Sailor Jentle Ink Line (2016) Comparison

[visvamitra]

In 1911, Mr. Kyugoro Sakata, an engineer from Hiroshima in Japan, was introduced to the fountain pen. Mr. Sakata was so intrigued by the design and function of the pen he decided to begin a company to craft the finest writing instruments in the world. In honor of his British friend, he chose to name the company Sailor Pen.

The Sailor Pen Company has maintained this heritage of quality and technical perfection over the years. Apart from offering very well made pens, the company has employed an ink master - pure genius who's managed to create greates fountain pen inks ever (it's my opinion not validated by research but shared by many of us). I would guess that during the years Sailor created approximately 600-800 inks (most of them under other names).

One of internationally available line of Sailor inks is Sailor Jentle line. At the moment we have two of them. The new one reintroduces colors that were missed by hundreds of geeks. I'vwe bought full line of new Jentle inks and I've reviewed them recently. The inks are:

1. Chu-shu
   
2. Fuji-musume
   
3. Irori
   
4. Kin-mokusei
   
5. Rikyu-cha
   
6. Sakura-mori
   
7. Waka-uguisu
   
8. Yuki-akari
   

Let's take a closer look at them on variety of papers.

First - a family photo on Fantastic paper

Tomoe River, Kaweco Classic Sport, broad nib

Leuchtturm1917, Kaweco Classic Sport, broad nib

CIAK, Kaweco Classic Sport, broad nib

Rhodia, Kaweco Classic Sport, broad nib

Fantastic Paper, Kaweco Classic Sport, broad nib

Oxford, Kaweco Classic Sport, broad nib

Summary

Sailor makes brilliant inks however this Jentle line disappointed me. I really like only two colors: Rikyu-cha (one of the best inks ever made IMO) and Waka-uguisu (fresh, soothing). Irori and Chu-shu are ok. As for the rest I'll have no use of them. That was personal opinion. The truth is every one has different tastes and the colors that cuase nausea to me will make others smile.

In terms of writing performance Sailor Jentle inks are amongst the best on the market. On most papers they won't cause any bleedthrough or feathering - with exception of absorbent papers. As you can see on Fantastic paper scan some feathering is visible, especially in text written with Fuji-musume.

If you look for water resitant inks only Chu-shu and Rikyu-cha will satisfy your needs.

Let me know what you think about this line - which colors you enjoy, which ones you hate?

Also - if for some bizarre reason - someone would like to receive from me writing samples that I scaned for this comparison, let me know. If it'll be only one person I'll send him/her writing samples(except for Leuchtturm1917 oner - it's in my notebook). If more people will be interested one of them will be chosen randomly with some software. Timing - let's give us time until tomorrow.

Edited November 27, 2016 by visvamitra

[lgsoltek]

Love: Ricky-cha, Irori, Kin-mokusei

Like: Chu-shu

Don't care: Fuji-musume, Waka-uguisu

Hate: Yuki-akari, Sakura-mori

 

I believe the previous four-seasons line (the one with Yama-dori, Souten, etc.) is so much better, more practical and rich colours. I only like half of the inks in this current line-up.

 

However, I know that many Chinese and Japanese (and possibly other Asians as well), especially young girls, just love these kind of pale pastel colours like Sakura-mori, Yuki-akari. In fact these two (along with Fuji-musume and Waka-uguisu) are the fastest sellers in China. As a compatriot I just can't understand their taste. As Cyber6 once said, I believe I have better taste.

Edited November 27, 2016 by Lgsoltek

[lgsoltek]

Vis, let's get a vote on the most disliked ink in this lineup! (I'm betting on Yuki-akari but Sakura-mori has a chance too.)

[Tas]

Stirling work visvamistra!

For once your reviews have not cost me money.

"Ricky Cha" as I will now forever call it ( thank you Lgsoltek) was already on my list the rest can remain on others.

 

Phew.

 

Thanks again for all the time you put into this.

[Tas]

.

Edited November 27, 2016 by Tas

[lgsoltek]

Stirling work visvamistra!

For once your reviews have not cost me money.

"Ricky Cha" as I will now forever call it ( thank you Lgsoltek) was already on my list the rest can remain on others.

Phew.

Thanks again for all the time you put into this.

Darn, autocorrect!

[Tas]

Darn, autocorrect!

 

It's brilliant ! Gives it a little extra character, like Ricky cha cha cha Martin . . .

 

http://www.taskyprianou.com/fpn_ricky_martin.jpg

[white_lotus]

I've only had the chance to try Rikyu-cha which I really like. I have Kin-mokusei and I may well like that one though I don't have very many oranges. It's possible I could like Waka-uguisu and Fuji-musume, but I already have many fabulous murky greens and wonderful purples/violets. If Chu-shu really comes out grey I won't like it, as I don't like grey inks. I have no use for the others.

[inkstainedruth]

Thanks for the comparison. Weirdly (for me) I picked the colors that I would *not* have expected to like: Irori, Waka-uguisu, and Yuki-ahari.

I'm normally drawn to blues, blue-blacks, pinks, purples and greys. But for this line I went for the red, yellow-green and turquoise....

Maybe there's a deficiency in my ink consumption "diet"....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[visvamitra]

It may well be the case Ruth

[Davros]

I will probably end up with 5/8 of these. The Kin-mokusei is fine, but I don't love it. The Irori and Yuki-akari are not for me.

 

Unlike a LOT of people (everyone?), I enjoy Sakura-mori. There are a lot of very bright warm pinks, but not very many unsaturated ones. In my wet, broad pens, it's really nice on warm white paper.

