Kaweco Smokey Grey
Pen: Lamy Safari (M)
Paper: Rhodia 80gsm #16 Blank
Shading: high
Saturation: low to moderate
Flow: medium
Dry Time: 14s in Lamy M

If you've followed the blog for a while, you know how much I love a good grey ink. Everytime a new one comes out, chances are I'll be trying it. Smokey Grey covers a spectrum of grey that not many other grey inks match. Kaweco is really doing a great thing with their ink line, and I think it's far superior to most any other pen brand's ink line.

Smokey Grey is a nice medium grey ink that varies quite a bit depending on what pen you use it in. In a dryer writing pen it's a pale light grey like Iroshizuku Fuyu-syogun, and in a heavier writing pen it puts down a nice dark charcoal grey line like Kiri-same or Faber-Castell Stone Grey. Both "colors" have really nice shading, and the ink behaves really well on typical fountain pen paper.

Water drop - just for fun!  I see a hint of red in there.. — Water drop - just for fun! I see a hint of red in there..

Pen characteristics aside, the ink itself is about a medium on the wetness scale. It flows nicely, with no hard starts; it doesn't dry too easily on the nib. Dry time is moderate at around 14 seconds in medium nib Lamy Safari.

I really dig Kaweco's ink bottles. The lid has a nice foam insert which keeps it from drying out in storage, and the ink bottle itself can lean on its side to assist with filling when the ink bottle gets low. Just as I mentioned in the Kaweco Sunrise Orange review, the lid has a very satisfying "seal" when it closes, which I very much like.

As far as comparisons, this ink has a couple that it matches up with. Depending on the pen you're using, it can be as light a Fuyu-syogun or J. Herbin Gris Nuage. For most pens out there, however, it's going to be closer to Graf von Faber-Castell Stone Grey or Pilot Iroshizuku Kiri-same.

Chromatography is...anti-climactic to say the least; but still very interesting - an olive green and a little bit of blue.

I can safely say that I'll be adding Smokey Grey to my list of favorite grey inks. It doesn't overtake the top spot for greys for me, but it definitely ranks up there. It's a very well behaved ink with no frills - it just works and it works well. I'm excited for Kaweco to release some new colors, as their latest have been fantastic. Thank you so much to Kaweco in Germany for sending me this ink for review!

(Kaweco has provided this product at no charge to The Desk for the purpose of review. My opinions are honest and without bias - visit the About Me page for more details).

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