Lexington Grey 
Noodler's Ink


     Lexington Grey from Noodler's Ink has water resisting qualities and is a tone that I relate to a pencil line. I was looking a for sketching ink that can handle watercolour washes and this ink does just that but there were other qualities that I did not find appealing.

Lexington Grey Test Plate after 3 ml water

     The ink has a smoke grey colour that shades to a dark charcoal tone. Ink flow is on the dry side and I would not recommend it for cheap paper. On cheaper papers I witnessed feathering and ghosting. On the plus side Lexington Grey dries reasonably quick and best of all the ink is waterproof. As for cleaning, Lexington Grey left a residue on the test plate. To remove the residue I needed to scrub the plate with soap. I am grateful that it wasn't as stubborn as the Noodler's Black.

     Lexington Grey for me seems like an art ink, the colour and waterproof characteristics are appealing but the cleaning and performance on cheaper papers are sticking points for me. I like the ability to write/sketch on a variety of papers and in terms of flushing the ink I personally would not use this is ink in all my pens, it would need to be the ones I can easily disassemble to clean.

Lex Grey on Hilroy Paper

Lex Grey on Clairefontaine Paper

Ink diagrams prepared using:
1.  Speedball C-4 nib in dip pen
2.  Esterbrook #0 nib in dip pen