Pilot Iroshizuku Fuyu-gaki

[PJohnP]

For quite some time, I've had the desire to use some of the Pilot Iroshizuku inks, specifically the colours that would not be common to other ink makers. One such colour is Pilot Iroshizuku Fuyu-gaki, described by vendors as "Sweet Persimmon Red".

 

Anybody who has spent the slightest time reading the Ink Reviews sub-forum knows that the Pilot Iroshizuku inks are at the pinnacle of elegant and lovely packaging. The box is a silver finish cardboard that very securely holds the ink bottle with a simple label showing an approximation of the ink colour and the name in both English and Japanese. The bottle is, in my considered opinion, the most beautiful of the non-luxury level inks available in the marketplace. Without going to bottles of cut crystal or silver chased tops, the Iroshizuku are held in oval cross section bottles made of a substantial glass, capped plainly with a black top, ornamented with a silver tassel around the cap threads, with the colour of the ink beautifully displayed by the shape and the optically elegant glass.

 

Simply removing the ink bottle from the silver box is a pure joy.

 

As has been noted elsewhere, the bottle has a starkly practical aspect with a conical cutout in the gently curved interior bottom, to allow the user at the end of the ink supply to be able to dip their nib or brush into the depression, and thus exact every last drop of the ink from the bottle. Practical, obviously so, but the line of the cutout in the bottom, viewed from the back of the bottle, is fine design at its best. The line of the wall thickness proceeding up from the base forms a graceful curve.

 

The ink loads easily into a piston filling fountain pen like my Pelikans, with the piston drawing an ample supply into my two test pens, M250 burgundy bodied pens. One pen is equipped with a fine 14kt cursive italic nib, while the other is set up with a "vintage" Pelikan calligraphic GP 2.0 nib. The latter nib is notorious for being a fairly dry nib, one that is sometimes hard to start after even seconds uncapped in the air, while the fine nib draws a sharply delineated line with a touch of tooth.

 

I started with the "FPN approved ink review form" :

 

 

http://www.PhotoShare.co.nz/PhotoShareGallery1/100855/106718/Fuyu-gakionHPInkjetPaper8826_L.jpg

 

 

I apologise for the sloppy penmanship, but I dashed this off over my leftover roast leg-of-lamb lunch in the office, and so it's rushed and more than a bit sloppy.

 

I then pulled out my new Black n' Red wirebound perforated page notebook for a test on a better quality of paper. That I rushed here is also true - I noted my pen as an M200, instead of an M250 !

 

 

http://www.PhotoShare.co.nz/PhotoShareGallery1/100855/106718/Fuyu-gakionRBNotebookPaper6382_L.jpg

 

 

Unfortunately, my scanner lacks the discernment or quality to show the subtle shading effects of the Fuyu-gaki. It's a fairly saturated ink - although one can see through the ink in the bottle to the other side of the bottle and beyond - but it does have definite shading. It's clearly not as fast drying an ink as others, even in the low humidity environment where I live, but it's not unbearable in a narrower nib. It's quite slow to dry in the wide wet lines I've made with the Pelikan Caligraphic 2.0 nib, however.

 

 

The colour, though, ah, this colour is what the bards sing of and the poets write about ! It's as close as could be to the colours of the ripe persimmons in the orchards of Japan in the autumn, jumping out to the eye with almost the flavour of the fruit pulled just ahead of a sharpish frost. Once, on a coach ride up through the hills to the Miho Museum in mid-October, we passed orchard after orchard where the nearly leafless tree limbs laboured under the loads of the ripe persimmons, and each stroke of my pens brings back that image to my eyes today.

 

You might surmise that I like this colour immensely, and that would be the correct impression ! For a truly unique and evocative colour, Pilot Iroshizuku Fuyu-gaki ink is truly first rate, top drawer, in short, unequivocally recommended.

 

Per the just published Federal Trade Commission Guidelines related to blogging, I purchased this ink myself from Jet Pens, which came in less than forty-eight hours after web-based purchase. Sadly for my budget, I am not paid or provided with free ink from the vendor or ink-maker.

 

 

 

John P.

