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Matador - Sailor Bung Box Ink

visvamitra

By visvamitra
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visvamitra Antique

visvamitra

Posted
Posted

Sailor is my favourite ink maker (ex-aeque with J. Herbin). Sadly their most interesting inks are available only in Japan or from internet retailers. There are few japanese shops famous for their wide and interesting range of Sailor inks. One of most well-known is Bung Box. A lot of people were taken by interesting bottles and intriguing colors. It seems however that recently many ink enthusiasts started to shy away from this line since Bung Box inks became much more bitterly expensive than other Sailor inks.




The line consists of quite a few colors. My list is incomplete and most of the names aren't translated well. If you have full list of BB inks and/or could help me with correcting english names, help me sort this out :)


  1. 4B Blue/Black
  2. BB Espresso
  3. Dandyism
  4. Ebisu Gold
  5. Emerald
  6. Enshu Black
  7. First Love Sapphire
  8. Fresh Oranges of Lake Hamana
  9. Fuyiyama Blue
  10. Hamanako Eel
  11. Imperial Purple
  12. Ink of the Witch
  13. L’Amant
  14. Luminous Green
  15. Melancholic Gray
  16. Mocha
  17. Music Black
  18. Nostalgia
  19. Oamezaki Sunset
  20. Omaezaki Ocean
  21. Omaezaki Blue
  22. Orange
  23. Pink
  24. Ruby
  25. Sapphire
  26. Silent Night
  27. Soleil
  28. Tears of Clown

Before I write few words about the ink allow me to start by saying thank you mmg122 for sending me samples of different inks.



It seems Matador doesn't get much love around here - it could if only it would be cheaper and easily available.



fpn_1491716096__matador_bb_is.jpg




It's nice red ink that behaves well on most papers although it's not problem-free. It tends to dry out in the pen when it's left uncapped for 15-20 seconds. Yellow card,



Apart from that, the ink is well behaved (no feathering, no bleedthrough, reasonable dry time, nice lubrication, smooth flow) .



Personally I wouldn't buy this ink. The color is nice but, quite frankly, you'll easily find cheaper alternatives (not doppelgangers, mind you, but dark reds with shading are abundant on the market).



Drops of ink on kitchen towel



fpn_1491716182__matador_bb_rk.jpg




Software ID



fpn_1491715945__matador_l_3.jpg




Color range




fpn_1491716004__matador_l_4.jpg



Maruman, Lamy AL-Star, broad nib



fpn_1491715567__matador_bb_m1.jpg



fpn_1491715759__matador_m_1.jpg






Leuchtturm1917, Lamy AL-Star, broad nib




fpn_1491715794__matador_l_1.jpg





fpn_1491715826__matador_l_2.jpg



fpn_1491715851__matador_l_5.jpg



No-name notebook, Lamy AL-Star, broad nib




fpn_1491715893__matador_nn.jpg



fpn_1491715919__matadornn_1.jpg





Maruman, Hero 5028, stub 1,9





Maruman, Lamy Al-Star, medium nib









Water resistance





https://wondernaut.wordpress.com/

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cleosmama Extremely Rare

cleosmama

Posted
Posted (edited)

It's gorgeous, and I love the shading. But there are a lot of gorgeous red inks out there.

 

I forgot to say thank you for your review (I love your reviews!).

Edited by cleosmama
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Chrissy Museum Piece

Chrissy

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Thanks for your review. :)

 

Bungbox inks used to be more sought after when they were sold in vase shaped bottles. Now that they come in regular Sailor squat bottles, they don't attract such premium high prices for buyers outside of Japan. There are plenty of Sailor inks that come in Sailor squat bottles that are cheaper than Bungbox inks. So maybe inkophiles outside of Japan just buy others now. :)

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ca49reber Extremely Rare

ca49reber

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I still buy Bung Box. I've purchased abt 30 in the last year including this one. I enjoy giving them as presents. And Vanness seems to keep selling them as many are sold out at different times.

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Miaxina Mint

Miaxina

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The shading is beautiful, it reminds me of fire for some reason and be able to stare at it for a long time.

 

And thank you so much for your reviews, I love reading them! <3

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white_lotus Collectors Item

white_lotus

Posted
Posted

Thanks for the review. Reds are not my favorite inks, but of course this one looks nice.

 

I'd acquired my Bungbox inks mostly before the series of price increases. I would have gotten others except for the price. Now I can get other, rare even, Sailor inks from Japan often for less, sometimes for much less, than the current Bungbox price. Well, each person has to decide what inks they want, and how much they're willing to pay. Whatever makes them happy.

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mmg122 Collectors Item

mmg122

Posted
Posted

Thanks so much for the review, Vis. I love the shading on this ink. You picked the perfect nib to highlight it.

 

Mary

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tealeaf_egg NOS (New Old Stock)

tealeaf_egg

Posted
Posted (edited)

I love the shading on this, reminds me of rubies. The only reds I have are flat bright reds like sailor irori or real dark ones like diamine oxblood. Vis, you mentioned there are many cheaper shading reds like this out there. Could you (or anyone) name a few? I'd be vey grateful (though my wallet protests).

 

Tea

Edited by tealeaf_egg
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visvamitra Antique

visvamitra

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It changes, but I would say that few of my favs are: Maruzen Akane, Nagasawa-kobe Ijinkan Red, Montblanc Corn Poppy Red, Sheaffer Red, Diamine Crimson, Maruzen renga (although it's not really pure red). Good question though.

https://wondernaut.wordpress.com/

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chromantic Antique

chromantic

Posted
Posted

I love the shading on this, reminds me of rubies. The only reds I have are flat bright reds like sailor irori or real dark ones like diamine oxblood. Vis, you mentioned there are many cheaper shading reds like this out there. Could you (or anyone) name a few? I'd be vey grateful (though my wallet protests).

 

Tea

 

Diamine Ruby shades nicely. It's not quite as deep red as this one and the light shading leans to a pink-ish red.

It's hard work to tell which is Old Harry when everybody's got boots on.

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Chrissy Museum Piece

Chrissy

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It changes, but I would say that few of my favs are: Maruzen Akane, Nagasawa-kobe Ijinkan Red, Montblanc Corn Poppy Red, Sheaffer Red, Diamine Crimson, Maruzen renga (although it's not really pure red). Good question though.

 

I think that the one I was trying to think of was Maruzan Akane. I knew it was one I couldn't get. :wacko:

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amberleadavis Pen Dust

amberleadavis

Posted
Posted

Thank you, Vis. I'm glad about the warning that it dries out in the nib. For me, that's a killer feature.

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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Midx Near Mint

Midx

Posted
Posted

fpn_1491715567__matador_bb_m1.jpg

 

I really love this colour! Are there any other inks that looks the same? Sailor seems pretty impossible to get in the UK, especially in sample form, so I'd love to find a similar colour from someone else...

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jmccarty3 Antique

jmccarty3

Posted
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Montblanc Shakespeare Velvet Red shades very nicely. I'm using it in a 146R right now.

Rationalizing pen and ink purchases since 1967.

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Midx Near Mint

Midx

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Posted

Montblanc Shakespeare Velvet Red shades very nicely. I'm using it in a 146R right now.

 

I do like the look of Velvet Red, but in pictures it looks browner and doesn't have the same pink/magenta-y tinge in the dryer areas...

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