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Kobe "ginza Gold Sepia" Ink Equivalent


Quadratus

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A couple of years ago, on a business trip to Tokyo, I found time for a visit to the fabulous Itoya shop on the Ginza. I bought a hoard of ink and a couple of pens: my haul included a bottle of the Sailor/Kobe limited edition ink made for Itoya "Ginza Gold Sepia".

 

This is a lovely dark, golden sepia, but sadly my bottle is getting low. I realise it would be (almost) impossible to find more bottles of that particular ink, but I wonder if anyone has recommendations for a close substitute.

 

For those interested, there are pictures online of the ink at

Possibly KWZ Aztec Gold?

 

Any suggestions would be most welcome!

 

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Perhaps KWZ ?Aztec Gold IG and or IG Gold, KWZ #74 Orange IG (not orange at all), Diamine Safari, Platinum Khaki Black are worth a look.

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Many thanks for these three KWZ recommendations. I have used the KWZ Honey (which I love) but did not know about the Aztec and Old gold inks. I shall definitely try them both!

 

Thank you!

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Please post the pictures here, some of our members cannot see images when they are linked only.

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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Definitely KWZ Aztec Gold, less so Old Gold. Aztec Gold is a light iron gall and has a lot more depths. Old Gold is beautiful in its own right but is a bit brighter and shades less dramatically.

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As far as I know, Itoya/Kobe's Ginza Gold Sepia is not a really limited ink - it is a shop special.

But you can only get it at their Ginza store - at least they don't sell it online.

 

But their online store has still a few bottles of the Sailor's Sailor LE ink.

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Many thanks for these three KWZ recommendations. I have used the KWZ Honey (which I love) but did not know about the Aztec and Old gold inks. I shall definitely try them both!

 

Thank you!

 

Heathen that I am I find dilutions of KWZ Honey quite interesting. Currently 5:4 ink to water, but you might want to start 5:2

Add lightness and simplicate.

 

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Some samples

 

fpn_1601273379__ginza.jpg

 

I was too lazy to ink up Stipula Verde Muschiatto but it has similar flavor. I also like diluted Noodler's Proctor's Ledge and

Noodler's Manjiro Nakahama Whaleman's Sepia both of which will carry me over until I get back to Itoya Ginza where i too got the Sepia Gold.

 

 

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Ginza Gold Sepia looks awesome. if only i knew about this ink when i was at Itoya in Ginza a couple of years ago. i would have bought a bottle as a souvenir for myself.

-rudy-

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As far as I know, Itoya/Kobe's Ginza Gold Sepia is not a really limited ink - it is a shop special.

But you can only get it at their Ginza store - at least they don't sell it online.

 

But their online store has still a few bottles of the Sailor's Sailor LE ink.

It's not too hard to get a bottle of Ginza Gold in the UK...

 

It's also available from Nagasawa (i.e. Kobe INK) on their Rakuten store, but it is currently sold out.

 

Once it's available again you should be able to buy it with a Japanese proxy or parcel forwarder.

 

In fact I myself have just inked up my own bottle of it today that I ordered a few weeks back and had shipped to me with a parcel forwarder.

 

As to close matches, Pelikan Smoky Quartz looks to be fairly close, but somewhat darker, and not as green leaning. I doubt it has the same lubricated feeling that Sailor inks have though.

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Hmm. Maybe Kaweco's Caramel Brown is sufficently close to that ink. When used with a wet pen, it's almost the same color.

When evaporated a little (even in pen), Kaweco's brown also leans towards green.

 

 

As to close matches, Pelikan Smoky Quartz looks to be fairly close, but somewhat darker, and not as green leaning. I doubt it has the same lubricated feeling that Sailor inks have though.

 

Pelikan Edelstein has a hard to describe, soft/lubricated feel to it. It's a completely different dynamic than 4001 family.

Edited by bayindirh
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Pelikan Edelstein has a hard to describe, soft/lubricated feel to it. It's a completely different dynamic than 4001 family.

Lubricity... In comparison with 4001, well, perhaps. In comparison with such Sailor inks like Ginza it's a different universe. And even the colour is not quite close. I know many like Edelstein Smoky Quartz, but the feeling of lubricated Sailor inks is truly different, almost opposite.

Seeking a Parker Duofold Centennial cap top medallion/cover/decal.
My Mosaic Black Centennial MK2 lost it (used to have silver color decal).

Preferably MK2. MK3 or MK1 is also OK as long as it fits.  
Preferably EU.

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Peroride

Thank you for the suggestion of the Stipula vedre Muschiatto - that does look like a really interesting ink!

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Ginza Gold Sepia looks awesome. if only i knew about this ink when i was at Itoya in Ginza a couple of years ago. i would have bought a bottle as a souvenir for myself.

 

Don't feel bad, they are often out of that ink, since it's done in limited batches. When I visited, it was sold out with no estimated date of when it would be back.

“I admit it, I'm surprised that fountain pens are a hobby. ... it's a bit like stumbling into a fork convention - when you've used a fork all your life.” 

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Peroride

Thanks for the suggestion- the idea of mixing inks to get a golden sepia is intriguing but I wonder if I could achieve it with as must success as the link you gave me. Also as I live in Europe the two different Callifolio inks might be hard to obtain- but I will try!

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Peroride

Actually, I've discovered that Callifolio inks are made by L'Artisan Pastellier in France, so these inks should be easy to obtain.

I think the idea of blending inks is a very intriguing one, and this could be the start of (yet) another expensive pen and ink hobby!

 

Many thanks in any case for the links!

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