Vintage-looking grey/green/blue-black?

[AndrewW]

Yesterday, I filled out a form on green paper using Lamy Turquoise, and wasn't too keen on the result. It is making me think that I should get a more sober colour for use in the office. (Normally, I'm into greens, aubergines, etc.) However, I don't want a bog-standard blue or black, and am thus looking for a more interesting colour, perhaps with a kind of "vintage" look about it. I liked the picture someone posted on here of PR Grey Flannel, but it might be too pale. Any other recommendations in the grey/green and grey/blue-black spectrum? I wondered, amongst others, about R&K Verdigris.

Edited September 7, 2006 by AndrewW

[Phthalo]

I like Verdigris very much. The green tone lessens slightly as the ink dries, but you should still see subtle hints of it.

 

I only use XF nibs, and I don't think the ink looks very vintage-like, not when compared to R&K Alt-Goldgrun for example.

 

For everyday work use, Verdigris is a subtle and handsome shade. The flow is perfect also.

[Taki]

I recommend Noodler/Pendemonium Legal Lapis and Diamine Indigo. LLis greenish blue, and Indigo is grayish blue. Both are very "vintage" loking(Indigo is more so since it's less saturated than Noodler's), IMHO.

[Margana]

Andrew, what size nib do you usually use?

[BillTheEditor]

Noodler's Lexington Gray is a medium- to dark gray "bullet-proof" ink that might work for you. It looks good with a fine or medium nib, not so interesting with a broad or stub.

 

For a green, I'd suggest Noodler's Squetegue or Diamine Umber. Squetegue is water-resistant and looks best with a medium nib (in my opinion, although it would be ok with a fine or broad nib), while Diamine Umber shows more shading and variation (nice if you use a broad or stub/italic nib), but is not waterproof.

 

For blue-black, I'd second Legal Lapis. It's pretty unique in its appearance.

Edited September 7, 2006 by BillTheEditor

[JimCouch]

Any other recommendations in the grey/green and grey/blue-black spectrum?  I wondered, amongst others, about R&K Verdigris.

I did a review of the R&K Verdigris and the Noodler's Aircorp recently, I would think that either of these two inks would work for you. There is a samll writing sample of both there.

 

You can read the review here:

 

R&K Verdigis vs Noodler's Aircorp

 

Jim

[Dr.Grace]

Swisher/Noodler's Tahitian Pearl might come close to what you're describing. It's a darkish color, blue/black with a tinge of gray/green. Does that make any sense at all? A very hard color to describe. It's interesting but sober enough for the office, I think.

[acfrery]

For vintage-looking green and blue-black inks I would suggest Noodler's Aircops Blue and Noodler's Blue Black, respectively.

 

Alejandro

[Lee UK]

However, I don't want a bog-standard blue or black, and am thus looking for a more interesting colour, perhaps with a kind of "vintage" look about it. 

This is exactly what I was hoping for with Diamine Prussian Blue. If you like grey blues with good shading and vintage quality this sounds perfect for you. There's some debate about this ink in another post: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...showtopic=15572

My bottle looks much more like the sample from NeoTiger than the others.

 

Lee

[Blade Runner]

What a coincidence!

My new mixes may fit the bill-

Florida blue + Waterman green in 3:1 produces a vintage looking

blue green.

 

And 1:1 Florida blue + Southseas blue produces a vintage looking

Prussian blue.

[Michael Wright]

Lamy Blue-Black has a vintage (and Continental) appearance to me -- that is, a grey with a faint tendency towards green. You might want to check, if you can, whether it's one of those ferric inks, in which case the hassle of using it might not be worth it (anyone know if it's ferric or aniline dye). OTOH, the bottle is really, really practical.

 

Best

 

Michael

[kazoolaw]

Prussian Blue (the two bottles I have) fit the bill perfectly for a modern ink.

 

For a vintage looking ink try ... vintage ink. Parker Permanent Royal Blue is a perfectly faded blue/grey color that looks old as soon as it dries.

 

gary

[AndrewW]

Many thanks for all the suggestions!

 

The Lexington Grey sounds like one possibility. Is it a pure grey? I remember being very disappointed in some Sheaffer Grey cartridges many years ago - they had a nasty brown tinge to them, not at all the kind of vintage grey I was looking for.

