thINKthursday
3 Oysters Purple Gray

We went foraging for oyster mushrooms and found this Purple Gray ink!

thINKthursday – 3 Oysters Purple Gray

3 Oysters is a relative newcomer to the North American ink market. The South Korean company offers 3 different series of inks. Purple Gray is part of the ‘delicious’ series and is a wonderful slate purple. The ink comes in a beautiful square, glass bottle that has one of the corners cut off. This allows the bottle to be balanced on an edge, which makes it look great on your desk, and can help you reach the last drops of ink. This review was done with a Sailor 1911 F, Lamy AL-Star B, and on Rhodia blank No.18 paper.

Purple Gray is an accurate name for this ink. The ink has a similar appearance in both a fine and broad nib, but the shading is much more apparent in a broad. At its lightest, the ink is a soft mauve gray. From there, it shades to a more traditional iris violet. At its darkest, the ink is an eggplant purple.

I’ve tried a number of the 3 Oysters inks and my initial impression is very positive. The inks have good flow, and Purple Gray does not feather or bleed through on Rhodia paper. It’s a moderately saturated ink with good dry times at 20-30 seconds. While I wouldn’t consider this ink waterproof, it’s water resistant enough that I could easily make out the writing after the water test. Clean up was easy not only with Purple Gray, but also with the other 3 Oysters inks I’ve tried.

I think Purple Gray is a great color and I’m excited to explore more of the 3 Oysters lineup. Their inks are well-priced, their colors interesting, and the bottles gorgeous. Purple Gray is the perfect cozy color for journaling on these chilly autumn days.

As with any ink review, the pen, paper, and person doing the writing will influence the way the ink looks. If you’re not sure about a color, try a sample to see if it’s the one for you.

Ink it Up!
Chris

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