Diamine Earl Grey. A Grey I Can Like?

[@catherinehubbard1167]

I recommend Monteverde Smoke Noir. It’s a darker gray but still a gray that is less harsh than black. It has some interesting partial water resistance. Very well-behaved. For a waterproof transparent dark gray, I recommend Noodler’s Lexington Gray. Unlike some of the “bulletproof” inks, it is well-behaved in pens and on paper. It’s good for both drawing and writing and retains its water resistance when diluted. (Note for people trying a Noodler’s ink for the first time: he fills the bottles to the very top. Be careful when opening them or you will have a mess,)

[@vwood2]

Thanks - I’ve been curious about this ink. I don’t know if I’m fond of greys in general but I really love the two Pilot Iroshizuku greys. I think of them as beautiful twins. Fuyu-syogun is a cool slate grey, and reminds me of the old WN Davy’s Grey watercolour, which is sadly no longer available. And the Kiri-Sami is warm, with a slight hint of brown. They complement each other very nicely when paired.

[@PEIPenGuy]

I will have to try the pilot grays!

[@MarcSaegesser]

I got small bottle of this recently and was underwhelmed with how it looked and performed in a TWSBI Vac700R with a medium nib. It went down as a very light gray, but did have some shading. I found it so light that it was difficult to read and it just didn't flow very well in nib that is usually very wet. It didn't stay in the pen very long. I've written a lot with Noodler's Lexington Gray. That's a much darker gray, but I think it looks nice. Close enough to black to be easy to read, but not as stark as black ink on white paper.

[@PEIPenGuy]

I tried it in a couple pens and I didn't like it. I have it in a Custom 74 with a soft medium nib and it works much better. I've not found a grey that I really love.

[@richardingraham6353]

wow 3 great inks

[@ChanceCooper125]

Not only is it often too light and hard to read but I find it’s also exceptionally dry in my pens. One of the driest-writing inks I have. I really wanted to like it. Maybe I need to try diluting it a bit

[@BlushnBlue]

I love greys! I love Earl Grey but Faber Castell stone is my favorite grey now. Diamine Ancient Copper is always in my Pilot Custom 823!

[@PEIPenGuy]

Diamine Ancient Copper is one of my favorites and the Custom 823 is one of my grail pens!

[@BlushnBlue]

@@PEIPenGuy Great minds...lol.

[@ironmic9244]

How about 'Writer's Block'? Figure it could be a black ink. Have you tried Earl Grey in a Visconti? They write pretty wet. Try it with a pen that uses an ebonite feeder.

[@PEIPenGuy]

Writer's Block! I like it. I'm going to put it in my Custom 74. Almost time to reink it!

[@ironmic9244]

@@PEIPenGuy I haven't tried that combo. I did use MB Oyster Grey in my Custom 74 w/ SFM nib. It shaded spectacularly.

[@marachristian8726]

I am not a fan of grey inks either, but thought I should have at least one so I would have a little of everything. I picked this one because of the name--Earl Grey was my mother's favorite tea and she drank pots of it daily! I have a funky dark red pen that has shavings of metal in the resin with some swirls of black and grey, so I thought a grey ink would be a good color for it because black is too boring, and red would be too hard to match (I prefer burgundies like Writer's Blood, and this pen is definitely red.) I actually have a need for lighter inks for journaling because they are less likely to have ghosting (I write pages and pages at a time, so I buy cheap journals that don't always have the best paper.) For letter writing and note-taking at work, I pick fun, vibrant colors--lots of teals, purples, and turquoise. I have lots of Diamine inks--good price point and lots to choose from, and you can get the smaller bottles that take up less space but give you much more than a sample.

[@PEIPenGuy]

Diamine is a good value and they have lots of lovely colours. I'm going to try Earl Grey in my Custom 74 with a soft medium nib.

[@farahfarid2655]

I like greys too. I think i had used this ink in my twsbi eco and S.T. Dupont. Both have medium nibs and truly showed up quite differently. In the eco, it was just right for everyday writing , but in the Dupont, i felt it fell a little flat. I have to reassess and will let you know! The Iroshizuku Fuyu-Syogun was a better fit for the Dupont. Thumbs up for sure for Aurora Borealis ( i pair that with my Benu Talisman Edelweiss) and Writer’s Blood (in my Pelikan M600 Red Tortoise)! Cheers!

[@PEIPenGuy]

I've put the Earl Grey in a custom 74 with a soft medium nib. So far I like it but I need to write with it for awhile.

[@thuntz29]

I like greys… try a sample of Sydney lavender by Robert Oster!

[@PEIPenGuy]

I'll have to order some Robert Oster samples. One that interests me is Robert Oster Motor Oil. It's more of a brown but seems to have some grey to it. Have you tried it? I'm also wondering if there's a pen ink combination that would make me happier with greys.

[@ironmic9244]

LOL I mentioned Sydney Lavender to PEI Pen Guy just last week.

[@thuntz29]

@@PEIPenGuy I would say just a juicy pen! Greys tend to be dry… one in a very wet pen… I like it in my Pilot 823

[@PEIPenGuy]

I'm going to try it in my Custom 74. It has a soft medium nib. I really want an 823! One of my grail pens is the amber 823.

[@PEIPenGuy]

I'm trying to find a Canadian seller of Robert Oster. Might have to order from Goulet.