J. Herbin 1670 Stormy Grey

[chingdamosaic]

Sorry that the pictures of my last two posts had some problems showing....

This time I'm trying the "Attach files" function and photobucket, hope they both work!

(they seem fine in preview, though...)

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J. Herbin 1670 Stormy Grey

A grey ink with gold flakes, released in late 2014 by J. Herbin.

 

This is my first bottle of shimmering ink, and I'm sure it will stay on my fascination list for a while.

 

Look at the box and bottle design---even if you are not actually using the ink, it makes perfect decoration on the desk.

 

 

 

It's said that the 1670 bottles are handmade, thus imperfectly shaped.

I love this.

(and I accidentally cracked the seal)

 

There is a thick layer of gold flakes. I tried to take a picture of it but it sank really fast....

 

....and formed an interesting pattern....

 

 

On cheap calculating paper, with Noodler's Creaper:

http://i651.photobucket.com/albums/uu239/chingdamosaic/1670storm08_zpshyqjzjqq.jpg

the color is a pure and clean grey, comfortable to read.

When it dries, it gets a little brownish or purplish, depends on the paper you use.

 

I didn't give it enough shake, so there weren't a lot of gold flakes here.

Only visible at certain angles,

http://i651.photobucket.com/albums/uu239/chingdamosaic/1670storm10_zpsbs4vm1rx.jpg

 

or under sun light:

http://i651.photobucket.com/albums/uu239/chingdamosaic/1670storm09_zpseoitpgrr.jpg

 

 

 

And here is what it looks like if you get too many gold flakes:

(with dip pen, on sketch paper)

http://i651.photobucket.com/albums/uu239/chingdamosaic/1670storm11_zpsmb6npe2m.jpg

You get a thick layer of gold shimmer..... and the grey ink vanishes.

BTW, the bottom line is a diluted version; kind of looks purplish.

 

 

And on another grid paper, with Noodler's Creaper again:

http://i651.photobucket.com/albums/uu239/chingdamosaic/1670storm12_zpser4abb8j.jpg

 

 

close-up 1: the shades

http://i651.photobucket.com/albums/uu239/chingdamosaic/1670storm14_zps70ci3zed.jpg

 

 

close-up 2: shimmer shows when tilting the paper.

http://i651.photobucket.com/albums/uu239/chingdamosaic/1670storm15_zpsepobt7qx.jpg

 

 

close-up 3: more shimmering

http://i651.photobucket.com/albums/uu239/chingdamosaic/1670storm16_zpsyzxr4wtn.jpg

 

 

Water resistance test, on MUJI grid paper with dip pen:

http://i651.photobucket.com/albums/uu239/chingdamosaic/1670storm13_zpsovc5rkjo.jpg

 

 

 

Unintentional ink drops:

http://i651.photobucket.com/albums/uu239/chingdamosaic/1670storm17_zps1o2xdwkp.jpg

 

 

Doodle with syringe, water, and Noodler's Creaper:

http://i651.photobucket.com/albums/uu239/chingdamosaic/1670storm18_zpsfag4kzkd.jpg

 

http://i651.photobucket.com/albums/uu239/chingdamosaic/1670storm20_zps9yair86e.jpg

 

http://i651.photobucket.com/albums/uu239/chingdamosaic/1670storm19_zpsmkwkgzis.jpg

 

http://i651.photobucket.com/albums/uu239/chingdamosaic/1670storm21_zpsnpfbyf37.jpg

 

http://i651.photobucket.com/albums/uu239/chingdamosaic/1670storm22_zpsrnblcjmi.jpg

AAAAAND notice the brown/bronze sheen!! (Not gold flakes)

I love it but it doesn't appear all the time.

 

 

And on tissue paper:

http://i651.photobucket.com/albums/uu239/chingdamosaic/1670storm23_zpstjul6iae.jpg

I'm surprised at the blue and violet hue, because so far these two colors never show on any pen/paper I try with.

 

 

Conclusion:

Very nice ink, with good flow, practical color and beautiful shimmer.

Not very hard to clean from the pen.

Great decoration on the desk.

Recommend!!

 

BUT if you are specifically looking for a "grey ink with gold shimmer," maybe you should check out Diamine Sparkling Shadows first, because I've seen more than one review states that its flow and flakes perform better than J.Herbin Stormy Grey.

 

 

Thanks for watching this photo-heavy review!

