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http://www.rdwarf.com/users/wwonko/images/fpn/iro/2014-09-22_Group_Review_Header.png Iroshizuku Co-Razy View Group Review! Pilot’s Iroshizuku inks are beautiful but expensive, and therefore somewhat unknown. Let’s try them out together, so we can see what results others get, and talk about them together! It’s more fun to do things with other people, so this is a chance to try something at the same time other people are, and to discuss it together. This is not a group buy! This is a group of people doing something similar together. If you want the ink to try, you’ve got to find it yourself. Naturally, we can do that together, too. What Will Happen Each month there will be one Iroshizuku color picked, and we’ll discuss it and collect reviews of that one color in a thread for that color over in the Ink Reviews forum. Personally, I will keep at least one pen inked with that color for the entire month, and will have several scans to share. I’ll also make a point to post a sampler sheet with a variety of nib widths. The next month’s ink will be listed a week or two early so that you can find your bottle, or order a bottle or a sample of the color to try, if you wish to do so. How To Join You are welcome to participate in any month you like. If you have a bottle and want to share a writing sample, great! If you are intrigued by the color and want to order a sample or even a whole bottle, you’re welcome to do that too. If you think a color is ugly, you can skip that month. If you are busy, skip that month. It’s okay! There are several ways you can participate! Working Together Let’s go Co-Razy! Things are more fun when people do them together, so I’m going to encourage everyone to try and write half a review! Well, a half-width review, anyway. Amberlea has been doing the Co-Razy Views (CRV) for a while, and it is interesting to see how different people’s pens and handwriting look together. Like this! It lets you really compare them and get a feel for how the ink may behave in ways you might not see. If you have time to write twice, and want to have a penpal, you can write a letter. Write your letter using half the width of the page. Extra bonus coolness if you include the things Amberlea suggests discussing! Scan and post it in the review thread as normal. Then, mail it to me. PM me for my address. I don’t have time to reply to all of them - I wish I could! - so I’ll be mailing you someone else’s review. If there’s an odd number, I’ll write the remaining one. When someone’s letter comes, you write a reply on the second half of the page, next to the original person’s review. Talk back, agree, disagree, doodle, say whatever. Then scan it in and add it to that month’s scans and comparisons thread. On your reply you’re welcome to use the month’s color in your pen and hand, or to use a similar color so people can see how they compare to one another. Both are interesting and valuable! Solo Contributions If you don’t have time to mess about with the mail, but you have or get the month’s color, feel free to and add scans of your use of that ink. Please let us know what paper and pen you’re using. The side-by-side Co-Razy Views are always interesting, so if you want to do one on your own, that’s great too. Compare the month’s ink against a different ink you have, or to show how it looks in two different pens! You don’t have to mail things anywhere to do a comparison! For the same extra coolness, consider including all the things Amberlea discusses in her review thread. Discussions If you have the ink, or have tried the ink in the past, and would like to share your experiences, please chime in on the thread. Scans or photos are great, but not everyone has the time or equipment to make that happen. That’s no problem! Let us know what you think. Ask people questions, too! The Ink Schedule Here’s the schedule for what ink will be the focus of each month! Month Season Ink English Color October 2014 Autumn Tsuki-yo Moonlight Dark Blue November 2014 Autumn Yu-yake Sunset Orange December 2014 Winter Shin-kai Deep Sea Dark Blue January 2015 Winter Fuyu-Gaki Winter Persimmon Orange-Red February 2015 Winter Fuyu-syogun Old Man Winter Grey March 2015 Spring Syo-ro Dew on Pine Tree Dark Green April 2015 Spring Kosumosu Cosmos Pink Red May 2015 Spring Ku-jaku Peacock Blue-Green June 2015 Summer Murasaki-shikibu Japanese Beautyberry Purple July 2015 Summer Tsukushi Horsetail Brown August 2015 Summer Asa-gao Morning Glory Dark Blue September 2015 Autumn Kiri-same Autumn Shower Grey October 2015 Autumn Momiji Autumn Leaves Red November 2015 Autumn Yama-guri Wild Chestnut Brown December 2015 Winter Kon-peki Deep Cerulean Blue Dark Blue January 2016 Winter Take-sumi Bamboo Charcoal Black February 2016 Winter Ama-iro Sky Blue Light Blue March 2016 Spring Chiku-rin Bamboo Forest Yellow Green April 2016 Spring Ajisai Hydrangea Medium Blue May 2016 Spring Shin-ryoku Forest Green Green June 2016 Summer Yama-budo Crimson Glory Vine Magenta July 2016 Summer Tsuyu-kusa Asiatic Dayflower Blue August 2016 Summer Tsttsuji Azalea Pink September 2016 Autumn Ina-ho Rice Ear Tan/Light Brown Thanks To Many thanks to Amberlea for being inspiring and encouraging, and co-ordinating with the moderators of the other forums to make sure these go to the right forum. More thanks to Amberlea for her jumping in and helping with eye-catching titles. Thanks, too, to the enthusiastic people who helped me be sure this would be interesting and fun. Let's do it! Questions? Ask away!