[smose]

Rikyu Cha is my favourite green ink (bought 6 bottles)

Chu-shu is my favourite grey ink (bought 2 bottles)

Have not bought any of the others, when I was in Tokyo two months ago.

[eharriett]

Thank you, Visvamitra. I'm accumulating ink samples now and I ordered some of the Gentles and I think samples of a couple of these too. I initially gave Sailor a pass, but as I've been reading about Sailor ... a LOT .... on this forum, I am more interested in using them than I thought I would be.

 

My one question to you: maintenance on these inks you sampled. I want to keep some colors in some vintage pens, including one which means a great deal to me, so I am always concerned about cleaning out and potential damage. The general advice I was given and am following is, "for the pens you care most about, only use inks from manufacturers who make pens too." Since Sailor falls into that category, how does it fare on cleanup?

 

Thanks.

[visvamitra]

@ehariett - it depends on the ink. I;m not sure abou Chu-shu but the rest cleans very well and fast from the pens.

[Pensei]

Thanks very much for the excellent pictures and comments. As with others, I mostly like the previous set better, but some of these are fine. I got Rikyu-cha (who didn't?) and would like to get Chu-shu.

[mehandiratta]

Thank you for the comprehensive comparison...

I would like to thank sailor for including the Rickyu-cha in this line up which otherwise would have been disaster introduction...

apart from RikyuCha, I also like Irori, and Waka Uguisu

[Pensei]

Would anyone feel like posting a side by side photo of Fuji-musume and Nioi-sumire?

[namrehsnoom]

Great comparison! Rikyu-cha looks great, and I also have my eye on chu-shu and waka-uguisu. So many great inks appearing out there, my backlog of inks to try seems to be ever growing ;-)

[Erik Dalton]

Love: Ricky-cha, Irori, Kin-mokusei

Like: Chu-shu

Don't care: Fuji-musume, Waka-uguisu

Hate: Yuki-akari, Sakura-mori

 

I believe the previous four-seasons line (the one with Yama-dori, Souten, etc.) is so much better, more practical and rich colours. I only like half of the inks in this current line-up.

 

However, I know that many Chinese and Japanese (and possibly other Asians as well), especially young girls, just love these kind of pale pastel colours like Sakura-mori, Yuki-akari. In fact these two (along with Fuji-musume and Waka-uguisu) are the fastest sellers in China. As a compatriot I just can't understand their taste. As Cyber6 once said, I believe I have better taste.

Great insights into sailor's Asian market. Also makes me feel neglected (maybe by design).

 

Great review. Thourough, and most of all honest.

I understand that there are applications and markets, where people find these colors useful. But for most western everyday writers who scribble for personal, business reasons, and pleasure, there is no great mass application here. I don't care for any of them except for the red, which is a color that I don't use that often.

I love sailor inks and pens. But. The company is so eclectic, seemingly making decisions without regard for their "out of Asia" Int'l customer base. I don't think they understand how popular their pens and ink are in the west. In Japan there are hundreds of great colors of Sailor inks that are private labeled for different pen shops. Ever price out bung box inks or try to order some? We seem to get the hand me downs. Who picks these colors anyway? One wonders of the previous four seasons line, when they are going to take our favorites like Yama-dori, Souten, or Shigure out of the int'l line? I still miss Ultramarine.

While I'm ranting here. The bottles are cute but so impractical. Sailor pens fill from the breather hole of the nib. A deep bottle isn't necessary for this. But what about the other great pens from the rest of the world?

You cant read the name or color on the bottle unless you read Japanese. The little color dots on the label are poor representations of the color inside.

This commentary is actually meant in a constructive and positive way. These inks are so great, why make it hard for us to get them? I just discovered Kobe Legend Blue. It's somewhere between Souten, and Sailor Blue. A great Blue similar to Visconti Blue. But you have to find someone in Japan to sell and ship it to you. These people just seem to be missing the boat. Keep your Asian centric selections and make the most of that market by all means. But, Why not give us access to a standardized and wider selection of colors for western tastes and applications?

Am I the only one feeling left out here?

[white_lotus]

You are certainly not the only one feeling left out here.

 

When they were a little bit undiscovered, and the shops in Japan would sell direct or through forwarders, I bought a good number of inks from the various Japanese shops. They are wonderful inks. But now quite difficult to obtain, if they are in stock at all, or the price has been raised beyond what is reasonable.

 

I understand the shop-exclusive inks in Japan were meant for the customers of those shops, a way of rewarding those customers, and the shop itself, with something special. But of course, Kobe Nagasawa has a whole line of their own of 60 Sailor inks.

 

Anyway, yes Sailor could expand their line of Jentle inks. Will they? My guess is no. It seems in the corporate world the days of honoring the customers, of making products that meet their needs, wants, and desires, and in that way you make some money too, that seems to be gone. Not only in the inky world, but in nearly everything we buy. And it's not just Sailor, look at Montblanc with the inks they've released this year. Only one of four was something I wanted to buy. Many they're selling great in Asia, and that's good for them.

 

Anyway I've gone on for longer than I should. I never buy backups, but I still wonder whether I should get backups of my favorite Sailor inks: Shigure, Nioi-sumire, Tokiwa-matsu, Miruai, because I worry that some corporate sales manager in Japan will say "They didn't make sales goals in last three months. We should get rid of these inks, they're not selling." and then one day I'll be scrambling after I discover the shops can't get them any longer.