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Iroshizuku Take-Sumi


pelahale

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Nice review. I really liked the way you wrote it up and presented it. You mentioned the cost of $28.00plus S/H. For what it is worth, the used Iroshizuku bottles sell for $2.95 - 5.95 empty!

 

An interesting situation.

“Don't put off till tomorrow what you can do today, because if you do it today and like it, you can do again tomorrow!”

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  • 4 weeks later...
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Very nice review.

I am trying some blacks for my Lamy 2000 and Al-Star matte black and I think this one is going to be in my rotation.

Thanks for sharing!

- Markos

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Thanks for the review! Nice looking ink indeed. I would not worry about the price if I like an ink. And I should add I just don't get it that some people get so emotional engaged when it comes to the price of inks anyway. How many bottles of inks do people use up in a year? What is the average price of the cheap and expensive ones used? How much money are we talking about all together? There is an old saying that CEO's would decide about a multi million dollar business in a few moments, but discuss about what coffee to buy for the office for hours.

Happy inking!

For sale: M625 red/silver, P395 gold, Delta Fellini.

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  • 2 months later...

Pilot’s Iroshizuku Take-sumi - “Color Droplet” line of inks, “Bamboo Charcoal”

 

This ink represents the color of bamboo burned into charcoal when taken from 5yr-old plants and burned inside an oven. In the FarEast, Bamboo charcoal is used like coal briquettes as the fuel for fire used to dry tea and make tea, and is thus often the fuel source for the fire built for the tea ceremony. It is also used as an environmentally-friendly fuel source for its lower pollutant residue. It’s with this type of sensibility that Ms.Hasegawa apparently produced this new ink.

 

I’ve been searching for a faster drying black for a long time. Because Black is such a saturated color, it’s often the ink that takes the longest in drying. Nathan Tardiff did an admirable job formulating Bernanke Black to meet this challenge and this ink certainly dries almost instantly, about 3 seconds on Rhodia 80gsm paper. But its feathering and out-of-control behaviors in general renders the ink non-use-able for business purposes. So Pelikan Edelstein took a stab at it and produced a nice brilliant black in their Onyx - better in terms of dry time than their 4001 black, but only marginally so. This was a black that I used for a while and is acceptable to me also. But when I heard that Pilot’s Iroshizuku line-up had added a “charcoal black” I had to try it. Here’s my review of it:

 

http://pleeho.smugmug.com/Hobbies/fountainPens/i-xK5sfg4/0/L/IroshizukuTakeSumiScanRhodiaPremR90-L.jpg

 

As you can see, nice saturated black with a touch of shading on wide strokes - could be seen better with broad nibs more than this fine Sheaffer nib. Even under 10x loupe, I see no feathering anywhere on the Rhodia Premium 90gsm paper, but I wouldn’t have expected anything less from this premium ink and paper combination, especially with this fine Sheaffer vintage nib.

 

here’s the reverse of the printed page - no bleed-through, just impressions of the hard, flexed nib lines, minimal ghosting/show-through. In the corner are my smear tests and a 5minute water soak example - is rather water resistant also:

 

http://pleeho.smugmug.com/Hobbies/fountainPens/i-spkfmfT/0/L/IroshizukuTakeSumiScanRhodiaPremR90reverse-L.jpg

 

Other points about this ink: it’s fairly odorless as far as I can detect. It does wash off of fingers with soap/water under the sink. I haven’t tested beyond the 30minutes of cap-off time to see how long it takes to truly evaporate/dry-out this ink, but at 20 minutes it starts off almost instantly after about a 1mm dry mark. There’s no nib-creep characteristic that I see on the 4 pens I’ve tried this ink on thus far: Pilot 823, Sailor Realo, Sheaffer PFMV, Sailor King of Pen.

 

Is this bottle worth $28 (free shipping w/jetpens, usually so also w/Gouletpens above a certain price)? For me definitely. Especially nowadays in this age of the digitally transmitted words, the value of the old-fashioned inscribed writing has become a premium. As I write less at work with the computerization of records and whatnot, I’m happy to spend the extra money on high-quality archival inks and papers. This black ink will not disappoint anyone looking for a go-to ink, only the price will offend. In the history of black inks for fountain pens, this one would join Aurora Black, and maybe the Edelstein Onyx as one of the best, this one for me is probably number one. I can’t find anything to criticize though I looked - if the dry time could be shorter it would be nice, but nobody has done better except for the problem inks like iron-gall inks, nano-inks of Sailor, and the clown ink Bernanke Black.

Nice review. I actually find the dry time quite adequate for me as a leftie overwriter. Nothing compares to the speed of drying that that Sailor Kiwa-Guro has but this is good enough for me for sure.

 

Nice review pelahale. Looks like you've found one of the better blacks.

 

I'm still trying to convince myself to try a bottle of Iroshizuku - any bottle :smile:

It isn't just one of the better, I'd have to say its probably the best IMHO. I ordered 25 samples of blacks altogether and after trying this one, I bought 3 bottles of it and am through my second bottle now. Absolutely excellent. You HAVE to give it a go!