http://www.rdwarf.com/users/wwonko/images/fpn/iro/08-Ku-jaku-header.jpg Iroshizuku - Ku-jaku (Peacock) - CRV - Group Review - 2015-05 The Iroshizuku Group Review color for May 2015 is Ku-jaku ”Peacock”. It is a blue-green, which seems to vary a lot in color based on pen and paper and even has sheen in the right combination - very like the flashy tail of the bird it is named for. Please post your reviews and scans of the ink in this thread. If you want to a partner for a Co-Razy View (CRV) of this ink, please write it up and mail it to Lou Erickson. (PM for the address.) If you want to do a Co-Razy View on your own, please do! Other reviews are welcome, too. NOTE: I have a new address as of January! If you have sent me things in the past, please PM for the new address - the old one will stop forwarding eventually. You can look at the full description of the Iroshizuku Group Review to see how this should work and what we’re doing.http://www.rdwarf.com/users/wwonko/images/fpn/iro/08-Ku-jaku-product.jpgThanks to Rachel Goulet, who gave permission to me to use their beautiful product photo and swab.More thanks to Amberlea who gives so much of her time to herding these inky kittens. Many apologies for the lateness of the post this month. It's been a busy time. I hope you've tried the ink out and have something to share!

http://www.rdwarf.com/users/wwonko/images/fpn/iro/07-Kosumosu-header.jpg Iroshizuku - Kosumosu (Cosmos) - CRV - Group Review - 2015-04 The Iroshizuku Group Review color for April 2015 is Kosumosu ”Cosmos”. It is pink, pinker than the scan above is showing, full of life and springtime. It is named after a pretty wildflower, and if you look at the pictures you'll see why. Please post your reviews and scans of the ink in this thread. If you want to a partner for a Co-Razy View (CRV) of this ink, please write it up and mail it to Lou Erickson. (PM for the address.) If you want to do a Co-Razy View on your own, please do! Other reviews are welcome, too. NOTE: I have a new address as of January! If you have sent me things in the past, please PM for the new address - the old one will stop forwarding eventually. You can look at the full description of the Iroshizuku Group Review to see how this should work and what we’re doing.http://www.rdwarf.com/users/wwonko/images/fpn/iro/07-Kosumosu-product.jpgThanks to Rachel Goulet, who gave permission to me to use their beautiful product photo and swab.More thanks to Amberlea who gives so much of her time to herding these inky kittens. Please PM me with any questions. I was not expecting this ink to be quite this pink, but it's a very attractive color and is definitely springlike.