 

I did consider the Lamy Blue-Black (esp. as I will probably be using a Lamy pen) - seemed a good colour, but it got bad reviews elsewhere on here.

 

Has anyone done a side-by-side comparison of Indigo and Prussian Blue?

 

I also came across an interesting sounding recipe - 4 parts Waterman Blue-Black to 1 part Pelikan Green. It's supposed to give a subtle forties-looking blue-green. I don't have either of these inks, so can't try it without investing up-front!!

Edited September 11, 2006 by AndrewW

[Inkanthropist]

The Lexington Grey sounds like one possibility. Is it a pure grey? I remember being very disappointed in some Sheaffer Grey cartridges many years ago - they had a nasty brown tinge to them, not at all the kind of vintage grey I was looking for.

Andrew

 

I think it probably would be classed as a pure grey. It's very dark, though, and it looks black to me when I use certain nibs with it. I still have your address from when we corresponded a while back, so I'll send you a sheet with some samples within the next few days.

 

Neil

[Pelipen]

I've grown to like PR Sonic Blue. I don't see much mention of Sonic Blue around here. I attached a photo (sorry, no scanner). On my monitor the ink color is fairly accurate, although the paper is obviously not as white as it should be in the photo. It's quite different coming out of my M800 F, than out of the M200 M. I also threw in an example out of a 140 OB. I would describe the color in person under natural light as a grey-blue blushing with teal. Also a pic on green paper (thanks to Post-it) for reference.

 

I purchased SB to replace Midnight Blues, which is just too dark for my taste. Midnight Blues looks ok with a fine nib, but anything else, or on ink hungry paper and it may as well just be black. Even out of a fine nib it's just dark blue. To me, the shading transitions from dark blue to nearly black too quickly.

 

OK. No comments on grammar, punctuation, or seemingly random use of capitalization please. :blink:

http://www.allunderone.org/miscpics/PRSonic_sm.jpg

http://www.allunderone.org/miscpics/PR_SB_Green.jpg

Edited September 11, 2006 by Pelipen

[Michael Wright]

I did consider the Lamy Blue-Black (esp. as I will probably be using a Lamy pen) - seemed a good colour, but it got bad reviews elsewhere on here.

Yeah, I don't actually much like the colour myself, since I prefer a Waterman's or Quink blue-black, but Lamy seems to have the vintage colour you're looking for. Chacun, as they are alleged to say, a son gout (though they say it with accents -- alas, I'm still ASCII-bound).

 

Good luck with the search

 

Michael

[southpaw]

The Lexington Grey sounds like one possibility.  Is it a pure grey?  I remember being very disappointed in some Sheaffer Grey cartridges many years ago - they had a nasty brown tinge to them, not at all the kind of vintage grey I was looking for.

Andrew

 

I think it probably would be classed as a pure grey. It's very dark, though, and it looks black to me when I use certain nibs with it. I still have your address from when we corresponded a while back, so I'll send you a sheet with some samples within the next few days.

 

Neil

I'd agree - pure gray, although I've yet to see it look black, even with my wet nibs, but it does get a nice, dark gray (good shading too).

[BillTheEditor]

The Lexington Grey sounds like one possibility.  Is it a pure grey?  I remember being very disappointed in some Sheaffer Grey cartridges many years ago - they had a nasty brown tinge to them, not at all the kind of vintage grey I was looking for.

Lexington Grey is a pure grey. If you ever saw one of the old Kodak "neutral gray" cards, that's what it reminds me of -- only a bit darker. It's apparently supposed to be similar to the gray shade used on Navy ships ("haze gray") and I would say it is close to that color.

 

Edited to add scan: This is color-corrected. Written with a Fine nib. Lexington Grey does spread a bit.

Edited September 12, 2006 by BillTheEditor

[KendallJ]

noodler's squeteague (a dark blue-green-black) - there's an old review here somewhere.

 

or Noodler's Navy (which has some green undertones in it.)

[Oxonian]

Hi Andrew,

 

I prefer a true grey but I picked up PR Grey Flannel and that to my eyes has a distinctly greenish hue particularly if used in a pen that is a little on the dry side with its line or if you use a blotter. You might also find that one of the mossy green or umber inks fits your needs. Hope you find something that suits.

 

John