Noodler's Lexington Gray?

[usonian]

Yesterday I purchased a bottle of Noodler's Lexington Gray after reading reviews calling it a nice warm grey, and seeing some scans which show it to be just that. I didn't bother to try it in the store as the images I had seen were pretty consistent.

 

This morning I loaded some into a Lamy Safari with a 1.1 italic nib, and was surprised at the output... it's not exactly gray; it's more of a dusky purple/lavender color, not really warm at all. I gently agitated the bottle before loading the pen, so I don't think it would be due to any kind of settling. This nib does seem to write very wet with this ink, but if I smudge it out even the lighter smear has the same purplish quality. I tried a few scribbles with a crow-quill and get the same hue.

 

I don't have access to a scanner at the moment, but here's a low-fi photo that gets the effect:

 

http://andychase.googlepages.com/lexgray.jpg/lexgray-full;init:.jpg

 

Compared with krz's review here it seems way off. Has anyone else run into this?

[MicheleB]

I don't have LG, but it does look way off from the other scan. Here's some thoughts: 1) what ink did you have in the pen beforehand? rinse it out and try it again, 2) take a Qtip and see what it looks like, 3) push the lid of the bottle down on a piece of paper so you get a ring of ink; 4) write to Nathan. Le us know - I have been eyeing that ink myself for a gray lizard Soennecken I just got.

[Pippin60]

Yesterday I purchased a bottle of Noodler's Lexington Gray after reading reviews calling it a nice warm grey, and seeing some scans which show it to be just that. I didn't bother to try it in the store as the images I had seen were pretty consistent.

 

This morning I loaded some into a Lamy Safari with a 1.1 italic nib, and was surprised at the output... it's not exactly gray; it's more of a dusky purple/lavender color, not really warm at all. I gently agitated the bottle before loading the pen, so I don't think it would be due to any kind of settling. This nib does seem to write very wet with this ink, but if I smudge it out even the lighter smear has the same purplish quality. I tried a few scribbles with a crow-quill and get the same hue.

 

I don't have access to a scanner at the moment, but here's a low-fi photo that gets the effect:

 

http://andychase.googlepages.com/lexgray.jpg/lexgray-full;init:.jpg

 

Compared with krz's review here it seems way off. Has anyone else run into this?

 

I use it in a Lamy Joy with a 1.5mm nib and its closer to the gray, but very wet. Lamy calligraphy (italic) nibs tend to be very wet but it shouldn't alter the color other than perhaps making it more saturated. Have you tried it on different paper or even a different pen? Its a great ink and I believe is waterproof.

[Possum Hill]

Yesterday I purchased a bottle of Noodler's Lexington Gray after reading reviews calling it a nice warm grey, and seeing some scans which show it to be just that. I didn't bother to try it in the store as the images I had seen were pretty consistent.

 

This morning I loaded some into a Lamy Safari with a 1.1 italic nib, and was surprised at the output... it's not exactly gray; it's more of a dusky purple/lavender color, not really warm at all. I gently agitated the bottle before loading the pen, so I don't think it would be due to any kind of settling. This nib does seem to write very wet with this ink, but if I smudge it out even the lighter smear has the same purplish quality. I tried a few scribbles with a crow-quill and get the same hue.

 

I don't have access to a scanner at the moment, but here's a low-fi photo that gets the effect:

 

http://andychase.googlepages.com/lexgray.jpg/lexgray-full;init:.jpg

 

Compared with krz's review here it seems way off. Has anyone else run into this?

For me, it has appeared a very nice gray when used in my Reform 1745 and Lamy Safari with 1.1mm italic nib.

 

Does it look like anything has accumulated in the bottom of the bottle?

[krz]

Perhaps a little royal blue ink left in the chamber of the pen? My Lexington gray looks gray. It's one of my 4 mainstay inks.

[usonian]

It's actually the first ink I loaded into a brand new pen, so there's no chance of another residual color in this case. And the appearance is the same with a crow-quill dipped in the ink. No sediment on the bottom of the bottle (I did take care to agitate the ink before filling), and swabbing shows the same purplish cast. I'll do a more comprehensive sample, do a proper scan it & get in touch with Nathan.

[PatientType]

I'd wager that this is a rare instance of Noodler's inadvertently getting a bad batch. Most likely one of the component ink feeders ran dry as the batch was being mixed and you've got a bottle of Noodler's Lexinton Gray that is one color short of a full deck.

[usonian]

It seems that something like that is likely. All of the Noodler's inks I've bought over the last two years have been awesome!

 

I'd wager that this is a rare instance of Noodler's inadvertently getting a bad batch. Most likely one of the component ink feeders ran dry as the batch was being mixed and you've got a bottle of Noodler's Lexinton Gray that is one color short of a full deck.

 

[krz]

I'll double check my next bottle, I hope the formula hasn't changed.

[junoro]

It must be a bad batch because that does not resemble Lexington Gray at all. It writes wet in all my pens, but is most certainly gray.

[effrafax]

Have to agree that for the most part Noodler's inks are great, and I have very little of other brands. However, out of the ~30 colours I have, there are two stand-outs that I can't use, one of them being Lexington Grey. Except in the finest of nibs (as in Japanese EF or finer) it feathers on every type of paper I have. And using such a fine nib hides the great colour to a large extent. The other ink with the same problem is Concord Bream, and I love the colour so much it's painful that I can't use it.

