A tale of two Purples--Now with Pics!

[beaker606]

Hello All.

 

I have recently received some ink samples from James at Peartree and thought I’d share my first impressions of the pair of pretty purples in my packet. I received Private Reserve’s Purple Mojo and Noodler’s Concord Bream. Both are relatively new inks to the market. I thought that the Concord Bream would be my dream purple based on the color swatches on the web. I am very glad, however, that at the last moment I included Purple Mojo.

 

*(scan was supposed to go here, but I guess the upload feature only lets you add it to the end)*

 

First the Concord Bream. This ink is a pastel purple bordering on water color. It is the purple of lilac blooms and little girl’s Easter Sunday dresses. It is the purple of those horrid spiced jelly beans your grandmother used to keep in a bowl but you ate anyway because, hey, free jelly beans. It is a pale, though not lifeless, shadow of purple. There is some shading and the ink is beautiful in its own way—but it is not for me. A fine ink if pastels are what you are looking for.

 

Purple Mojo, on the other hand, is a solid, dark, opaque purple—the kind of purple you would use to teach your children what purple is. It is the purple of Royalty, of grape jelly. It is the purple Barney the Dinosaur should have been. It is the purple that makes men sweat.

 

I definitely have a favorite.

 

Both flow nice and wet from my cheapo Wing Sung 612 fine point pens. The Purple Mojo took a few moments to dry, but I did not have smearing problems once it was dry. The Concord Bream had barest hint of feathering but dried rather quickly. However, I should also mention that I have only used these inks in one model of pen and on the cheapest of Mead-knock-off-composition-notebook-paper.

 

I will not be buying Concord Bream as I had originally thought, but not because of any defect in the ink. It simply did not appeal to me, though I am interested in loading it in my Pel 250 with the italic cursive nib.

 

Purple Mojo, on the other hand, will definitely find a place in my ink drawer.

 

Cheers!

 

Kevin

Beaker606

 

Addendum: I just added the promised scan. The Mojo is pretty much dead on for my monitor, but the Bream scanned darker than my real life experience. Much darker.

 

**edited it add scan and some minor grammer adjustments

Edited October 7, 2006 by beaker606

[dwmatteson]

Great review Kevin!

 

I've been eying the Concord Bream for a little while and was thinking of ordering a sample from James. It sounds quite appealing to me, and it could be nice change of pace from Waterman Purple and SwishMix Dark Purple.

 

I'm looking forward to seeing the scans!

 

Don

[Jlgreer]

I have my Parker 51 loaded with PR purple mojo..It is one of the nicest purples I have used so far. It really stands out. :)9

[sonia_simone]

Love the reviews, thank you! Both of those have been very interesting to me. Also the new Purple Wampum, which I can't get a read on.

[Ann Finley]

I also received a sample of Concord Bream from Pear Tree Pens, and I think Kevin did an execellent job of describing this color!

 

It is pretty close in color to Diamine Violet, Violette Pensee and Sheaffer's Purple.

 

Best, Ann

[sonia_simone]

I think my problem with the Concord Bream would be that I'd want to put it in a delicately-colored pen, maybe my white Safari, but I would be nervous about purple ink staining a white pen.

 

Egad, this is my 1,000th post. Note to self: get life.

[umenohana]

I think my problem with the Concord Bream would be that I'd want to put it in a delicately-colored pen, maybe my white Safari, but I would be nervous about purple ink staining a white pen.

 

Egad, this is my 1,000th post. Note to self: get life.

Congratulations, Sonia! I enjoy your posts very much.

 

Kevin, I'm looking forward to those scans!

 

-Hana

[meanwhile]

"Concord Bream" is a name for a pale grey or brown ink, not a purple. "Mojo" - now that says purple.

 

My girlfriend's Targa runs on Mojo exclusively. It's really, REALLY purple, writes smoothly, and writes well on every sort of paper she's tried.

[Video11]

...snip...

It is the purple of those horrid spiced jelly beans your grandmother used to keep in a bowl but you ate anyway because, hey, free jelly beans.

Thanks. Just about spit laughed coffee all over my monitor.

[Velma]

...snip...

It is the purple of those horrid spiced jelly beans your grandmother used to keep in a bowl but you ate anyway because, hey, free jelly beans.

Thanks. Just about spit laughed coffee all over my monitor.

I had the same reaction. If memory serves, the purple ones (like the purple spice drops) are supposed to be clove; I have no idea why purple=clove in candy spicing, but that's the way it goes.

[Sandi]

:ltcapd: That just really cracked me up. Those discriptions are great. Now I know that I won't try the Concord Bream. I love Purple Martin and use it a lot. Love the muted shade. Just tried the Purple Mojo and it is second on my list of Purples.

[sonia_simone]

Mmm, you people are making me hungry for those weird purple spice jelly beans.

 

Now candy corn, *there* is an abomination. But I like those jelly beans.

[MikeLip]

I ordered a sample of Mojo purple - can't wait to get it! I've been considering various colors for journaling, and while I love the Private Reserve American Blue, I'm thinking somethihg a little less conservative might be fun. Thanks for the review!

[beaker606]

Hi all,

 

Thanks for the good feedback!

 

Kevin

Beaker606

Edited October 7, 2006 by beaker606

[parker]

i hope ul be able to post a bigger scan of the pic cos.......purple mojo looks a bit likemy iraqi indigo....but of course maybe im mistaken...sooo.... :B

[beaker606]

Hi Parker,

 

I'd love to post a close up, but I really have hit my limit in manipulating images just for what I posted. I am not a computer neophyte, but that dang scanner is a mytery machine if you ask me. I probably just need some time to sit down and poke it with a stick until I figure it out, but time is on short supply.

 

If anyone has Mojo or Concord Bream and can post a larger pic or a close up, please be my guest to do so.

 

Warm regards,

 

Kevin

[meanwhile]

i hope ul be able to post a bigger scan of the pic cos.......purple mojo looks a bit likemy iraqi indigo

We must have our monitor colour balance set the same way.

 

I like the relaxed, faded colour of Indigo enough to finish the bottle I already have, although I'm hoping to finding a more intense permanent blue in my next ink order.

[Johnson]

Mmm, you people are making me hungry for those weird purple spice jelly beans.

 

Now candy corn, *there* is an abomination.  But I like those jelly beans.

You know they actually stopped making candy corn in 1982? They just keep using the surplus from that year and repackaging them.

 

Thanks for the great review, your descriptions put a smile on my face.

[Anne-Sophie]

I think my problem with the Concord Bream would be that I'd want to put it in a delicately-colored pen, maybe my white Safari, but I would be nervous about purple ink staining a white pen.

 

Egad, this is my 1,000th post. Note to self: get life.

Sonia! You have a life! Look at your cute avatar!

 

Furthermore I enjoy your always pertinent and smart comments.

 

Your reviews always come when I need them.

 

Thanks for helping keeping my pen, ink and paper selection reasonably small.

[sonia_simone]

Anne-Sophie, you are just the nicest thing.

 

I'm still pining for Concord Bream. Am I insane? All of a sudden I crave easter-egg colored ink. Maybe it's all this blasted winter settling down around my ears.