J. Hebrin Stormy Grey (1670 Ink Collection) Rolling Review add yours

[tandaina]

There was a package in my mailbox today!

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I unboxed it, squealed, and then ran around frantically trying to figure out what pen would be graced with this ink. I went with what some might consider a bold (foolish?) choice.

My M200 Pelikan Demonstrator with 14k cursive italic nib (ground by Mr. Binder himself). I wanted to see this ink darn it. And I wanted a pen that is easy to clean. The M200 comes apart easily. And to be honest it isn't an M1000, I will not be crushed if it sparkles for the rest of its life. ;)

First, know that there is a warning attached to the box warning that this is highly saturated ink and that after filling nib and section should be cleaned with a damp cloth to avoid staining. I would heed that warning. (I did, though I usually just wipe with a paper towel after a fill.)

This ink really deserves my real DSLR and macro setup but I'm impatient. So for now, cell phone shots. I'll upload the real ones later.

1. SHAKE THE BOTTLE. ;) All the gold will have settled out by the time the bottle has sat for any time at all. Shake it, shake it hard. :pound: Once the bottom shows no gold residue you are ready to fill.
2. The gold will settle in your pen. I'll probably shake my pen gently before each writing session. Doesn't take much, but a little agitation would be good. Here's a picture of how it settles out in the pen.

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I have the original J. Hebrin 1670 ink, there the gold was definitely a halo (at least for me), leaving gold edging to my letters. The gold here is definitely spread out throughout the writing. From a distance you can't see it at all, looks like a lovely dark grey ink without much shading. Get closer, like reading distance and it shimmers. Tiny, tiny particles of gold are evenly spread throughout the letters. Very hard to capture with a cell phone. Here is my lousy attempt:

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I used a bit of editing to make the gold a little more visible in the photo.

I like this ink. As well behaved as expected on Tomoe River paper, lovely flow (though I've yet to find any ink that wasn't perfect with Mr. Binder's nib), no feathering. Gorgeous. :)

Add your pics and impressions! Darn it I want them to redo the blue now with silver flecks. When will the silver lovers get their ink?

[pajhurley]

Excellent review with wonderful pictures. You have wonderful handwriting as well. Stormy Grey is on my "must possess" ink list.
Thanks so much for posting!

[earthdawn]

Dan just picked some up at the Denver show and it is in the store right now !!!

http://fpgeeks.com/shop/

I was going to hold off since it sold out everywhere... then I see it right here. Oh well, so much for not being impulsive lol

THANK YOU DAN !!!!

[SheilaM]

Love your pictures!

I have had no issues so far with it in my TWSBI, knock on wood. I do plan to update my blog post with a report on how it behaves in the pen over time. A quick click on the link in my signature should take anyone interested to that review.

I feel very lucky that I was able to get an order in for it before it all disappeared again!

[mhosea]

Mine looks like tandaina's, only there is something that has to happen here before a J. Herbin 1670 ink can be used...

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[tandaina]

Those boxes have me so confused...

[Silverbreeze]

1670 boxes are confusing to me only way I know the tell the difference between them is the icon on top. Is there a better way?

[Laura N]

Great photos, Tandaina. They make me wish I had a demonstrator for the ink.

I like the ink very much. However, I think I might have been too stoked by all the close-up photographs I've seen. In real life, it's not quite as exciting once it dries. When it's wet, it's very gold, but for me it dries to a dark gray. I love the gold flecks -- they almost stand off the surface, rather than sinking into the paper -- but you don't necessarily see that unless you look very closely. I'm using mine in an inexpensive Pilot 78G with a broad nib, until I can be sure it's safe for other pens.

Great things so far about the ink: no start-up problems; nicely lubricated with this broad nib; ink flows well; ink dries quickly on the page; fun gold-to-gray effect; pretty gold flakes; flakes don't brush off with your finger. I let the pen sit overnight, and it started up perfectly. I think you get more gold flakes if you shake the pen before writing, but to test it I didn't shake the pen in the morning, and I still had gold flakes.

I think calligraphers are going to love this. I bet it would look amazing when used to address formal invitations, and for place cards and the like.

I think I may marginally prefer the original 1670 red-gold, after all, but this one seems more useable so far.

[mhosea]

1670 boxes are confusing to me only way I know the tell the difference between them is the icon on top. Is there a better way?

In dim light? No. But the labels are colored according to the ink color.

[mhosea]

Those boxes have me so confused...

