Grey fountain pen ink is one of those things that it seems like few people are passionate about and many are clueless about. While everyone seems to have multiple bottles of teal, turquoise and purple ink, I’d bet that the majority of fountain pen users don’t have a single bottle of grey ink. Truth be told, it can be an intimidating color to shop for. It doesn’t really sheen, and it doesn’t have a dominant color, but there are subtle variations between each color of grey that can make narrowing it down to one bottle very difficult. If you’ve experienced this before, I’m here to help with the Great Grey Fountain Pen Ink Comparison!
I decided to track down as many different grey fountain pen inks as I reasonably could and compare them all to each other. If only full bottles were available online, I didn’t buy the bottle and instead tried to source a sample from a friend. This wasn’t always possible, so there are definitely plenty of grey inks missing. Please note, while there are quite a few grey inks with shimmer, I did not include any shimmer inks in my testing. Also, it’s surprising how many inks with grey in the name do not look grey at all, so I did not include some of them in this roundup.
Looking at multiple ink samples side by side can really make the differences between colors obvious. In addition to comparing writing samples, I did an ink chromatography sample for each color, which really helped me see what the dominant color was in each ink.
Don’t miss the ink giveaway at the bottom of this post!
Here are just a few of the vials of grey ink that I used.
How I Tested The Inks
In this post, I want to show you a writing sample of each ink using both a fine and flexible nib, the chromatography sample and my thoughts for each ink. I’ll also test to see how waterproof each ink is.
I tested each ink on three different types of paper. The main paper, which is what you’ll see in the writing samples, is Mnemosyne. It has high shading, very low feathering and bleeding and fast dry times. I also tested on some Apica C.D. Premium paper, which has low shading and medium bleeding and feathering. Finally, I did a writing sample in my Leuchtturm A6 notebook which has high feathering. I figure if an ink doesn’t feather in the Leuchtturm, it’s probably not going to feather on most fountain pen friendly paper.
The Grey Inks
Let’s start out by taking a look at all of the different inks together. I was able to get over 40 different grey ink samples for this review (go ahead and insert “X Shades of Grey” joke here). I swabbed them all onto some Tomoe River 68gsm paper. I used these same swabs to test how waterproof each ink is by putting a drop of water in the center of each swab (hence the dots in the middle of most swabs). While I didn’t swab them in any particular order, each individual ink sample will appear in alphabetical order in this post, so if you see a color you want more information on, it shouldn’t be hard to find.
Note: The paper I did these swabs on wrinkled a bit with the ink and water. This wrinkling came out as slightly uneven areas of light and dark when I scanned the paper, but from what I can tell did not affect how the inks appeared.
As you can see, the variety in colors is enormous. Some are almost black, some look like I used a pencil, and some appear more red or green or blue. Some only made the list because they have grey in the name! Now that you’ve seen them all, let’s dive in and take a closer look at each individual ink. Again, they’ll appear in alphabetical order, so if you’re looking for a specific color you should be able to quickly find it.
Please note, I accidentally swabbed the DeAtramentis Document Grey twice and mislabeled one of the swabs as DeAtramentis Document Fog Grey (first page, top row). While DeAtramentis Fog Grey appears in this roundup, the Document version does not.
At the end of this post, I’ll share some groupings of my personal favorite inks (like “Warm Inks”, “Cool Inks”, “Shading Inks”, etc…). So, without further ado, here’s the Great Grey Fountain Pen Ink Comparison!
3 Oysters Delicious Cool Gray
Dominant Color/Tint: Neutral/red
Water Resistance: Low
Feathering: None observed
Thoughts and Observations: A fairly neutral color with some red tint. Higher amount of shading than many of the other grey inks I tested. A little dry in fine nibs. Slight bleed through on some papers.
3 Oysters Delicious Cool Grey writing sample
3 Oysters Delicious Cool Grey chromatography
3 Oysters I.COLOR.U Doldam
Dominant Color/Tint: Cool/Blue
Water Resistance: Low
Feathering: Some
Thoughts and Observations: A cooler color without much shading. A fairly wet ink.
3 Oysters Doldam writing sample
3 Oysters Doldam chromatography
3 Oysters I.COLOR.U Giwa
Dominant Color/Tint: Green
Water Resistance: Low
Feathering: None observed
Thoughts and Observations: Almost a black ink, this grey has green tones to it. It is a wet ink with no shading.
