Iroshizuki Ink

[captain1796]

Hello all,

So I'm excited to say I got my hands on one of Ralph Prather's 51s. It has a really fine nib that started writing dry and almost gummy. I use the Japanese ink in my pens which are normally modern and Japanese. As an FYI in the fine P51 nib and feed I suppose , it was just disaster. Mr. Propas(thank you) suggested that I try Diamine ink. I luckily had a bottle of sapphire blue. It cleared up in about 30 seconds with the Diamine and writes exceptionally well. I thought this might be of help to someone out there. It is possible you all know this and I'm in the dark playing with Japanese pens. Have a good evening.

[betweenthelens]

Thank you for this suggestion. I've not yet tried Diamine inks and perhaps will purchase a bottle soon.

[playtime]

love love love diamine inks.

[Dr.Grace]

Actually, I find many of the Iroshizuku inks to be very well behaved. A few of them could be drier than the others. Which one were you using? Similarly, some of the Diamine inks could behave differently from the others. You usually can't make such a blanket statement about all the inks from a certain manufacturer.

[Ernst Bitterman]

The only Iroshizuku which I have extensive experience of is Fuyu-Syogun (the grey one), and it hasn't given any trouble in any pen. It may happen that something from a previous fill was hiding in the MANY hiding places ink finds in a "51", and your Iroshizuku had a bad reaction to it.

 

However, I wouldn't let that put you off Diamine inks... except Prussian Blue. That stuff is dry.

[welch]

I use Diamine Sapphire as my everyday ink and Iroshizuku Asa-gao as my special ink. Asa-gao looks like a classy version of Diamine Sapphire. Never had problems with either brand, although I lean toward the purple-shaded blue inks. Art Brown's had an ink book...Prussian Blue looked ugly. Diamine Presidential Blue, Royal Blue, Sapphire, Imperial, ASA (no idea what the name means), and Saragasso Sea are all winners.

[mallymal1]

I use Iroshizuku Shin-ryoku and Fuyu-syogun, both with no problems in a wide range of pens...and many of the Diamine inks likewise.

 

It would be an interesting exercise to try the Iroshi ink again, when you have used up the Diamine.

[Sasha Royale]

It is the task of the nib to restrict ink flow onto the paper. Finer nibs are more restrictive of ink flow than broader nibs.

Tighter nibs will always be more temperamental. My vintage pens seem to like wetter inks.

[Sandy1]

Hello,

 

I do not have the good fortune to have custody of a Ralph Prather 51, so my ability to respond fully is limited.

 

I am amongst those who use several Pilot iroshizuki inks across a range of pens, including plain ol' 51s, without problems such as you describe.

 

After running thousands of ink+pen+paper samples, I came to believe that ink+pen functional compatibility is unrelated to brands.

 

A long shot would be that the pH of the Pilot inks is more alkaline than the Diamine inks, but I cannot stretch my imagination to consider that as a source of the incompatibility. Indeed, I find that as a group Diamine inks have greater range in their performance profile than the iroshizuki inks.

 

Other than giving the 51 a thorough deep cleansing, I am stumped.

 

Please let us know the specific Pilot inks that have disappointed you with their performance.

 

Bye,

S1

Edited July 23, 2014 by Sandy1