Pilot Iroshizuku Inks

[Citroen]

Relatively new to this fountain pen forum, although I've been using fountain pens for probably over 40 years now.

 

Just renewed my interest and got some Pilot Iroshizuku ink. Love them!

 

Edited August 25, 2019 by Citroen

[OCArt]

Aren't they wonderful? Probably my favorite brand of ink and almost all I use now unless I need permanence and then I use MB Permanent Blue or Hero 232 Iron Gall Blue Black.

[FlyFast]

I love Asa Gao, it's the only one I have had a chance to try. It does seem like most people find these inks to be exceptional.

[TheDutchGuy]

I have tried most of the iroshizuku inks, and yes, they are good inks, but there’s plenty of good ink in this world. Given its price point I fail to see why iroshizuku ink is exceptional and personally I don’t see what makes it better than Sailor or even the lower-priced brands like Diamine or Herbin. In my experience, inks like Diamine Misty Blue or Herbin Bleu Nuit perform just as well, at a fraction of the price. The only one I use is shin-kai, which I will only buy at a steep discount, and that only because P4001 blue-black (which is almost indistinguishable in colour) is a very dry ink that contains iron gall, whereas shin-kai is pleasantly wet and does not contain iron gall (at least as far as I know it doesn’t).

[LyaT]

Iroshizuku is my favorite line of inks too, together with Montblanc ice cube bottles.

 

Iro inks are very vivid in color, consistently wet, great flow. I love Yu-Yaki, Ama-Iro, and Kon-Peki.

 

I have two small bottles of Sailor four seasons inks. I absolutely hate that smell! I use wet pens, with a lot of ink on paper, the sailor smell is too strong. I read about it before buying sailor inks, but I thought chemical smell cannot be too bad. What a mistake! They are sitting in a shoebox now, together with other mistakes.

 

Robert Oster inks are nice. I use them when I want drier inks. The bottles are very cheaply made, but the range of colors is great.

 

Another one of my favorite is J Herbin Lie de the. I also have the famous 1670 EdC, but I do not like the inconsistent sheen. The bottles are lovely.

 

I have two bottles of Diamine, sherwood green and November rain. Both have good flows, but the colors are not as lively as Iro. I read that Diamine inks change into something else after a few years. I am staying away from them now.

[senzen]

I love specific Iroshizuku colours, Tsuyu Kusa got me started, Asa Gao and Kon Peki can also look spectacular, even though it took me a while to find the right combination. My first bottle cost €35 Euros, which I though was crazy, I've been able to get them at $20, still not cheap but I do find them unique, even when there are lots of ink brands. My next bottle will be a Yama Guri refill, as opposed to a new colour.

 

 

Even Ina Ho looks interesting but in general nothing like what's on the box, all other inks have been spot on or close.

[LyaT]

Relatively new to this fountain pen forum, although I've been using fountain pens for probably over 40 years now.

 

Just renewed my interest and got some Pilot Iroshizuku ink. Love them!

 

That is a nice picture! Is that your local pen shop? Must be a nice place to visit.

[CrimsonBlood]

I have tried most of the iroshizuku inks, and yes, they are good inks, but theres plenty of good ink in this world. Given its price point I fail to see why iroshizuku ink is exceptional and personally I dont see what makes it better than Sailor or even the lower-priced brands like Diamine or Herbin. In my experience, inks like Diamine Misty Blue or Herbin Bleu Nuit perform just as well, at a fraction of the price. The only one I use is shin-kai, which I will only buy at a steep discount, and that only because P4001 blue-black (which is almost indistinguishable in colour) is a very dry ink that contains iron gall, whereas shin-kai is pleasantly wet and does not contain iron gall (at least as far as I know it doesnt).

Exactly. Iroshizuku costs 5 times as much as Diamine here in the UK. If you are living in East Asia then yeah it might be a good choice... But it makes no sense to buy Iroshizuku stuff here in Europe.

 

https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0019XWYC4/

 

https://www.cultpens.com/i/q/PL22271/pilot-iroshizuku-ink

 

Look at the price difference... The way Pilot price their stuff in Europe is ridiculous...

[LyaT]

They are great products. I buy Iro inks at European price. Whenever I see discounts I try a new color. I do a lot of research before buying a new bottle. It is fun.

[Aysedasi]

I love specific Iroshizuku colours, Tsuyu Kusa got me started, Asa Gao and Kon Peki can also look spectacular, even though it took me a while to find the right combination. My first bottle cost €35 Euros, which I though was crazy, I've been able to get them at $20, still not cheap but I do find them unique, even when there are lots of ink brands. My next bottle will be a Yama Guri refill, as opposed to a new colour.

 

 

Even Ina Ho looks interesting but in general nothing like what's on the box, all other inks have been spot on or close.

 

No. Get that thought out of your head immediately. I thought that. Bought some. Utterly hideous. Used it as a base for a mix of my own.

 

I've only used two Iroshizuku inks and found them both rather unexceptional. Maybe I chose the wrong ones..... They are also ludicrously expensive here in the UK.

