Kiri same from Pilot Iroshizuku is such a pleasing shade of gray.  I like my gray inks to look as much like pencil as possible – so that the reader may even wonder if I’d written in pencil. A simple fine line. Mmm. This one fits the bill, but when compared with other grays – it seems to have some red qualities to it. It’s probably not enough red to notice when the ink is on its own, but the red is definitely there.

The above swab is on a cheap index card (really, are there any quality index cards out there these days?). The feathering on the index card had me concerned, but look below at the water test – no feathering, no smearing.  For the water test, I write, wait a few seconds, and then drag a moistened Q-Tip across the writing. I also place a water droplet on the card – in this case, it’s on the L in “Pilot” – crazy, right?

Seize the Dave (the essence of storm clouds in a bottle)

Grays are a favorite color for me. Love, hate, or indifferent – how do you feel about gray ink?