3 Oysters Giwa writing sample
3 Oysters Giwa Chromatography
Akerman 29 Hofvijer Grijs
Dominant Color/Tint: Neutral
Water Resistance: Low
Feathering: None observed
Thoughts and Observations: A true grey ink, this one doesn’t show any other color casts. It has a bit of shading, but not much.
Akkerman 29 Hofvijver Grijs writing sample
Akkerman 29 Hofvijver Grijs chromatography
Callifolio Gris de Payne
Dominant Color/Tint: Blue
Water Resistance: Low
Feathering: None observed
Thoughts and Observations: A cooler color of grey with some shading. It feels a little dry to write with.
Califolio Gris de Payne writing sample
Califolio Gris de Pane chromatography
Caran d’Ache Infinite Grey
Dominant Color/Tint: Neutral
Water Resistance: Low
Feathering: Very low
Thoughts and Observations: Interestingly, goes on kind of green but dries to a nice neutral grey. It’s a drier ink, but has good shading.
Caran D’Ache Infinite Grey writing sample
Caran D’Ache Infinite Grey chromatography
Colorverse 29 Matter
Dominant Color/Tint: Red
Water Resistance: Low
Feathering: None observed
Thoughts and Observations: A lighter ink with a strong red tint in broad nibs. In fine nibs it appears to be more grey. Some shading.
Colorverse #29 Matter writing sample
Colorverse #29 Matter chromatography
DeAtramentis Charles Dickens
Dominant Color/Tint: Green
Water Resistance: Low
Feathering: Yes
Thoughts and Observations: A very wet and green grey ink with some shading.
DeAtramentis Charles Dickens writing sample
DeAtramentis Charles Dickens chromatography
DeAtramentis Document Grey
Dominant Color/Tint: Neutral
Water Resistance: High
Feathering: None observed
Thoughts and Observations: A dark and neutral grey ink. It is fairly wet and nice to write with. Moderate shading observed.
DeAtramentis Document Grey writing sample
DeAtramentis Document Grey chromatography
DeAtramentis Document Ink Urban Grey
Dominant Color/Tint: Warm
Water Resistance: High
Feathering: None observed
Thoughts and Observations: Goes on dark, dries light, fairly wet, some shading
DeAtramentis Document Urban Grey writing sample
DeAtramentis Document Urban Grey chromatography
DeAtramentis Fog Grey
Dominant Color/Tint: Blue
Water Resistance: High
Feathering: High
Thoughts and Observations: Very heavy flow in wet nibs with no shading, feathered on all papers, not very well behaved and hard to clean out of pens
DeAtramentis Fog Grey writing sample
DeAtramentis Fog Grey chromatography
DeAtramentis Mouse Grey
Dominant Color/Tint: Neutral
Water Resistance: Medium
Feathering: Yes
Thoughts and Observations: A very nice neutral grey that isn’t too light or dark. Unfortunately, it did feather and bleed on two types of paper.
DeAtramentis Mouse Grey writing sample
DeAtramentis Mouse Grey chromatography
DeAtramentis Silver Grey
Dominant Color/Tint: Neutral
Water Resistance: Medium
Feathering: Some
Thoughts and Observations: A nice, neutral dark grey with some shading. Feathered on some paper.
DeAtramentis Silver Grey writing sample
DeAtramentis Silver Grey chromatography
Diamine Earl Grey
Dominant Color/Tint: Red
Water Resistance: Low
Feathering: Yes
Thoughts and Observations: This is a magenta-leaning grey ink. It has good shading and appears much more red with a broad, wet nib. I did observe some feathering and slight bleed through on multiple papers.
Diamine Earl Grey writing sample
Diamine Earl Grey chromatography
Diamine Graphite
Dominant Color/Tint: Neutral
Water Resistance: Low
Feathering: None observed
Thoughts and Observations: A very dark grey that looks black in some nibs. A wetter ink with little to no shading.
Diamine Graphite writing sample
Diamine Graphite chromatography
Diamine Grey
Dominant Color/Tint: Neutral
Water Resistance: Low
Feathering: None observed
Thoughts and Observations: A classic grey ink with no visible color tint. It’s on the darker side, but would not be mistaken for black. Not much shading, but overall very well-behaved.
