Review: Laywine's (De Atramentis) Sahara Grey

[merzig]

See below for a typed version of the handwritten review, plus a few detail shots.

 

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2618/3727453494_3fe2deb28e_o.jpg

 

Ink Brand / Color / Packaging

Laywine's (made by De Atramentis)

Sahara Grey

Bottle (32 mL)

 

Paper

Xerox Business 4200 (ie, nothing special, just copy paper I had around)

92 brightness

Weight: 20lb / 75gsm

 

Pens Used

Pilot Elite <F>

Lamy AL-star <M>

Lamy AL-star <1.5>

 

Comments

[Pilot Elite <F>]

This ink is what I consider to be a bright olive green. I think it's fairly sophisticated -- I wouldn't think twice about using it in a business setting.

 

As with many inks, the name "Sahara Grey" is misleading. There is very little -- if any -- grey in this ink. Mainly green, brown, yellow.

 

This ink has medium flow: not too loose, not too dry. Feels great in my fine nibs. There is some shading that occurs, but not a great deal.

 

[switch to Lamy AL-star <M>]

Here is a writing sample with a Lamy AL-star with medium nib. The character of the ink seems much different, much more watery.

 

[switch to Lamy AL-star <1.5>]

And another with an AL-star fitted with a 1.5 nib. The wider the nib, the lighter this ink appears. Still a very nice color, though.

 

 

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3510/3727507022_75eb54ae34_o.jpg

 

Feathering: Very little from any nib size.

Bleedthrough: Just a touch, mainly at the cross-outs in the comments.

Nib Creep: None noticeable.

Saturation: Moderate. Comparable to Diamine or Herbin.

Drying times: Very dry by 10-sec. mark [Pilot Elite <F>], Dry by 15-sec. mark [Lamy <1.5>].

 

 

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3507/3727507372_014c75bed5_o.jpg

 

After drying thoroughly, I ran the ink under a stream of water for 15-20 seconds. Most of the yellow tones ran and disappeared. The brown and some green tones remained.

 

Conclusion

I really like this ink. It performs well, I love the color, and is more waterproof than I expected it to be. De Atramentis inks haven't been on my radar long; I look forward to exploring more of their colors.

 

[HenryLouis]

I like... Maybe I'll pick up a bottle with De Atramentis dark blue, but they don't have any in stock yet... they need to order more and they told me the next order would be at the end of the summer... sigh

[merzig]

Yes...it's definitely a new favorite of mine. A darker alternative to Rohrer & Klinger Alt-Goldgrun. A happy end to my army green ink search!

[jlepens]

Thanks for doing this review.

 

I got this ink from Stylo a week ago and was surprised to find that it was green. Sahara...I would have expected tan tones if anything. But after getting over that, It is a great ink.

[Peter from Sherwood Park]

I also picked up this ink (from Stylus Fine Pens in Edmonton) expecting a tan-grey colour and was presently surprised by the olive green colour. I will be using it on a regular basis.

[scribbler77]

I don't have the De Atrementis, but your scans look a lot like Rohrer und Klingner Alt Goldgruen. The latter may be somewhat brighter.

[Ondina]

Yes...it's definitely a new favorite of mine. A darker alternative to Rohrer & Klinger Alt-Goldgrun.

 

You said it, looks like a darker Alt-Goldgrün.....lovely. Thanks for the review.

[drifting]

I've been using this for a couple of weeks now, and I'm really starting to like it. I'm generally a very-dark-green guy, and at first, I thought I'd made a mistake in picking up the Sahara Grey. But it isn't too bright, and its green/brown/yellow in-betweenishness keeps me interested. The pictures here are a tad more green than I'm seeing thus far.

 

As posters above have mentioned, it is similar to R&K Alt Goldgrün, though the Goldgrün in unambiguously a green, IMO.

 

What the Sahara Grey really reminds me of is Stipula Verde Muschiato, but lighter. Like light brown and dark brown, Sahara Grey and Verde Muschiato are light whatever-this-is and dark whatever-this-is. Olive green/brown?

Cool, in any case.

 

Ryan.

[Bo Bo Olson]

I picked up three inks today; two De Atramentis inks Sahara gray and Cement gray, and Pelikan Jade.

 

I got to fix some pens. I didn't have enough to go around, having 15 in rotation before pulling out six more pens out of the box.

I have some new paper cheap at Aldi a grocery store, 90 gs/m Bluten-Hammereffect, laid, marmor green paper, and 120 gs/m linen effect; I also scribbled a couple of lines on regular 80 gs/m copy paper.

So there were tone differences.

 

For Jade I used three, regular BB, semi-flex M and F.

Cement gray, semi-flex M and springy Reform EF.

For Sahara Grey, semi-flex M and a maxi-semi-flex/'flexi' F.

 

Rather stupid to do all three inks at once; I could have gotten regular BB, springy EF, Semi-flex M, F and maxi-semi-flex/flexi Rupp F.

There would be more differences due to width and flex.

 

With the semi-flex M Sahara Grey is mostly an olive green of some sort. Gray, is also a darkening of a color. With Sahara, I'd expect more a sandy brown...

 

With the Maxi-semi-flex/'flexi' nib, with a touch of Flex it writes wet a bluish gray, that dries a 'grayed' green.

 

On the 90 Gs/m laid paper, the 'flexi' nib is dark...it is a grayed color that one needs to look twice to see it's gray-green.

On the Bluten paper it's shades real well.

That nib darkens the ink on the Linen paper too...in a hurry it could pass for gray...and the flex work, grays the green towards a 'blue' image. The oh, that's not steel blue but steel green.

 

Well I really like that Rupp nib, with Pelikan Blue Black, I got on one paper, a black outline and a vivid blue inside when flexing.

 

So here it lays a some what darker line, but the thinness of it, gives me a Darkened (grayed) green. With that Rupp nib on two papers I have to look twice to see it is more green than gray.

 

Of course in daylight that might be a different story.