Private Reserve Ebony Purple Ink Review

A month ago, I finally signed up for Ink Drop from Goulet Pens. My first sample was "safe for work," meaning they were all reserved and dark colors that wouldn't call much attention in the office. The one that caught my interest first out of the bunch was Ebony Purple by Private Reserve. I thought a dark purple would look great as an everyday writing ink, so I inked it up in a Lamy Vista that was nearby.

I have to admit, I was a little disappointed by just how deep and dark the ink is – I struggle to see the purple when I'm writing. I normally have to hold it up to a light to see purple showing through in the lighter areas of the pen strokes. Despite that, it's a great ink that performs well. Let's get into the details.

This ink flows super smooth – very well lubricated. My Lamy Vista is normally a bit scratchy with other inks, but it's surprisingly smooth with this ink. There's a minor (very minor) amount of shading if you're using a broader nib. Obviously, you can get the best shading if you're using a calligraphy or flex nib, but in my fine Vista, it's hardly noticeable. If you're a big fan of inks that shade beautifully, this one won't please you. The ink does surprisingly well on cheap paper, barely feathering at all. I was impressed by this because I expected it to feather quite a bit because of how dark and smooth it is.

Dry time is a bit of a problem. I gauge it at somewhere between 25 and 30 seconds to completely dry, so this ink is probably out for most lefties. I'm a righty, and I still end up smudging the line above where I'm writing. Dry time is definitely slow with this one.

Cleaning the ink out of a pen is a cinch. No complaints here – it's a pretty easy ink to clean.

The saturation of this ink is incredible, and I think the name they chose is a literal interpretation. It really is ebony in color and the purple is an after-thought. Personally, I'd like to see more purple, but that's not really a problem with the ink – it's just personal preference.

If you like subtle inks that don't stray from the standard colors, this is a good one to try. Like I said, most people will have to look pretty closely to notice the purple, and it's fun when you finally do notice. But it certainly isn't distracting, which is why it's safe for an office environment.

Overall, I wasn't really excited by this ink just because of how dark it is, but I'm certainly interested in trying more inks from Private Reserve. This ink behaves admirably, and if the rest of their line is similar, that's really good news. Now, on to try the other ink samples before the next batch comes in!

Montblanc JFK Navy Blue Ink Review

One of the readers of this blog is an ink junkie. I know this because I have received some of the most interesting, hard to find, limited, and discontinued ink samples in my mailbox from him. Sometimes I get the heads up, and sometimes, as was the case with this Montblanc JFK Navy Blue, they just show up.

I’m glad it did too, because this is a pretty great ink. While it isn’t marketed as blue black, one stroke with it makes it clear that it is. The blue is deep, with nice grey undertones. It’s by no means a pure dark blue, which is what I would think an ink named navy blue would dictate.

It reminds me a lot of Pilot Iroshizuku Shin-kai not just in the way it looks, but in the way it shades and the way it performs. There is so much sublte character with inks like these and I think that is why I fall for them. To the naked eye they look like a normal business ink, but upon closer inspection there is a depth and uniqueness you don’t see in any blue ink.

I used up two fills from the sample vial before I went on the hunt to order some for my own stash. It’s a limited edition so you will have to poke around a little bit, but it shouldn’t be too hard to come by. I ordered mine from Fahrney’s Pens, which worked out swimmingly.

One note on the written review below: I used Tomoe River paper, and while it is flat out amazing for dailiy use, it’s not the best for reviews. It crinkles a bit, which manifests itself in odd lighting and shadows, and takes forever to dry, so dry time tests are invalid. I realized all of this once I was done, so after one other review that is already complete I will be moving my ink reviews back to a more standard paper.

Sailor Jentle Yama-dori Ink Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

Back in July, I reviewed Noodler's Turquoise and came away with an urge to try more blue-green inks. So, here we are — I picked up a bottle of Sailor Jentle Yama-dori on Brad's recommendation. He seems to know a thing or two about good inks, so I figured I couldn't go wrong. Turns out, I really enjoy blue-green inks, and I especially enjoy Yama-dori.

If you listen to the podcast much at all, you'll pick up on a trend with Brad's ink tastes (or just look at the Top 5 lists) — he loves some blue-black inks. I like a good blue-black just fine, but some of them get so close to black that I don't end up using them very often. I like the flare and unique colors of some blue-blacks, but it seems like most are too dark for my tastes. That's where Yama-dori comes in. It's a fairly dark ink, but it's blue-green, shades beautifully, and has a red sheen. It's a delightful ink.

From a standard ink perspective, this is a very well-behaved ink. It dries relatively fast (just after 5 seconds for me in a medium nib), doesn't bleed through, doesn't feather much on cheap paper and not at all on premium paper, and cleans out easily. What really sets this ink apart for me is the color, shading, and confusing red sheen. Yep, red sheen in a blue-green ink. I can't begin to explain how that works, but it's fascinating to watch the pooled up ink give off a red color in certain lights. It looks as if someone wrote some lines with a medium blue-green ink and then came back with a red highlighter to fill in the darker parts later. It's unique, and I love it.

Now, I don't know about you, but I don't know much about pheasants. I don't think I've ever seen one in person. When Sailor calls this ink "copper pheasant," I'm not really sure what to think because I don't know whether pheasants are copper or not. After a quick search, I landed on the green pheasant that's native to Japan. Take a look at the male plumage and take a guess at why Sailor named this ink after it. Pretty obvious, right? Dark green, brilliant blue, and shiny red feathers.

If you want an ink that looks professional but has a unique color, Yama-dori is a great color and behaves well. Personally, ever since I've gotten this ink it's always been in at least one pen. I love the blue-green colors because they're brilliant when you look closely under the light. Yet, it's mild and dark enough to be perfectly legible and professional. It has a royal, mysterious feel to it, and I can't get enough of it.

50 mL of the ink will run $20, which is the normal price for the Sailor Jentle line. The bottle (like the other Sailor bottles) has a nifty cone inset that allows you to easily draw up ink even when the ink level gets a bit low. Also, Sailor gets major points in this bottle design because the mouth of the bottle is extra wide. It's frustrating to get a new ink only to find that your favorite pen is too fat to get into the bottle. Well done, Sailor.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)