 

 

 

P.S. It is not entirely clear from the new FTC guidelines if discussions in internet fora are covered, but the news release from FTC linked above does include the comment, 'These examples address what constitutes an endorsement when the message is conveyed by bloggers or other “word-of-mouth” marketers.' which would seem to cover discussion and review fora. We are, after all, very much “word-of-mouth”, but whether we are "marketers" is another question entirely. The devil's in the details, of course, and with this just released yesterday, we'll all no doubt be watching to determine what the formal limitations from the government and possible fines/citations will be...

[Lloyd]

Excellent review, thanks!

[HenryLouis]

iroshizuku is not a non-luxury ink.

[PJohnP]

iroshizuku is not a non-luxury ink.

 

Henry :

 

 

Chuckle. Well, by the standards of say, Skrip inks, it's certainly more expensive. And having lived years back in the Megacity, I know that prices are substantially more for you (and soon to be higher when they have the harmonised GST, eh ?).

 

However. When one looks at cut crystal bottles with sterling silver caps, or even at vintage bottles of ink like Parker Penman listed here in FPN (one was going for US$35 the other day), it's not at the top of the price ladder, hence my comments about "non-luxury"...

 

YMMV (or in your case, L/100km)...

 

 

 

John P.

Edited October 6, 2009 by PJohnP

[dizzypen]

It's a matter of perspective. If I pay $25 for a bottle of that ink when a similar bottle of something else would cost me $8-$12 it's luxury to me. Now it's not even in the same ballpark as that 24k gold ink, but I think it's fair to call it luxury.

 

ETA: sorry I didn't mean to quote Henry. Also, Thanks for the review. I have a sample of this ink coming from a fellow FPNer. I'm excited to try it.

Edited October 6, 2009 by dizzypen

[Shelley]

who cares about price, I am interested in the quality, and thats a wonderful lloking ink and a great writing style.

Thanks!

[PJohnP]

It's a matter of perspective. If I pay $25 for a bottle of that ink when a similar bottle of something else would cost me $8-$12 it's luxury to me. Now it's not even in the same ballpark as that 24k gold ink, but I think it's fair to call it luxury.

 

ETA: sorry I didn't mean to quote Henry. Also, Thanks for the review. I have a sample of this ink coming from a fellow FPNer. I'm excited to try it.

 

Well, I think I'm using the word "luxury" in a more nuanced fashion here, and I apologise if that seemed elitist. I see the spectrum of price running from something like, say, Sheaffer Skrip through Noodler's through Visconti through Pilot Iroshizuku up to the 24kt gold ink and inks in cut lead crystal with silver caps. The latter will run hundreds of dollars per bottle, which, in the way I was thinking about this, is the "luxury level", unless one's getting commissioned to create a new illuminated work like those Bibles of centuries past...

 

Of course, each person sets their level of "luxury", and I was talking with someone about Skrip Slovenian Red Ink last week who couldn't comprehend paying for ink at all "when the banks and hotels give out free pens full of ink to anyone".

 

It's definitely a relative and comparative thing.

 

 

 

John P.

[Siv]

Great ink and an even better review - thank you!

[dandelion]

Great colour and excellent review! I particularly like the comparisons.

[soloworx]

Thank you for the review. Fuyu-gaki is so in-your-face orange and I like it. Compared to the Iroshizuku Yuyake that I found too pale, your ink looks so much better.

 

Probably a scan/monitor variation but somehow it looks close to Noodler's Cayenne.

[PJohnP]

Thank you for the review. Fuyu-gaki is so in-your-face orange and I like it. Compared to the Iroshizuku Yuyake that I found too pale, your ink looks so much better.

 

Probably a scan/monitor variation but somehow it looks close to Noodler's Cayenne.

 

Hurm. I've used Noodler's Cayenne, but this has a... well, actually, the descriptor "persimmon" is actually the closest best one for this ink. Cayenne has more of a deeper red component in my recall. Scans just don't capture the "pop" of many colours, especially the reds, yellows, and oranges.

 

And the Yu-yake would have been one of the three if it hadn't been out of stock at Jet Pens along with the Tsukushi colour. I find those shades are more unusual, where the blues are less so. Still, no regrets about the three colours that I acquired.

 

Thanks for the kind words on the review.

 

 

 

John P.

