Private Reserve Infinity Turquoise Fountain Pen Ink Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

We're still in full-on winter mode for a few more weeks (at least), so I figure it's high time to break out some bright and cheery inks to lift the somber tone that cold, bleak days tend to bring. For me, a happy turquoise or bright blue ink always does the trick.

Private Reserve Infinity Turquoise is a shade that fits the bill perfectly. It's bright, happy, and does a great job at shading between blue and turquoise to add that extra character that I love so much in my inks. I'm not new to Private Reserve, but this is my first ink that features their Infinity formula. According to their description, this is a special formulation that provided "extended cap off" time, which means you can leave a pen uncapped for "hours" with no adverse effects. This is a bold and interesting claim, and I was happy to test it out.

Before getting into the Infinity behavior of this ink, let's look at the more usual aspects. The ink is a bold cobalt blue with plenty of lighter blue and hints of green mixed in. The color is ideal in my mind in terms of what turquoise means in my mind's eye. It's just a happy, bright color that makes me smile.

The shading is plentiful, which adds a lot of character to the ink. The more inks I try, the more I come to believe that shading is a must-have for any non-black inks. The fluxuation of color adds so much visual interest and character as you write, and this is what makes fountain pens so much fun to use. Infinite Turquoise does a good job of showing of its different shades.

Unfortunately, this ink has a couple of downsides. The dry time is incredibly long. By my estimates, it takes this ink anywhere from 25 to 35 seconds to fully dry, and these tests happened in incredibly dry weather (like 28% RH). I had trouble not smearing this ink with my hand as I wrote through a full page, and I use a "traditional" right-handed grip. This ink will not suite left-handed writers very well.

The other negative that I noticed almost immediately was the ink's tendency to feather in areas where the ink pooled. I noticed this a lot more with the 1.1mm stub nib, but it also happened frequently in a stock fine nib (German sizing). The paper made a difference, but nothing completely got rid of the feathering tendency. Coated papers had less bleeding, while uncoated papers had a lot more feathering effects.

So far, the ink is firmly in the slightly below average category in my mind. Great color and shading, but poor dry time and feathering behavior. How does that claim on extended cap off time hold up? Actually, it holds up rather well.

If you've ever left an uncapped fountain lying on your desk for more than a couple of minutes, you probably had to draw a few lines to make the ink start flowing again. This normally isn't a problem if it's only been a few minutes. A few scribbles is enough to make the ink flow again; worst case, running the nib under some running water will fix any dried ink clogging issue. This problem is exactly what the Infinity ink formula is trying to solve. In my testing, I left my pen uncapped for 2 hours, came back to use it, and it wrote perfectly immediately. I wasn't honestly surprised because this defies everything I already know about fountain pens. Pretty impressive!

I also left the pen uncapped for 12 hours, and I had to scribble a bit to make it write again, but that was easy compared to fixing that issue with any normal ink. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this feature works as promised.

I can only assume that the magic that went into the ink formula to allow it to sit uncapped for hours and still write properly had some negative side effects. Long dry time once the ink is on the page? Makes sense! Feathering on my papers? Also seems like a plausible side effect.

Either way, the main feature of this inks works as expected. If you're shopping for an ink that will work great after being uncapped for hours, you should check out Private Reserve Infinity Turquoise (or any of the other Infinity ink colors). While there are some downsides to the ink, it all depends on what you need in certain circumstances. That's what makes this hobby so fascinating! Inks that can write after being uncapped for hours, pens that can write under water, paper that can withstand the elements, and plenty of other fringe use cases. It's wild!

(Pen Chalet provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Private Reserve Ink Orange Crush Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

Fall is officially here, and even though the temperatures in north Alabama are still arguing over that fact, I've already settled it in my mind by picking a nice fall colored ink to focus on for a while. I've only tried one or two other inks from Private Reserve, so I thought it was time to give them another try since they have such a large catalog. Orange Crush is the ink I chose for the new fall season, and I'm pretty happy with the color (not so much the name) and especially the performance.

