The Well-Appointed Desk

Inspired by Kenouni Renoshin‘s suggestion that I do more ink reviews, I give to you the first day of the 12 Days of Inkmas. Cheers!

On the fifth day of Inkmas, while I do not have five gold rings, I do have Private Reserve Ebony Blue. This is also another of the colors from the December Ink Drop in honor of Private Reserve founder Terry Johnson. And this is in my favorite color wheelhouse, for sure.

I just love blue-black inks. Do I want blue? Do I want black? I get both! Blue-blacks are the Missouri Compromise of inks. They are the “business in the front, party in the rear” of inks. While I’m not a fan of an actual mullet, blue-black inks are a whole other story. I love them. And Private Reserve Ebony Blue is no exception.

Private Reserve Ebony Blue is a blue black with an unusual burgundy undertone. In the large painted letters, you might be able to see a hint of this undertone in the capital E and around the edges in the swab.

My favorite blue-blacks (up to this point) are Noodler’s Air Corp blue-black 3oz/88ml ($12.50),  Noodler’s Navy 3oz/88ml ($12.50), and I sort of put De Atramentis Pigeon Blue 35ml ($12.50) in this category even though its more of a blue-turquoise. But P.R. Ebony Blue is racing up the list. That undertone is such a nice added detail.

There’s a bit of shading in Ebony Blue and a reasonable dry time. I confess I’m all about the color, I’ll find the perfect pen and paper for the right color and this is definitely one of those “right colors” for me. I’m thinking I better go watch Dazed and Confused now to douse all the mullet jokes.

Private Reserve Ebony Blue is sold in 50ml bottles for $8.80.

The samples above were written with a TWSBI Mini EF fountain pen in the Quo Vadis Habana bright white, blank notebook. Dry times will vary depending on paper stock. Comparison samples were written using a steel dip nib with a bit of flex which causes some of the more liquidy inks, like De Atramentis, to run a bit. They are included for color comparison. Best efforts were made to achieve color accuracy but the limitations of camera, lighting and individual monitor calibrations may alter the final look. For best results, order a sample of the ink color you like best and try it before you invest in a whole bottle.

Inspired by Kenouni Renoshin‘s suggestion that I do more ink reviews, I give to you the first day of the 12 Days of Inkmas. Cheers!

On the fourth day of Inkmas, Goulet Pens brought to me… Private Reserve Black Cherry! This is also another of the colors from the December Ink Drop in honor of Private Reserve founder Terry Johnson.

I would best describe this ink as a red-black. It is not the least bit purple or pink that might make it feel more like a burgundy or bordeaux, wine color. In the water test, you can clearly see the red undertone. If anything, I might also describe the color as a brownish red.

As with all the Private Reserve inks the flow is consistent. I’d compare the ink density more closely with Diamine than any other ink I’ve tested. I had no issues with dry time but since I was doing big swabs, and painting and adding water — those areas did take a bit longer to dry than the areas where I was just writing. Paper choices will also affect dry times.

As soon as I put the Black Cherry ink to paper, I thought it reminded be of Noodler’s Black Swan in Australian Roses 3 oz/88ml ($12.50) though once compared, Black Swan has more of a purple undertone. De Atramentis Elderberries 35ml ($12.50) and Diamine Merlot 80ml ($12.75) were also similar (though its hard to tell from these photos to see any distinct differences). Overall, I really like P.R. Black Cherry. It reminds me more of a Cherry Cola. I quite like Noodler’s Black Swan in Australian Roses and De Atramentis Elderberries which are all subtly different from one another but all in the red-black family so it’ll be tough to choose which one to buy as a full bottle.

I’ve added screen shots from the Goulet Pens Swab Shop as its a bit easier to see the color comparisons. Thanks to Goulet for making all these resources.

Private Reserve Black Cherry is sold in 50ml bottles for $8.80.

The samples above were written with a TWSBI Mini EF fountain pen in the Quo Vadis Habana bright white, blank notebook. Dry times will vary depending on paper stock. Comparison samples were written using a steel dip nib with a bit of flex which causes some of the more liquidy inks, like De Atramentis, to run a bit. They are included for color comparison. Best efforts were made to achieve color accuracy but the limitations of camera, lighting and individual monitor calibrations may alter the final look. For best results, order a sample of the ink color you like best and try it before you invest in a whole bottle.

Inspired by Kenouni Renoshin‘s suggestion that I do more ink reviews, I give to you the second day of the 12 Days of Inkmas. Cheers!

Private Reserve DC Supershow Blue was part of the December Ink Drop from Goulet Pens. This month, the sample assortment included eight different colors from Private Reserve, favorites of the staff at Goulet in memory of the creator of Private Reserve, Terry Johnson.

Supershow Blue is named after the well-known pen show held in the nation’s capital each year. Its crisp true blue color and its name make me think of flags and uniforms and patriotic red, white and blue. There’s some shading in the color, even with a fine nib and it writes smoothly.

Colors closest in comparison (in my collection anyway) would be the Diamine Washable Blue 80 ml ($12.75) or the Pilot Iroshizuku Tsuyu-Kusa 50 ml ($28). For the price, DC Supershow Blue is a good value.

Dry times were acceptable. The ink did not hold up in my water test.

Private Reserve DC Supershow Blue is sold in 50ml bottles for $8.80 each.

The samples above were written with a TWSBI Mini EF fountain pen in the Quo Vadis Habana bright white, blank notebook. Dry times will vary depending on paper stock. Comparison samples were written using a steel dip nib with a bit of flex which causes some of the more liquidy inks, like De Atramentis, to run a bit. They are included for color comparison. Best efforts were made to achieve color accuracy but the limitations of camera, lighting and individual monitor calibrations may alter the final look. For best results, order a sample of the ink color you like best and try it before you invest in a whole bottle.