Sailor Sei boku Blue-Black Nano Ink

[Ondina]

Thank you for making such a nice review of a not so well known ink that is really attractive for properties, color and shading. Bluemagister, thanks for the tip on Jetpens as well. $30 dollars per bottle, it has making me think twice before ordering. Theoretically the ink has everything, but...Oh, well. Thank you again for the review. Lovely.

 

 

I would order a pack of cartridges for $9, first, before jumping in. Sandy1 has done extensive analysis on this ink and has found that it can be diluted all the way to 10% and still maintain a crisp line. So, if you get a $30 bottle, you can dilute it and get more ink for your money.

 

Thanks for both tips, Bluemagister. I may be the only one, but just do not like to mess, dilute or modify in any way an ink. I assume when it goes like it does out of the factory it is for a good reason, and after all, ink makers are in for the profit, they are not hobbyist. If they could market it diluted and still keep the same properties, they would do so. And, $9 plus shipping for a box of carts....I guess I'm spoiled by paying the same for a prime quality bottle of ink.

[SamCapote]

Been using this for about a month, and really like it. Especially in a EF point Sailor 1911 Classic. Really holds its character with even fine lines.

[Silvermink]

Wow, nice. I might have to pick this up too - nice shading.

[sourav]

Sei-boku has been on my to-buy list. I really like the properties of Bad Belted Kingfisher - shading, great flow, no hint of green - but can't use it in my lab notebook because of it's lack of waterproofness. The Sei-Boku seems to all that Bad Belted Kingfisher is, with the added feature of waterproofness. Can someone please post a comparision scan between Bad Belted Kingfisher and Sei-Boku?

[jomielll]

I have been using this ink (and also kiwaguro) a lot at work, since it is waterproof (doesn't rinse off under running tap water), quick drying, lubricating, and no feather and no bleedthrough with my Sailor EF nib on cheap office paper. My bottle of ink is more teal than PJohnP's scans, I usually dislike greenish blues but I find seiboku a really pleasing medium shade of teal, and stands out against all the blue ballpoints/gel pens

[PJohnP]

My bottle of ink is more teal than PJohnP's scans, I usually dislike greenish blues but I find seiboku a really pleasing medium shade of teal, and stands out against all the blue ballpoints/gel pens

 

 

Interesting comment on the colour... I wonder if there's been a change since I purchased mine from Japan some thirteen months back ?

 

 

 

John P.

[jomielll]

Might be my pens since I have only been using this in Japanese fine nibs. I'll put it into my M and B nibs and report back!

[Sandy1]

Thank you for making such a nice review of a not so well known ink that is really attractive for properties, color and shading. Bluemagister, thanks for the tip on Jetpens as well. $30 dollars per bottle, it has making me think twice before ordering. Theoretically the ink has everything, but...Oh, well. Thank you again for the review. Lovely.

 

 

I would order a pack of cartridges for $9, first, before jumping in. Sandy1 has done extensive analysis on this ink and has found that it can be diluted all the way to 10% and still maintain a crisp line. So, if you get a $30 bottle, you can dilute it and get more ink for your money.

Hi,

 

Here's the link to the dilution sample: http://i783.photobuc...2010/FPN159.jpg

 

Also, this ink just might throw a precipitate when encountering other inks. So I consider this a very worthwhile but very high maintenance ink. To minimise the risk exposure to a gummy gritty pen, I prefer to dedicate a pen to this ink. (An Estie & a few nibs.)

 

And never let it dry-out in a pen: it may be a write-off. BooHoo

 

Bye,

S1

Edited January 14, 2011 by Sandy1

[Woliaj]

nice review

[dcpritch]

I just inked a pen with this, using a sample received not long ago from a fellow FPNer, and WOW!!!! what a lovely ink. It goes on in a really reach tone, then dries to a great lighter shade of blue but with fantastic shading and that unique, hard to discern red tint on the edges of some letters. I am definitely going to need a full bottle of this!!

[Ruminator]

I just received my sample of this ink from Goulet Pens. Now I have to decide which pen to ink. I'm leaning toward an Estie with a 9668 at the moment. I just happen to have one that's empty and clean... Decisions, decisions...

[Simulacrum]

Hi, it's been a while since this post was added to...

 

So I've been struggling to find a waterproof / archival blue ink that I like. I've got Platinums Pigmented Blue and I like it, but then I tried Pilot's Kon Peki. Apart from the flow/ smoothness etc.. that is great about that ink, I just really like the brightness and so have been looking for another waterproof blue.