Diamine Grey writing sample
Diamine Grey chromatography
Diamine Silver Fox
Dominant Color/Tint: Neutral
Water Resistance: Medium
Feathering: None observed
Thoughts and Observations: Another great neutral grey from Diamine. This is like a lighter version of Diamine Grey. It might be a little drier. It has some shading. Very similar to Kobe #53.
Diamine Silver Fox writing sample
Diamine Silver Fox chromatography
Graf von Faber-Castell Stone Grey
Dominant Color/Tint: Some red
Water Resistance: Low
Feathering: None observed
Thoughts and Observations: A nice grey that is neutral with shades of red. It shows some shading. It is a little dry, but still nice to write with.
Graf von Faber Castell Stone Grey writing sample
Graf von Faber Castell Stone Grey chromatography
J. Herbin Gris Nuage
Dominant Color/Tint: Red
Water Resistance: Low
Feathering: None observed
Thoughts and Observations: A very pinkish/purple light grey ink. Displays some shading. It seems to write fairly wet.
J. Herbin Gris Nuage writing sample
J. Herbin Gris Nuage chromatography
J. Herbin Vert de Gris
Dominant Color/Tint: Blue
Water Resistance: Low
Feathering: A bit
Thoughts and Observations: Not really what I’d consider a grey ink, but a nice color nonetheless. I did see a bit of feathering and bleeding. It also has a bit of shading.
J. Herbin Vert de Gris writing sample
J. Herbin Vert de Gris chromatography
Jacques Herbin Gris de Houle
Dominant Color/Tint: Neutral
Water Resistance: Low
Feathering: None observed
Thoughts and Observations: A nice neutral grey that isn’t too dark or light. A wet writer with some shading. I purchased this ink in Paris and am not sure if it’s available in the United States.
Jacques Herbin Gris de Houle writing sample
Jacques Herbin Gris de Houle chromatography
Kaweco Smokey Grey
Dominant Color/Tint: Neutral/Warm
Water Resistance: Medium
Feathering: None observed
Thoughts and Observations: A neutral grey leaning towards a warmer yellow/red color. Fairly wet with some shading.
Kaweco Smokey Grey writing sample
Kaweco Smokey Grey chromatography
Kobe #10 Mikage Gray
Dominant Color/Tint: Purple
Water Resistance: Medium
Feathering: Some observed
Thoughts and Observations: A very wet, dark ink that is basically black with hints of red and purple. Similar to Kobe #31 and #46, but much more purple.
Kobe 10 Mikage Gray writing sample
Kobe 10 Mikage Gray chromatography
Kobe #31 Kaigan Stone Gray
Dominant Color/Tint: Neutral
Water Resistance: Low
Feathering: Low
Thoughts and Observations: A very dark gray that might as well be black. Little to no shading. Similar to Kobe #10 and #46, but more neutral.
Kobe 31 Kaigan Stone Gray writing sample
Kobe 31 Kaigan Stone Gray chromatography
Kobe #46 Nagisa Museum Gray
Dominant Color/Tint: Cool
Water Resistance: Medium
Feathering: Low
Thoughts and Observations: A very wet, dark grey that is almost black, but looks a bit lighter in fine nibs. Similar to Kobe #10 and #31, but more green.
Kobe 46 Museum Gray writing sample
Kobe 46 Museum Gray chromatography
Kobe #53 Kitano Pearl Silver
Dominant Color/Tint: Neutral
Water Resistance: Medium
Feathering: None observed
Thoughts and Observations: A lovely neutral grey that is the lightest in this roundup. Shows nice shading. Very similar to Diamine Silver Fox.
Kobe 53 Pearl Silver writing sample
Kobe 53 Pearl Silver chromatography
Kobe #59 Hirano Gion Romance Gray
Dominant Color/Tint: Warm
Water Resistance: Low
Feathering: None observed
Thoughts and Observations: Seems to have good flow, it’s nice and dark but still a grey ink, very low shading.
Kobe 59 Romance Gray writing sample
Kobe 59 Romance Gray chromatography
KWZ Standard Grey Lux
Dominant Color/Tint: Neutral
Water Resistance: Low
Feathering: Some observed
Thoughts and Observations: As far as I’m concerned, this is a black ink. It doesn’t have any shading and is darker than most black inks I own. It also tended to feather and bleed a bit. I love KWZ inks, but this is not one that I would purchase, especially if I was looking for a grey ink.
