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Murasaki-Shikibu - Pilot Iroshizuku


visvamitra

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In December 2007 Pilot's created exclusive line of inks called Iroshizuku. I believe they may well be the most well known fountain pen inks in pen world. These inks are supposed to work in any pen with any nib on any paper and in any situation. I haven't tried all of them but so far the Iroshizuku inks I've tried were behaving flawlessly.



The colors were created by Kiyomi Hasegawa who after fifteen years of working in a stationary shop and communicating with Clients come to conclusion that not all fountain pen users are willing to write in black and blue. Wise woman.



The bottles are stunning although they have their issues: if the ink is left unused for some time the cap tends to stick and break when you try to twist it open. It happened to my bottle of Shin-Ryoku.



Anyway Iroshizuku line of inks counts 24 "standard" colors. Three inks were made some time ago for Tokyo stores: Edo-Murasaki, Fukagawa-Nezu and Shimbashi-Iro.After seeing the scans over blogosphere I wish these three were accesible, because they look interesting. Edo - Murasaki looks cool while Murasaki - Shikibu is of no interest to me. Even though I kind of like Fuyu-Syogun I find Fukagawa-Nezu more compelling.



Nothing indicates Pilot plans on extending the official line any time soon (if ever) so let's take a look at what's possible to obtain from dealers and online shops.




http://imageshack.com/a/img538/1595/lYAayJ.jpg


I don't have all of the inks but sooner or later I'll try to check them all. With time I'll review all of them (hopefully).



  1. Ajisai
  2. Ama-Iro
  3. Asa-Gao
  4. Chiku-Rin
  5. Fuyu-Gaki
  6. Fuyu-Syogun
  7. Ina-Ho
  8. Kiri-Same
  9. Kon-Peki
  10. Kosumosu
  11. Ku-Jaku
  12. Momiji
  13. Murasaki-Shikibu
  14. Shin-Kai
  15. Shin-Ryoku
  16. Syo-Ro
  17. Take-Sumi
  18. Tsuki-Yo
  19. Tsukushi
  20. Tsutsuji
  21. Tsuyu-Kusa
  22. Yama-Budo
  23. Yama-Guri
  24. Yu-Yake

Murasaki shikibu is named after is inspired by and named after beautyberries.



http://imageshack.us/a/img708/5559/u3gy.jpg



http:fineartamerica.comfeaturedbeauty-berry-clusters-gregory-scott.html



There was also lady Shikibu as a possible inspiration.



http://imageshack.us/a/img833/123/nrih.jpg


Źródło: http:wkdhaikutopics.blogspot.com200806murasaki-color.html



Waterproofness:




http://imageshack.com/a/img901/9289/Cucdai.jpg



Ink Splash




http://imageshack.com/a/img537/7798/OQhhtu.jpg



Drops of ink on kitchen towel




http://imageshack.com/a/img538/693/Y3WrCR.jpg




Oxford Recycled ( 90g), Kaweco Classic Sport, eyedropper, stalówka B



http://imageshack.com/a/img538/4930/Qg2emx.jpg



http://imageshack.com/a/img540/5641/Rqeoxa.jpg




Cheap notebook, Kaweco Sport Classic, B




http://imageshack.com/a/img537/6722/Gk9jjk.jpg



http://imageshack.com/a/img540/8870/DZhRIn.jpg

Edited by visvamitra
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I have had two pens filled with this ink for several months--a Waterman fine point and a 1.1 stub--and write with each pen every day. The ink flows beautifully, looks nice on a wide range of papers, and flushes out easily.

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What a beautiful color!! I purchased the 15ml bottles of the Iroshizuku inks months ago. I do not even know why I purchased this particular one in the selections. I just filled my pen with it this morning. It is such a vibrant color and now I see this review. Unbelievably coincidental and quite a delight! Now, let me return to the lucky pen which is now filled with this ink. :)

Ea Alis Volat Propiis, per/Repletus Fontis Calamus!
She Flies by Her Own Wings, with filled Fountain Pen

 

Delta DolceVita, F-C Intrinsic 02, Pelikan M800 red/black striation, Bexley ATB Strawberry Swirl, Red Jinhao 159, Platinum 3776 Bourgogne. :wub:

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Could you please add the color codes?

I am creating a PDF with your codes to have a quick reference.

Thanks in advance,

Rafael

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  • 1 month later...