http://www.rdwarf.com/users/wwonko/images/fpn/iro/06-syo-ro-header.jpg Iroshizuku - Syo-ro (Dew on Pine Tree) - CRV - Group Review - 2015-03 The Iroshizuku Group Review color for March 2015 is Syo-ro ”Dew on Pine Tree”. It is a deep green, full of the suggestion of the lush pine needles of the trees it is named for. Please post your reviews and scans of the ink in this thread. If you want to a partner for a Co-Razy View (CRV) of this ink, please write it up and mail it to Lou Erickson. (PM for the address.) If you want to do a Co-Razy View on your own, please do! Other reviews are welcome, too. NOTE: I have a new address as of January! If you have sent me things in the past, please PM for the new address - the old one will stop forwarding eventually. You can look at the full description of the Iroshizuku Group Review to see how this should work and what we’re doing.http://www.rdwarf.com/users/wwonko/images/fpn/iro/06-syo-ro-product.jpgThanks to Rachel Goulet, who gave permission to me to use their beautiful product photo and swab.More thanks to Amberlea who gives so much of her time to herding these inky kittens. Please PM me with any questions. I keep thinking this ink is Christmasy, and that it would be great for holiday cards. Very green, but still dark enough to be readable.

A blend I love and that has been in my go-to pen (fine Lamy Vista) for a month. As a serial ink switcher, that says a lot. I write on both white and powder blue papers, and this works on each. The blend I had in my Lamy was done by eye. I was asked what it looked like so needed to find ratios. It's 4.5mL Kon Peki to 0.75mL Take Sumi. I would personally add another drop or two of Take Sumi to match my prior version, but that's getting over the top . (My iPhone can't take true colour shots. It's also early evening on an overcast day.) I've included writing in plain Kon Peki, Take Sumi, Ku Jaku, and Tsuki Yo. The Kon Peki x Take Sumi blend in terms of colour is between Ku Jaku and Tsuki Yo. It's not as green as Ku Jaku, and not as blue-grey as Tsuki Yo.

http://www.rdwarf.com/users/wwonko/images/fpn/iro/05-Fuyu-syogun-header.jpg Iroshizuku - Fuyu-Syogun (Old Man Winter) - CRV - Group Review - 2015-02 The Iroshizuku Group Review color for February 2015 is Fuyu-Syogun ”Old Man Winter”. It is a cool grey, reminding me of the endless grey skies of the Seattle winters I grew up with. Please post your reviews and scans of the ink in this thread. If you want to a partner for a Co-Razy View (CRV) of this ink, please write it up and mail it to Lou Erickson. (PM for the address.) If you want to do a Co-Razy View on your own, please do! Other reviews are welcome, too. NOTE: I have a new address as of January! If you have sent me things in the past, please PM for the new address - the old one will stop forwarding eventually. You can look at the full description of the Iroshizuku Group Review to see how this should work and what we’re doing.http://www.rdwarf.com/users/wwonko/images/fpn/iro/05-Fuyu-syogun-product.jpgThanks to Rachel Goulet, who gave permission to me to use their beautiful product photo and swab.More thanks to Amberlea who gives so much of her time to herding these inky kittens. Please PM me with any questions. I'll admit this month's ink does little for me, yet I know there are people who adore it. Show me what I'm missing!

http://www.rdwarf.com/users/wwonko/images/fpn/iro/04-Fuyu-gaki-header.jpg Iroshizuku - Fuyu-gaki (Winter Persimmon) - CRV - Group Review - 2015-01 The Iroshizuku Group Review color for January 2015 is Fuyu-gaki ”Winter Persimmon”. It is a vibrant, saturated orange, closely resembling the flesh of the sweet fruit it is named for. Please post your reviews and scans of the ink in this thread. If you want to a partner for a Co-Razy View (CRV) of this ink, please write it up and mail it to Lou Erickson. (PM for the address.) If you want to do a Co-Razy View on your own, please do! Other reviews are welcome, too. NOTE: I have a new address as of January! If you have sent me things in the past, please PM for the new address - the old one will stop forwarding eventually. You can look at the full description of the Iroshizuku Group Review to see how this should work and what we’re doing.http://www.rdwarf.com/users/wwonko/images/fpn/iro/04-Fuyu-gaki-product.jpgThanks to Rachel Goulet, who gave permission to me to use their beautiful product photo and swab.More thanks to Amberlea who gives so much of her time to herding these inky kittens. Please PM me with any questions. I look forward to seeing everyone's results!