KWZ Grey Lux writing sample
KWZ Grey Lux chromatography
L’Artisan Pastellier Classique Gris de Payne
Dominant Color/Tint: Blue
Water Resistance: Low
Feathering: None observed
Thoughts and Observations: A nice ink with a blueish tint. It goes on the paper quite dark, but dries a lot lighter. It has a bit of shading and might even have a tiny bit of red sheen with the right pen and paper.
Encre Classique Gris de Payne writing sample
Encre Classique Gris de Payne chromatography
Montblanc Oyster Grey
Dominant Color/Tint: Neutral/Warm
Water Resistance: Medium
Feathering: None observed
Thoughts and Observations: A neutral leaning towards purple/brown color with some shading. It feels dry to write with.
Montblanc Oyster Grey writing sample
Montblanc Oyster Grey chromatography
Monteverde Coal Noir
Dominant Color/Tint: Neutral
Water Resistance: Low
Feathering: Some observed
Thoughts and Observations: A dense, dark grey that could easily be mistaken for black. I did see a bit of feathering and bleeding. With the right pen and paper you can probably coax a bit of gold sheen out of this ink.
Monteverde Coal Noir writing sample
Monteverde Coal Noir chromatography
Monteverde Smoke Noir
Dominant Color/Tint: Neutral
Water Resistance: High
Feathering: None observed
Thoughts and Observations: A nice dark grey ink without much of a color tint. No shading, but also no bleeding or feathering. In the right pen this could probably be mistaken for a graphite pencil.
Monteverde Smoke Noir writing sample
Monteverde Smoke Noir chromatography
Noodler’s Lexington Gray
Dominant Color/Tint: Warm
Water Resistance: High
Feathering: Some observed
Thoughts and Observations: A medium-dark grey with some warm tones. It has decent shading and is fairly wet.
Noodlers Lexington Gray writing sample
Noodlers Lexington Gray chromatography
Papier Plume Oyster Grey
Dominant Color/Tint: Cool
Water Resistance: Medium
Feathering: Some
Thoughts and Observations: Very nice, cooler dark grey. Not much shading.
Papier Plume Oyster Grey writing sample
Papier Plume Oyster Grey chromatography
Pilot Iroshizuku Fuyu-syogun
Dominant Color/Tint: Blue
Water Resistance: Medium
Feathering: A bit
Thoughts and Observations: This color is definitely on the cool side of the grey spectrum. Even in a fine nib it looks blue. I saw a bit of feathering, but not much and no bleed through. It has a bit of shading.
Iroshizuku Fuyu-syogun writing sample
Iroshizuku Fuyu-syogun chromatography
Pilot Iroshizuku Kiri-same
Dominant Color/Tint: Red
Water Resistance: Medium
Feathering: Some observed
Thoughts and Observations: A light grey with purple/red tones. It has a bit of shading and feels a bit dry to write with.
Iroshizuku kiri-same writing sample
Iroshizuku kiri-same chromatography
Private Reserve Gray Flannel
Dominant Color/Tint: Green
Water Resistance: Medium
Feathering: None observed
Thoughts and Observations: I really like this color. It is on the green side of the grey spectrum, but is unmistakably grey. It has great shading and good flow.
Private Reserve Gray Flannel writing sample
Private Reserve Gray Flannel chromatography
Robert Oster Graphite
Dominant Color/Tint: Green
Water Resistance: Low
Feathering: None observed
Thoughts and Observations: A very dark green grey that could easily be mistaken for black ink. Very low shading.
Robert Oster Graphite writing sample
Robert Oster Graphite chromatography
Robert Oster Grey Seas
Dominant Color/Tint: Blue
Water Resistance: Low
Feathering: Yes
Thoughts and Observations: Another ink that is grey in name only. This is a blue ink. It does have a bit of shading, but also feathered and bled on two different papers. Similar to the KWZ ink, I’m a fan of Robert Oster inks but wouldn’t buy this one.
