Private Reserve Fall Ink Set

I’ve had very limited experience with Private Reserve inks. The first PR ink I tried was a sample of Cosmic Cobalt, and I liked it fine. Then I tried Buttercup, a pale yellow that can be hard to see, but I love the color and used it often-until the bottle went moldy. I became very hesitant to try their inks, just based on my experience. Recently Private Reserve was purchased by a new owner in January 2018. She has done a lot of work in updating the brand and creating some new products including 7 new sample packs. I was still hesitant to try them until I spoke to a vendor at the San Francisco Pen Show who knew the new owner. He answered all my questions, so I went ahead and purchased one of the new sample sets. The Fall Sample Pack includes 4-15ml bottles, all with an autumn color theme: Chocolat, Copper Burst, Fiesta Red and Shoreline Gold. I wish I could remember the name of the vendor I spoke to, but unfortunately I don’t. You can find the sample pack online at Vanness Pens.

Swabs:

Left to right: Chocolat, Copper Burst, Fiesta Red and Shoreline Gold.

Writing samples:

Let's take a look at how the ink behaves on fountain pen friendly papers: Rhodia, Tomoe River, and Leuchtturm.

Water resistance: Low

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None in writing-just a little in the swab on Leuchtturm and Rhodia.

Other properties: low shading, no sheen, and no shimmer.

On Staples 24 lb copy paper there was lots of feathering in every nib size as well as a little bleeding.

Comparison Swabs:

Chocolat is a bit darker than Diamine Bach.

Copper Burst is less saturated than Monteverde Pumpkin Cake.

Fiesta Red is less saturated than Birmingham Carnelian Silk.

Shoreline Gold is a little more yellow than Robert Oster Terracotta.

The full set inked up.

I used a Lochby Lined Blank A5 notebook (Tomoe River 68gsm). All of the inks had an average flow.

Overall, all four of these inks are well-behaved and even have a little bit of shading. I love the 15ml sample size, and that they come in a set. They are great basic inks, and I will absolutely try more of their inks in the future.

Disclaimer: I purchased these inks myself, and all photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links, and is not sponsored in any way.