EFNIR: Monteverde Smoke Noir

[LizEF]

Extra Fine Nib Ink Review: Monteverde Smoke Noir

This is review #156 in my series.  Here's the YouTube video:

Post-recording notes: Cleaning required a pen flush - the ink left a very slight film on the walls of the converter and the section and plain water wasn't enough to get it off.  This is a very slightly warm grey, darker and warmer than most of my other samples. The scan might be a little too pale and blue, but the other images are pretty accurate.

And here is a screen of the final result, for those not interested in the video:

Scan of Completed Review:

Zoomed in photo:

Absorbent Paper Closeup (top is puzzle paper like thick newsprint, bottom is old 20lb copy paper):

Images also available on Instagram: @zilxodarap

Previous Review: Sailor Shikiori Rikyucha.

Want to influence the inky sequence?  Take the "next ink" poll.

Need to catch up on The Adventures of Quin and Makhabesh?  Find the whole story here.

Hope you enjoy.  Comments appreciated!

[yazeh]

Nice one Liz  I'm starting to appreciate greys.... I am using one, which is quite delightful for now (Pasternak)

Furthermore, while your story stays in the G category and despite the fact that G/Y7 stories put me to sleep, there's a joyous innocence in your style, which reminds me of the fun European Bande dessinée, I read as child... thank you 🙏

[LizEF]

22 minutes ago, yazeh said:

Nice one Liz

Thanks!

 

22 minutes ago, yazeh said:

I'm starting to appreciate greys.... I am using one, which is quite delightful for now (Pasternak)

Yeah, I was surprised how much I like greys - and more surprised that I loved the rather warm De Atramentis Document Urban Grey...  Go figure.  Meanwhile, I'm sensing another Russian review, да?

 

22 minutes ago, yazeh said:

Furthermore, while your story stays in the G category and despite the fact that G/Y7 stories put me to sleep, there's a joyous innocence in your style, which reminds me of the fun European Bande dessinée, I read as child... thank you 🙏

Thank you.  So glad it's something you enjoy.  When you start with "The five boxing wizards...", it sort of naturally leads into a rather light and silly style - which also keeps it fun and silly for me.  Sometimes I lay in bed at night thinking up silly ideas as I fall asleep.  The hardest part is when I'm recording the review, I've just written a sentence, and I realize there was a much better way the line could have been written.

 

Spoiler

There will be bloopers, at some point this year.  (Though perhaps not the sort one might expect.)

 

[yazeh]

2 hours ago, LizEF said:

Yeah, I was surprised how much I like greys - and more surprised that I loved the rather warm De Atramentis Document Urban Grey...  Go figure.  Meanwhile, I'm sensing another Russian review, да?

YEP.... The text is written. Everything scanned. I'm still testing....  

 

2 hours ago, LizEF said:

 

Thank you.  So glad it's something you enjoy.  When you start with "The five boxing wizards...", it sort of naturally leads into a rather light and silly style - which also keeps it fun and silly for me.  Sometimes I lay in bed at night thinking up silly ideas as I fall asleep.  The hardest part is when I'm recording the review, I've just written a sentence, and I realize there was a much better way the line could have been written.

Yep... But this is all just a draft. The writing/editing part is a different beast.... Personally I see it more like Asterix/ Tintin style comic/ band dessiné 

Looking forward to the bloopers aka rewrites...

In screen writing it is called killing out babies 🔪

 

[LizEF]

16 minutes ago, yazeh said:

In screen writing it is called killing out babies 🔪

Sounds more George R. R. Martin's style....

[yazeh]

1 minute ago, LizEF said:

Sounds more George R. R. Martin's style....

My apologies.. Killing your darlings...

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-does-it-mean-to-kill-your-darlings

[LizEF]

43 minutes ago, yazeh said:

My apologies.. Killing your darlings...

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-does-it-mean-to-kill-your-darlings

I figured it was something like that.  (I was intentionally over-reacting.)  Of course, it still sounds like something Martin would do...

[yazeh]

1 hour ago, LizEF said:

I figured it was something like that.  (I was intentionally over-reacting.)  Of course, it still sounds like something Martin would do...

I know of him. But I haven't been caught into his world, thankfully

 

[LizEF]

9 minutes ago, yazeh said:

I know of him. But I haven't been caught into his world, thankfully

 

Thankfully, indeed.  The first 100 pages of book 1 were fabulous.  Thereafter began a rapid, spiraling descent into hell (expertly written, but not where I wanted to be).  I threw books 1-3 (I had bought 2 & 3 based on those 100 pages) into the trash (hard for me to put a book in the trash, but they belonged there).

[yazeh]

Just now, LizEF said:

Thankfully, indeed.  The first 100 pages of book 1 were fabulous.  Thereafter began a rapid, spiraling descent into hell (expertly written, but not where I wanted to be).  I threw books 1-3 (I had bought 2 & 3 based on those 100 pages) into the trash (hard for me to put a book in the trash, but they belonged there).

I was into another fantasy series with similar undertones....probably not as vicious......donkey's years ago... I didn't finish the series. I lost interest in glorified violence. 

[Sailor Kenshin]

I think I have a bottle of this but am too lazy to actually check.  Nor do I recall whether it was tough to clean.  But I do like gray inks!

 

Thanks for another review, and more goats!  

[mizgeorge]

Thank you @lizEF - another great review.

