Noodlers Midway Blue Vs Iroshizuku Kon-Peki

[Francis_Rex]

I recently bough these two blue inks. They retail at two very different price points.

 

I mainly use my fountain pen on a yellow toned bond paper that sits in my journal. I write under an artificial light. It is only since I hooked up on this site that I have become aware of the tonal complexities of ink. I am also learning about the other qualities of inks: wetness, fastness, dye quality,etc.

 

That two inks can sell at such different price points also fascinates me. Noodlers' is about value for money and maxing out the offering: as many of you will know the bottles are filled to the brim. It comes in a commodity bottle with a funky label. The Pilot is more of a luxury product with premium packaging that is akin to buying a bottle of aftershave.

 

I have not used either ink intensively yet. I am pleased with both.

 

I bought the American Ink from the Niche Pens in the UK. I bought the Japanese Ink in Las Vegas where I was last week. The Fountain Pen world is truly global.

 

 

The Pilot ink is very expensive in the UK. The Noodlers cost £12.50. I can see Cult Pens sell the Pilot ink at £31.99: a 250% premium over the American offering.

 

I have set out below a scan with my handwritten notes on my initial impressions.

 

I like both colours. Through this post I would be curious to see if any other manufacturers are producing a colour like Kon-Peki at Noodlers price points. Is Bay State close?

 

PS. One thing I know to my cost is that the staining qualities of the Kon-Peki are very penetrating.I still have inky fingers 36 hours after inking up. The Noodlers stain went within about 12 hours!

Edited March 27, 2013 by Francis_Rex

[Wheatflower]

That two inks can sell at such different price points also fascinates me. Noodlers' is about value for money and maxing out the offering: as many of you will know the bottles are filled to the brim. It comes in a commodity bottle with a funky label. The Pilot is more of a luxury product with premium packaging that is akin to buying a bottle of aftershave.

 

There is one performance difference I have noted between the two brands: shading. As fate would have it, I currently have pens inked with Noodler's Turquoise and Iroshizuku Ku-jaku, inks that lay close together in the blue-green/green-blue range that I have become hopelessly besotted with. Ku-jaku shades a *lot*: in the space of a downstroke it can go from the twin of Noodler's Turquoise (SEPARATED AT BIRTH???) to something darker and much bluer. Even in your scan, I can see how the Kon-peki shades from light to dark as you write, in contrast to the much evener tone of the Noodler's ink.

 

 

p.s. I Noodler's Midway--good choice!

[Francis_Rex]

That two inks can sell at such different price points also fascinates me. Noodlers' is about value for money and maxing out the offering: as many of you will know the bottles are filled to the brim. It comes in a commodity bottle with a funky label. The Pilot is more of a luxury product with premium packaging that is akin to buying a bottle of aftershave.

 

There is one performance difference I have noted between the two brands: shading. As fate would have it, I currently have pens inked with Noodler's Turquoise and Iroshizuku Ku-jaku, inks that lay close together in the blue-green/green-blue range that I have become hopelessly besotted with. Ku-jaku shades a *lot*: in the space of a downstroke it can go from the twin of Noodler's Turquoise (SEPARATED AT BIRTH???) to something darker and much bluer. Even in your scan, I can see how the Kon-peki shades from light to dark as you write, in contrast to the much evener tone of the Noodler's ink.

 

 

p.s. I Noodler's Midway--good choice!

I am very pleased with the Midway.

 

You are right about Kon-Peki shading, it is great with the Ti nib that flexes. I am going to post soon a scan about a blended version of a Diamine Blue that an English vendor is selling which is really nice. I will post in "inky thoughts".

 

F

[permanente]

Try Pelikan Edelstein Topaz, awesome ink , similar to Midway but better

[fattail95]

The Kon-Peki is £18.99 shipped from Japan! Look on eBay for a guy called "cool-japan", just ordered one bottle of Kon-Peki and one bottle of Asa-Gao

Edited March 28, 2013 by fattail95

[Francis_Rex]

Try Pelikan Edelstein Topaz, awesome ink , similar to Midway but better

Thanks

F

[Francis_Rex]

The Kon-Peki is £18.99 shipped from Japan! Look on eBay for a guy called "cool-japan", just ordered one bottle of Kon-Peki and one bottle of Asa-Gao

That is a bargain. thanks

 

F

[BFU]

I looked on Amazon UK, and Iroshizuku was between £11.96 & £15.28 DEPENDING ON THE COLOUR. Shipped from Japan

[torstar]

Just bought a Midway bottle for my 146, thanks for the review to back up my enjoyment of this ink.

