Here goes with my first ever ink review…

I don’t know whether it has anything to do with the time of year or the weather, but here at Slightly Unnerved Towers darker, more muted ink colours seem to be the flavour of the month.  I’m gradually working through a bunch of these, but Diamine’s Graphite is one that’s caught my eye recently.

Diamine Graphite is a dark grey ink with an element of green to it.  It could have been called slate without raising too many eyebrows.  Either way it’s much darker than other grey inks I’ve tried to date and it lacks the blue tint that a lot of greys seem to have.

A bit of kitchen chromatography confirms that what you see is what you get and there’s nothing out of the ordinary or dramatic about it.

That could be seen as a negative if you like your inks filled with drama, but I don’t mind.  In its understated way, Graphite gets on with the job.  It’s subtle and straightforward enough to be used in a work context, but it also shades enough to provide some interest.

This ink is well lubricated and flows nicely.  I’ve used it in several pens and not yet had a bad experience.  Like most Diamine inks, it’s not waterproof, but for my purposes that not a problem.  Particularly with being a left-hander, I haven’t had any issues with drying times – a little over 20 seconds to fully dry on Tomoe River paper.

Here’s what it looks like on Tomoe River paper:

Here’s what it looks like on Clairefontaine 1951 paper:

As with other Diamine inks, Graphite is pretty widely available in either 30ml or 80ml bottles, with the 80ml size being good value at around £6.00/$15.00 a bottle.  That said I really like the fact that you can buy the smaller bottles.  It’s great for inks that you might only use occasionally or still aren’t quite sure of.  Diamine have revamped the design of their labels, but not their bottles.  The best you can say about the 30ml bottles is that they’re functional.  They certainly won’t win any design awards, but at this price point it’s something most people should be able to live with.

Grey inks are not to everyone’s taste, but if you’re thinking of trying some out Diamine Graphite is well worth putting on the list.