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Two Premium Browns: Tsukushi Vs Hazelnut Brown


visvamitra

BROWNS  

61 members have voted

  1. 1. And the winner is

    • HAZELNUT BROWN, Graf von Faber-Castell
    • TSUKUSHI, Pilot Iroshizuku


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Brown is one of my favourite colors. I always have at least one fountain pen filled with brown ink.

I’d like to compare two premium brown inks that I own. It’s a pity I don’t have new Organic Brown ink by Caran d’Ache because it would suit well this comparison of premium inks. Anyway take a look at

HAZELNUT BROWN - Graf Von Faber-Castell

http://imageshack.com/a/img854/1536/kdgi.jpg

TSUKUSHI - Pilot Iroshizuku

http://imageshack.com/a/img849/6075/ybvo.jpg

The colors of both inks were inspired by colors of nature:

Hazelnut Brown aims – quite well in my opinion – to reflect the color of hazelnuts:

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1024x768q90/850/bx3u.jpg

www.adagio.com

Tsukushi aims – not so well in my opinion – to reflect the color of field horse tail:

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1024x768q90/811/cr0t.jpg

www.djsphotography.co.uk

First, let's take a look at the bottles:

HAZELNUT BROWN - Graf Von Faber-Castell

http://imageshack.com/a/img59/9138/1rpg.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img835/4257/jqgq.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img59/8614/iyk1.jpg

TSUKUSHI - Pilot Iroshizuku

http://imageshack.com/a/img691/6519/h322.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img69/9100/xpvy.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img607/3855/ax8a.jpg

COMPARED

http://imageshack.com/a/img854/9160/2a6a.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img163/4038/gxao.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img836/3287/jdfo.jpg

Next let's see how they behave on the paper:

1. Few drops of ink on kitchen towel

http://imageshack.com/a/img854/9863/2uof.jpg

2. Text written with Pilot78G (B nib) in cheap notebook:

http://imageshack.com/a/img843/9537/cdba.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img703/2799/22fp.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img822/1115/ei3p.jpg

3. Text written with Pilot78G (B nib) on copy paper printed with dots:

http://imageshack.com/a/img819/4166/o4ip.jpg

Vertical lines = Hazelnut Brown, horizontal lines = Tsukushi

http://imageshack.com/a/img856/8972/hx7w.jpg

Corners UL + BR = Hazelnut Brown, BL + UR = Tsukushi

http://imageshack.com/a/img838/3428/xieb.jpg

Above - Hazelnut Brown, below - Tsukushi

4. Text written in quality notebook

http://imageshack.com/a/img829/6894/7wpi.jpg

7. Waterproof or not

http://imageshack.com/a/img203/9435/q8we.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img713/722/h793.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img823/8622/1dv0.jpg

SUMMARY: I like both of these inks, however id I had to choose only one I would choose Hazelnut Brown. It’s warmer and nicer.

 

BOTTLE: I don’t like GvFC bottle. It is, in a way, reminiscent of Iroshizuku bottle, yet I find it rather uglyJ On the other hand the cap used in GvFC is really solid, while the cap in Iroshizuku bottles is quite fragile. If one allows some ink to cake around the rim, and doesn’t use this ink for weeks, the opening of the bottle may be hard and risky. My Shin-ryoku cap cracked while I was trying to open it after a month of noy using the ink.

 

PRICE: I have problem with Pilot pricing politics. Look at Caran d’Ache and Graf von Faber Castell. They offer premium products that cost almost the same amount of money everywhere in the world. It’s OK and fair enough to me. When it comes to Pilot however the price point for Isroshizuku inks differ from region to another. In Japan you can buy a bottle for around 10-15 $. In usa you can have a bottle for 30 – 40 $. In my country – Poland – official MSRP is 55 $. Now, when it comes to GDP, Poland in not really close to Katar or Luxembourg or Monaco and I can find nothing that would justify this price point. Happily, as a Client, I have a choice and I can buy products anywhere in the world. That’s why I bought Iroshizuku bottle for 21,67 $ (shipment included) on Amazon.

 

I like both of these inks and I enjoy them a lot. Are they worth the price? I would say yes.

 

What’s your opinion?

 

 

Edited by visvamitra
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Thank you very much this excellent comparison! :thumbup:

I really like your photos!