Robert Oster Grey Seas writing sample
Robert Oster Grey Seas chromatography
Rohrer & Klingner SketchINK Thea
Dominant Color/Tint: Warm
Water Resistance: High
Feathering: None observed
Thoughts and Observations: A good, wet ink with some slightly warmer tones. It has some shading. My sample bottle had sediment in it, which somewhat concerns me.
Rohrer Klingner Sketch Ink Thea writing sample
Rohrer Klingner Sketch Ink Thea chromatography
Stipula Calamo Dark Grey
Dominant Color/Tint: Red
Water Resistance: Medium
Feathering: None observed
Thoughts and Observations: Another ink where the name doesn’t quite match the color, but this time it’s because this ink says it is dark grey but in reality it’s fairly light. This ink has some shading and no observed feathering or bleeding. It feels like a wet ink and is nice to write with.
Stipula Calamo Dark Grey writing sample
Stipula Calamo Dark Grey chromatography
Grey Groups
Now that you’ve had a chance to take a good look at each ink individually, you probably noticed some similarities between some inks. When I started this test, the most obvious groupings to me were the warmer and cooler shades of grey. I really wanted to find a good neutral grey, but it turns out that’s something that is not easy to find. Most grey inks tend to be on the warm or cool side of neutral. Of course, although I wanted something neutral I still have my favorites from the warmer and cooler grey inks.
Warm Grey Inks
- DeAtramentis Document Grey
- Noodlers Lexington Gray
- Colorverse #29 Matter
- Kaweco Smokey Grey
- Montblanc Oyster Grey
Cool Grey Inks
One thing that I’ll mention about the cool grey inks is that they look great on paper that isn’t white! Most paper from manufacturers like Life and Leuchtturm is actually a warm, off-white color. When an ink that is more blue and cool is added to a paper that is more yellow and warm, the colors tend to cancel each other out and you get a neutral(ish) grey!
Iroshizuku Fuyu-syogun on white paper looks more blue and cool
Iroshizuku Fuyu-syogun on cream paper looks more neutral
Dark Grey Inks
Another set of groupings that stood out were the dark and light grey inks. I found myself attracted to both dark and light greys, although I found that I don’t prefer the greys that are almost black. The dark grey inks felt more moody and mysterious to me, while the light grey inks gave a unique and interesting writing experience. Many wrote dark while they were wet and then dried light. I definitely found some new favorites, which I’ve listed below.
- Kaweco Smokey Grey
- Diamine Grey
- Caran d’Ache Infinite Grey
- Noodlers Lexington Gray
- Kobe #31 Kaigan Stone Gray
Light Grey Inks
Best Shading Grey Inks
There are also the grey inks that shaded. I was quite surprised with how few grey inks actually had any strong shading. I figured that most of them would shade to some degree, but I was wrong. Still, some did have a good amount of shading, which I personally prefer, so here are the best shading grey inks that I tested.
- 3 Oysters Cool Grey
- Robert Oster Grey Seas
- Colorverse #29 Matter
- Stipula Calamo Dark Grey
- Caran D’Ache Infinite Grey
- Kobe #53 Pearl Silver
My Personal Favorite Grey Inks
Finally, here are my personal favorite grey inks from all of the different inks that I tested. While I already had bottles of two of these inks, I am definitely going to buy a bottle of the other two inks.
Conclusion
Grey inks aren’t going to be for everyone. Many people love to use colorful inks or inks with sheen or inks with high amounts of shading. Grey inks don’t really have these things. So why use grey fountain pen ink at all? That’s a question each person will have to answer that for themselves. For me, I enjoy using grey inks because they are different from the usual colors that I use. I don’t find them boring and find them much more interesting than black ink.
If you enjoy sketching, doodling or painting with fountain pen ink, many grey inks have wonderful color profiles that work great with water and chromatography. I found that there were grey inks that I didn’t enjoy writing with but did enjoy doodling with, specifically the greys that were strongly tinted towards red or blue.
While I don’t enjoy writing with J. Herbin Gris Nuage, I do enjoy doodling with it.
If you’ve never tried any grey fountain pen ink, I would highly encourage you to pick up a few samples of any inks in this post that you think look interesting. They are truly something different than most inks that are out there and I personally find them very enjoyable to use. I’m guessing that if you’ve made it all the way to the end of this post, you’ll find them enjoyable to use as well.