 

Whether they are just bottles from a bad batch or end-of-production run I don't know. Maybe when I'm rich I'll get a second bottle of each and try again.

 

Then again, I've managed to replicate LG fairly closely using BP Black, Whiteness of the Whale and Blue Ghost, and it's a fairly well behaved ink, but "just not the same". Concord Bream is just too hard to replicate.

[Viseguy]

Looks like you've got a bad bottle there. I'd ask for an exchange, if I were you.

[ProfMike]

It's actually the first ink I loaded into a brand new pen, so there's no chance of another residual color in this case. And the appearance is the same with a crow-quill dipped in the ink. No sediment on the bottom of the bottle (I did take care to agitate the ink before filling), and swabbing shows the same purplish cast. I'll do a more comprehensive sample, do a proper scan it & get in touch with Nathan.

 

It's not unheard of to have a new pen arrive having already been dipped with ink - it's happened to me a few times so I flush every new pen with cool water and let it dry overnight before filling for the first time. It's not a big deal (for me, at least) and the flushing can't hurt.

 

If you flushed before you filled, I'd say there might be something up with your ink. Maybe you can send an inquiring e-mail to your vendor or Nathan himself. My Lexington Grey is just that... grey. And, actually, it's a nicely behaved grey that gets along well with many of my pens.

 

PS - Edited to add that I missed you saying that you had also used a quill with the same results. Sorry! Then my guess is that your bottle is a bit off.

Edited July 19, 2009 by ProfMike

[AlaskanWriter]

My guess is a mis-labeled bottle; that looks to be an exact match for the Noodlers Nightshade I am using...

 

G.

[usonian]

:embarrassed_smile:

 

Well, don't I have egg on my face. ProfMike must have it after all. When I did a q-tip swap out of the bottle, there was the nice neutral gray I was expecting. At that point I realized that when I did a swab yesterday I had just soaked ink directly out of the nib, which of course gave me the same false results. Garbage in, garbage out.

 

As for the crowquill test out of the bottle, the lines were so fine, dark and saturated that I must have interpreted that as the same darker-than-expected color I had gotten out of the pen, being predisposed to assuming something was amiss.

 

After flushing and refilling the Safari, the color looks great. Really interesting shading with this nib!

 

Thanks for all of the helpful suggestions everyone! Lessons learned:

 

• Try the ink in the store, if possible
• Always flush new-to-you pens, even brand new ones
• Take test swabs out of the bottle

[coco]

I just got a sample of this ink from Pear Tree Pens, and I love it. A rich gray, unlike Diamine Gray (another sample I got). Not that the Diamine isn't great--it has a silver sheen (to my eyes). But the Lexington Gray looks like a color I would use daily for work.

[rickyriz]

I'm sure that now you understand the problem you'll be very happy with this ink!

It's my favourite (warm) gray with Sailor's (cold).

Enjoy!

[Nibble]

Lamy pens are, I believe, tested at the factory with blue ink before they are sold.

 

A year or so ago I bought a white Lamy for use with Noodler's Whiteness of the Whale. I was horrified to see that the first words were pale blue. A quick email to The Writing Desk brought a (soothing) reply that this was to be expected. I now know to flush Lamy pens when they are used for something critical.

 

I have never got the hang of Lexington Gray, but people seem to rate it highly, so I will try again.

[Inka]

That truly does look like a purple ink on my monitor.

With the way my PC is set up for graphics work, dual-core FX CPU, dual ATI X1950 graphics cards in Crossfire configuration, plus a great 24" widescreen monitor what I see are true-to-life colors on my system.

 

I can say that when I did a review of Noodler's Coral Sea Blue-Black it looked more on the green end of the spectrum.

Another member had mentioned that too, thinking it might be my scanner but my scanner is and "old-school" Canon flatbed that reproduces colors just as they appear to the naked eye, using this PC.

So I did some more testing, using different paper types with the same Pelikan M800/F nib and the Coral Sea ink.

I found that on Staples sugarcane paper, Staples 3x5 cards and even Xerox inkjet paper, Coral Sea did indeed look more brilliant & bright blue w/black, not green at all.

It was the OfficeMax MaxBrite inkjet paper I write ink reviews on that made Coral Sea look greener.

 

All that said, have you tried it on various paper types to see if it changes color?

Just a thought, as I'd experienced something similar too.

 

FPN member “Nibble” seemed to have hit the proverbial nail on the head, saying Lamy tests their pens with blue ink prior to shipping.

That does sound like what happened in your case, after going back and reading where once you'd flushed your new Lamy the grey did indeed look gray and not purple.

I'm glad to hear you got to the bottom of the problem and fixed it with a flush & fill.

Well done!

Now that I know this about Lamy, I'll be sure to flush any I happen to get prior to filling.

I've been eyeing a Lamy 2000 for some time now, just haven't gotten one since $$$ flow is so tight [non-existent at times] lately.

One of these days I do home to get a Lamy of some sort, preferably a 2000, this info will save me from the "What the ....?" freak-out.

I really appreciate this thread and the information I’d gleaned here from all of you!