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

[tandaina]

There was a package in my mailbox today!

bottle.jpg

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. 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.

sparkles.jpg

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:

writing sample.jpg

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?