For me they are both appealing. The warmer color of the Hazelnut is nice, but I also like the Tsukushi for it's somewhat paler color.
I think I'd go with the Iroshizuku if I had to choose....
As for me, I like the bottle of the GvFC, but the Iroshizuku's is just magic. I really need to get one now!!!

Edited by attika89
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Thanks for this informative review and comparison. Nice pictures as well!!

I voted for the Tsukushi. But if not for the ink, I would go for the gvf-c: very nice bottle (I will buy that one some time, but in cobalt blue).

Happy Writing!, Mainecoon

Dreams are presentiments of what you are able to accomplish (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)

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Nice review! Hazelnut Brown is my favorite brown, followed closely by Toffee Brown (they're very similar, with the MB having a hint more red than the GvFC).

 

I have Yama Guri, and thought about the Tsukushi. It looks like it has almost a purplish red tone compared to the GvFC. Your review was very helpful.

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Thanks. I -- like you, I guess -- feel comfortable with the colours of both of these browns because browns are so hard to compare and if one is redder and the other greyer, then that means I need both.

BTW CdA is only less expensive if you're talking about their old 30-ml bottles. The new 50-ml CdA bottles are much more expensive than the Iroshis, and the old 30-ml CdA bottles are only sightly less expensive than the Iroshis:

 

 

List prices in Euros as of March 2014:

-----------------------------------------------------

Ink List Price Bottle Price/ml

-----------------------------------------------------

New Caran d'Ache 29.50 50 ml 0.59

Iroshizuku 24.90 50 ml 0.50

Old Caran d'Ache 13.95 30 ml 0.47

Pelikan Edelstein 14.50 50 ml 0.29

Herbin 8.65 30 ml 0.29

Akkerman (60 ml) 15.00 60 ml 0.25

Montblanc (regulars) 13.00 60 ml 0.22

Waterman 7.50 50 ml 0.15

Pelikan 4001 4.15 30 ml 0.14

Parker Quink 6.00 57 ml 0.11

Akkerman (150 ml) 16.50 150 ml 0.11

-----------------------------------------------------

 

Personally, I find the GvFC bottles much better. IMO better built, better caps, better boxes, and by all means easier to open and close.

 

Mike

Life is too short to drink bad wine (Goethe)

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Hi Mike,

 

I don't fully agree with you when it comes to prices. I appreciate clear and consistent pricing policy of CdA and Graf - they products cost the same amount of money everywhere in the world. Pilot however is not that consistent. Prices of Iroshizuku are different in different regions. As I mentioned in my country - Poland - official distributor sells them for almost 55 $. They say thaey can't lower the price because it's Pilot Japan decision. So in Poland Iro is much more expensive than Caran d'Ache. I find this pricing politics irritating :) Happily I have a choice but then I would gladly pay my money to local retailers. Due to Pilot politics I won't do that.

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Pilot inks are travelling a lot further to Poland than Caran D'Ache inks are, by either air or sea rather than road. How much are those Caran D'Ache inks in the USA? Or in Japan?!

 

Japan's exports generally seem to be of the higher priced / luxury / specialist goods. It's an expensive country to live in & manufacture in, so they wouldn't profit by churning out cheap goods for mass export.

 

I do agree that they're prohibitively priced, and I'm sure could charge less, but I can understand why there would be a premium on them.

 

Could you order them from Japan? There are a couple of Japanese sellers on Amazon who sell them for £12 - £16 or thereabouts.

Instagram @inkysloth

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+1 on the comment about fragile Iroshizuku caps. my first bottle, I could not open the cap. So I followed usual drill for such events, got out the nut crackers...uh,oh...no cap. Fortunately I had a wine bottle cork which fit snugly and nicely , actually looks more appropriate. I should take a picture of it and post it on forum.

I have a bottle of the Iroshi brown on order, thinking to use it in my 1940 Parker Vacumatic Maxima, which is golden pearl, which looks brown to me...

Edited by Ed333
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I prefer Iro's color over GVFC, but I am having problems with the caps on Pilot bottles, very fragile as some of you have pointed out. The bottle seems to be much more robust in GVFC, but....I don't buy inks because of the bottle, at least not yet...

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  • 3 weeks later...

Great review! Another Yama Guri fan here who'll now also be looking at Faber Castel as it looks more red than purple...

"The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt."

 

B. Russell

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The Hazelnut is too reddish for me, so Tsukushi wins.

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Really informative review. I especially appreciate your juxtaposition of the two colors. That nicely illustrates the contrasts between the two inks. Your perspective on the packaging is also uniquely informative.