 

I have a very mixed relationship with Monteverde inks - I generally like how they perform, and like some of the colours a lot, but don't like their texture in the bottle, in the pen (they're horrible to use in demonstrators) or to clean up after. 

 

I have enough grey inks not to need another one as dark as this, which is good to know!

[LizEF]

1 hour ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

I think I have a bottle of this but am too lazy to actually check.  Nor do I recall whether it was tough to clean.  But I do like gray inks!

  I doubt I would have noticed the slight film were it not for my obsession with making sure the next ink doesn't get contaminated.  Greys are surprisingly appealing.  I'm waiting for @AmandaW to come and tell us where this fits in the ranking of glorious greys.

 

1 hour ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Thanks for another review, and more goats!  

You're most welcome!

 

Spoiler

The goat that butted Quin's shield...  That's the one I'll name Ricky Cha - in episode 162, or thereabouts.

 

[AmandaW]

I love grey inks, but refuse to even look at anything Monteverde since getting a bottle of their Brown Sugar that was mouldy and they ignored my emails.

 

There are some lovely warm greys available  SketchInk Thea is my current favourite for a waterproof. (I'm keen to try the de Atramentis document inks too, but they're a bit pricey in Australia.)

 

Van Dieman's Cradle Mountain Grey is my most used ink of any ink, and a warm grey.

[LizEF]

59 minutes ago, mizgeorge said:

Thank you @lizEF - another great review.

You're welcome!  Thanks!

 

1 hour ago, mizgeorge said:

I have a very mixed relationship with Monteverde inks - I generally like how they perform, and like some of the colours a lot, but don't like their texture in the bottle, in the pen (they're horrible to use in demonstrators) or to clean up after. 

Hmm.  I can't remember the previous Monteverde inks.  Please hold while I review reviews....  🎶   ...[Your comment is important to us.  Please stay on the forum and a reviewer will get back to you shortly.]...  🎶  ... [Thank you for waiting, mizgeorge.] Nope, not really similar, but I've only reviewed 4 other Monteverde inks.  But I have a few more of the "gemstone" line, so who knows what I'll find...

 

1 hour ago, mizgeorge said:

I have enough grey inks not to need another one as dark as this, which is good to know!

Yes, as nice as grey is, there are only so many a person needs...  Of course, if we were sentient, land-dwelling¹ octopi, and could write with each of our 8 arms² at the same time, just think of how much ink we could use!  And imagine how easy it would be to keep up with InCoWriMo!  Or you could win NaNoWriMo by writing 8 novels in one month!³

 

¹Because fountain pens wouldn't work well in the ocean...

²...which would need hands, probably, but let's worry about that later...

³It's possible we'll also need to be octocephali as well as octopi, but this seems doesn't seem all that much more difficult than becoming land-dwelling octopi with hands, so why not?

[LizEF]

1 minute ago, AmandaW said:

I love grey inks, but refuse to even look at anything Monteverde since getting a bottle of their Brown Sugar that was mouldy and they ignored my emails.

Well, that seems reasonable.

 

1 minute ago, AmandaW said:

There are some lovely warm greys available  SketchInk Thea is my current favourite for a waterproof. (I'm keen to try the de Atramentis document inks too, but they're a bit pricey in Australia.)

Yes, I was just commenting on how there are so many inks available, and I have so few arms......

 

2 minutes ago, AmandaW said:

Van Dieman's Cradle Mountain Grey is my most used ink of any ink, and a warm grey.

 

Please hold while I google....  🎶   ...[Your recommendation is important to us.  Please stay on the forum and an ink user will get back to you shortly.]...  🎶  ... [Thank you for waiting, AmandaW.]  Hmm.  Warm and very dark.  Some writing samples look downright brown, though that could be their lighting.  Hard to predict whether my nib would make it look black or paler than most.  I may need to add this to my list of "inks to sample one day".  Thanks!

[Sailor Kenshin]

1 hour ago, LizEF said:

  I doubt I would have noticed the slight film were it not for my obsession with making sure the next ink doesn't get contaminated.  Greys are surprisingly appealing.  I'm waiting for @AmandaW to come and tell us where this fits in the ranking of glorious greys.

 

You're most welcome!

 

  Hide contents

The goat that butted Quin's shield...  That's the one I'll name Ricky Cha - in episode 162, or thereabouts.

 

 

Cool!

 

Turns out I do have Smoke Noir.  And I had it in a dirigible-like yet understated Jinhao 159.  It worked well, and cleanup....well, I don't remember, so it may not have been bad.

[LizEF]

44 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

 

Cool!

 

Turns out I do have Smoke Noir.  And I had it in a dirigible-like yet understated Jinhao 159.  It worked well, and cleanup....well, I don't remember, so it may not have been bad.

[PithyProlix]

3 hours ago, AmandaW said:

There are some lovely warm greys available  SketchInk Thea is my current favourite for a waterproof. (I'm keen to try the de Atramentis document inks too, but they're a bit pricey in Australia.)

 

Van Dieman's Cradle Mountain Grey is my most used ink of any ink, and a warm grey.

 

Interesting - those two are at the top of my list of greys to try... 

 

Does the Van Dieman's have the brown cast like in the gentlemanreviewer's review of it?   

https://gentlemanreviewer.com/2020/06/van-diemans-cradle-mountain-grey/

[AmandaW]

7 hours ago, PithyProlix said:

Does the Van Dieman's have the brown cast like in the gentlemanreviewer's review of it?   

 

No definitely not.