:) I've thought about more thoroughly eradicating the evidence of the boxes' previous branding and ink assignments, but I decided against it because I considered it a little (too) obsessive in light of the fact that I can't see the tops of the boxes (nor the Montblanc bottle caps) when the boxes are stacked in the ink cabinet.

[SheilaM]

Laura,

What paper are you using it on? The reason I ask is, I am getting some really crazy sheen on Rhodia and even on Staples ARC paper. (For that matter, I am getting sparklies even on the $1/100 index cards I use for quick lists!) Did you shake the bottle before loading the pen?

I don't mean to subject you to an inquisition, just surprised that your experience is so very different than mine.

[mhosea]

Great things so far about the ink: no start-up problems; nicely lubricated with this broad nib; ink flows well; ink dries quickly on the page; fun gold-to-gray effect; pretty gold flakes; flakes don't brush off with your finger. I let the pen sit overnight, and it started up perfectly. I think you get more gold flakes if you shake the pen before writing, but to test it I didn't shake the pen in the morning, and I still had gold flakes.


I think using it in a demonstrator makes it clear that simply rolling the pen is enough if the pen has been stored on its side. I don't think shaking has long-term effects with this ink because the particles drop out really quickly. If one just starts writing, I'm sure that particle rich ink will be on the way. Perhaps a high capacity pen will start out particle-heavy and end particle-light? We'll have to wait for somebody else to find out because I don't leave pens inked up that long.

I have found it to be well-lubricated, but I was surprised to find that immediate start-up was not reliable in my Connaisseur eyedropper pen. I switched to my Gate City Belmont, though, and it hasn't shown the same. This ink may function better in some feeds than others.

[Laura N]

Laura,

What paper are you using it on? The reason I ask is, I am getting some really crazy sheen on Rhodia and even on Staples ARC paper. (For that matter, I am getting sparklies even on the $1/100 index cards I use for quick lists!) Did you shake the bottle before loading the pen?

I don't mean to subject you to an inquisition, just surprised that your experience is so very different than mine.

No worries at all. :) I actually do get the gold flecks, and I like them very much. I just don't notice them particularly unless I peer very closely. If I look at what I've written on a sheet of paper from a normal distance, and I read it as I would a normal letter or piece of writing, it looks like an interesting dark gray ink to me. It has the slight greenish tint, I assume from the gold, that I get from the original red 1670.

If I hold up the paper to the light, or I move it to catch the light, and I'm looking close-up, then I really see the gold flecks inside the gray. And that replicates all of the macro photos I've seen.

I have used it only on Rhodia and Clairefontaine paper so far. I shook the bottle thoroughly before filling. I shake the pen before writing, except one time when I didn't shake the pen just to see what would happen.

[Laura N]

One more note for the rolling review. My Pilot 78G is already out of ink, so I cleaned it. It had only been inked about 48 hours, but it cleaned very easily with just a few flushes of water through the converter and nib. Because this pen disassembles, I pulled out the nib and feed, and was thrilled to find both completely clean. Same with the converter -- I peered inside and saw nothing left or stuck. I feel confident enough to move the ink up to a better pen. YMMV of course.

I'll follow Mike, though, in not leaving that pen inked for too long. That's what I've done with the red 1670: I make sure to empty it within three days, and I've been okay so far.

[VertOlive]

Getting terribly uneven flow in my really cheap sacrificial Sheaffer, but I think it's the pen. It did clean out very easily so I may feel safe moving to a TWSBI.

[Silverbreeze]

Getting terribly uneven flow in my really cheap sacrificial Sheaffer, but I think it's the pen. It did clean out very easily so I may feel safe moving to a TWSBI.

Has to be the pen, it's a very smooth ink for my Faber-Castell basic broad

[Laura N]

Laura,

What paper are you using it on? The reason I ask is, I am getting some really crazy sheen on Rhodia and even on Staples ARC paper. (For that matter, I am getting sparklies even on the $1/100 index cards I use for quick lists!) Did you shake the bottle before loading the pen?

I don't mean to subject you to an inquisition, just surprised that your experience is so very different than mine.

Sheila, this might explain it. Tonight I put it into an Edison with has a juicy medium nib, and in this pen I am getting much more sheen. Even noticeable from normal distances. :)

Perhaps this ink really shows itself to best advantage when used with a wetter nib?

[ChrisC]

You gotta shake the bottle....And I think it works crazy well in vintage pens with super wide channels. Here's my Swan superflex/wet noodle's writing sample:
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It's not good at keeping the ink flow going when I flex the nib though. Most of my other inks can keep up reasonably well. This one causes a lot of railroading, but it's SOOOO worth it.