[lgsoltek]

Diamine Mediterranean Blue looks mostly the same as Kon-peki.

[amberleadavis]

I use both these inks. If you want to really see these two do well, put them into direct light. These two blues hold up amazingly well in my fade experiments.

 

Now do a water splash. Kon Peki is best for water washes, Midway Blue is wonderfully water resistant. Two great inks, thank you for sharing.

[bone215]

I really like the midway blue. I noticed that I like it in a F nib and really think it shows even better in a medium nib pen.

I also like the mediterranean blue, also shows better in a medium nib pen.

Just my opinions, I can't compare to the kon pekin as I haven't sampled that yet.

[AlejoPlay]

I love Kon-Peki... it's my favorite Iro but I hear Sailor Souten is close and it's cheaper.

[amberleadavis]

I love Kon-Peki... it's my favorite Iro but I hear Sailor Souten is close and it's cheaper.

 

It's cheaper for you?

[AlejoPlay]

 

It's cheaper for you?

 

The list price of Souten is cheaper than Kon Peki.

 

I'm not counting getting it super cheap from Japan and waiting a while to receive it. Just in terms of getting it in the store or an online shop.

[PatientType]

This comparison of blues - one relatively solid and one prone to varied shading caused me to realize something for the first time. I greatly appreciate shading in the brown and orange red inks, which I use for non-business purposes. On the other hand, shading in the blue inks, which I use primarily for business writing, isn't attractive to me. In the brown, sepia, and red/orange inks the shading leaves an impression of richness and a more interesting "look" to the finished work. In the blue inks the shading appears more as if one were attempting to write with a skippy pen that had uneven ink flow.

It so happens that my current ink selection doesn't include any blues that offer shading so I'd not considered this before. I wonder if anyone else has the same take away...

[amberleadavis]

That is an excellent observation.

[BCastle]

The Kon-Peki is £18.99 shipped from Japan! Look on eBay for a guy called "cool-japan", just ordered one bottle of Kon-Peki and one bottle of Asa-Gao

Yes, great deals on Amazon - I got Kon-Peki posted for £13. Beware though, if you order two together, you risk the wrath of Mr Customsn'Excise who smiles at anything over the value of £15 and from time to time happily slaps VAT and a handling fee of £8+ on top!

[pyramidValley]

On the other hand, shading in the blue inks, which I use primarily for business writing, isn't attractive to me. In the brown, sepia, and red/orange inks the shading leaves an impression of richness and a more interesting "look" to the finished work. In the blue inks the shading appears more as if one were attempting to write with a skippy pen that had uneven ink flow.

 

Yeah honestly i'd be embarassed to use a shading ink in a professional scenario. Maybe its personal prefrence but it would be too distracting.

 

OP - baystate would look more like Midway blue than kon peki, although it looks like miday blue has some slight shading, which BSB wouldn't have, especially in that nib size.

Edited March 22, 2015 by pyramidValley

[oxymoron]

This comparison of blues - one relatively solid and one prone to varied shading caused me to realize something for the first time. I greatly appreciate shading in the brown and orange red inks, which I use for non-business purposes. On the other hand, shading in the blue inks, which I use primarily for business writing, isn't attractive to me. In the brown, sepia, and red/orange inks the shading leaves an impression of richness and a more interesting "look" to the finished work. In the blue inks the shading appears more as if one were attempting to write with a skippy pen that had uneven ink flow.

 

It so happens that my current ink selection doesn't include any blues that offer shading so I'd not considered this before. I wonder if anyone else has the same take away...

 

 

 

Yeah honestly i'd be embarassed to use a shading ink in a professional scenario. Maybe its personal prefrence but it would be too distracting.

 

OP - baystate would look more like Midway blue than kon peki, although it looks like miday blue has some slight shading, which BSB wouldn't have, especially in that nib size.

 

Yes! I feel exactly the same way. Thank for enunciating something I have felt for a long time. I have used mainly blue ink in my life and always found that reading a page full of writing in shaded blue ink gave me a headache. I've just come back to fountain pens after a long absence and have been reading a lot over the last few weeks. It never occurred to me that shading is a positive attribute for many writers / artists, but I can see how it can be either positive or negative depending on the context. That seems to be the case with all pens and inks (and everything else in life...).

 

Thanks to the original post. I found it because after using my first ever bottle of Noodler's Blue (plain, regular, standard blue) yesterday. On paper it looked like it skewed to the turquoise and looked a lot like the samples in reviews of Kon-Peki on my monitor. I guess that the blues I was used to (Lamy blue, Sheaffer Skrip blue) were more purple-black in comparison.

 

So it seems that the world of ink is just as fascinating as the pens!