This is the third in this series of ink reviews, for Cult Pens Deep Dark Purple.

For a description of the bottle and box, please see the review of Diamine Crimson ink and for the Cult Pens variants please the review of Cult Pens Deep Dark Blue ink. In this case there were no labels on the box or the bottle cap. The sole supplier is Cult Pens and the ink is low priced.

The test pen in this instance was the Pilot Metropolitan Violet Leopard with a medium nib.

Water resistance was almost non-existent – only a few faint lines were left under running water and water droplets completely obliterated the lines. Cleaning was easy and the drying time for Cult Pens Deep Dark Purple was one of the lowest for this series at around 30 seconds.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

On this paper performance is good and the ink dries to an attractive dark purple, which I described in the notes as aubergine but blackberry or blackcurrant purple would be equally appropriate.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

Still okay on this paper and the spread doesn’t dilute the colour much.

Yellow Post-It

This paper gives a good contrast and really brings out the purple.

Field Notes – Pitch Black

This is a good result on this challenging paper.

Mnemosyne Word Card

The shading comes out here, as does a green sheen which is not evident in the writing samples.

Cult Pens Deep Dark Purple – Conclusion

This is the best overall performer so far in this series on the most challenging papers. I also like the colour, but maybe not as much as Deep Dark Red or Deep Dark Blue. A really good ink.

[flickr_tags user_id=”49365066@N07″ tags=”cultpensdeepdarkpurple”]

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The sixth in this batch of ink reviews is for Kaweco Summer Purple.

This ink was supplied free of charge by Kaweco. I was not paid to write the review, which is my honest assessment of the ink, and is not influenced by the fact it was supplied free of charge.

All the comments that I made regarding the bottle, box and cost of the ink in my Kaweco Pearl Black Ink Review apply to this case too, so I shall not repeat them here. The only difference in this case is that the front and top labels have white text on green, matching the colour of the ink.

The test pen in this case was a yellow Pilot Prera Green with a medium nib.

Water resistance was almost nil – only faint grey lines were left after holding a writing sample under running water, and text was obliterated by water drops. Cleaning was easy..

The drying time was very fast at around 10 seconds.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

The ink was a little on the dry side, but performance was okay over. The problem is I don’t like the colour.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

Still a little dry, but okay overall.

Yellow Post-It

Coverage and flow were okay.

Field Notes – Pitch Black

Good performance on this paper.

Mnemosyne Word Card

The swab makes this ink look much darker and more saturated. If it was like this in the writing samples I would be happy. This suggests the drier flow may be a factor in the writing samples.

An updated image of the Word Card is here:

Conclusion

The name “Summer Purple” prompted another search on Google, as it’s not not really a term that I have come across before. The search results showed something much darker, which I found quite appealing (more of an aubergine, plum or deep mauve), quite close to the Word Card swab. So maybe this ink would have fared better in a wetter pen. I may give that a try at a later date, but for the time being the ink didn’t impress me too much. However, as with the other Kaweco inks, if you like the colour and the price then give it a try.

[flickr_tags user_id=”49365066@N07″ tags=”kawecosummerpurple”]

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The next of this batch of ink reviews is for Noodler’s Purple Heart, a Goulet Exclusive ink.

This ink is named after the after the medal awarded to serving U.S. military personnel who are injured or killed. The label depicts George Washington awarding the Badge of Military Merit to soldiers, as shown in a painting by H. Charles McBarron. The label also provides a close up of the Purple Heart and the Badge of Military Merit, along with an eel – a clue that this ink is in fact one of the Eel Series, although none of my tests really show that property.

I have not seen the real medal, only images on the web and on the bottle label, but the colour of the ink doesn’t really appear to be identical to that used in the medal, although it is very close. The medal tends towards a bluer shade of purple, while the ink tends towards red (almost grape).

The supplier in this case is obviously the Goulet Pen Company.

The ink was part of a larger order, so shipping was combined and can’t be quantified just for the ink. Putting shipping costs aside this would a low cost ink.

The 3oz bottle and box were the standard fare. The test pen was a Yellow Pilot Prera with a medium nib.

There was some water resistance and cleaning was easy. The drying time was moderate at around 30 seconds.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

This a serious, deep purple ink, so is in the colour range that I like, along with some nice shading. I didn’t experience any problems on Rhodia paper.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

Another good writing experience. Checking the writings samples again the shading looks the same as on Rhodia paper.

Yellow Post-It

The colour was a little less saturated and coverage was not so good, but the experience was still okay overall.

