEM (in part because crayons melt in Las Vegas).

Create a Ghostly Avatar and I'll send you a letter. Check out some Ink comparisons: The Great PPS Comparison 

Don't know where to start?  Look at the Inky Topics O'day.  Then, see inks sorted by color: Blue Purple Brown Red Green Dark Green Orange Black Pinks Yellows Blue-Blacks Grey/Gray UVInks Turquoise/Teal MURKY

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Thanks for doing this.

I have a bottle of old version Ebony Purple, but I'm thinking that the new formulation is maybe even better looking.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

ETA:  Although I'm not sure I'd call it "purple"....

"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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4 minutes ago, amberleadavis said:

Here is the "T" version - as in when Terry made it - back when I first bought it. large.PR-Ebony_Purple.jpg.053ff9772ce2af301da89be7835e408f.jpglarge.2014-Ink_584-PR_Ebony_Purple.jpg.e6cab5004c371ec1c6bdf3a706ad258f.jpg

 

This looks definitively purple.  Is it my screen, or is the new version much bluer?

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21 minutes ago, inkstainedruth said:

Thanks for doing this.

I have a bottle of old version Ebony Purple, but I'm thinking that the new formulation is maybe even better looking.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

ETA:  Although I'm not sure I'd call it "purple"....

 

I'm going to ask @ErrantSmudge to take some photos when he acquires the papers.  I already sealed the envelope and forgot to take photos to see if we have any sheen.

 

16 minutes ago, ENewton said:

 

This looks definitively purple.  Is it my screen, or is the new version much bluer?

 

The newer version is definitely less black.  The "T" version has become "difficult" - it is no longer the problem free ink of the past. The ignition troubles could be a result of age (not all inks can last forever), or it could have been a problem with a new pen.  I'm going to try the inks again and get a better feel for it. 

Fountain pens are my preferred COLOR DELIVERY SYSTEM (in part because crayons melt in Las Vegas).

Create a Ghostly Avatar and I'll send you a letter. Check out some Ink comparisons: The Great PPS Comparison 

Don't know where to start?  Look at the Inky Topics O'day.  Then, see inks sorted by color: Blue Purple Brown Red Green Dark Green Orange Black Pinks Yellows Blue-Blacks Grey/Gray UVInks Turquoise/Teal MURKY

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Here are the splatters from the paper towel when I filled both pens.

 

large.PXL_20210712_023205859.jpg.3df610d74b7b41393c13f86338eaba8e.jpglarge.PXL_20210712_023159330.jpg.bab3329cba1115aa17e1c1a5738c31c9.jpg

Fountain pens are my preferred COLOR DELIVERY SYSTEM (in part because crayons melt in Las Vegas).

Create a Ghostly Avatar and I'll send you a letter. Check out some Ink comparisons: The Great PPS Comparison 

Don't know where to start?  Look at the Inky Topics O'day.  Then, see inks sorted by color: Blue Purple Brown Red Green Dark Green Orange Black Pinks Yellows Blue-Blacks Grey/Gray UVInks Turquoise/Teal MURKY

 

 

 

 

 

 

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As you can see the new one has a blue halo - the old one does not.

Fountain pens are my preferred COLOR DELIVERY SYSTEM (in part because crayons melt in Las Vegas).

Create a Ghostly Avatar and I'll send you a letter. Check out some Ink comparisons: The Great PPS Comparison 

Don't know where to start?  Look at the Inky Topics O'day.  Then, see inks sorted by color: Blue Purple Brown Red Green Dark Green Orange Black Pinks Yellows Blue-Blacks Grey/Gray UVInks Turquoise/Teal MURKY

 

 

 

 

 

 

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15 minutes ago, ENewton said:

 

This looks definitively purple.  Is it my screen, or is the new version much bluer?

It looks a lot more blue/indigo to me as well.  

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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You might want to add a little water to the T version... I find sometimes when inks age, even in the bottle, some water tends to evaporate over the years, and the ink becomes over-saturated... Adding water then does help.

a fountain pen is physics in action... Proud member of the SuperPinks

fpn_1425200643__fpn_1425160066__super_pi

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Thanks for the comparison. The new version looks almost blue back to me.  Is that correct? 

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2 hours ago, yazeh said:

Thanks for the comparison. The new version looks almost blue back to me.  Is that correct? 

 

Regarding blueness: I have writing from when I got a fill of the old version from an office mate, and I'm looking at it next to the writing of my current version, which is from the new version. The new version is definitely bluer, but it doesn't look like a blue-black to me. When the purple is visible, it looks like a blurple not a blue. But it is certainly office-usable. It's quite dark, and could pass for blue-black.

 

Regarding flow issues: My notes from the previous version say 'It's a little cloggy--more than  anight unused requiers some work to get it started the next day, and it will cause hard starts after a few dozen seconds uncapped, but apparently I'm willing to put up with that. Once it's going it does flow beautifully and wetly.' This was from October 2015, and it was in a Pilot Metropolitan, which is usually very good for keeping inks ready to flow after periods of disuse, so I suspect that Amber's flow problems are original, not necessarily the result of disuse.