Most of these ink samples were purchased from Vanness Pens or Goulet Pens, so if you see an ink that you like you can probably find it at one of those two spots. I also was able to find a few samples through friends and I had one or two hard to find bottles that I’ve picked up on my own.
Comments 75
Hi John,
Thanks for a very interesting and thorough article on grey inks. I only have JHerbin’s Stormy Grey so I really appreciate this analysis. There are some shades of grey in your article that I will want to try.
Author
Thanks so much for reading Geoffrey! Hope it helps you compare other inks to Stormy Grey and see how they differ.
You’re right when you say grey is not a first or even second choice for most people. I have a bottle of Quink Blue and of Quink Black from 1970s, and they’ve lost some of their colour and look like some of the examples you’ve shown, especially in the case of the bluey greys.
Regarding the blackish greys, I had a bottle of black which had dried up completely and it was a bottle with a small amount of powder. I added water to see what happens – it reconstituted immediately. The trouble was, I didn’t know how much water to add and ended up with grey not black. Well, a washed-out black perhaps. This is why I don’t salivate when I see grey ink for sale.
I hasten to add that these sorry bottles of ink joined my collection when I married.
You’ve done a lot of work here John.
How did you know I love Teal? My favourite non blacks are browns. They look great for shopping lists and for Italic. Darker colours generally have more legibility. I’ll start you off:
Diamine Saddle Brown.
Author
Noel, it does seem like many of the vintage colors were fairly washed out. I think we’re just a lot more used to very saturated inks these days. I’ve tried to reconstitute ink powder before and ended up with the same problem you had. I had no idea how much water to add, so ended up with watered down ink. Still, it makes for a fun experiment. Thanks so much for reading!
Ahhh, can’t get enough of grey inks. Very much an under appreciated ink colour in the fp community.
Author
Same here, Ann! I didn’t know how much I liked them until I started using them. Now they’re one of my favorites!
I agree! I love my greys, and don’t see enough of them in the wild!
Cool! I have Montblanc Oyster Gray and all from Diamine. This really helped me to narrow down my next gray inks to buy. I’m probably getting J.herbin Gris nuage for drawing. It would be useful for sketch and then making final lines with darker ink.
Author
Nice! Diamine has some really good greys. Glad you found a few new ones to look for! I like the idea of using black to make some of the greys darker in a sketch. Enjoy!
Love these shades of greys!!! From light to dark. Who new? Good luck to everyone who enters the giveaway!!!
Author
There are so many! Isn’t it crazy? Good luck to you!
This was a very nice review and study of the grey inks. Thank you for taking the time to do this. I think I found a couple new inks that I will try out.
Author
Glad you enjoyed it Teresa. Enjoy the new inks you found!
Lovely selection of Grey inks. I quite enjoy using Grey’s in my journaling, it makes for such a peasant read! I think I’ve found a few more through your post that I would love to try.
Sakshi Reddy – don’t you find grey ink harder to read and/or need a stronger light?. People who have only one colour ink invariably have black or blue-black. John B does ink doodles, quite nice ones, and I can well imagine that black would be too heavy for that. For diary or poems, however, I need a maximum, or near, contrast with the paper.
Author
Noel, in my experience the grey inks are only hard to read if they’re really light. The darker ones aren’t bad at all. Some have also good shading which I find helps to make them more readable. Still, to each their own! Also, thanks for the compliment on my doodles! 🙂
Author
I agree! They are also nice and soothing to write with. Happy writing!
I enjoyed reading your thorough review on grey inks. I want to try out a grey ink but just can’t decide which one. My first choice would be Diamine Earl Grey. I have the RO Grey Seas and just as you mentioned here, the grey is only in the name. In reality it’s a blue ink. But still I like it. Thanks for the opportunity.
Author
Glad you enjoyed it Tejashree! Hopefully you can try out a few different grey inks in the near future.
What you wrote about grey inks not being everyone’s cup of tea is accurate as far as I’m concerned. There are a good number of grey inks in your post I would use, however. Thanks for the great writeup.
Author
It’s very true. Glad you see a few that you would use!
Wowzers! When put together like that, I didn’t know that the shades varied so much! Most interesting. I only have the Fuyu Shogun & thought that “grey is grey”, so I never bothered looking at other shades. Oh dearie me.
