Jacques Herbin Gris de Houle - Ink Sample

Shade of gray not to be a secret…

I love gray. And I mean GRAY. Not watery blacks, grayish purples, or blue-blacks passing for gray. And I want my grays to be gray enough for my extra fine nibs. I know it is challenging to find such unusual color. To be able to say “it is gray” when the line produced by such nib is truly thin, well, that is not an easy color to find. So, when I received my “Gris de Houle”, I was pleasantly surprised. A bit smoky with a touch of blue, yet still gray. And I’m not going to hide that I love it 😉

Jacques Herbin Gris de Houle - Ink Sample

This seems to be the Goldilocks grey of the grey inks I have tried; not so light it's difficult to see, not so dark it's mistaken for black (after it gets going). It has a nice smooth, wet flow (Lamy 1.1 stub nib); others have praised it's dry time and water resistance, and deservedly so—this ink seems like it will hold up well in many applications.

Nice Grey

Grey inks are my favorites, and I very much like J. Herbin inks. This is a pretty grey that has arrived just in time for May Gray, June Gloom. Very happy with the ink sample and will be purchasing a larger size.