I'll end this with an Instagram-filtered pic:

 

 

For more detailed Chinese review:

http://chingdamosaic.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-55.html

Edited December 31, 2015 by chingdamosaic

[Luma]

Awesome review! Photos look great

[sunlance]

Thanks for the review! This was my first ink with sparkles as well, and IMO this is a really great one. The grey is dark enough to be serious but still interesting, and it is even somewhat waterproof! I have never had a flow or cleaning problem with Stormy Grey. In contrast, I got samples of four different Diamine Shimmer Inks and all of them have clogged every pen I have tried them in.

[inkstainedruth]

Thanks for the review! This was my first ink with sparkles as well, and IMO this is a really great one. The grey is dark enough to be serious but still interesting, and it is even somewhat waterproof! I have never had a flow or cleaning problem with Stormy Grey. In contrast, I got samples of four different Diamine Shimmer Inks and all of them have clogged every pen I have tried them in.

YIKES! I picked up a couple of the Diamine ones at the Ohio Pen Show, and just ordered a sample of Purple Pizazz. I currently have the remainder of a sample of the reformulated Herbin Bleu Ocean in a pen, and wanted to see how the blue Shimmer inks I bought compared (because they're a lot less expensive than Bleu Ocean).

I did NOT pick up the grey and black ones from the Shimmertastic line, because I already have Stormy Grey.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[chingdamosaic]

Thanks for the review! This was my first ink with sparkles as well, and IMO this is a really great one. The grey is dark enough to be serious but still interesting, and it is even somewhat waterproof! I have never had a flow or cleaning problem with Stormy Grey. In contrast, I got samples of four different Diamine Shimmer Inks and all of them have clogged every pen I have tried them in.

 

Thank you Sunlance, your opinion of this ink is exactly what I was trying to say, but did not know how to put in English/_\

 

As for the comparison with Diamine Shimmer Inks, I haven't got the chance to try them myself, but more than one of my friends compliment that these inks behave even better that Stormy Grey. I think they were particularly referring to the performance with dip pen.

 

I would really love to see someone do the comparison of JH Stormy Grey and Diamine Sparkling Shadows, though!

[Luma]

Chingdamosaic, if you PM me your address, I will send you a sample of Diamine Sparkling Shadows

[I like mango cheesecake]

I've got this ink and now more recently the Emerald of Chivor and I'm having a really hard time getting either the sheening or the glitter.

[chingdamosaic]

Chingdamosaic, if you PM me your address, I will send you a sample of Diamine Sparkling Shadows

 

Dear LuMA, thank you for the kind offer, how nice!

However, I think to send the sample all the way across the Pacific Ocean, the shipping fee would be too high a cost....

I'll try to get a sample around here instead lol

 

Big thanks again! Wish you a happy 2016 full of pens and inks ; )

[chingdamosaic]

I've got this ink and now more recently the Emerald of Chivor and I'm having a really hard time getting either the sheening or the glitter.

 

What pen and paper are you using? Perhaps try another set? Or maybe give the bottle more shakes?

[AnneLyle]

Beautiful photos! They make me want to doodle with some Stormy Grey splashes

 

I find that the Diamine inks work well with a Lamy 1.1mm or 1.5mm nib - I had those inked up for all of December (for writing Christmas cards and in my journal) and had no clogging issues. They have a very even sparkle with those nibs, almost like a gel pen.

 

OTOH the Stormy Grey seems better with a flex nib (e.g. Noodler's Konrad) - either that or I was just unlucky with the Lamy and didn't get so many gold particles in the take-up. At any rate, I get a lot more contrast between grey and gold with a flex nib.

[inkeverywhere]

Shaking the bottle vigorously before filling your pen is obviously needed to disperse the gold throughout the ink.

 

What is the situation with your pen if it has sat for a day or two, or longer, with a shimmer ink in it?

 

 

 

Greg

[I like mango cheesecake]

I've been shaking the bottle and using a broad nib and I get some moderate shimmer some if the time. I use it on a Rhodia webbie.

[Jamerelbe]

Shaking the bottle vigorously before filling your pen is obviously needed to disperse the gold throughout the ink.

 

What is the situation with your pen if it has sat for a day or two, or longer, with a shimmer ink in it?

 

 

 

Greg

 

So far I haven't found this to be a problem - though I tend to give the pen a little shake (not to vigorous!) before I start to write.

