What Colour Is Ao-Tamenuri ?

[Legal Eagle]

Most of the pictures of this colour that are on the web (Nibs.com, FPN reviews, etc) all look pretty much the same, black with hints of turquoisey blue poking out at the edges. What's throwing me off is the pictures of Leigh Reyes Nakaya which is supposedly in Ao-Tamenuri; It looks almost identical to the Midori-Tamenuri pens from Iguana Sell. It's way more green, and I would hate to order an Ao-Tamenuri expecting 1 colour and getting something fairly different.

Here's a link to Leigh's pen- http://www.leighreyes.com/?p=3972

And here's a link to Iguana Sell- http://www.iguanasell.com/collections/nakaya-pens/products/nakaya-cigar-fountain-pen-decapod-midori-tamenuri-portable-ebonite

 

So what's the deal with this color ?

[Nero]

Ao should be blue and Midori green. See here: http://www.omniglot.com/language/colours/japanese.htm . But my experience says that Ao could also stay for something that we would call green and not longer blue. I hope it is not too confusing. :-)

 

You have also to consider the light when taking a picture of such pens. In the sun they will be probably lighter than otherwise. One pen sold here looked bright red, but I have a pen made from the same plastic and it is very dark in real life.

Edited November 28, 2014 by Nero

[Sakura FP Gallery]

In my opinion Ao tamenuri should be more blue then green.

[Voidwalker]

I have a Nakaya in Ao-tamenuri and I can confirm that it is indeed more turquoise-blue than green. It is very hard to photograph, and also you do have to appreciate that individual pens may have slight differences in their exact shading, due to being hand-made and all. But I think overall, the pictures on nibs.com are a very accurate representation of the real thing. I hope this helps!

[trulylefty]

Mine is definitely more green than blue. I will admit to being disappointed, but it is beautiful, nonetheless.

Edited December 1, 2014 by trulylefty

[Legal Eagle]

Mine is definitely more green than blue. I will admit to being disappointed, but it is beautiful, nonetheless.

 

Huh... that's interesting. When did you get yours & would it be possible for you to post a couple of pics for me ?

[Painterspal]

I reviewed my ao tamenuri decapod twist a while back. It isn't in the review index so here's a link. I was pretty careful with the colour balance for the pictures and would say they aren't a bad representation. The thing with these pens is that the finish is variable so I don't think there is a definitive answer. Some are lighter, some darker (depending, I assume, on how thick and opaque the top coat is), and consequently have more or less of the under colour coming through. The darker top colour should (in theory) become more transparent over time so how it starts may not be how it ends up. For what it's worth I'd say mine is towards the darker end of the spectrum.

 

By the way, I vaguely remember reading that Leigh's was a ptototype so it may not be typical.

 

Oh, and I meant to add, it's a lovely finish.

Edited December 4, 2014 by Painterspal