[tandaina]

Yeah I've only used it on Tamoe River, I get a lot of sheen when dry, the writing sparkles.

[mhosea]

While I had no startup issues, it seemed sort of anemic after awhile in my Belmont as well, so I'm moving on to a Montblanc 149 that's quite a wet writer. Having cleaned it out of two pens already, I do note that it's nothing to clean it out.

[ChrisC]

I had no startup issues, the ink just broke the surface tension between the flexed tines very often. But it's a fairly simple matter to write out my whole sentence and then to color in the railroaded letters. I normally don't tolerate that with normal inks, but the sheen of this ink makes it worth the effort. I will be posting a nice little calligraphy sample later tomorrow (:

[SheilaM]

That would make sense. The TWSBI/Pendleton Point setup I'm using it in right now is pretty wet. And I'm getting sheen that looks like the photo ChrisC posted, even from an arm's length away.

[mhosea]

So far it seems perfect for the wet-writing MB149. I was getting a crazy amount of gold after I filled it, though, and now some but not so much after carrying it in my pocket for awhile. Settling does have an effect on how much of the gold you get.

[tandaina]

So far it seems perfect for the wet-writing MB149. I was getting a crazy amount of gold after I filled it, though, and now some but not so much after carrying it in my pocket for awhile. Settling does have an effect on how much of the gold you get.

The advantage of a demonstrator. When I start writing I check for settled gold and give a gentle shake until the barrel doesn't show sediment. That's keeping my sheen really reliable and consistent. I'd just suggest giving any pen it is in a gentle shake before use.

[RayCornett]

I might buy some after I hear feedback on someone who has left it sit in their pen for a couple weeks or a month without using it. Everything about it says pen clogger to me,lol.

[tandaina]

Maybe, but Ray I used the first edition and *that* didn't clog my pens, even left sitting. Got nib creep and some dried crud, but the pens still wrote just fine. So I'm guessing this edition won't clog horribly either. *shrug*

[mhosea]

My best guess at this point is that the particles will not "clump" enough to prevent flow entirely. And if flow does stop, I predict that cleaning the pen will still be quite easy (which wasn't necessarily the case with Rouge Hematite).

[tarheel1]

I ordered a sample from gouletpens. as thy did not have a bottle in stock.

[VertOlive]

Since my cheapie Sheaffer cleaned up so well after use, I just moved up to my Mini TWSBI demonstrator with the 1.5 nib for this ink. Now the flow is much better and I've gotten a rhythm to rocking the pen between paragraphs as I write! I'm leaving the TWSBI inked until it's emptied by writing to see how long it will tolerate.

[ChrisC]

I added another writing sample. I find myself needing to turn the piston to wet the feed to get a consistent wet line, which it needs in order to sheen well.

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[ChrisC]

I know this is a double post, but I thought this observation warranted it. I just tried the ink in a Pilot Parallel. The sheen shows up, but nowhere near as well as in the TWSBI 1.5mm stub or in the Swan flex nib.

I was thinking about buying some extra Parallels in the different sizes in order to use it with this ink, but I decided against it. I think the non traditional feed of the Parallel traps too much of the gold particles.

[Behike54]

Wow, all great examples of the ink; thanks a lot, everybody!

@Tandaina, thanks for kicking this off. I am relatively new to Fps, but blue and silver sounds like AWESOME SAUCE! ;)

[dr.lowbrow]

I have had it in my Platinum Music Nib since Saturday (now it is Tuesday). First day - good sparkles and lovely sheen. Second day and beyond, even after agitating the pen (the pen didn't get mad :) ), less sheen to no sheen. My guess is that it will take a few nibs to find the one that likes this ink best.

It seems to take some looking with the light at a 90-degree angle to see the sheen. I see the sheen much more easily in the Rouge Hematite, IMHO.

But, these are all nit-picky comments. The ink is a lovely gray no matter what. It flows well and I haven't had any issues with it yet. I'm not sure I would pay for a second bottle of Stormy Grey whereas I would buy a second bottle of Rouge Hematite. I am asking a lot of this ink, I will admit, and not getting everything I want, but I don't want this to come across as a completely negative review. On a scale of 1 to 10, I wanted an 11 and got an 8.

[reprieve]

So far I've had Stormy Grey in a Pilot Custom 74 demonstrator with a 0.8mm Binder stub nib and a Lamy Studio with a factory 1.1mm italic nib. Both pens have been inked since Saturday. I've not had any issues with flow. The Pilot puts down a very wet line and makes the ink looks nearly black; the Lamy is slightly drier and shows better shading and a nice range of grey tones. The gold particles settle out very quickly, but agitating the pen gets them suspended again. I am still getting a lot of sheen and sparkle, but I do have to shake the pen first.

