One criticism I often see lobbed at product bloggers--and stationery bloggers in particular--is that we review the products we like and largely ignore products we don't (presumably to curry favor with manufacturers and retailers who send out complimentary products for review). I don't see it that way--I think most people just don't like the negativity associated with slamming someone's product, especially where there has been a good-faith attempt to introduce something new into the market. But, reviewing is a public service of sorts, and I do what I must. I've come across an ink that I don't like at all.

I picked up this bottle of vintage (late 1990s, early 2000s) Montblanc Ruby Red ink at Joe Rodgers office supply in Cleveland, Tennessee, when I was in the area over the summer. Remarkably, this bottle also bore the original price tag ($8.50). This ink's name, however, simply does not match the actual color. It turns out that Ruby Red is more of a pinkish coral/peach color, that is so bright at times it almost looks neon. This color just doesn't work for me, and there's not much more to say about it.

I had to adjust the photo some to duplicate the pinkish hue of this ink, which doesn't photograph very accurately.  I wouldn't use this color, so there's no reason to keep it.  I do wonder, though, how it compares against Montblanc's … — I had to adjust the photo some to duplicate the pinkish hue of this ink, which doesn't photograph very accurately. I wouldn't use this color, so there's no reason to keep it. I do wonder, though, how it compares against Montblanc's new "pink" ink.

If you'd like this bottle of ink, leave a comment here on the blog, and in exactly one week I will number the comments in the order they are received and use a random number generator to pick the lucky reader. Unfortunately, since this is ink, and it's a relatively heavy bottle, I'm going to have to economize and make this giveaway open to U.S. residents only. There is nothing wrong with the ink itself. It behaves like a Montblanc ink should, even though it's red. I had no trouble washing this out of the pen (immediately) after reviewing it. Best of luck, everybody!

I will send you this bottle in its original box (with $8.50 price tag).  :) — I will send you this bottle in its original box (with $8.50 price tag). :)

I have a moderately large stash of vintage ink, including a quart-size bottle of Carter's Tulip Purple from the 1930's or 1940's that I won on an eBay auction a year or so back. The Carter's Ink Company, based in Boston, Massachusetts, was one of the largest ink manufacturers in the world. It was acquired by Avery Dennison in the 1970s, which effectively ended all of their fountain pen-related ink operations and resulted in the destruction of all of Carter's records dating back to the 1860s. Presumably, all of Carter's formulas, etc. are lost.

The bottle and package itself are quite impressive. The packaging was in relatively good condition when I received it. You can see the entire Carter's line of ink listed on the sides, along with a list of ink properties and other sizes available. (gallons, anyone?)

This is a very vibrant, relatively well-behaved vintage ink--meaning no feathering or bleed-through--although I found that it stains like crazy. I used to have a Noodler's Ahab, and it turned the clear converter into a dark blue-purple color. For this review, I used, what else, a Carter's vintage ink cube desk pen.

Vintage Carter's Ink Cube Inkwell with a fine point.  Another great eBay find! I had been looking for one of these for a long time and finally found one in decent shape. — Vintage Carter's Ink Cube Inkwell with a fine point. Another great eBay find! I had been looking for one of these for a long time and finally found one in decent shape.

As you can see, this is a purple that tends to be on the violet blue side once it dries.

My observations on the ink: It's a nice purple-blue color. It appears much more like a traditional purple when wet, and dries to a bluish tinge, as you can see from the scan above, which was done with doxie flip on the highest-resolution setting. The ink does not feather, and will not bleed through on the cheap paper that I've used, which is a heavier-weight inkjet paper I bought on special at Costco (i.e., nothing fancy). I've had really good results on both Doane and Scout Books. There is some show through on Field Notes, but nothing that to me would render the paper unusable. Dry time is approximately 10 seconds on fairly nice paper such as Rhodia or the Exacompta index card that I used for the review.

Thank you for reading!

Imagine this . . . a quart of ink.  Noodler's does custom runs of larger bottles, from what I hear, as does Pelikan.  I've read that the primary use of these larger ink bottles were teachers using them to fill inkwells on student desks.&nb… — Imagine this . . . a *quart* of ink. Noodler's does custom runs of larger bottles, from what I hear, as does Pelikan. I've read that the primary use of these larger ink bottles were teachers using them to fill inkwells on student desks.

When I purchased this, the bottle was about 95% full, but had previously been opened and used. There was no film floating around in the ink or sediment resting on the bottom, so I said what the hey... and used it. Overall, I've been pleased with the results, although I would not recommend using this ink in a very expensive pen or one that is prone to staining.