Scribal Work Shop Nessie Purple

September 22, 2012

I took a day off from work to go to the Dallas Pen Show this morning, and among my haul of inks and pens was Nessie Purple by Scribal Work Shop, one of the Cryptid inks. I met Mr. Lucas Tucker, the creator of the ink, and doodled a bit with Nessie Purple, and I just couldn't resist buying a bottle. As you'll soon see, it is a very beautiful dark purple ink.

http://bettygrastymd.com/jgrasty/wp-content/uploads/scribal.jpg

Nessie Purple comes in a bottle that looks a lot like a medicine bottle, and contains 60 ml (2 oz) of ink. The ink has a chemical smell, similar to inks like Rohrer & Klingner, but I can't quite place the scent. Not unpleasant at all, smells like ink, really. I first inked up my Pelikan M400 with a Binder full flex XXF nib and gave the ink a spin about the paper. The ink writes very nicely in this pen, not too wet, not too dry, but also not very lubricated. The color is very pleasing, quite similar to De Atramentis Aubergine. There is a some shading, though not dramatic. I really like it.

Next, I inked up my Pelikan M101N with a B nib converted to cursive italic. With this pen, I would have liked just a bit more lubrication that I observed. Still, the ink performed nicely, with some shading.

The last pen I used was a Pelikan M200 with an M nib that I just had adjusted by John Mottishaw at the Dallas Pen Show (I also bought from him the M320 in the photo above). This nib is nice and wet, and it shows of the dark purple color of Nessie quite well. Here, lubrication was adequate.

For comparison, I added swabs of a couple of similar purples. De Atramentis Aubergine is the closest match, being just slightly more saturated and very slightly more blue than Nessie Purple. Noodler's Purple Heart is slightly more red than Nessie Purple. I also tried to swab Private Reserve Ebony Purple, but that ink exhibited a heavy gold sheen that completely eliminated the purple color, so I'm afraid the swab is worthless. The final sample is Noodler's Concord Grape, but that ink doesn't really resemble Nessie Purple, being much bluer.

Some observations. The ink dries slowly on the Rhodia No 19 DotPad I used for this review, about 30 seconds or thereabouts. There is no bleed through and no feathering.

http://bettygrastymd.com/jgrasty/wp-content/uploads/scribal-nessie-purple.jpg

I also tried out the ink with the Pelikan M200 on a piece of cheap copier paper. There was no feathering, but there was a trace of bleed through, but almost any ink will do that with this paper.

http://bettygrastymd.com/jgrasty/wp-content/uploads/scribal-nessie-purple-copier.jpg

I also tested water resistance, and Nessie Purple is partially water resistant. Here is a scan of a 20 second rinse.

http://bettygrastymd.com/jgrasty/wp-content/uploads/scribal-nessie-purple-rinse.jpg

I really like this ink, and with the low price of $8 that I paid for the bottle at the show, quite an economical ink as well. Scribal Work Shop is off to a promising start in the ink business. I understand the inks will be available shortly at one or more of your favorite ink sellers.

Edited September 22, 2012 by jgrasty

September 22, 2012

On my monitor, Nessie Purple looks alot like Montblanc Lavender Purple.

September 22, 2012

Oh, my! That IS pretty. And just when I thought I wasn´t getting more purples *grumble*......

Thank you for sharing this. I love when different styles of writing and nibs are shown. It really shows the properties of the ink really well. 10 points!

ps! Beautiful handwriting.

September 23, 2012

Thanks for the beautiful review!

And for those that don't know yet I'm trying my best to be here and on facebook, etc. To answer any questions about the Scribal Work Shop lines of products.

September 23, 2012

Lucas, it was a pleasure to meet you in Dallas and I'm glad I bought some of your ink.

Highly recommended.

That blue is some great looking stuff, too.

September 23, 2012

great handwriting and I'm sold on the ink for the price -- thanks for the review

September 23, 2012

Very nice review. Beautiful color.

Thanks you.

September 23, 2012

Exquisite colour and script, thank you!

September 23, 2012

Good to see you here, Lucas!

I also bought a bottle of Nessie, and I second the great review. I inked a pen with it when I got home yesterday and it's a beautiful color, neither too red nor too blue. Being of Scottish descent, I couldn't resist an ink called Nessie, with the "beastie" herself on the label, and I'm really glad I chose it. I don't have but one other purple ink (Waterman) and this is very different. Nessie is more understated and elegant.

I stopped at Lucas's table to look at the lovely large sample illuminations he had on display. (He's also a calligrapher as well as an ink maker). For those who do calligraphy and drawing with dip pens, Lucas also makes "historical inks" from traditional recipes. (Think Monks with quills laboring over medieval manuscript illuminations.) Check him out at www.scribalworkshop.com.

October 24, 2012

I think I wrote the first review of this ink in an foreign language, anyway in german If you interested to see some other pictures you can follow this link:

Justanotherpen Review

http://justanotherpen.de/penblog/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/sws-nessie-officepapier.jpg

http://justanotherpen.de/penblog/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/scw-textscann-719x1024.jpg

http://justanotherpen.de/penblog/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/magenta-inks-1024x738.jpg

February 24, 2013

Thanks for the reviews and tests especially with such nice writing samples.

I've been using my Ink Drop sample of Nessie lately, and I like it. It is the darkest purple I've ever used, and it works well in my pen. Which is to say it writes as wet as the pen usually does, and it is not a hard starter if left unused for a day or three. As well as general purpose writing, I've been using it for addressing envelopes.

I'm putting this on my (very small) wishlist for the next time I buy any ink.