Ku-Jaku - Pilot Iroshizuku

[visvamitra]

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
    

Ku-jaku was named after peacock. The ink is quite waterproof:

http://imageshack.com/a/img661/4429/jjTEsS.jpg

and complex

http://imageshack.com/a/img538/7056/UDwIIK.jpg

However I don't like the color.

Ink splash

http://imageshack.com/a/img661/4656/6JraII.jpg

Drops of ink on kitchen towel

http://imageshack.com/a/img538/3382/Y13uWb.jpg

Software ID

http://imageshack.com/a/img911/4028/G2jBUN.jpg

Oxford Recycled ( 90g), Kaweco Classic Sport używany jako zakraplacz, stalówka B

http://imageshack.com/a/img911/1724/t28gd0.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img540/8369/5sem7p.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img673/4871/fXU5nZ.jpg

Calendar, Hero 5028, stub 1,9

http://imageshack.com/a/img903/7126/QZQhNB.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img540/9002/OBr08D.jpg

Edited March 17, 2015 by visvamitra

[Cyber6]

Thanks for the review Vis... I was always interested in Ku-Jaku... wasn't sure if it was too green for my liking.

 

After looking at your writing samples... it does look kind of too green for me. Is still a nice color.

 

 

THANKS!!

 

 

C.

[dannystr78]

Love this ink.

[dropoutkitchen]

I really love this ink. It's very unique, sort of changes color based on the lighting and angle. Playful yet has gravitas. As a lover of blue and green I find it very pleasing. It's similar to Syo-ro (dew on pine) but tends more towards blue than Syo-ro, which tends towards green.

 

Awesome review as always, thank you so much for the thoroughness and detail you go into.

[Mishka5050]

Lol...i looove this colour

[fountainpenlady]

Striking. I am not a Ku-Jaku or blue fan, but this is really nice. If nothing else, worth putting on the sample list for one or so fills.

[tinkerteacher]

Love this colour and loving the shading of Ku Jaku.

 

But, Diamine Eau de Nil is a better version of this colour at a fraction of the cost.

 

That hasn't stopped me though from ordering this in one of Pilot's new 15ml Iroshizuku bottles, haha.

[jasonchickerson]

As teals go, this one is way up there. I think it is aptly named, too. That chromatography is very peacock-like. Thanks, Vis.

[Invictus Maneo]

My new favorite ink! I love the shading qualities and it flows wonderfully!

[lgsoltek]

My new favorite ink! I love the shading qualities and it flows wonderfully!

If you like Ku-jaku, do check out Sailor's Yama-dori.

[Pterodactylus]

My new favorite ink! I love the shading qualities and it flows wonderfully!

 

 

 

(Pelikan 400NN Brown Tortoise - OB ..... Iroshizuku Asa Goa)

 

.... and yes I own Ku Jaku, and yes I don´t like it, for me it´s a boring monochrome ink.

But this is only my opinion.

[amberleadavis]

Vis, why don't you like the color? (I've found that I don't use it and I'm not a huge fan either). I'm just wondering why.

[visvamitra]

Well, it has too much green to my taste. I love greens but not mixed with blue or blue mixed with green.

[amberleadavis]

Well, it has too much green to my taste. I love greens but not mixed with blue or blue mixed with green.

 

Yeah, I'm with you on that, only a handful motivate me (DBS, Thistle and Yama-Dori).

[HalloweenHJB]

And then, for some of us, blue mixed with green or green mixed with blue is the best of both worlds!

[visvamitra]

Yes, I know. It seems Jim Morrison and the band were right - People are Strange

[HalloweenHJB]

Yes, I know. It seems Jim Morrison and the band were right - People are Strange

 

 

Admittedly!

[Mercian]

I recently decided to look for reviews of Pilot Iroshizuku Ku-Jaku, and found that there are not very many of them on here.

 

So, in the hope of preserving access to the information that is in the already-uploaded reviews, I am now attempting to 'restore' the photos to this review by @visvamitra of this ink.

 

I hope that the 'restoration' proves useful 🤞

 

------

 

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.

 

 

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

 

Ku-jaku was named after peacock. The ink is quite waterproof:

 

  

and complex

 

 

However I don't like the color.

 

 

Ink splash

 

 

 

 

Drops of ink on kitchen towel

 

 

 

 

Software ID

 

 

 

 

Oxford Recycled ( 90g), Kaweco Classic Sport używany jako zakraplacz, stalówka B

 

 

 

 

 

 

Calendar, Hero 5028, stub 1,9

  

 

 

Edited March 17, 2015 by visvamitra

------

On visvamitra's images, to me the ink seems to vary in colour between 'aquamarine' and 'teal', depending on pen/nib/feed and paper.

Is that everyone else's experience of it?

 

Anyway, I hope that this post is useful to folk in future 🤞

 

All credit for this review - for going to the effort of making, and uploading, the text and the photos - belongs to @visvamitra.

 

Slàinte,
M.