Private Reserve Black Magic Blue

[girlieg33k]

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http://girlieg33k.googlepages.com/pr-black-magic-blue-tn.jpg

 

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Usual disclaimer: Color representation unfortunately cannot always be accurate due to the use of a scanner, reproduction of the scan in various computer monitors, and variations in pen/paper characteristics.

[dwmatteson]

Thanks for this review, girlieg33k! Black Magic Blue is one of my favorite inks since I picked up a bottle at the Toronto Pen Show. I'm a lefty overwriter, and I don't tend to have many problems with the drying time; I do tend towards fine nibs, so that helps.

 

I'm looking forward to reading through your other reviews. All of your reviews are wonderful -- thanks for taking the time!

 

Don

[scribbler77]

One of my favorites. A bit slow drying, but I use a blotter.

[pingjun]

I have just bought a bottle of this ink last month.

 

A very nice colour.

[James P]

Before I tried Black Magic Blue, I didn't care for "blue-black" inks at all. This is the one that completely changed my opinion and remains my absolute favorite of the genre. It is, in fact, one of my very favorites in the Private Reserve line-up. Although it is similar in many respects to PR's Midnight Blues, this Black Magic Blue has shading qualities that MB lacks. And the color is just ever-so-much more pleasing to my eye.

 

Thanks for the review!

 

James

[I am not a number]

Thanks for the review! I have a bottle of this and it has just bumped up the "Try Me Next" list.

[Keng]

Loaded this ink in my Visconti Van Gogh with F nib , giving a wet luscious line. My fav blue black ink.

 

 

Mike

[Dave Johannsen]

Thank you for posting the review of this wonderful ink, as I have been meaning to get around to doing this since I first started using it. This one is a real performer for me. The ink flows freely in every pen that I've tried, the drying time (though not quick) is reasonable, the ink is remarkably resistant to feathering and bleed through, and the color is quite saturated. Since I got a bottle during a visit to Swisher's store, I have always had a couple of pens inked with it and have plowed through over half the bottle. In fact, this ink has had a considerable effect on my preferences. If you had asked me a little while ago, I would have said that I hate purple'ish blue inks. Now that I've been using the Black Magic Blue for a couple of months, I have really grown to love the color. If you haven't tried this ink, it's a real winner!

 

 

Dave

[penRN]

I just started using this ink. It looks very purple to me. It's got blue too but it's very purple.

 

-----Michael

[Dave Johannsen]

I just started using this ink. It looks very purple to me. It's got blue too but it's very purple.

 

-----Michael

I'm glad to hear that you also see the ink primarily as purple (I tried to indicate that in my comments). From the original review (which said "a true blue, meaning no gray or purple"), I was wondering which of us had the "off batch." It's still currently my favorite ink (and this from someone who was formerly a purple hater), but my bottle is definitely a blue that is strongly shifted to the purple end.

 

 

Dave

Edited December 3, 2007 by Dave Johannsen

[Stephen-I-am]

I just started using this ink. It looks very purple to me. It's got blue too but it's very purple.

 

-----Michael

 

I have to agree. My bottle looks nothing like girlieg33k's scan. Bottle-to-bottle variation, or maybe we're running into the issue some scanners have with in this part of the spectrum? Here's my scan (the fat lines were made with a Q-tip):

 

http://www.theboulets.net/fountainpen/bmb.jpg

 

Stephen

[girlieg33k]

Thanks for posting your scan, Stephen. I'm quite surprised by the difference between your scan to the one I posted. I happen to have the Yard-O-Led Retro still loaded with PR Black Magic Blue, and I have it here in the office. I've been using throughout the day. It's a very dark true blue that leans, in fact, toward blue-black. I see no purple in it at all. Perhaps it is a bottle-to-bottle variation, or it could also be just a matter of personal perception. Colors do appear differently to people, and I see no purple in this ink.

 

 

 

Edited December 3, 2007 by girlieg33k

[Stephen-I-am]

Here's a scan of the PR inks I have on hand. I used Q-tips for all of them, which makes a lighter trace would a fountain pen.

 

http://www.theboulets.net/fountainpen/PR.jpg

 

Stephen

[Taki]

I don't have BMB myself but seen it on snails. I do see a lot of purple in it, too. Don't know how old/new her bottle is, though. Looks like a very nice color either way. girlieg33k, thank you very much for taking time to write up another nice review! I have not replied to your reviews but I enjoy all of them!

Edited December 3, 2007 by Taki

[Viseguy]

I just started using this ink. It looks very purple to me. It's got blue too but it's very purple.

 

-----Michael

 

I have to agree. My bottle looks nothing like girlieg33k's scan. Bottle-to-bottle variation, or maybe we're running into the issue some scanners have with in this part of the spectrum? Here's my scan (the fat lines were made with a Q-tip):

 

http://www.theboulets.net/fountainpen/bmb.jpg

 

Stephen

I gave away my bottle of BMB a couple of years ago, but it looked more like Stephen's scan than like girlieg33k's. The ink was too purplish for my taste.

[girlieg33k]

OK -- When I get home, I'll have to dip test PR BMB with other nibs, because the YOL Retro that I currently have loaded with it does not show any purple. I'm beginning to wonder if it's a bottle-to-bottle variant or if my eyes just do not see purple easily. PR BMB is simply too dark (to me anyway) to have any purple in it. It appears dark blue and even blue-black no matter the paper that I've used so far today...

[KCat]

To me, BMB is smack dab between Tanzanite and Midnight Blues. Like they essentially did a 50:50 mix of the two inks.

 

So yes, I see a good bit of purple in it. I don't see it *as* a purple but as a dark blue with a purple tint. Much like Aurora Blue but without the shading.

 

Now I wanna go play with blues and do swatches.

[chemgeek]

For a true, dark blue, try mixing Midnight Blues and Black Magic Blue in a 1:1 ratio. This "Magic Midnight Mix" is my everyday dark blue ink. The mixture is neither purple (BMB) or greenish (MBlues), but a dark, cobalt-like blue.

 

Cheers.

 

[Stylo]

So yes, I see a good bit of purple in it.

So do I, but I see less of it on girlieg33k's scan than on the Writing Desk samples, where both hints of grey and purple are clearly visible.

 

Perhaps the YOL lays a darker thick line and that makes the purple less noticeable?

 

Much like Aurora Blue but without the shading.

Do you mean that the Aurora shades even more than the BMB scan of girlieg33k?!?

 

 

[Empacherguy]

Here's a scan of the PR inks I have on hand. I used Q-tips for all of them, which makes a lighter trace would a fountain pen.

 

http://www.theboulets.net/fountainpen/PR.jpg

 

Stephen

 

Oddly enough, my own bottled of Tanzanite is flat out purple. Even the label is a purple color. It's a fairly old bottle, to be sure, but I'm curious as to the really big contrast between your scan and what I see. Still it's a great-flowing ink that I like a lot. I only wish mine weren't so out there purple. The Black Magic Blue seems to fall right within my favorite shades, though, so I'll have to pick some up. Midnight Blues is still a big favorite so I'm intrigued with the comparison. Seems a bit much on the bottle variation, however.

 

Thanks

Scott