Dilute Or Buy?

[michaellunsford]

I have a few different Noodler's black inks on hand already: Eternal darkness and X-Feather. Is diluted black an acceptable way to make gray ink, or should one just go buy a bottle of the real thing? My initial thought is that a real gray ink will be richer and lay down crisp lines. Since my primary pen is a flex, I'm thinking diluted ink might bleed and warp the page more than a real gray. What do you think?

[Charles Rice]

Try it and see (in a small amount). Why buy gray if you have success mixing?

[michaellunsford]

I'll give it a whirl, but there's nothing for me to compare it with :-(

[perth]

I think a "real" grey ink would be quite different to a diluted black, especially in terms of flow and shading. I've tried diluting a Lamy black, but it shades much better than the Albert Einstein MontBlanc grey which seems more saturated.

[inkstainedruth]

The grey inks I have are very different from the black inks I have -- they're not just diluted black. Some of them have a fair amount of saturation all on their own. Trying to remember if any of them have shading (De Atramentis Tchaikowsky/Silver Grey does not).

Diamine Grey is supposed to have sheen, but I haven't tried that sample yet.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Ted A]

I'll give it a whirl, but there's nothing for me to compare it with :-(

Give it a try and see if you like it. It doesn't matter how it compares if you like it. And then you can always get commercial gray and you might like it as well but it's different. I tried several samples of gray and they each were different and were different from the black that I diluted. I now have and use Lexington Gray and a diluted Visconti black. They are both nice, but are not the same.

[Sandy1]

Hi,

 

Along with Member Charles Rice, I encourage you to try dilution, especially with Noodler's inks.

 

I don't use Black FP ink, so have only touched on the use of Black for use in blending with other hues to lower value / chroma.

 

From my experience, most inks can handle dilution to 60% concentration, (3 volumes ink + 2 volumes [distilled] water), before performance potholes appear on the road to inky enjoyment. Though Noodler's might be even lower: 40% perhaps.

 

Fingers crossed that you find an interesting hue is hiding in the shadows of your Black inks.

 

Bye,

S1

 

__ __

See also Dilution - A Rough Guide @ Post № 23 : https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/218161-need-help-selecting-my-first-japanese-pens/?p=2315439

Edited July 21, 2014 by Sandy1

[amberleadavis]

Trick question? Both.

 

Short term, send me your address and write you a letter with MB 90 grey which is inked up in my pen right now. Then you can compare your test pages for diluting.

[FPFan]

You can also use Noodler's Whiteness of the Whale to mix to the color gray you want. WoW was made for mixing with!

[amberleadavis]

You can also use Noodler's Whiteness of the Whale to mix to the color gray you want. WoW was made for mixing with!

 

 

But do read about mixes that don't work because one of the WoW mixes was a disaster.

[Ordald]

.

 

Amber, your avatar is red! Did Pacman catch a pill?

Aldo

(sorry the OT)

[amberleadavis]

Enemy Color Original Puck Man^[27]

American Pac-Man Character Translation

Nickname Translation

Alternate
character

Alternate
nickname Character Nickname

 

Red Oikake (追いかけ) chaser Akabei (赤ベイ) red guy Urchin Macky Shadow Blinky

 

Pink Machibuse (待ち伏せ) ambusher Pinky (ピンキー) Pinky Romp Micky Speedy Pinky

 

Cyan Kimagure (気まぐれ) fickle Aosuke (青助) blue guy Stylist Mucky Bashful Inky

 

Orange Otoboke (お惚け) stupid Guzuta (愚図た) slow guy Crybaby Mocky Pokey Clyde

 

Well usually, Inky makes his appearance, but I think this one is Blinky although the ink is

Omaezaki sunset

so I don't know if it is Red or Orange.

[michaellunsford]

You can also use Noodler's Whiteness of the Whale to mix to the color gray you want. WoW was made for mixing with!

 

Wait... Mixing black with invisible ink? that just sounds weird.

[inkstainedruth]

Wait... Mixing black with invisible ink? that just sounds weird.

I have a sample of WoW but haven't tried it either by itself or for mixing. I thought you were talking about Blue Ghost, but I just checked and both are listed as being "invisible".

This topic has made me think. Nobody talks about pink being a lighter/diluted version of red and worrying about trying to dilute red to get pink (although there are arguments about how "girly" pink inks are ).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[amberleadavis]

 

Wait... Mixing black with invisible ink? that just sounds weird.

Black mixed the Ghost Blue might work... I was thinking Whiteness of the Whale which is white not clear.

 

http://sheismylawyer.com/She_Thinks_In_Ink/Potions_Cabinet/2014-03-24_Closeups/slides/20140326_095803.jpg

[michaellunsford]

Black mixed the Ghost Blue might work... I was thinking Whiteness of the Whale which is white not clear.

 

 

Looks like the making of an interesting experiment (and someone has all the stuff needed to pull it off!)

[setriode]

If you paid postage from Australia I would gladly send you a full bottle of Omas grey. I bought several bottles before the Internet years ago and still haven't got through the first one.

Edited July 24, 2014 by setriode

[michaellunsford]

If you paid postage from Australia I would gladly send you a full bottle of Omas grey. I bought several bottles before the Internet years ago and still haven't got through the first one.

 

I just checked it out at Goulet. It's good looking ink! With shipping and all, a bottle can be had for $20. Last time I shipped to the UK it was $25 (just for shipping). I can only imagine it's more than that for Australia.