Field Notes – Pitch Black

This was one of the best performing inks on this paper so far – not up to the standards of “normal” paper, but a quite satisfactory experience all the same.

Mnemosyne Word Card

The Word Card really shows off the deep saturation and serious tone of this ink.

Conclusion

This is an attractive purple ink that performs well, suitable for personal note taking. It will feature in my rotation in the future.

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This is the first in the next batch of ink reviews (all Noodler’s again). The delay has been a little longer than expected – sorry about that. This is a shading ink, designed to show a wide range of colour variation, including the “Black Swan”. I bought this bottle in June and is the older (less purple) formulation, since it appears to be identical to a sample I bought a year ago.

There is a video on YouTube which describes both the shading and the label, so I won’t repeat that information here:

The 3oz bottle was from my favoured Ebay supplier, so I would describe the price as moderate again. The bottle and box are the usual types. The test pen was a Pilot Metropolitan Violet Leopard with a medium nib..

The was some water resistance, although the different dyes clearly have different levels of water resistance. Cleaning was easy enough, but it did have to take a little more care with the feed as there was a dark sooty deposit – the kind I associate more with many black inks. Drying time was about 30 seconds.

As this is specifically a shading ink, I tried to test this with some flex pens so that I could upload the results. However I couldn’t produce anything that adequately exhibited these properties. The Word Card sample didn’t really show it off the possible range either, so I tried playing around with a cotton bud and a Ryman Memo Block sheet, and got something that’s a bit more interesting:

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

I’ve written before than I either like my purples to be bright and bold, or dark and brooding. This ink doesn’t really fall into either category, so it is a little bland for. The shading on this paper with this pen doesn’t really stand out either. The slightly dry behaviour tempts me to try it ink the Pilot Capless when it next needs refilling.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

The results are very similar to Rhodia paper.

Yellow Post-It

The performance was okay, but I would normally expect purple inks to stand out on a yellow Post-It – and it didn’t in this case.

Field Notes – Pitch Black

[Update 21/09/2014 – the original review incorrectly inked to a scan of Noodler’s Black Swan in English Roses – sorry about that. This has now been corrected.]

This actually wasn’t too bad at all compared to many other inks, maybe the slightly drier behaviour helped.

Mnemosyne Word Card

The swatch clearly shows the wine coloured tint, but only hints at the shading this ink is capable of.

An updated image of the Word Card is here:

Conclusion

Once combined with the right pen this could be a stunning ink, as shown by the shading sample. However, in a standard pen it’s a little too bland for me. The new formulation looks closer to the type of purple I like, so I may give that one a try when the opportunity arises.

[flickr_tags user_id=”49365066@N07″ tags=”noodlersblackswaninaustralianroses”]

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For the next in this batch of ink reviews we have another with a French name – Noodler’s La Reine Mauve – which also links to aristocracy and revolution. This is an “Eternal” ink with features to defeat forgery. Unlike other similar inks I have tested recently I could actually see myself writing a cheque with this one.

According to its label, this ink is also “guillotine proof”, but that doesn’t form part of my test suite, so I cannot confirm this property. Apparently Marie Antoinette loved purple, so she is depicted (decapitated) on the hand drawn label, offering a plate of cake to what looks like a possum hanging from a tree and a large purple catfish. It’s a strange image, so I won’t dwell on it any more.

This bottle came from a US supplier (not my usual Ebay store) and picked up higher than usual shipping charges. Coupled with the fact it comes in a 1oz bottle (for the usual price of a 3oz bottle) I have to class this ink as expensive.

The dinky 1oz bottle still has the same cap and neck associated with a 3oz bottle, so filling a pen is not a problem. The box is a scaled down version of the usual black line art on white box (but with less detail).

The test pen was a Pilot MR (medium nib).

Water resistance was very strong. Cleaning was difficult – it took a lot to shift the last traces of the ink especially from the feed – where it seemed to have partially congealed. Dry time was extended at about a minute.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

This is a truly beautiful ink, with a colour that I would describe a stormy violet purple. On this paper it is very dark. The main problem is the weird ink flow – varying from on the dry side to almost too heavy, giving an unpredictable line width.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

Ink flow on this paper was better and more consistent – but with a tendency to spread, giving too thick a line.

Yellow Post-It

Flow was erratic again, skipping completely at the start, which along with feathering didn’t give a satisfactory experience.

Field Note – Pitch Black

Heavy feathering and bleed – again not good.

