PR Gray Flannel

[Bryan]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v288/bryan2177/grayflannel.jpg

 

Example of Shading:

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v288/bryan2177/shading.jpg

[TheNobleSavage]

Bryan,

Thanks for the review. I have to say I really enjoyed it !!! My friend bought some of the Grey Flannel and he wanted me to try it out. I thought that is was too watery for my tastes. The color really reminds me of Mont Blanc Black. When the ink dries, it does have a vintage look to it. The consistancy reminds me of Shell Pink, even though the ink is not the same color, it has the same watery consistancy to it. Its one of those inks you either lover or hate.

[Bryan]

Bryan,

Thanks for the review. I have to say I really enjoyed it !!! My friend bought some of the Grey Flannel and he wanted me to try it out. I thought that is was too watery for my tastes. The color really reminds me of Mont Blanc Black. When the ink dries, it does have a vintage look to it. The consistancy reminds me of Shell Pink, even though the ink is not the same color, it has the same watery consistancy to it. Its one of those inks you either lover or hate.

You’re right, it is a watery ink. After my first use, I too thought I hated it. It's just one of those inks that kind of grows on you. It's different, and in a situation were Orange Crush, Tanzanite, or even some of the really bright blues aren't allowed, it's different enough to give you some variety. If you like the vintage feel, you'll probably like this ink. I'm glad you enjoyed the review.

 

Bryan

[mchristi]

It's different, and in a situation were Orange Crush, Tanzanite, or even some of the really bright blues aren't allowed, it's different enough to give you some variety.

It's really too bad that some employers or situations don't allow such inks to be used. There are some colors that are hard to read or maybe are just a bit too far out there, but even most of the bright and interesting colors by PR and Noodler's seem perfectly usable. Heck, I've even been signed a few business letters with Ottoman Rose this week, and they look just fine with that color. I really don't see any problem with a bright blue or a deep green or a wonderful purple or a good orange being used in a law firm or a bank or a judge's chambers or a governor's office. It's unfortunate that some do.

 

Mark C.

[Bryan]

I really don't see any problem with a bright blue or a deep green or a wonderful purple or a good orange being used in a law firm or a bank or a judge's chambers or a governor's office. It's unfortunate that some do.

 

Mark C.

Hi Mark,

 

The Court has rules about ink color for an important reason. It's all about impartiality when submitting documents for a Judge's review. Bright colors attract attention. With our computers and color printers, for an attorney to print his court filings with certain parts printed in a color other then black would draw the Judge's attention to that section. Or when a clerk makes notes in a file, bright colors would draw attention, and someone could take the brighter color of ink as marking something of more importance. Kind of like highlighting text. It is the Judge's role to decide what is important/relevant in a case and need not be "highlighted" by an attorney.

 

The Courts takes this whole concept to the extreme. There are rules about page size, font, margins, and there's even a book ,"The Blue Book", on how to site other cases in the correct format.

 

With these rules in place there is less of a chance that an attorney is going to make claim that another attorney has unfairly drawn more of the Judge’s attention to there pleadings. Despite that which is played out on television, most rulings are made in the Judge's chamber from documents submitted by the attorneys.

 

Not a perfect system, however it's the best the Court can do to maintain an impartial appearance. All documents are as bland as possible!

 

Hope that make sense. I thought it kind of odd when I first started. But after the Judge explained it to me, I accepted it fully and would defend it.

 

Bryan

Edited March 19, 2005 by Bryan

[zxc]

I love the review and the colour!

 

A bottle is shipping it's way to me as I speak (well type).

 

Thanks a lot for the great review!

[southpaw]

Bryan,

Thanks for the good review. You mentioned that drying time was good compared to other PR inks (which are slow dryers). How does it compare to something like WM Florida Blue? TIA

[zxc]

Got this ink today, and I don't like it. In my M200 F nib it feels like it's a pen running out of ink (feels, not looks). In my Swan Flex nib it didn't flow well either (and didn't look vintage etc). I flushed both of them of it out of frustration :bonk:

 

It runs nothing like in the review for me, maybe it's the pen or my writing

 

Maybe I'll try it again later and it will grow on me <_<

[KCat]

if not, there are easy ways to improve the flow without losing the ink color. smaller ink batches mean sometimes less consistent flow properties.

 

in the short term - try flushing the pen with mildy soapy water, rinse it a couple of times with clear water and fill again. This should leave enough detergent in the pen to mix with the ink and change the flow characteristics. if that doesn't help and you still aren't happy with the ink, then there are other measures you can take.

[Johnny Appleseed]

I was hoping to dig out my ink testing sheets for this, but I haven't had a chance, and go on vacation tomorrow - so before this thread is forgotton. . .