 

I don't pretend to understand the pricing policies; too many unknowns. The Pilot inks are very expensive, even on "discount" sites like Amazon. Some colors are seemingly unique and ink lasts me a long time. I'm prepared to spend the relatively small additional cost for something "different" that also performs well. However, in this case, the Hazelnut wins the aesthetics test for me!

 

Thanks again for the excellent reviews!

 

KAC

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  • 3 weeks later...

I love reddish-browns rather than black-browns. I just have more fun using them. As for prices of ink, I find that I am restricted to buying inks from Europe, its a shame but I have a cat to feed.

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  • 4 months later...

Thanks for a fabulous review. I was considering either Tsukushi or Yama-guri . . . and now you had to introduce yet another option into the mix! Your multiple side-by-side images are extremely helpful.

 

I agree with you about the pricing disparities in different regions.

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Great comparison! If you really want to see the difference...put them in the sun for about a month.

Fountain pens are my preferred COLOR DELIVERY SYSTEM (in part because crayons melt in Las Vegas).

Create a Ghostly Avatar and I'll send you a letter. Check out some Ink comparisons: The Great PPS Comparison 

Don't know where to start?  Look at the Inky Topics O'day.  Then, see inks sorted by color: Blue Purple Brown Red Green Dark Green Orange Black Pinks Yellows Blue-Blacks Grey/Gray UVInks Turquoise/Teal MURKY

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I too love your reviews. The splash of color with variants across the ink's spectrum is artwork, to be sure. I'm just noticing today, however, how much the splash really doesn't say about how the ink looks after going down with a pen.

 

In comparison, the writing samples are not nearly so disparate as the splashes. Thank you for providing those writing samples as they are the true revealer.

 

If I were an artist I would be able to use the great complexity in some of these great inks!!

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Thanks. I -- like you, I guess -- feel comfortable with the colours of both of these browns because browns are so hard to compare and if one is redder and the other greyer, then that means I need both.

BTW CdA is only less expensive if you're talking about their old 30-ml bottles. The new 50-ml CdA bottles are much more expensive than the Iroshis, and the old 30-ml CdA bottles are only sightly less expensive than the Iroshis:

 

 

List prices in Euros as of March 2014:

-----------------------------------------------------

Ink List Price Bottle Price/ml

-----------------------------------------------------

New Caran d'Ache 29.50 50 ml 0.59

Iroshizuku 24.90 50 ml 0.50

Old Caran d'Ache 13.95 30 ml 0.47

Pelikan Edelstein 14.50 50 ml 0.29

Herbin 8.65 30 ml 0.29

Akkerman (60 ml) 15.00 60 ml 0.25

Montblanc (regulars) 13.00 60 ml 0.22

Waterman 7.50 50 ml 0.15

Pelikan 4001 4.15 30 ml 0.14

Parker Quink 6.00 57 ml 0.11

Akkerman (150 ml) 16.50 150 ml 0.11

-----------------------------------------------------

 

Personally, I find the GvFC bottles much better. IMO better built, better caps, better boxes, and by all means easier to open and close.

 

Mike

 

Wouldn't the Rohrer & Klingner inks be an ever better deal per ml in Germany? Perhaps the best cost per ml of anything on the list.

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Sorry, here's the latest list (which I have).... List prices in Euros as of April 2014:

---------------------------------------------------------------

Ink List Price Bottle Price/ml

---------------------------------------------------------------

Caran d'Ache (new) 29.50 50 ml 0.59

Iroshizuku 24.90 50 ml 0.50

Caran d'Ache (old) 13.95 30 ml 0.47

Graf von F-C (new) 25.00 75 ml 0.33

Pelikan Edelstein 14.50 50 ml 0.29

Herbin 8.65 30 ml 0.29

Akkerman (60 ml) 15.00 60 ml 0.25

Montblanc (regulars) 13.00 60 ml 0.22

Waterman 7.50 50 ml 0.15

Pelikan 4001 4.15 30 ml 0.14

Rohrer & Klingner 6.50 50 ml 0.13

Parker Quink 6.00 57 ml 0.11

Akkerman (150 ml) 16.50 150 ml 0.11

-----------------------------------------------------

 

Whatever, R&Ks still do belong to the least expensive German ink goodies....

 

Mike

Life is too short to drink bad wine (Goethe)

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