Ink Review - Diamine Grey

[777]

This review, along with all my other ones

can be found on my blog. Please, do go and check it out. I'm certain you'll enjoy your visit!

"A grey ink?! - No way, that would be weird. Right?"

 

That was my initial thought when I was given the idea of grey ink. A friend of mine obviously knew better than I did.

 

He sent me two grey ink samples - Diamine Grey, and later-to-be-reviewed, Noodlers Lexington Grey. I was very curious to try one out, so I immediately inked my Parker 51 with Diamine Grey.

 

Initial impression: WOW! Hey, that looks really nice. I never would have thought so, but I like this grey ink.

 

A grey ink never appealed to me before, as I thought of it in the same way I look at watery black inks. Ugly. But Diamine Grey is not like a watery black ink - it is distinctly, and decidedly GREY. Not blackish-grey. This actually appeals to me greatly. Just like my friend who sent me the samples said: It's easier on the eyes than a solid black ink. Indeed I find it very pleasant to stare at for extended periods. It makes my handwriting look less "blocky" and formal than when I use Noodlers Black.

 

That being said, let's move onto the review! First, the typed-review:

 

Ink review: Diaimine Grey

 

Pen and nib: Parker 51 aero - factory B nib

 

Color: Quite simply, light-grey

 

 

 

Dry time: 15 seconds and it's dry. Pretty good, but not amazing.

 

Smear when dry: NO And you'll notice I forgot to write that in the written review. Sorry!

Lubrication: Like most Diamine inks - a bit watery, but not bad. I find the watery-ness of Diamine inks to be a good trait in most situations. It's especially useful in that they wash out very easily, and do note stain easily either.

Shading: Minimal. Very minimal...

 

Feathering: None!

 

Bleedthrough: Once again - none!

 

Notes: Wow! I really love this ink. I would never have thought of using grey, but when I was given a sample, I fell in love with the color! It is very gentle on the eyes, and I find it pleasing overall.I will be buying s bottle of this one!

 

A special thanks to Freddy for the ink samples, and making this review possible!

 

Now for a photo of this beautiful ink.

 

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C1GaZNIIhEQ/Tm9FnsTYemI/AAAAAAAACxM/2q9roTGXYPw/s640/Diamine+Grey.jpg

 

So there you go - a review of an ink I never would have thought to try be myself. But I love it! And I really will be adding a bottle to my next ink order. I find the color of it, and it's behavior, perfect for notes, but mostly for writing letters. That's just what I use it for though. It functions well in any scenario that I can put ink into, except something involving close-contact with water.

I recommend you try a sample. It is really worth looking into. Even my picture does not do the ink justice. It is far better looking in person than you see here.

I do hope you've enjoyed this review! Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think. I always love to hear from you!

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subscribe to keep on top of all the latest ink reviews, and pen review coming up. Pretty soon I'm going to finish my review of the pilot vanishing point! You won't want to miss out on that!

Thanks for reading!

Regards,

Tyler Dahl

[Iranna]

Finally a review of this ink, thanks! I've been curious about it for a long time. Does anyone know if it's darker than Omas Grey or MB Oyster Grey?

[cbogg]

I like it color looks almost pencil nice, but obviously a pen. Very neat.

[Nickargenta]

Your scan matches my experiences with this ink in terms of colour and behaviour. As much as I like subdued "vintage" styled inks though, I've never warmed to this one. I find it just too washed out. One of these days I'll try mixing it with one of Diamine's blacks and see if I can come up with a darker shade of grey that I'm more happy with.

[lovemy51]

thx for the review, 777. i forgot i had it. it is a very nice grey, indeed!

[saketb]

A true grey indeed!!

[rudyhou]

Finally a review of this ink, thanks! I've been curious about it for a long time. Does anyone know if it's darker than Omas Grey or MB Oyster Grey?

 

don't know about MB oyster grey, but own both diamine grey and omas grey. i find omas grey is brighter as it is closer to silver grey. diamine grey is hands down a better grey for writing and is a truer grey, in comparison other greys that i have; noodler's lexington grey, omas grey, n sailor chu-shu grey (limited edition).

[777]

Finally a review of this ink, thanks! I've been curious about it for a long time. Does anyone know if it's darker than Omas Grey or MB Oyster Grey?

 

You're most welcome! I'm glad you enjoyed the review.

 

I do not know about the Omas grey, or MB oyster. Never tried either one... Sorry about that.

 

I like it color looks almost pencil nice, but obviously a pen. Very neat.

 

It does look kinda' like a pencil mark. Very interesting observation. Makes the ink even cooler.

 

Your scan matches my experiences with this ink in terms of colour and behaviour. As much as I like subdued "vintage" styled inks though, I've never warmed to this one. I find it just too washed out. One of these days I'll try mixing it with one of Diamine's blacks and see if I can come up with a darker shade of grey that I'm more happy with.

 

Ah, well, different inks for everyone. I love how faded it is. It has a vintage, soft feel to it.

 

I'd love to see how your mix turns out, if you ever get the time to do a scan of it.

 

thx for the review, 777. i forgot i had it. it is a very nice grey, indeed!

 

You're most welcome. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

 

A true grey indeed!!

 

This is why I like it so much. It's not watery black, nor is it dark-ish white. It is perfectly in between, at a nice, even grey.

 

 

[Chiro75]

Your scan looks quite a bit like the Private Reserve Gray Flannel I use. I had the same thought... "gray? Yuck!" but I am in the position at work that we scan and photocopy everything in our patient files. I sign or initial documents hundreds of times a day. I'm pretty much limited to plain ol' black, so I thought I might be able to be "sneaky" and get away with gray or blue-black. So, my EDC pens are an Esterbrook SJ with Gray Flannel and an Esterbrook LJ with Noodler's Blue-Black and I "bucked the system!" LOL The Gray Flannel has a good amount of variation when "fresh" but will get pretty dark and concentrated looking if I haven't been using the pen very much. I love the way the gray looks, which is a big surprise to me, too. I will put this on my list to replace the PR with (not that I don't like the Gray Flannel, but I want to try Lexington Gray and this, too). Thanks for the review!

[777]

Your scan looks quite a bit like the Private Reserve Gray Flannel I use. I had the same thought... "gray? Yuck!" but I am in the position at work that we scan and photocopy everything in our patient files. I sign or initial documents hundreds of times a day. I'm pretty much limited to plain ol' black, so I thought I might be able to be "sneaky" and get away with gray or blue-black. So, my EDC pens are an Esterbrook SJ with Gray Flannel and an Esterbrook LJ with Noodler's Blue-Black and I "bucked the system!" LOL The Gray Flannel has a good amount of variation when "fresh" but will get pretty dark and concentrated looking if I haven't been using the pen very much. I love the way the gray looks, which is a big surprise to me, too. I will put this on my list to replace the PR with (not that I don't like the Gray Flannel, but I want to try Lexington Gray and this, too). Thanks for the review!

 

Would you say PR flannel is darker, or lighter than this?

 

I prefer the Diamine Grey over Noodlers Lexington grey. It's better behaved, and looks prettier to my eyes.

 

Let me know how they all stack up against each other if you try them.

 

Luckily in my job, I am permitted to sue any ink I like! My customer warranty cards always go out with a random ink, from a randomly chosen pen in my collection. Makes it kinda' fun. Though, these days I'm preferring my Noodlers black, in my VP stealth for such work.

[Chiro75]

I'd say Gray Flannel looks pretty similar to this.