Up next is my Lamy 2000 with an XF nib. It's almost out of ink and, as soon as it's empty, it will get flushed and filled with Stormy Grey. I'm interested to see how this ink looks in a finer nib.

[00Photo]

I got my bottle today.

It's pretty epic stuff but I'm only going to put it into my Jinhao's.



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[Bogon07]

No that is some sheen !!!!!! :jaw:

I've Rouge Hematite running in my Jinhao Safari too. It is not as spectacular as yours - maybe I need to shake it some more.

[john]

No that is some sheen !!!!!! :jaw:

I've Rouge Hematite running in my Jinhao Safari too. It is not as spectacular as yours - maybe I need to shake it some more.Shake it before you write. Also with different paper, the sheen shows different.

[Lady Onogaro]

Hector, that bird is SOOOOOOO Gorgeous! Thank you!

[Dgreene120]

Beautiful stuff!

[bluefeathers]

Oh my gosh, I'm def. going to get a sample of this and use it for Christmas cards!!

[chojo]

Well after weeks of waiting and nervous anticipation it finally arrived today! And I must say I think perhaps I got a bit too excited because now having tried it I feel a little let down, don't get me wrong it's nice but that's just it, it's "nice" From what I've seen and read I was kind of expecting "great" or "Wow" but no it's nice...Oh well If nothing else I love the bottle!

[mhosea]

From what I've seen and read I was kind of expecting "great" or "Wow" but no it's nice...

You need more time, different paper, a wet pen, oblique lighting. It's more than nice, IMHO, though the base color is, well, gray. I view this as its chief limitation.

Anyway, I cleaned this out of my MB149 today, and I was stunned at how easy it was to do so. I think this ink is the easiest ink to clean that I have ever used. I don't think MB Royal Blue or Waterman Blue are even as easy.

[fountainpenkid]

Thank you everyone for the amazing pictures and great information!
Does anyone know where to find this ink? It seems to be sold out everywhere...

[jde]

This is a gorgeous looking ink in those wide nibs! Gray is one of my favorite... well, it's hard to call it a color, but it is.

[tralfamadorian]

I don't usually like grey ink, but Stormy Grey is the exception. (I lucked out at JetPens.) I have to flip the bottle over and whack it even harder than I do Rouge Hematite, but the risk is worth the reward.

I had it in a Jinhao 450 with a #6 Goulet italic nib. Then I loaded it into a Kaweco Ice Sport with a double broad nib, and it seems to behave even better there. But that could very well be me.

And yes, the paper makes a world of difference. It's lovely on Baron Fig, which surprised me a little. It's just gray on Moleskine, which didn't.

[john]

I've got the Stormy Grey finally, tried it with the dip pen. I found it looks like the ink which I mixed before (Iroshizuku Kiri Same mix with the gold dust). The ink color and the gold dust color which are the same, even the size of the gold dust. I check two inks with the magnifier...no difference between them.

[ChrisC]

Gold sheen would look really good with a nice blue. I'm gonna try mixing some of the flecks with a sample of Waterman Florida Blue. Unfortunately, I can't do this till the 20th. I'll get back to y'all with the results. (:

[reprieve]

Gold sheen would look really good with a nice blue. I'm gonna try mixing some of the flecks with a sample of Waterman Florida Blue. Unfortunately, I can't do this till the 20th. I'll get back to y'all with the results. (:

I made a lovely shiny blue mix with Herbin Stormy Grey and Ocean Blue. I used a ~3:1 ratio of blue:grey. The gold came through quite well, although it's not as sparkly as Stormy Grey on its own, and it's not quite as blue as Ocean Blue on its own--the mix is more of a midnight blue, leaning toward blue-black. But still very nice.

Let us know how mixing with Waterman Florida Blue goes.

[reprieve]

So far I've had Stormy Grey in a Pilot Custom 74 demonstrator with a 0.8mm Binder stub nib and a Lamy Studio with a factory 1.1mm italic nib. Both pens have been inked since Saturday. I've not had any issues with flow. The Pilot puts down a very wet line and makes the ink looks nearly black; the Lamy is slightly drier and shows better shading and a nice range of grey tones. The gold particles settle out very quickly, but agitating the pen gets them suspended again. I am still getting a lot of sheen and sparkle, but I do have to shake the pen first.

