Ana always comes back from pen shows with goodies for me to try and review, and this time was no exception. When she handed me a bottle of Private Reserve Ink, Infinity Blue (60mL for $25 from Yafa Brands), I was intrigued. This new ink bears the Infinity name because it is developed to virtually never run dry.
We all have pens we fill and then use intermittently. Depending on a variety of factors (the pen, the cap tightness, the specific ink, the climate) that pen may or may not write fluidly the next time you pick it up. Infinity ink has been formulated so that intermittent use, or going “virtually capless” shouldn’t result in hard starts.
This was going to be fun I thought. I filled up my Estie with the Infinity Blue and started my test. Then I did something that felt incredibly wrong: I left the cap off overnight.
When I came back the next morning, I expected the pen to start, right? Well it didn’t exactly. As you can see, after less than 24 hours capless, the pen did not write fluidly to start. I will say that I touched the back of the nib, and the feed to a tissue, and allowed ink to collect there for a few moments. After that, the pen began to write well again. So it didn’t need the full water treatment, but it definitely wasn’t quite ready for capless.
For my next test, I left the cap on, but a little loose (not fully screwed on). When I came back a few days later, I had the same experience.
My final test was leaving the pen uncapped during a meeting (so approximately an hour or so). This was the only time the pen wrote fluidly with no coaxing.
My test is obviously not exhaustive since I only used one pen, but I’d say my results with that one pen are fair to middling. I didn’t have to get up and run water over the nib to get it started, but it didn’t just write the second I picked it up. I expect that it would work well in a pen that you use intermittently that you keep capped, regardless of if the seal were super tight, but I’m not sure I’m ready to go with “it can be virtually cap-off ‘forever’.”
Have you tried this ink? What are your thoughts?
- Paper: Maruman Mnemosyne N182A Inspiration Notebook A5 ($10.50)
- Pen: Esterbrook Estie Lilac ($185)
- Ink: Private Reserve Ink, Infinity Blue (60mL for $25 from Yafa Brands)
DISCLAIMER: Thanks to Yafa Brands for providing us a bottle of Private Reserve Ink in Infinity Blue for review. Please see the About page for more details.