Edited August 25, 2019 by Aysedasi

[LyaT]

My Iro inks, minus Yu-Yaki, which I keep at work as my highlighter.

 

[senzen]

I've switched my 30-40 inks in several pens, only in some Iroshizukus have I noticed a big change depending on the nib. I prefer the lighter Asa Gao, even though I've learned to appreciate the more usual, darker tone, as well as the mid tone Kon Peki.

 

 

[Says]

I love Asa Gao, it's the only one I have had a chance to try. It does seem like most people find these inks to be exceptional.

+1!

[Intensity]

I love Iroshizuku inks--have tried all the standard colors and some of the 30th Anniversary colors. Most of the anniversary colors do nothing for me, but I love almost all of the standard line. Another cool thing about these inks is that, according tor reports, they are quite mixable with each other. So far it's also been the case for me. I love my "Olive" mix (mix 1 part Syo-Ro with 3 parts Yu-Yake, and then mix the result ~1:1 with Chiku-Rin to taste).

 

These are not the most shading inks, but they are highly readable as a result.

Edited August 26, 2019 by Intensity

[empliau]

My favorites are mentioned only a few times - Tsuki-yo, Syo-ro, Ku-jaku, Yama-budo, and Take-sumi. Love them all in their different ways. And also a big fan of Yama-dori, so I guess teals, whether blue or green, are the colors of my present decade.

[David R Munson]

Given its price point I fail to see why iroshizuku ink is exceptional and personally I dont see what makes it better than Sailor or even the lower-priced brands like Diamine or Herbin.

This is fair, but three things come to mind.

 

One, depending on where you live, they might not be especially expensive. The current price where I am converts to about $14. Not bad at all.

 

Two, they are exceptionally well behaved. I haven't tried a family of inks that performed better on average than these.

 

Three, when you find the color that's exactly the color you want, it's hard not to be excited about it. Iroshizuku inks encompass a number of shades you won't find elsewhere.

 

Oh, and the packaging is fantastic.

Edited August 26, 2019 by David R Munson

[chromantic]

Generally well-behaved with an interesting range comprising unusual colors which are slightly 'off' standard colors - no actual red and black was added later, for example - and prices in America aren't too outrageous.

 

Of the ones I've tried, Take-sumi and Yama-guri are spectaular while I found Yama-budo, Tsutsu-ji and, especially, Tsuki-yo disappointing. I'm not much of a red and orange user but I've been enjoying a sample of Fuyu-gaki a great deal and will maybe give the Tsutsu-ji another go.

[MHBru]

unquestionably my favorite ink brand... and with some great colors.... I did go to GvFC for a couple tho... Viper green and hazlenut brown... also a very good ink but Iro is my #!

[Arkanabar]

My first thought on seeing Yama-Guri, a taupe that can pass as brown was "dead sticks and frozen mud," not something I'd enjoy writing with. Even its golden undertone couldn't make me like it as much as Diamine Chocolate.

 

I am content to have my colors be what they are, rather than slightly off to the side -- to have my brown be brown, my purple to be purple, and my green to be green.

 

My desire to have Ku-Jaku (which my wife gave me) in my M205 aqua demo (which she also gave me, a few years later) comes more from emotional resonance than from the color match and excellent behavior and everything else combined.

[inkstainedruth]

I'm somewhat like SenZen in that I like specific ones but not all of the Iroshizuku inks. And unlike a lot of people, I *don't* like Asa-Gao. I tried it when a number of people said it was their "go-to" ink, but found it drippy -- write about a page and then watched ink roll down the nib and go splat.

I DO really like Kon-peki, though, and absolutely adore Yama-budo and Yama-guri; and I rather like Tsuyu-kusa (which does not seem to get the love the more saturated colors get). And while there are times when I need a black ink that has more WAY more water resistance, there is just something special about Take-sumi....

Someone sent me some ink samples a couple of years ago and had used Tsuki-yo to write the note. But that's an ink that does better on more cream colored paper than I prefer, and does better with a more flexible nib than my handwriting can manage. I wasn't wild about the color when I tried it. Fuyu-syogen was drippy; Fuyu-gaki was well-behaved but I just hate orange inks. Ama-Iro was okay, but I liked Kon-peki better; Tsukushi was a little redder a brown than to my personal taste (I prefer the more sepia-toned browns). Shin-kai was okay but not interesting enough; still trying to make up my mind about Tsutsuji (which is awfully bright). And Kosumosu? I never managed to get the lovely pink to orange shading of the first review of it I saw -- and under incandescent light it just looks like overripe watermelon....

But the ones I like? I have back-up bottles (and really need to get back-up bottles of the others... ).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

ETA: Mind you, I can say that about pretty much every brand of ink on the market -- I like some colors or the behavior of some of the line, but dislike others. And I'll dislike inks that other people can't be without -- and vice versa.... Isn't it great to have all these options? There really is something for everyone these days....

Edited August 27, 2019 by inkstainedruth