[Immoteus]

Many thanks for the review, PJohnP. I've been curious about this colour (despite having owned all the colours previous to this recent release) for some time. Would you consider using this ink on a daily basis?

Edited October 7, 2009 by Immoteus

[Miranda]

Great review, John. Love the image of orchards of persimmon trees. You see the odd tree or so around here [Australia], and they are wonderful.

 

I have this ink in my Fellowship pen with an EEF Flexy nib, and the pen is finally happy, with an ink that sets off its colours. It writes beautifully and I want to write and write with it.

 

Must try the ink in a broad nib. These inks do such wonderful shading.

[PJohnP]

Many thanks for the review, PJohnP. I've been curious about this colour (despite having owned all the colours previous to this recent release) for some time. Would you consider using this ink on a daily basis?

 

Sure.

 

I like to have a bright red or orange colour for editing and/or emphasis in documents. For my take, it's a really "punchy" colour, and it's quite unique. I might switch for a change of pace back to say, Skrip Slovenian Red or Herbin Rouge Opéra, but it would definitely be a part of the rotation for me.

 

Now, I haven't tried the Yu-yake yet, so it's possible that it would be more attractive to me, depending on the intensity and shading.

 

The Iroshizuku Fuyu-gaki is really a fine and exceptional ink.

 

 

 

John P.

[PJohnP]

Great review, John. Love the image of orchards of persimmon trees. You see the odd tree or so around here [Australia], and they are wonderful...

 

Must try the ink in a broad nib. These inks do such wonderful shading.

 

The persimmon orchards in Japan are an incredible sight. Coupled with a visit to one of the most evocative and amazing museums that I've visited in the world, the memory is indelibly etched in my memory. That this ink prompts it is a link of great stength.

 

If there's one thing I've taken away from these inks as a group, it's that the inks are at their very best in a broad nib, and I'm also contemplating trying some brush work with them.

 

Thanks for the kind words on the review.

 

 

 

 

John P.

[Inka]

Thanks for taking the time for creating this hand-written review, along with the story and journey you'd taken me on, Sir John.

I love the color of this ink, the comparisons using different paper types and the nibs used as well.

Having seen Black N' Red™ paper products at my local Staples, B&N and other stores often, I'd been contemplating trying them at some point and was good to see it used in this review.

I've always been quite enamored with the looks and pure functionality of the Pilot Iroshizuku bottles as well, the "icing on the cake" so-to-speak to a well made and well thought out ink with the many colors of Japan in mind.

Had it been possible for me to do so, I'd have purchased each and every color in the Iroshizuku series of inks, including a bottle of Pilot Sailor Kiwa-Guro nano-carbon black, to complete what I see as some of the best inks on Earth.

 

As for the idea of "LUXURY", some of ya'all just had to get me started...

As for "luxury" or non-, that's purely speculative to me and subject to interpretation.

While the initial 2 definitions are as follows...

1) the use and enjoyment of the best and most costly things that offer the most physical comfort and satisfaction

2) anything contributing to such enjoyment, usually something considered unnecessary to life and health

 

... I tend to view items such as inks to follow more the next definition, as being...

3) a- the unusual intellectual or emotional pleasure or comfort derived from some specified thing "to give in to the luxury of tears"... b- something producing such pleasure or comfort

 

Can I afford them as this time? No, not really. Are they necessary to my life and health??? That depends.

Once again, purely speculative and subject to interpretation; a fountain pen certainly isn't a "necessity" no matter the cost but the pleasure they give me does add to my life and to my health through pleasure and comfort as in definition 3-b above.

How so, some may ask, and I say that anything that can bring enjoyment, bring joy, reduce stress and/or pain, those things are good and can add to ones life and health.

Ink, pens, certain things that some might consider to be "luxuries" are also things that don't cause cellular-adaption/degeneration as does addictive and toxic substance abuse, they don't cause one to lie/cheat/steal/kill ourselves or others, nor cause us to spend every penny we have in search of the next "fix".

These things some call "luxury" and unnecessary are to me often life-affirming and definitely therapeutic, can actually better ones' mental and physical health [as well as spiritual in some ways] by bringing about such simple pleasures and joy.