Kudos to this article too! A lot of work went into it & is much appreciated. Didn’t know / forgot that you did a post on doodling too. Am going back to read it later today. 😀
Author
It is quite interesting, isn’t it? You’ll have to try out some of the others that are out there. Hope to see a few more in future doodles!
OMG this is so useful! Thank you!
Author
You are so welcome, Ana!
Great choice of gray…..thanks
Author
Thank you, Mannuturi.
Never try any gray ink before. This would be nice try
Author
You should definitely try some out! I hope this post encourages you to try a grey ink.
Thanks for this wonderful review!
Author
You are very welcome, Mark. Thanks for reading!
You went to a lot of trouble! Thanks for that! I’ve wanted to see more of the greys side by side.
Author
You are welcome, Kit! It definitely took some work, but I enjoyed it. Hope it helped.
Grey isn’t exactly the color you think people will find exciting. Nevertheless, that Robert Oster Graphite is quite smart!
Author
True, it’s normally thought of as a boring color, but there’s enough variety there seems to be something for everyone!
Ohh, would love to win!
Author
Best of luck!
John, great minds think alike. I am writing a post on grey inks also — I am an artist that adores bright colors, but also the amazing muted tones of grey. We are covering many different greys — and I an looking at purchasing some you talk about — so this is an article I bookmarked and will follow you!
Author
That’s wonderful! I’m glad you found this post helpful. Please do let me know when your post is up. I’d like to see the different inks you cover!
Very helpful comparison, thank you!
One of the pleasures of ink is that it draws you into more subtle areas of color. Many of the colors in a traditional artists palette (where, of course, they mix to achieve naturalism) would be far to garish for a written page!
The other thing I enjoy with subtle colors like these is that they tend to keep their qualities rather hidden until you bring them into context – a good excuse to keep multiple pens on the go at a time, each with its own “voice” to bring to the thought conversation.
Author
Very well-said, Philip! I completely agree that subtle colors can definitely be enhanced when used with other colors. Thank you for reading!
This is great! How did you know I was on a gray ink kick? It’s also useful to see swabs and chromas of the ones I already have. Thanks.
Author
Grey ink is the place to be! Glad you found it helpful, even for the inks you have already. Hope you found a new one to try out!
So I divide my basic palette into warm colors, that tend to neutralize to brown, and cool colors, then tend to neutralize grey, but then there’s the borderlands, a fascinating world of warm greys and cool browns. Colorwise the borders seem to be occupied by greens (grey-green and green-brown are both quite common) and violet (although grey-violets seem a lot easier to find out than purple-browns – but Noodlers’ Nightshade and De Atramentis’ Sepia Brown show that it’s possible).
One idle fancy of mine has been to find a pinkish grey, which seems possible (there’s a good deal of pink in the chromatography above, if not in the final colors) or a cool yellow grey – these exist in my imagination at least, but I haven’t seen them on paper. Maybe they will always tend tan/khaki/buff? Any ideas?
Sahara Grey from De Atramentis is not the answer!
Author
It sounds like you have quite a system, Philip! It also sounds like you have a lot of grey inks!
In my opinion, the pinkest greys in this roundup are J. Herbin Gris Nuage and Iroshizuku Kiri-same. Neither would ever be mistaken for a pink ink, but compared to the other greys they definitely lean in that direction. As for a cool yellow grey, I can imagine how it would look, but don’t know of any. Best of luck in your quests for these elusive inks!
Very great review ! Thanks.
Author
You’re welcome. Thanks for reading!
This was a really interesting piece, I’ve never seen chromatographic separation of ink in a review before. Thanks for your hard work!
Author
Thank you so much for reading! It was a lot of fun to create and write. Glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks for taking the time to so carefully document your findings. Very informative!
Author
You are most welcome! I’m glad you found them informative.
John – I bought Diamine Graphite. The name implied that it would look like pencil, and that amused me: pencil that can’t be rubbed out. However, it looks nothing like pencil – much too green. Would Diamine grey be what I wanted?
Author
Noel, that’s unfortunate. I think the Graphite is too dark of an ink to look like a pencil. Diamine Grey may be more what you’re looking for, as it is lighter.
