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

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?

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!

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 !!!!

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!

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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Those boxes have me so confused...

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?

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.

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Originally Posted by 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?

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

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Originally Posted by tandaina

Those boxes have me so confused...

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:) 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.

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.

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Originally Posted by Laura N

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.

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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.

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Originally Posted by 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.

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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.

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.

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.

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Originally Posted by 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.

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

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Originally Posted by 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.

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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?

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.

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

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.