So paying $22.50 for a 50ml bottle of ink may seem like a "luxury" to some, yet many pay far more for a single inkwell than many bottles of this ink would cost, and this ink comes in a beautiful bottle/inkwell filled with a great ink too.

It's also cheaper by-the-ounce than a well-known 30ml bottle "Swiss" ink that I really like and costing nearly the same price, one with a bottle that while made of crystal and serves somewhat as an attractive inkwell just isn't as well thought out and functional as the Iroshizuku bottles are.

Some could also argue that a $8 bottle of a colored ink to be a "luxury" item when basic blue or black inks are all anyone really needs, the same could be said of buying a $20+ fountain pen instead of a 10-pack of ball point pens for $2 when some say "a pen is just a pen so why pay...$$$?".

 

After seeing and reading this review and subsequent replies, it serves to reaffirm that I really do like this ink.

I would like to try it, would love the see the bottles sitting out in plain sight and use them to fill my pens from some day as well.

 

This review also follows along with my wanting more than ever to try the Black N' Red™ paper types I see one example has been written upon, having also read elsewhere just how fountain-pen-friendly the paper actually is.

Even the Black N' Red™ manufactures Website of claims the paper in their notebooks to be "...smooth, premium quality 90gsm paper, reducing show-through and allowing you to write on both sides of the page - even with a fountain pen.".

Is the paper I use necessary to my "life and health"?

 

Here we go again and instead of continuing I'll sign off by saying...

If it makes you happy, if it makes you smile, if it's not hurting anyone nor hurting you, then whatever you call it [luxury or not] there's life and continuity to it in there somewhere and that's all that really matters!

 

Sorry to have gone off on a tangent in your thread, John, but in the words of Rambo... "They drew first blood, Sir!"

Thanks again for taking the time to write and present this review, I really have enjoyed it.

Edited October 7, 2009 by Inka

[Ondina]

 

The persimmon orchards in Japan are an incredible sight. Coupled with a visit to one of the most evocative and amazing museums that I've visited in the world, the memory is indelibly etched in my memory. That this ink prompts it is a link of great stength.

 

If there's one thing I've taken away from these inks as a group, it's that the inks are at their very best in a broad nib, and I'm also contemplating trying some brush work with them.

 

Thanks for the kind words on the review.

 

John P.

 

Beautiful words, very evocative. Lovely review, thanks for taking the time do publish it.

[Signum1]

PJohnP,

 

I like this colour. Thanks for posting a review of it.

 

Signum

[Annie]

This review also follows along with my wanting more than ever to try the Black N' Red™ paper types I see one example has been written upon, having also read elsewhere just how fountain-pen-friendly the paper actually is.

Even the Black N' Red™ manufactures Website of claims the paper in their notebooks to be "...smooth, premium quality 90gsm paper, reducing show-through and allowing you to write on both sides of the page - even with a fountain pen.".

Is the paper I use necessary to my "life and health"?

Sorry for the OT post. Inka, I sent Satrap a letter on Black N Red and she thought it was cheap notebook paper, it's nothing special, and "smooth" it is not. Really. It's just a step up from Mead and that's not saying much. Stick with Rhodia and Clairefontaine.

 

Great review John P. I'm not a fan of orange inks but I do like kaki.

Edited October 8, 2009 by Annie

[Inka]

Fuyu-gaki coming from that Pelikan Caligraphic 2.0 nib, seen against the Black N' Red paper, looks particularly sharp and crisp [i'm not seeing any feathering, a definite plus].

On my monitor I think I'm seeing what looks like a fine dark border/edge around the hand-written Calligraphy on the Black N' Red paper, looks almost like a deliberate outline and a rather nice effect.

Don't think I'd be using Black N' Red as stationery, hearing from Annie someone thought it was cheap notebook paper, but for just writing and note-taking it seems an OK choice for fountain pens.

Ugh... just looked at the cost; paying nearly $9 for an 8-1/2"x11" notebook is far more than I'm willing to spend on lined paper, gonna wait until it goes on sale locally or stick with the cheaper stuff for now.

The looks of Fuyu-gaki contrasts nicely with the twin wire binding of the Black N' Red notebook too, the combination is especially striking.

Thanks again, very nice.