 

A few years ago, in the days before Noodlers Permanent ink, I did some testing of different inks for their water-resistant properties. PR Flannel, along with J Herbin Grey, had excellent permanency when soaked and very good resistance to smearing. Many grey inks seem to. I didn't like the actual color of the ink - it was too light with the fine nibs I preferred back then - so I used it as a mixer to increase the water-permanency of other colors (particularly PR Tanzenite and a Copper Burst mix I made). The richer colors would sometimes wash away, but the grey would hold fast.

 

I might have to revisit grey inks again. They do look nice with a broader nib - I'll have to see how they do with a cursive italic.

 

Sheaffer has a grey as well that I got NOS with a modern Balance. It is darker than the PR or Herbin, which I like.

 

Johnny Appleseed

[Catsmelt]

Not sure if anything has changed in the formula for Gray Flannel, but it's quite an odd ink.

 

The ink is light, but I really wouldn't say it's washed out. It's just....gray. One could say it's either a washed out black or a substantial gray. Hmm.

 

But what catches my eye most, aside from the nice shading qualities, is the odd hue of gray that ends up dried on the page.

 

It's got a touch of green, reminding me of that scary color one sees near a tornado. In addition, I get this weird vibe that is either nostalgia or acid flashback that says: submarine interior paint.

 

No, I didn't huff the stuff. I was on one of the S-girls in Groton.

[The Legend]

I like gray, especially in winter when it contrasts just slightly with the snow view when I look out of the window. It has a calming effect when I write or read it.

 

At this moment I use Diamine Gray. A bit lighter than the PR I guess, but very nice shading.

 

The Legend

[arvadajames]

I love the color. I have a Parker 45 Flighter that I keep inked with Grey Flannel all the time. To me the color looks like a lead pencil more than an ink, which I really like at times.

[Viseguy]

To me the color looks like a lead pencil more than an ink, which I really like at times.

Ditto Noodler's bulletproof Lexington [battleship] Gray. The "lead pencil" aspect is nifty (coming out of a pen and all), but, contrary to the initial poster, I think it's rather less formal-looking than black or blue, precisely because it's so unusual. I wouldn't use it for a letter of condolence, for example.

[Bradley]

Speaking of grey inks, I recently tried J. Herbin's Gris Nuage . I like the color alright -- grey, of course, with just a hint of blue -- but the ink is just overly light . Unfortunately, I used the ink on many of my Christmas cards this year, and I know that many of the recipients must have thought that an old felt-tip pen was running out of ink -- that's the look it had.

 

I'm moving back towards brown ink as an alternative to black or blue.

[Heirphoto]

Well, here I am dragging up an old thread again but I guess this happens a lot with newbies. So much to catch up on here!

 

I just bought a bottle of this at Bertrams Inkwell in Baltimore yeasterday along with a bottle or Diamine Sepia. I love the old time look and have a pair of Brahman Ebonites aching for a vintage ink. I also got a pack of Namiki carts in black (just in case).

 

I can't wait to try this out on the weekend. The lpen I plan to use is an eyedropper so I don't want to head to the office with an untested eyedropper <g>

 

great group here.

 

Tony

[Cedar]

Speaking of grey inks, I recently tried J. Herbin's Gris Nuage . I like the color alright -- grey, of course, with just a hint of blue -- but the ink is just overly light . Unfortunately, I used the ink on many of my Christmas cards this year, and I know that many of the recipients must have thought that an old felt-tip pen was running out of ink -- that's the look it had.

 

I'm moving back towards brown ink as an alternative to black or blue.

 

I liked the color of ink you used for your signature. What ink and what color is that?

Cedar

 

[Heirphoto]

I guess I'm one of those guys who is going into the hate it catagory. Way too watery for my tastes. I had wanted a less than black ink and got a barely more than white ink!

 

I tried different papers, different pens and still almost the same think. oddly in the bottle the ink looks quite red, almost a black cherry type of shade. on the paper when wet I saw a watery sepia then it dried to a very pale greyish tone. Not my cup of tea.

 

I also tried my Diamine Sepia. Really nice bottle, really nice ink. Bright, bold ink when wet, bright sepia, even slightly orange when dry. This one is a keeper but both of these have toaught me a lesson. As nice as pale, vintage tone inks look on paper I think I really prefer something bolder.

 

For blue I use Namiki Blue/Black and for my brown I think I need a deep chocolate....something just on the brown side of black. Is there an ink on the slightly charcoal side of black? Bold but not a jet black?

 

Tony

[pingjun]

I have this ink & I must say I like this ink

[PAKMAN]

I tried this ink out and really couldn't get to like it. I sold it and picked up another PR ink with a little more color.