There may also be some discrepancy between the sample I had and the one you got. I really loved one of the inks I sampled, but when I ordered a bottle the color was different. I suspect grey inks may be a little harder for manufacturers to keep the color consistent, but it may have just been bad luck.
I really enjoy my Noodlers Lexington Grey. I find it to be a very restful color. It can look like pencil lead in fine or extra fine pens so I prefer to use it in pens with a medium nib.
Author
Same here. Lexington Grey is a great color and I have also noticed it looking like pencil lead.
I love greys and have several. My newest acquisition is De Atramentis Document Urban Grey. Having a waterfast grey is a huge plus for me, since my writing often seems to suffer an unintended soaking somewhere along the line. A pretty, water-resistant ink is going to be a great addition to my stable.
Author
Brian, glad to have another fan of grey inks around here. Happy (water-resistant) writing!
John, thank you for this very informational article! I love grays that are cool, neutral,with good shading! I will be purchasing Kobe#53 Kitano Pearl Silver and J. Herbin Gris de Houle to add to my collection of grey inks, based on what I learned from your article! Gray is such a peaceful ,calming color with loads of variation and complexities!
Author
I’m glad you found it helpful, Desiree! Those to grey inks are my favorites as well. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!
I’m looking for a grey color that is not flat in a sketchbook when watercolor is added to drawing.
A little late to this post but Google made a good suggestion for once. Nice job comparing a color not often chosen. Now, to check out the rest of your blog.
Author
Glad you got sent this way and found something helpful! Hope you enjoy the rest of the blog.
Thanks so much for this review! I love grays. My grail gray would be a cool gray with great shading, near waterproof, and well behaved. DeAtramentis Fog Grey, but with better behavior. Mostly I use Lexington for the permanence.
Author
You’re welcome! Thanks for taking a look. I’m a big fan of Lexington as well, both for the color and permanence.
Thank you for this overview of greys – I happen to love greys, and have quite a few. I like them for sketching, either Lexington to add a watercolour wash, or one of the Diamines to pull out with a waterbrush. greys just seem so versatile.
Author
You’re welcome, Andra. they are such versatile and interesting inks, especially when you add a bit of water.
What an excellent and thorough survey of grey inks. It’s a neglected but interesting topic. You are so right about R&K Thea Sketch Ink – I had to dig into the sediment with the handle of a paint brush and stir, stir, stir to disperse it. However, this does transform this lovely drawing ink and brings up the sepia undertones properly. Not for fountain pens though, definitely. I only have 11 grey inks and you included all them. Infinite Grey is my favourite for writing. Needs a broad nib. Thanks again for all your hard work. Much appreciated.
Author
Glad you enjoyed it, Michael! I’d say 11 grey inks is a lot more than most people have, so I’d consider you a big fan. I ended up buying a bottle of Infinite Grey and it was a little greener than the sample I had for this post, which was a little disappointing, but it’s still a good color. Thanks for reading!
Appreciated your time & efforts for efforts.
Well researched and beautifully written article, Good job!!!
Really nice guide, Great work John!
I’m so happy I discovered your site. I am fairly new to fountain pens and have gleaned bits and pieces of info all over the internet. Your site provided me with a one-stop, comprehensive source. I feel better informed as a result. Thank you!
Author
I’m glad to hear it, Elizabeth! I hope you enjoy your time with fountain pens and come back here once in a while to say hi.
Since you cost me money again with your recent review of Troublemaker (a propos?) Petrichor, I debated where to put this comment, but, since it is about grey ink, here it is in your grey ink compendium. I found a vendor in the USA for Troublemaker Inks and ordered several. At a good price for 60ml bottles, I could take a little walk on the wild side, so ended up with colors outside my zone. However, one, Autumn Rain Gray, deserves mention. I have only been writing with it for an hour or so as it is newly ariven, and am likely somewhat in thrall, but this is a dark grey that looks like nothing but grey, no mistaking for black. I would love to know your reaction to this ink, but would say check it out if you ever get a chance. Thanks for getting me to it!
Author
Perry, I’m glad to hear you’ve found some fun new inks to try out! I hadn’t seen Autumn Rain Gray before. What an interesting color! It looks like it’s got a lot of shimmer in it, which can be great if done well. I haven’t tried any of Troublemaker’s shimmer inks before, so will grab a sample when I get a chance. Happy writing!