 

How does this Sailor compare to the Platinum Pigmented blue (are they so similar in colour that it's a waste of time ? I'm having trouble finding an image of them both together in one photo, so as to, as much as possible, eliminate colour differences/shifts/white balance issues in the photos. Also, any suggestions of other bright blue permanent/waterproof / archival inks. (other than Noodlers as they are easy to find info about). Thanks.

[Masque]

Photos, oh photos! Where has thou gone? Ghosts run amok and speculation remains the only fuel for understanding! Return to us, oh photos!

[LizEF]

Hi, it's been a while since this post was added to...

 

So I've been struggling to find a waterproof / archival blue ink that I like. I've got Platinums Pigmented Blue and I like it, but then I tried Pilot's Kon Peki. Apart from the flow/ smoothness etc.. that is great about that ink, I just really like the brightness and so have been looking for another waterproof blue.

 

How does this Sailor compare to the Platinum Pigmented blue (are they so similar in colour that it's a waste of time ? I'm having trouble finding an image of them both together in one photo, so as to, as much as possible, eliminate colour differences/shifts/white balance issues in the photos. Also, any suggestions of other bright blue permanent/waterproof / archival inks. (other than Noodlers as they are easy to find info about). Thanks.

 

Well, I didn't see this back when it was posted, and couldn't have helped anyway, but I have samples of both of these, so I'll email myself a reminder and put them on paper when I get home, then take a photo of it.

 

IMO, the colors are not that similar, and I prefer Sei-Boku from that standpoint. But I haven't put the Platinum ink in a pen yet to see how it behaves.

[PJohnP]

Hurm. Perhaps it's worth a brief moment's work to restore some images...

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is, after all, only a bit less than eight years since I made the post, photo gallery sites have come and gone, and now FPN allows for direct embedding.

 

 

 

John P.

[KellyMcJ]

I adore this ink! It's my everyday "take anything you can throw at it and also for writing checks and addressing mail" ink. In a fine nib it's pretty economical. I'm actually wondering if I should order a spare bottle before winter hits because I don't want ink freezing in the mail!

[LizEF]

OK, Here are four permanent blues: Platinum Pigmented Blue, Sailor Sei-Boku, Montblanc Permanent Blue, and De Atramentis Document Blue. The image below is the small version. Click here for a larger version. My thoughts are below the picture. Swabs done with the back of the nib. The nib was a Jinhao x750 M nib in a dip nib holder. The paper is an A5 Rhodia dot pad.

 

http://www.paradoxcommunity.com/vps/PermBluesSmall.jpg

 

All these inks had been sitting for close enough to the same time without being used (all are samples in vials). The Platinum seemed a bit watery when I did the swab, so I shook it up and it was a bit darker after that. For each of the other inks, I gently tipped the vial upside down to look for sediment at the bottom of the vial, but didn't see any and didn't agitate the vial further.

 

Platinum seems the least saturated and palest. It's a little flat, but not as flat as the De Atramentis, which goes down bright, but then fades to a very matte / chalky appearance. Sailor is the most interesting color, with both shading and red sheen. While there is definitely more green in it than the other shades, it is still very blue (and I tend to see green where others see blue, so that indicates to be that this is very blue). The color of the Montblanc is probably closest to what one would expect in an office environment, and the writing isn't flat/dull/matte at all. It wanted to sheen, but never quite made it - same with the Platinum.

 

If I had to rate them, I'd pick Sailor first, Montblanc second, and Platinum & De Atramentis would tie for third.

 

Now I'll go run water over the paper... As far as I can see, not a one lost any color. Sei-Boku lost its sheen, and the big pile of Montblanc that's still wet in above picture got washed off, but otherwise, you'd never know they'd been under water. Perhaps when the page dries, I'll tape it in a south-facing window for fun.

 

Hope that helps.

[Simulacrum]

A belated thank you to those of you who responded with the photos. I've been busy lately but I haven't done anything yet in terms of getting more ink and I think this has persuaded me so thank you for the responses. The Sei Boku certainly seems to be significantly different enough from the platinum to warrant a purchase. Time to spend some xmas money!

 

Thanks again.

[finnegans]

 

 

 

It is, after all, only a bit less than eight years since I made the post, photo gallery sites have come and gone, and now FPN allows for direct embedding.

 

 

 

John P.

 

 

Nicely done, John - thanks for the review, and the update!

[Caeruleum]

A belated thank you to those of you who responded with the photos.

I want to thank you, too.

Great to see comparative photos, especially of Sei-Boku, Platinum Pigment Blue and MB Permanent Blue.