Monteverde Smoke Noir

Ink Reviews
Written By Julian

Ink Review #170

 

*Please note that the scan is the accurate representation of this color.

 

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The Color | Properties

Monteverde Smoke Noir is a dusty grey with mild brown and green undertones that come through depending on the lighting in which the ink is viewed. When writing in cursive, it shades with a soft milky gradient and a soft cut where letters cross or overlap each other. When writing in print, it shades with a more distinct cut where the ink pools around the bottom of the letters.

Ink droplets

Ink splat

 

Chromatography

 

Performance on Paper | Dry Times | Water Resistance

You may have noticed the feathering around the ink droplets above, and unfortunately, that translates into some bleeding and feathering on some of the papers (Leuchtturm, Kokuyo, Tomoe River 52 gsm). It’s not as bad as I expected based on the ink droplets, but it’s noticeable. I recommend trying this ink on a test page/sheet first if bleeding or feathering is an issue.

Rhodia

Leuchtturm1917

The dry times are slightly above average, often drying in 10-15 seconds across all nib sizes, however it was marketly worse on the Tomoe River sheet.

 
 

The water resistance is incredible. After water exposure, the color fogs over slightly (although it’s admittedly difficult to tell), but all the writing remains crisp and legible. Apart from a small trace of pink, even the chromatography barely budged! Impressive.

More Pages

Midori MD

Maruman

Tomoe River

Kokuyo

Performance in the Pen | Cleaning

Smoke Noir has a medium-wet flow and excellent lubrication, making for a pleasant writing experience. Despite the great flow, it had a small tendency to dry in the nib, leading to occasional rough starts, especially with the larger nib sizes (such as the broad and 1.1 stub nibs). It didn’t happen that often, however, and it was never an issue while writing. As expected, there were no drops in flow during extended writing.

The cleaning experience was easy, although it took an extra set of soaking and flushing with a bulb syringe to wash the nib units clean. Still, it cleaned out without any stains or residue left on the inside of the barrel of the test pen or nib units.

Writing Samples

 
 

Written on 52 gsm Tomoe River paper (white, 6mm ruling) with a broad nib.

Written on Midori MD paper (cream, 7mm ruling) with a broad nib.

Written on Midori MD paper (cream, 7mm ruling) with a fine nib.

 
 

  • Performance in a pen: 8.5/10

  • Performance on paper: 7.5/10

  • Color saturation: 7/10

  • Sheening: 0/10

  • Shading: 4/10

  • Dry time: 7.5/10

  • Water resistance: 9/10

  • Ease of cleaning: 8/10

  • Shimmer: None

Award: Distinction in Inky Excellence

My Personal Thoughts…

We’ve made it to the end!

When I saw that the last ink in the collection was going to be another grey, I was slightly disappointed that it wasn’t going to be a yellow-black or a brown-black, but after getting some time with it, I walked away more than impressed. The name absolutely fits as the shading gives it that soft and smoky look, but as I wrote with it, I started to realize it almost looks pencil-y. But it’s the performance more than anything that makes this ink so great. The ink was so smooth that it left me appreciating the writing experience more than the color, especially when I was testing it with the fine nib. The water resistance was phenomenal, and that’s not something I can say I run into often with fountain pen inks. I have no issue recommending this ink, and it’s easily my favorite of the two greys in the set.

 

Written on 52 gsm Tomoe River paper with a Karas Pen Co. Decograph (broad nib).

 

More images/info:

 

Featured in the photography and writing samples:

Current text: The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett (Amazon)

 

Tools and materials used in the writing samples:

  • A TWSBI Diamond 580 AL with 7 nib units, including a Needlepoint grind, EF, F, M, B, 1.1mm stub, and an Architect grind. All nibs are tuned to perform at the same medium wetness.

  • A Rhodia No16 A5 DotPad

  • A Leuchtturm1917 A5 Notebook

  • A Midori MD A5 Notebook

  • A 52 gsm A5 Tomoe River Notebook

  • A Maruman Mnemosyne A5 Spiral Notebook

  • A Kokuyo Campus A5 Notebook

 
Julian
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Monteverde Rose Noir