Mnemosyne Word Card

This image really shows the deeply saturated purple, but leans slightly more towards blue than in reality.

Conclusion

The fantastic colour (along with the waterproof properties) made me really want to like this ink. The higher than normal price doesn’t really put me off – it’s the erratic ink flow. I will try it in other pens when times allows, but only ones that are easy to clean. I can’t see it being a daily use ink until I can find a suitable pen.

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I don’t know if this is the real reason that this Noodler’s ink is called “Socrates”, but in Book IV of Plato’s Republic, Socrates states that purple is the most beautiful colour. Google, you are a wonderful thing – without you I would not have made that connection.

This is one of Nooodler’s Eternal inks, supposedly resistant to attacks by forgers. The ink was purchased from a UK supplier, priced at £12.50 for a 3oz bottle, so I would still consider it modestly priced.

The box and bottle hold no surprises. The label depicts The Death of Socrates, as painted by Jacques-Louis David.

“David – The Death of Socrates” by Jacques-Louis David – http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/436105. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

The test pen in this case was a yellow Pilot Prera, providing and interesting contrast with the ink.

Not surprisingly for an eternal ink, water resistance was excellent. Cleaning was more difficult than usual, and pen flush did help. The drying time was a little extended at around 30 seconds.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

I’ll get it over with now – I don’t like this ink. The colour really doesn’t do anything for me – I like purple inks to either be so bright so they pop off the page, or saturated and intense. This ink is too bland and subdued. It’s dry behavior could be useful for taming an overly wet pen, but why bother if I don’t like the colour?

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

Writing on this paper was so dry as to be almost uncomfortable.

Yellow Post-It

Dry again, with poor coverage – the colour doesn’t even give a bold contrast with the paper.

Field Note – Pitch Black

One of the better performers on this paper – but still feels very dry.

Mnemosyne Word Card

Washed out and leaning toward magenta – really not my thing.

Conclusion

While the eternal properties are a positive, I suppose the flipside is the difficulty cleaning the ink out of the pen. This is one of the driest inks I have tried so far, which coupled with the bland colour means I won’t be in a rush to use it again.

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This Noodler’s ink is part of the V-Mail series, which I understand to be a recreation of a number of vintage inks.

I like blue inks that lean towards violet, but this was the first ink I bought which described itself as such. There is some inconsistency though in the use of the term “violet” – which is often used interchangeably with “purple”. I refer to the Wikipedia entry , which puts violet between purple and blue, but this ink leans more to blue even than the Wikipedia example of colour-wheel violet.

This was another Ebay purchase from the US, so with shipping it worked out to be moderately priced. The ink came in the generously filled 3oz bottle, inside the usual white box with black line art. The label has the silhouette images of WWII planes along with what I take to be flags of the Allied forces – although to my shame I don’t recognise a couple of them.

The pen used for this review was a Pilot Metropolitan Violet Leopard with a medium nib, and the colour matches the ink perfectly. This is currently the only true Metropolitan that I own. It had two drawbacks for the purposes of this review. Firstly it was fitted with a CON 20 converter, which made it hard to check for staining – I will use a CON 50 for future tests. Secondly try as I might I could not remove the nib and feed for cleaning. All my Pilot MRs come apart easily and I can’t find any reference to the nib unit being sealed on any other Pilot Metropolitans, so either this is a faulty pen, one of a limited number with sealed nib units, or I’m just not using enough force – but I didn’t feel safe using any more. This is not enough to put me off using it for ink reviews in the future, but I need to take this into account when considering ease of cleaning with inks.

In fact I didn’t experience any problems cleaning out this ink. Dry time time was around 30 seconds which is on the longer side. Water resistance was good, although not 100% – some of the ink did wash away or cause smudging with water drops.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

The colour on this paper was a very attractive, deep saturated violet – an instant favourite. Flow was slightly restricted, and there were a few hard starts, but nothing remotely unsatisfactory. The smell might bother others, but not me.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

Another pleasant experience. I can’t think of anything negative.

Yellow Post-It

Minor skipping over the adhesive areas, but not enough to put me off. The contrast with the paper colour is strikingly attractive to me.

Field Notes – Pitch Black

The feathering and bleeding weren’t good. While I’ve seen worse I can’t claim it’s satisfactory.

Mnemosyne Word Card

If anything the Word Card appears slightly lighter than the handwriting tests – the darker parts of the swab are closer to the deeply saturated violet that I really like.

Conclusion

I really like this ink, and I can see it forming a regular part of my rotation. Definitely one to restock when the time comes.

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