 

Based on your excellent review I am going to buy this ink. Aurora Black has been my favorite for a long time.

Aurora Black was definitely my favourite for the longest time, with what looks to me to be the deepest darkest black I've ever used, but after a while, the length of the drying time put me off it and I began a search for other blacks. This take-sumi has a lot of character, its not just a mono-saturated colour, the shades in it are at times subtle, at times obvious. I have found my grail black.

 

You won't regret it, and you won't stop at one either. :notworthy1:

I didn't for sure. I have another 2 bottles coming in the mail. hoho.

Edited by mrchan

Fountain pens are like weapons. They just make your pocket bleed so much.

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black is in fact my favorite color. I guess that makes me a boring type of person, and in fact I am.

Hardly! I religously watch your videos on You Tube and with this fine review added, one can hardly call you a bore. Thanks for all the informative and interesting stuff you do mate.

 

Best regards

Leo

Leo James Mitchell

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  • 5 months later...

Tried a sample earlier this week, placed an order for a full bottle immediately. Finally found my black ink, based on color and, most important, performance.

Edited by FountainPenCowgirl
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Thanks for the review. I have a sample of this but haven't had a chance to try it yet.

I go hot and cold on Iroshihzuku inks. I had absolutely no trouble springing for a bottle of Yama-budo, in spite of the price; still making up my mind about Yama-guri and Tsukushi (with a slight preference for Yama-guri). But the other ones I've tried I've been "meh" about: either overrated (Fuyu-syogun and Asa-gao), didn't really like the color (Fuyu-gaki -- although it was a well-behaved ink), or found a similar color in a much less expensive brand (PR Rose Rage for Kosumosu).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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I've tried a few black inks in the last year and not gotten past the samples - until now. Like a couple of my other Iroshizukus, Take-Sumi simply spoke to me. Color is the black I've been seeking. Flow from the nib (Safari F) is silky smooth (a growing theme in my purchases, especially when color is similar to others I have). Behaves well on my favorite papers and those I am forced to use. Not smeared on me yet, either. Perfect. Glad I waited, and glad I tried one more black sample.

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  • 1 month later...

I never use black ink alone. The only reason I'm interested in a bottle (or a sample) is to mix it with other Iroshizuku inks to form a darker color. Can anyone tell me how it mixes?

Franklin-Christoph, Italix, and Pilot pens are the best!
Iroshizuku, Diamine, and Waterman inks are my favorites!

Apica, Rhodia, and Clairefontaine make great paper!

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I never use black ink alone. The only reason I'm interested in a bottle (or a sample) is to mix it with other Iroshizuku inks to form a darker color. Can anyone tell me how it mixes?

Ah don't be wasting such good quality ink on mixing it with other stuff. It isn't just black on its own, it has its own beautiful charcoalish colour to it.

Fountain pens are like weapons. They just make your pocket bleed so much.

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  • 1 month later...

This has become my favorite black ink. I own three or four other black inks, but I tend to reach for the Iro Take-Sumi the most. It is smooth, trouble free and I like the slight shading to grey in my italic nib. Black is my most used color because I use it for notes. When I'm working, I don't like to have ink colors distracting me from the creative process. I save colors for editing. :)

There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are. - W. Somerset Maugham

 

http://wendyvancamp.com

 

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I have noticed when I did the swab (same as brian goulet's swabbing techniques) of my Take-sumi it leaves a green tinge to it when not overly saturated I guess that is why they call it bamboo charcoal over all beautiful ink slightly pricier in the US than it is in Asia... but hey its a beautiful ink I got 2 bottles of it now

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  • 1 month later...

After using this ink for a month and a half, I'm a bit disappointed with it. It shades beautifully, but it "spreads" on every paper I try it on, so that my Pilot "F" nibs look more like "M" (or broader!).

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  • 1 month later...

Nice review pelahale. Looks like you've found one of the better blacks.

 

I'm still trying to convince myself to try a bottle of Iroshizuku - any bottle https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/#EMO_DIR#/smile.gif

Oh my goodness... I was in your shoes last week, and I got a bottle of Asa-Gao for $19.95 shipped to me on ebay. I LOVE it!! It's such a remarkable ink and color especially.

I will now have to get a bottle of Take-Sumi and HOPEFULLY that'll be the end of my ink-aholism :P

So my suggestion for you, GET THE INK. Just be sure it'll be a color you'll use, good luck

Edited by Kuhataparunks
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I'm not a big fan of black inks. I have a bottle of Noodler's Black for when I feel I need a dark, permanent, black ink (which isn't very often).

 

I recently ordered a sample of Take-sumi with some other Iroshizuku samples and have actually really enjoyed it. It's got a lot of character to it, it preforms well. I may just end up with a bottle of it. I never thought I'd end up with two bottles of black ink!

So many inks, so little time...

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