Up next is my Lamy 2000 with an XF nib. It's almost out of ink and, as soon as it's empty, it will get flushed and filled with Stormy Grey. I'm interested to see how this ink looks in a finer nib.


Thought I would report back on my experiences with this ink over the past few months:

1. I kept Stormy Grey in my Pilot Custom 74 demonstrator for several weeks. Toward the end of the fill, I used it pretty sporadically. It never clogged up or hard started at all. When I finally got around to flushing the pen, it came clean very quickly. I'm really impressed by how well this ink cleans up. There was some sparkly residue on the feed but it did come off when I put the nib and feed under running water to flush it. I didn't need to scrub the feed or use any sort of pen flush or cleaning agent. Just plain running water.

2. The piston seal on my XF-nibbed Lamy 2000 failed a few months ago so it never got filled with Stormy Grey. But my broad-nibbed 2000 did. Again, no issues with clogging and it flushed clean quickly. Personally, I'd feel comfortable putting this ink in pretty much any pen. I do like using a demonstrator though because you can see how the gold settles out and you can shake the pen until it's redistributed evenly. That was my only complaint with using a pen like the 2000--I couldn't tell whether or not (or how much) the gold had settled out.

[john]

I've found that the gold stuff in Stormy Grey is different with the Rouge Hematite, the gold dust in Rouge Hematite is finer than the one in Stormy Grey. So have to always to shake the pen before to write if fill it with the Stormy Grey, then the gold stuff will spread evenly.

[Neo]

Too bad there is no source for the glitter dust on its own, I can imagine what fun one could have with that and an ink collection......

[Cob]

Well finally I have taken the plunge and ordered a bottle.

From what I have read I am rather looking forward to it.

Cob

[john]

Well finally I have taken the plunge and ordered a bottle.

From what I have read I am rather looking forward to it.

CobNo surprise at all:cry:

[FPInkGeek]

I have written up a review on put it on my blog. Check it out http://fpinkgeek.blogspot.com/2015/01/j-herbin-stormy-grey-review.html

[Cob]

I am not going to write a review, others are far better at this sort of thing than I, but for what it's worth, I think that this ink is absolutely GLORIOUS. I cannot leave it alone.

Not only is it lovely to look at on the page, the whole idea is so clever.

Full marks to Société Herbin for this wonderful product.

Cob

[VertOlive]

For more sheen, it's been suggested to me to concentrate the ink by removing fluid after the bottle has settled overnight. I'm going to try this with a sample to see what I get.

[Cob]

For more sheen, it's been suggested to me to concentrate the ink by removing fluid after the bottle has settled overnight. I'm going to try this with a sample to see what I get.

I have been using the ink in a Swan 1060; seeing the gold at the bottom of the bottle, I "cocked" the pen ready to fill, gave the bottle a good shake and filled. I have plenty of sheen - whether I can reproduce it here is another matter: there's either my photography (ha ha) or the scanner which may not show it. I'll have a go later if I have time.

Anyway, any inconvenience is easily endured for such a marvellous ink.

Cob

[Silverbreeze]

Isn't a Swan a sac filler,??

[Cob]

Isn't a Swan a sac filler,??

Yes - leverless -so "cocking" means having the sac fully compressed and ready to go!

Cob

[Silverbreeze]

You are braver then I Cob
I wouldn't use.1670 inks in a sac

[Cob]

You are braver then I Cob
I wouldn't use.1670 inks in a sac

I wouldn't call myself brave but thank you!

And I have enough sacs in stock - and they are silicone to boot.

Cob

[Laura N]

Just one data point, but I always use the original 1670 red, which is extremely high maintenance, in a pen with a sac. Fingers crossed, I have had no problems over the years. The pen I'd never use that ink in is a vac filler, because cleaning those fully is so tough. Or any 51, because the collector tends to tenaciously hold onto ink.

The 1670 Stormy Grey in contrast is one of the lowest maintenance inks that I've ever used. I would use it in any pen. Just my experience, though. :)

[BoBo Olson]

I have this ink, my first glitter ink. I've not used it in ages. I liked it better than the Diamine shading glitter inks...some 5 or so bottles in different colors and glitter color. The ink had to shade first. Was less glitter than expected because I'd been spoiled with the dark Herbin grey glitter ink.

What I learned here is to use it in a Superflex pen. Most of my superflex nibs are in piston.
So will give those Diamine glitter inks a run in a superflex nib also...think I'll go with the wider nibs....If I don't have wide enough in super flex, I do have OBB in an Osmia in maxi-semi-flex.