The Well-Appointed Desk

The last ink my “hunt for the perfect purple” is Noodler’s Purple Wampum. While its not the last possible purple ink I could try, I needed to limit my search or I would go broke. Noodler’s fills their bottles to the absolute top so be sure to open them carefully. Alternately, it means that when you buy Noodler’s ink, you definitely get your money’s worth. The bottle hold 3 oz. which is about 88ml for $12.50. Quite the bargain when compared with other inks.

One of the first bottled inks I ever bought was Noodler’s Purple which I found too bright and a little garish. Purple Wampum, however, is a deeper, more complex alternative and more of what I had in mind. Its definitely a purple standing firmly between a reddish hue and a bluish hue making it a true purple rather than a blue violet or reddish purple.

Purple Wampum is probably the closest to the color I was envisioning in my head when I said I was looking for “the perfect purple”. Because the color is a bit wet and dark, there’s not a lot of shading in the writing sample but I was dipping my pen so the color results might be more consistent with the results of a finer nib than the fine italic I was using. It certainly looks lighter in the last few lines with a bit more shading so I think that’s more consistent with the results I suspect I would get with a traditionally filled italic pen.

In my swab sample, there’s a little sheen but in my water tests, there was no hint of other colors in the ink. Its one of the darkest purples I tried but not as dark as the Private Reserve Ebony Purple. Purple Wampum is actually more reddish in comparison to Ebony Purple.

In the end, I’d be hard pressed to choose a favorite among the four purple inks I’ve tried over the last couple weeks. Purple Wampum reminds me of grape juice, Private Reserve Ebony Purple has the most bluish cast and is the darkest, Diamine Damson is the duskiest, and Montblanc Lavender Purple leans furtherest into a reddish purple. So, in the end, the best purple ink is entirely a personal preference. Even I like all of these ink for their subtle variations and will probably discover over time which I like using most in daily writing but they are all great options.

DISCLAIMER: This item was sent to me free of charge by Goldspot Pens for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

Diamine Damson is a purple ink I wanted to try in my hunt for the “perfect purple” and this  was available in a diminutive 30ml mini-bottle for $7.

Diamine Damson is  the smokiest of the purple inks I’ve tried and probably closest to some of the colors I already had in my collection. It is quite similar to the P.W. Akkerman Voorhout Violet and Kaweco Summer Purple. Damson is similar in hue to these but a little bit lighter. Rohrer & Klingner Scabiosa is also quite similar but a little more grey.

Because Damson is a relatively dark color there’s not a ton of shading and there isn’t any sheen I could discern.  The ink dries quickly even though its not specifically quick-dry. Its not water resistant but it I wasn’t expecting it to be. The color has a dusty matte quality when dry.

I’m inclined to like Diamine Damson though its quite similar to other colors in my collection. If you’re in the market for this sort of dusky violet, the fact that Diamine Damson can be purchased in mini bottle makes it a good candidate for trying before investing in a larger bottle.

DISCLAIMER: This item was sent to me free of charge by Goldspot Pens for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.