 

Regarding sheen: I don't see any hint of sheen on my TRP or Cosmo Air Light papers with the new version. Alas. But I still really like it. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 7/11/2021 at 7:36 PM, inkstainedruth said:

It looks a lot more blue/indigo to me as well.  

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

On 7/11/2021 at 7:57 PM, mhguda said:

You might want to add a little water to the T version... I find sometimes when inks age, even in the bottle, some water tends to evaporate over the years, and the ink becomes over-saturated... Adding water then does help.

 

Good idea. I dipped the pen, but didn't do any dilution. Also, it was a brand new pen so that could have been the issue.

 

On 7/12/2021 at 2:44 AM, yazeh said:

Thanks for the comparison. The new version looks almost blue back to me.  Is that correct? 

 

That is probably a problem with the scanner. It is purple black.  Or Blurple-black.

 

On 7/12/2021 at 5:09 AM, Ergative said:

 

Regarding blueness: I have writing from when I got a fill of the old version from an office mate, and I'm looking at it next to the writing of my current version, which is from the new version. The new version is definitely bluer, but it doesn't look like a blue-black to me. When the purple is visible, it looks like a blurple not a blue. But it is certainly office-usable. It's quite dark, and could pass for blue-black.

 

Regarding flow issues: My notes from the previous version say 'It's a little cloggy--more than  anight unused requiers some work to get it started the next day, and it will cause hard starts after a few dozen seconds uncapped, but apparently I'm willing to put up with that. Once it's going it does flow beautifully and wetly.' This was from October 2015, and it was in a Pilot Metropolitan, which is usually very good for keeping inks ready to flow after periods of disuse, so I suspect that Amber's flow problems are original, not necessarily the result of disuse.

 

Regarding sheen: I don't see any hint of sheen on my TRP or Cosmo Air Light papers with the new version. Alas. But I still really like it. 

 

 

OOO, I'd love to see some pictures.

Fountain pens are my preferred COLOR DELIVERY SYSTEM (in part because crayons melt in Las Vegas).

Create a Ghostly Avatar and I'll send you a letter. Check out some Ink comparisons: The Great PPS Comparison 

Don't know where to start?  Look at the Inky Topics O'day.  Then, see inks sorted by color: Blue Purple Brown Red Green Dark Green Orange Black Pinks Yellows Blue-Blacks Grey/Gray UVInks Turquoise/Teal MURKY

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Thanks so much for this comparison. I have a tiny bit of the old PREP version and now, three bottles of the new! I didn't realize how much larger the new bottles are - I certainly won't run out anytime soon, even though this is a favourite ink. The old version does seem blacker - but as mentioned above, it could be that there was some evaporation. Certainly the new Ebony Purple is a gorgeous ink. 

"Life would split asunder without letters." Virginia Woolf

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7 hours ago, amberleadavis said:

OOO, I'd love to see some pictures.

 

I'll see if I can take some side-by-side photos and post them later today.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 7/20/2021 at 11:45 PM, Ergative said:

 

I'll see if I can take some side-by-side photos and post them later today.

 

Thank you!

Fountain pens are my preferred COLOR DELIVERY SYSTEM (in part because crayons melt in Las Vegas).

Create a Ghostly Avatar and I'll send you a letter. Check out some Ink comparisons: The Great PPS Comparison 

Don't know where to start?  Look at the Inky Topics O'day.  Then, see inks sorted by color: Blue Purple Brown Red Green Dark Green Orange Black Pinks Yellows Blue-Blacks Grey/Gray UVInks Turquoise/Teal MURKY

 

 

 

 

 

 

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  • 3 months later...

While I've never used the old formulation, I did recently acquire a new bottle of PR Ebony Purple and it is a delightful ink! Wet flow, works well enough on the copy paper in my office, and the color is gorgeously dark- when scrutinized, definitely a purple with a *slight* blueish tinge but not at all what I'd consider a blurple. 

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I also recently bought PR Ebony Purple after trying a sample and absolutely loving the color - black but still purple (but in the blue hues more than the red). And a SUPER WET ink, but perfect for the older EF pens I had acquired (I generally buy, or bought rather, :)  new pens in M nibs). Unfortunately, I ended up tossing the entire large jar of ink because I didn't trust it. I had noticed an odd but not obviously unpleasant chemical smell when I first opened the bottle, but as it was my first time using PR, I didn't know if that was the normal smell or not. There was also a slight film on the top of the liquid, like an oil slick but very thin. About a month or so later when I went to ink another pen, the 'oil slick' had developed green flakes and there seemed to be a dried film around the edges of the opening. I decided I didn't want to risk it in my pens, so I dumped the ink out and threw it away. There was definitely sludge at the bottom of the jar.

 

I've only been using fountain pens since last year, so I don't have a lot of experience with inks. Started out with the 'safe' Waterman inks and branched out from there. I'm wondering if this is normal for this ink (pigmented maybe? I never checked) and I wasted a whole bottle, or if this was definitely a case of an ink gone bad? I would definitely like to use this ink because the color is so gorgeously not quite black, but I don't know if I just had a bad experience or if this is an ink I can't leave in my pens because of potential clogs. Anybody know more?

Co-founded the Netherlands Pen Club. DM me if you would like to know about our meetups and join our Discord!

 

Currently attempting to collect the history of Diplomat pens.

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