 

One other thought, when it comes to getting maximum 'shimmer': I find these inks (I have all the J. Herbins, and a couple of Diamines) are somewhat 'sensitive' to the pens they're used in - or rather, some pens are more temperamental than others when it comes to using these inks. Even in some of my Broad (or broad italic) nibbed pens, which usually flow really well, the shimmery particles seem to get 'hung up' in the cartridge converter, or to clog and slow ink flow - while in other pens this is not an issue at all. I suspect it has to do with the configuration (width or depth?) of the ink channel through the feed - and it means these inks can only be used in some of my pens - but that's still fine with me!

[Edsal17]

I have had less luck with shimmer inks and Rhodia paper. For best effect try Tomoe River paper. For a more useable paper Leuchtturm Notebooks work OK at showing off shimmer.

[amberleadavis]

This is wonderful! Thank you for the pictures.

[Luma]

Dear LuMA, thank you for the kind offer, how nice!

However, I think to send the sample all the way across the Pacific Ocean, the shipping fee would be too high a cost....

I'll try to get a sample around here instead lol

 

Big thanks again! Wish you a happy 2016 full of pens and inks ; )

Not a problem. Thanks for the well wishes. Hoping you find that sample of DSS soon! Can't wait to see the comparison

[sakayume]

Thanks for taking the time to put together sucha thorough review. I've been dithering over getting a bottle of this since its release, and each time I read a review I feel I must get a bottle. It's exactly the kind of grey I like but actually using Emerald of Chivor in a fountain pen has made me realise I don't like shimmery inks much. I can't seem to get the shimmer to appear consistently -- I either get shimmer overload or no shimmer at all.

[dragonmanus]

I have the 1670 Blue ocean and the Stormy Grey. Sadly my noodlers ahab arrived cracked and with very little flex due to damage in shipping. noodlers was very good to work with and polite and are shipping me a replacement pen at no expense. That kind of dedication to customers earned them my praise. Immediately bought that 5.6oz bottle of heart of darkness I had been debating. anyway, Tried this with the ahab and it was as you said. all gold or none. usually none with gold and black on my hands as the grip was cracked.

 

However the Stormy Grey has done surprisingly well as a regular use ink. It is prone to feathering and smearing but I have been using it in one of my Baoer388's and a jinhao with medium nibs. the lettering comes out with a hint of gold to them and seems to flow nicely and evenly in a good slightly moist pen. Cleanup is surprisingly easy with water, and if the gold flecking becomes adheared a simple flush with goulet flush cleans it right out.

 

These are VERY concentrated inks and just cleaning the leaky ahab in water to see if anything was salvagable produced a deep dark grey water that surprisingly worked as a simple dip ink and was used for nearly four days to write some letters.

 

so overall here is how I'd rate Stormy Grey on some factors besides the usual ones:

Shimmer/luster = All shimmer or very little

Cleanup = Easy

Utility = good for heavy paper stock but forget cheaper papers

flow = Great with even cheap pens or fine nibs. (worked as a black ink in pilot metro F nib pen until I could get black ink)

Appearance of packaging = Beautiful bottle and box, but not very useful. forget using wider piston pens in this bottle.

 

While I love the ink, I probably won't be using it much anymore except special ocassions. I do reccamend people with good paper and a moist pen to try it at least once. perhaps a sample from andersons or goulet. Bottles can often be found on sale at Amazon for just 19 dollars with prime free shipping.

[benbot517]

I knew about the glitter, but not the sheen! May have to try this one out sometime. I have the other 1670 inks. EOC is my favorite of the bunch. The red sheen does it for me, and I use a paper for my journaling that lets me see it. It's fantastic.

[chingdamosaic]

Shimmer/luster = All shimmer or very little

Cleanup = Easy

Utility = good for heavy paper stock but forget cheaper papers

flow = Great with even cheap pens or fine nibs. (worked as a black ink in pilot metro F nib pen until I could get black ink)

Appearance of packaging = Beautiful bottle and box, but not very useful. forget using wider piston pens in this bottle.

 

While I love the ink, I probably won't be using it much anymore except special ocassions. I do reccamend people with good paper and a moist pen to try it at least once. perhaps a sample from andersons or goulet. Bottles can often be found on sale at Amazon for just 19 dollars with prime free shipping.

 

Thanks for the further information!

Yes I totally agree with the shimmer/luster part----it is always ALL or NONE.... so I already gave up trying to control or predict it and just let the outcome surprise me every time.

And the bottle.... I was too amazed by the exquisite design that I failed to notice how inconvenient that narrow rim was.

Now I prefer more practical bottles such as that of Sailor Jentle Inks and Private Reserve.