Private Reserve Vampire Red—A Handwritten Review

[mhphoto]

This is a poorly named ink about which I can't seem to make up my mind.

 

On one hand, it's got soul, and plenty of it. On the other hand, it's so got-dang saturated that it dries out in the nib within seconds of not being used. It does take on a unique rusty hue when diluted, and the added water helps with some of the performance issues.

 

Worth a try before you buy a full bottle outright (like I did ).

 

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/716/9i8s.jpg

Edited January 17, 2014 by mhphoto

[Pentulant]

Fun review. I thought it was aptly named and didn't have the same dry issues in a Lamy Safari.

 

I think it looks very...aptly named...in this picture from my blog....

 

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f-mKd4R7ukM/UgKWa36QWKI/AAAAAAAAByM/ZySnaUGvAsI/s640/IMG_4945.JPG

[amberleadavis]

I've been hesitant, I like the color, I hate that it dries out. I don't think I could stand that. Hold on to that bottle because I may have something coming in the mail next week that will fix that problem.

[PolarMoonman]

Great review I almost got a bottle but opted for Diamine Oxblood instead but now that I have seen a handwritten sample I may have to pick up a bottle...

[herbsttag]

Wow, I love this color! It looks very bloody--definitely want to try it out in a demonstrator.

[Michigan]

Your handwriting is amazing. How on earth do you get your downstokes so thick with that Waterman 52?

 

By the way, the ink looks great--the shading looks marvelous with that pen and technique.

[requiescat]

The ink looks amazing but I am hesitant if it has behavior issues. Also, I'm pretty happy with Noodler's Red-Black and Diamine Oxblood as I am not in need of an exact color match, and they have behaved well for me.

 

Agree that the handwriting is amazing. If only mine were so lovely.

[pw1224]

I bought a sample of this ink a while back. I finally put it in a demonstrator, thinking that it would look cool. It was extremely dry in a TWSBI. At first I thought that I might have screwed up when I reassembled the nib so I put on some disposable medical-type gloves to take apart the nib & feed.

 

I swear that it looked like I had attempted to perform surgery. Between the gloves and a Q-tip that I used... it looks like I massacred something in my bathroom.

 

Alas, the pen still barely writes. I think the ink will get drained down the sink. Or I might keep it for a Halloween gag.

[pw1224]

Follow up to my previous post:

 

I cleaned up the TWSBI with no staining whatsoever.

 

I then filled up an empty cartridge with this ink so I could put it in my Pilot Petit 1. The feed in the Pilot Petit 1 is transparent. I installed the cartridge in my nice clear somewhat-disposable pen. This ink is so dry that it never made it down to the nib tip.

 

I drained that cartridge and cleaned the nib section of the Petit 1.

 

All in all, this was an abysmal failure for me. Thanks to Goulet Pens for selling samples. I'm so glad that I didn't spring for a whole bottle.

[amberleadavis]

Glad it didn't stain, and glad you were only out a sample.

[Jeje3325]

Thanks pw1224, I don't feel like experimenting that.

i'll go for something else in the Red

[idazle]

I like the shade of this ink, but think you can get a similar effect from Diamine Ancient Cooper without putting your pens at risk with such a saturated ink.

[Jeje3325]

Diamine oxblood is out of stock at Goulet

[white_lotus]

And the Diamine Ancient Copper is out of stock too!

[KaB]

great review

you,might have wanted to include Sailor Jentle Grenade in the comarison, curious how they'd compare...

[inkstainedruth]

great review

you,might have wanted to include Sailor Jentle Grenade in the comarison, curious how they'd compare...

I tried a fill of Grenade from a bottle a friend had. It's darker and has a greenish sheen to it. A very odd color -- I haven't made up my mind as to whether I like it or not. But it *does* make me think of pomegranates.

As for Vampire Red, the description of its dryness leads me to suspect that it would do well in my firehose of a Parker Vector but not a whole lot else. I'm not a big fan of this shade of red to start with, although it does look nice coming out of the Waterman (especially with the shading gotten).

Thanks for the review. This is one ink I think I'll pass on for the time being, and that makes the review as useful to me as the ones where I go "OOOH.... WAAAANT". Possibly more so.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[KaB]

I tried a fill of Grenade from a bottle a friend had. It's darker and has a greenish sheen to it. A very odd color -- I haven't made up my mind as to whether I like it or not. But it *does* make me think of pomegranates.

...

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

Hi Ruth,

 

Small misunderstanding: I know excactly what the Sailor Grenade ink looks like: I use it all the time in my Faber-Castell (the E-motion parquet, also some brownish red or redish brown). So I can see the do look somewhat similar, somewhat different. But I've experienced the huge differences between looking at a screen and looking at real 'ink-on-paper'. So that's why including the Sailor would give me (and maybe others) more info on what the Vampire looks like in reality.

[HalloweenHJB]

I do dislike disagreeing with the experience of so many, but I have NEVER had a problem with this ink in my Pelikan. No drying, no "behavior" issues -- for me it has always been a reliable, smooth ink. The bottle I have is less red than the examples you all show, so perhaps I have a different formulation of the ink. For me it almost a perfect PUCE.

[HalloweenHJB]

And the Diamine Ancient Copper is out of stock too!

Based on the vivid, glowing reports of Diamine Ancient Copper, just bought a bottle through Amazon --not out of stock there! Ordered it day before yesterday, and it arrived today. Love it!

Edited May 16, 2014 by HalloweenHJB