(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)
Just a few weeks ago, I looked at an Anderillium ink that was quite interesting, but only had limited use cases for me. Today, I'm excited to be talking about another Anderillium ink -- and this one is great for all writing purposes.
Anderillium Shoebill Stork Grey is a beautiful gray ink with a lot of great shading behavior. In most cases, ink descriptions in the marketing materials are brief, but I recommend reading about the bird that serves as a namesake for this broody ink.
A tall and terrifying bird. (Image via Audubon.org)
Naming and birds aside, this is a solid ink. It comes in the same jam jar as other inks in the same Avian series, which makes it incredibly easy to fill pens due to the large mouth. The small glass jar and flat lid also make it easy to store. At 1.5 oz or 42 ml, it holds a good amount of ink as well. You likely won't run run out quickly.
Looking at the color of this ink, it's really similar to Diamine's Earl Grey or Robert Oster's Chicago. It's in the same family of hue, and looks fantastic on paper. The shading is the real star of this ink, though. The main color is a medium-dark gray, but the thinner areas have a delightful light gray that adds a lot of visual interest to your writing.
Another surprise that definitely goes on the "pro" list for this ink the amount of time it takes to dry. In my tests with a fairly broad nib, the dry time hovers around the 10-second mark. Not bad at all. You can find other inks that dry faster if that's what you need, but this performance is nothing to criticize.
The other characteristics of how this ink performs are excellent as well. There's no feathering or bleeding, and there's only minimal show-through on the back of the page. It's well-behaved and easy to clean out of your pen when it's time for something new.
What I especially about this gray ink (or any gray ink, for that matter) is that it's decidedly gray. Even in the wettest areas, you can tell it's a gray ink. This isn't a gray-black or a gray-brown. It's simply gray, and it provides several different shades of beautiful gray that remind me of a bird's plumage.
This is a fantastic gray that goes well in any collection. If you'd like to try some out, head over to Anderillium's site to pick up a bottle. At $14.50 for a 42ml bottle, it's a pretty good value. The shading and excellent performance make this an easy choice if you like the color.
(Brad purchased this ink at regular price from Anderillium Ink at the 2022 Atlanta Pen Show.)
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