Thank you for another great review! :)

 

I love how you always display the color in so many ways! It really gives the reader a sense of the color of the ink in person. I really appreciate all of your effort you put into every review!! :thumbup:

 

I do like this ink. I don't own a bottle of it yet, but maybe one of these days....I just have so many purple inks already, I should use some of them up before purchasing another one, lol. ;)

Tessy Moon



My thoughts are filled with beautiful words for the King, and I will use my voice as a writer would use pen and ink. Psalm 45:1


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Does anyone else find that this ink changes color in the pen over time? For me, it always starts pinker and gets bluer over time. Fortunately, I enjoy all the variations.

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Does anyone else find that this ink changes color in the pen over time? For me, it always starts pinker and gets bluer over time. Fortunately, I enjoy all the variations.

 

Does that particular pen have a tendency to dry out? Perhaps that could be causing the ink to appear darker and more saturated?

Tessy Moon



My thoughts are filled with beautiful words for the King, and I will use my voice as a writer would use pen and ink. Psalm 45:1


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Does that particular pen have a tendency to dry out? Perhaps that could be causing the ink to appear darker and more saturated?

Maybe. I have had the pen for nearly twenty years and never noticed a tendency for it to dry out, but maybe it would dry out if I did not write with it frequently.

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Maybe. I have had the pen for nearly twenty years and never noticed a tendency for it to dry out, but maybe it would dry out if I did not write with it frequently.

 

Hmmm...well I am out of ideas! Maybe someone else has experienced a similar effect with this ink can shed light on the peculiar changes...

Tessy Moon



My thoughts are filled with beautiful words for the King, and I will use my voice as a writer would use pen and ink. Psalm 45:1


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  • 3 weeks later...

To me it looks very similar to the Pelikan Edelstein Sapphire. Would be nice to see a direct comparison.

"On the internet nobody knows you're a cat." =^.^=

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Thanks for posting this. I like the iroshizuku inks in general.

"One can not waste time worrying about small minds . . . If we were normal, we'd still be using free ball point pens." —Bo Bo Olson

 

"I already own more ink than a rational person can use in a lifetime." —Waski_the_Squirrel

 

I'm still trying to figure out how to list all my pens down here.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've been umming and ahhing over this one for a while now. I saw a sample of it online, thought I liked it, but then saw another one which made the ink look as though it had more of a pink hue to it. I prefer a blue or grey purple personally so wouldn't be interested in this one if it was too pink. Looking at this review here (as well as the great little computer colour check thing that someone else has done) I'm thinking that it does look to be more of a blue-ish shade. I'm a wee bit confused. I live in the IOM where there are no vendors of this ink, so I will have to buy it online. I just don't want to spend that much money on an ink I won't use. Maybe I'll put in for another ink sample selection from Goulet Pens sometime soon and try this one out for myself. I doubt I'll ever get a true indication of what the shade really is until I see it with my own eyes, having written with it myself.

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For me it's the most boring ink in Iro lineup, but it's just me. I would say it's in the same flat comaprtment as J. Herbin's Violette Pensee unless you use OBB nibs :)

 

You may take a look at this comparison, there's quite a few purples, violets and magentas to see.

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For me it's the most boring ink in Iro lineup, but it's just me. I would say it's in the same flat comaprtment as J. Herbin's Violette Pensee unless you use OBB nibs :)

 

You may take a look at this comparison, there's quite a few purples, violets and magentas to see.

 

 

I agree. I have a bottle of both and quite frankly, while lovely they are hardly inspiring shades. I though it was just me! Great review as always :D

 

 

16688812428_237744f307_z.jpgIroshizuku ~ murasaki shikibu by Pira Urosevic, on Flickr

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  • 6 months later...
  • 11 months later...

I'm one of those scary purple freaks. I will buy things simply because they are purple, even if I don't need them. f you give me a choice of things in a color, I will always--always--pick the purple shade.

 

I'm very particular about the shades of purple that I like, though. I like the cooler tones, with lots of blue or even gray or black, rather than purples with heavy tones of red, pink or (egads) gold tones to them. Think lavender vs. lilac. Lilac looks sickening to me. Lavender looks much better, for a pastel, although I wouldn't use that for a fountain pen ink. Too pale.

 

Since Murasaki-Shikibu is a true purple with plenty of blue in it, I love, love, love it! It's a little on the delicate side, but then it' supposed to be delicate. It's named after a very refined lady, after all, who happens to be my all-time favorite author.

 

This and Waterman Tender Purple are pretty much my go-to purple inks. Of course I have other purple inks, probably too many (can.not.resist! :wub: ) but these two are my special favorites. I love them to death, but this one edges out the Waterman just by a hair. It feels slightly wetter, and glides across the page a little better, so I find myself using it more than I probably should, given its price point compared to the Waterman.

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