Orange Crush is a dusky orange/brown color with some hints of red in some areas. It's not orange enough for me based on the name alone, but it's still a pretty color in its own rite. To me, Orange Crush makes me think of the soft drink brand, which is a really bright and cheerful orange. There's nothing wrong with the color of this ink, but the name was misleading for me at least.

Being a dark orange ink, it shows up really well on paper. Some orange inks can be so light that they look more like a highlighter ink than something you'd write with. The dusty orange/red hues look fantastic, and there's even a bit of shading that happens with larger nibs that uncovers some additional red, orange, and brown hues.

The inks feels well-lubricated and writes smoothly. I haven't had any issues with ink getting stuck or dried up in the nib, and it starts off beautifully after being capped for a while.

One area that I've had a little trouble with different types of paper is feathering/bleed. This ink tends to feather and bleed a bit on certain papers — even Rhodia. It also tends to bleed through to the other side of the page if you're using a really wet nib. It's not terrible, but definitely worth mentioning.

A different area where this ink excels is dry time. Using the 1.1mm stub nib for the writing sample, the ink was normally dry between 10 and 15 seconds, but it's even faster when using a smaller nib. I was surprised by how quickly it was dry to the touch!

Private Reserve Orange Crush comes in a stout 60ml bottle with an incredibly wide mouth. There's plenty of space for filling your pens, but that also means there's even more opportunity to make a giant orange mess. I like the extra wide bottle mouth, but I was definitely more careful when handling this open bottle!

At just under $16 for a 60ml bottle, it's a fantastic value. If you like the color and don't mind having a large amount on hand, it's a great deal. It's not my favorite orange ink, but it's certainly a solid dark, dusty orange if that's your thing. Aside from the feathering/bleed issues, it's also a great performer with quick dry times.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

Private Reserve Ebony Purple Ink Review

A month ago, I finally signed up for Ink Drop from Goulet Pens. My first sample was "safe for work," meaning they were all reserved and dark colors that wouldn't call much attention in the office. The one that caught my interest first out of the bunch was Ebony Purple by Private Reserve. I thought a dark purple would look great as an everyday writing ink, so I inked it up in a Lamy Vista that was nearby.

I have to admit, I was a little disappointed by just how deep and dark the ink is – I struggle to see the purple when I'm writing. I normally have to hold it up to a light to see purple showing through in the lighter areas of the pen strokes. Despite that, it's a great ink that performs well. Let's get into the details.

This ink flows super smooth – very well lubricated. My Lamy Vista is normally a bit scratchy with other inks, but it's surprisingly smooth with this ink. There's a minor (very minor) amount of shading if you're using a broader nib. Obviously, you can get the best shading if you're using a calligraphy or flex nib, but in my fine Vista, it's hardly noticeable. If you're a big fan of inks that shade beautifully, this one won't please you. The ink does surprisingly well on cheap paper, barely feathering at all. I was impressed by this because I expected it to feather quite a bit because of how dark and smooth it is.

Dry time is a bit of a problem. I gauge it at somewhere between 25 and 30 seconds to completely dry, so this ink is probably out for most lefties. I'm a righty, and I still end up smudging the line above where I'm writing. Dry time is definitely slow with this one.

Cleaning the ink out of a pen is a cinch. No complaints here – it's a pretty easy ink to clean.

The saturation of this ink is incredible, and I think the name they chose is a literal interpretation. It really is ebony in color and the purple is an after-thought. Personally, I'd like to see more purple, but that's not really a problem with the ink – it's just personal preference.

If you like subtle inks that don't stray from the standard colors, this is a good one to try. Like I said, most people will have to look pretty closely to notice the purple, and it's fun when you finally do notice. But it certainly isn't distracting, which is why it's safe for an office environment.

Overall, I wasn't really excited by this ink just because of how dark it is, but I'm certainly interested in trying more inks from Private Reserve. This ink behaves admirably, and if the rest of their line is similar, that's really good news. Now, on to try the other ink samples before the next batch comes in!