Is Iroshizuku Ink Worth The Price?

[AllenG]

I have 9 bottles of various colors. They are my favorite inks by a wide margin.

[Ghost Plane]

I would gladly pay $100 for a bottle of Iroshizuku Kon-Peki.

Tell us where you are and we'll help you find it for much less, depending on your locale.

[sargetalon]

Kon-Peki is one of my favorite inks hands down. Very well behaved and just a beautiful color. Well worth the money as far as I'm concerned.

[MBFan]

I do love me some Kon-Peki goodness. However, the prices has held me back from buying some asa-gao recently. Especially when I can't test it beforehand, and there are several other ink brands that are far cheaper, and just as good (eg Diamine).

[Algester]

for me as a lefty yes they are worth the price the properties are just extras... but they are cheap in Japan thats one thing...

[Mishka5050]

Yes yes and yes. You have to have kon-peki

 

Iroshizuku is one of those heureka inks that change everything. The flow and saturation are magnificient.

 

That said, I wouldn't pay what they usually go for.

Ebay/amazon sell them cheaper - it comes directly from Japan, so you'll wait a week or two.

[Namo]

I recently went for this kind of inks. Here in a BM store in Montreal, they go for 40$ + taxes. At this price, I will pass, even if they are probably the better behaves ink I've ever tried. My Densho is in love. But you can fond this ink on the B at 24$, ship. included. At this price, which is twice the price of a Sailor Jentle, yes, it's worth it.

[inkstainedruth]

I'm probably in the minority here, but my experience with the ones I've tried has been hit or miss at best. The only ones I thought were worth getting full bottles of were Yama-budo and Yama-guri -- both of which I absolutely love. But several of the inks were very drippy and others were not colors I liked. Or (in the case of Asa-gao) both.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[arcadeflow]

It is known that the Iroshizuku line has a normal price for premium ink in Japan (as in more expensive than the regular Black/Red/Blue inks from most worldwide brands but not more expensive than something like Diamine). But the packaging is so well designed and "oriental" like that it looks and is marketed as fancy ink outside Japan. I don't doubt the ink is very high quality, but I doubt it is worth $28 technically speaking. You can fall in love with a color from a cheaper brand like Sheaffer and find no flaw in that ink, so, you don't have any precious material in Iroshizuku that makes it cost 3 times more. It's like fancy wine or parfum, you can find a $1000 wine bottle that you love, but you also love that $15 bottle and both of them can impress people.

 

Sometimes we are inclined to enjoy expensive things more, it is a proven psychological effect, and that is probably what most people feel when they open that gorgeous Iroshizuku bottle, the fancyness gets to them. I'd rather have all my inks in fancy bottles like that and avoid mass market ones, but I can't technically justify the price, so it is a matter of how much you want to expend in your hobby.

 

Some people love Chinese and Indian pens for the price, as they love Noodler's and other interesting brands that are very humbly presented but also have interesting aspects. Sometimes less is more. So it all depends on how it is marketed. Mass market inks in a wide selection of colors are not justified, because regular people that use fountain pens with no obsession won't care much about 10 different shades of blue to choose from, so they have to market them in a special line that costs more because it sells less and is more expensive to do since you have a wider range, and only the die-hard fans will care to look into them. Noodler's on the other hand is kind of rustic "made in the basement" vintage stuff that has a much smaller production and is only known by fountain pen lovers (not regular users), and they have to compete with the gorgeous Edelstein/Iroshizuku/J. Herbin and others by the lower price and production cost.

[dneal]

I have purchased 4 bottles. It is very well behaved, and Asa Gao is my favorite.

 

But it's frankly not worth $30 a bottle. I have a "close enough" substitute for each of the colors I own that are 1/2 the price.

[apkayle]

I paid about $15 per bottle for my Iroshizuku inks and there is no way I would ever pay $28 to $40 for a bottle.

 

I can't find anything special about Iroshizuku inks other than consistent quality, but you can find consistently good quality in other brands such as Diamine. They're expensive and not worth getting unless they have a color you absolutely cannot find elsewhere.

[Ghost Plane]

"Close enough" brands are often headaches in a specialty nib such as IB, O3B and so on. My preference is for a floaty firehose, which these inks help me achieve.

 

Some of you write with what feels like an insulin needle loaded with sand and love it, whereas I'd go nuts trying to increase the flow. Good thing we have options for differing tastes!

[wildlife]

According to responses, it appears Iroshizuku carries a reputation that upholds its worthiness of costing so much to some. After all, the bottle itself is quite a spectacle!

I think I'll get Asa Gao to use in a Pilot Prera. Will cost $60, but I'm excited!

Indeed, enjoy.

[Menzobaranzan]

Tell us where you are and we'll help you find it for much less, depending on your locale

 

I don't have a problem finding Iroshizuki inks at good price point. Thanks for the look out though. I was just saying that should it ever discontinue or what not I would gladly pay $100 for this ink.

[Ghost Plane]

Ah. Okay. Didn't want anyone missing out.

[iveyman]

I use Kon Peki daily to write and I like it a lot. It is a pretty big bottle with 50 ml of ink. I think it is well worth the price. I also use Yama Budo to write daily. It is also a beautiful ink.

[wastelanded]

I have Ajisai, Tsuki-yo, Yama-guri and Fuyu-sogun. The Ajisai does indeed resemble hydrangea, but to me it's nothing miraculous. Fuyu-syogun for me is a bluish silver, great in a wet BB. Tsuki-yo needs the right paper to draw out the grey undertone, or it's just teal.

 

They are all excellent inks as far as performance goes. But the one I would definitely buy again is Yama-guri: that ink is a one-off. Not your grandfather's brown.

 

ETA: Oh right, is it worth it? Personally, I don't think any ink is worth $40 a bottle. But for $25, hells yeah. A special treat to myself.

Edited August 17, 2014 by wastelanded

[Algester]

I have purchased 4 bottles. It is very well behaved, and Asa Gao is my favorite.

 

But it's frankly not worth $30 a bottle. I have a "close enough" substitute for each of the colors I own that are 1/2 the price.

yeah shipping is expensive but they go for about 15USD a pop in Japan which is technically good for a 50 ml of ink same price as your typical non artisan sailor ink but you will pay more for artisan sailor inks as well as those sailor exclusive inks

Edited August 17, 2014 by Algester

[Safari_Camo]

Life is short to use cheap inks

[SunQueen]

I think they are worth it! I have a bottle of tsuki-yo and samples of a several others. All of them have been well behaved and very pretty on the paper.