http://www.rdwarf.com/users/wwonko/images/fpn/iro/03-Shin-kai-header.jpg Shin-kai (Deep Sea) - CRV - Group Review - 2014-12 The Iroshizuku Group Review color for December 2014 is Shin-kai "Deep Sea". It is dark, dark blue, so dark that it might be a blue-black, with some shading and a hint of sheen. It is a very deep, serious color indeed, and to does remind one of the darkness of the deep ocean that it its namesake. Please post your reviews and scans of the ink in this thread. This month will be a little hard for me to arrange review partners, as I will be traveling almost the entire month of December. If you mail me something, it will likely be seriously delayed! Instead of the mail - even though the mail is way more fun - if you want to CRV with someone, perhaps you can PM each other scans, or decide to trade addresses on your own. If you're not comfortable trading addresses, then please feel free to do a CRV on your own, and share that with everyone! Other reviews are welcome, too. You can look at the full description of the Iroshizuku Group Review to see how this should work and what we’re doing. http://www.rdwarf.com/users/wwonko/images/fpn/iro/03-Shin-kai-product.jpgThanks to Rachel Goulet, who gave permission to me to use their beautiful product photo and swab.More thanks to Amberlea who is always such an inky enabler. Please PM me with any questions. I look forward to seeing everyone's results!

http://www.rdwarf.com/users/wwonko/images/fpn/iro/01-Tsuki-yo-Moonlight-Header.png Iroshizuku - Tsuki-yo (Moonlight) - CRV - Group Review - 2014-10 The Iroshizuku Group Review color for October 2014 is Tsuki-yo ”Moonlight”. It is a dark blue, recalling the night sky when lit by the full moon. Please post your reviews and scans of the ink in this thread. If you want to a partner for a Co-Razy View (CRV) of this ink, please write it up and mail it to Lou Erickson. (PM for the address.) If you want to do a Co-Razy View on your own, please do! Other reviews are welcome, too. You can look at the full description of the Iroshizuku Group Review to see how this should work and what we’re doing.http://www.rdwarf.com/users/wwonko/images/fpn/iro/01-Tsuki-yo-product.jpgThanks to Rachel Goulet, who gave permission to me to use their beautiful product photo and swab.Thanks to Amberlea again, who had the ink on hand in time to write the attractive banner. Let the reviews begin!

Water resistance tests on Reflex Blue copy paper (ie not white). 1 minute under running tap water. Selection of currently inked pens and personally preferred ink blends written with dip nib. Mostly Noodlers CMYK blends, a few Iroshizuku, one Private Reserve (Ebony Purple), and couple of J Herbins. Interesting outcome for one commercial ink and for a couple of blends. Noodler's Yellow: check out the paper bleaching after 1 minute rinse (third link below). Unexpected. Wouldn't have shown up if I had used white paper. While damp, I held the paper to the light to check it out, and the bleached areas appeared semi-translucent. The other Noodler's colours didn't have this effect and showed the regular type of behaviour I expected to see (Shah's Rose, Navajo Turquoise, and Bulletproof Black). My Noodler's 'random blend' (first link below) with black, navajo turquoise, shah's rose, xanthan, and titanium white luster was also a surprise. This was the dregs of a few xanthan x luster experiments, and had a much higher proportion of Bulletproof Black in it than any of my other CMYK blends shown in these water tests. There was a *lot* of luster in this ink as can be seen on the unrinsed side - the base ink is actually a very dark purple when wet, and it dries up to that very pale purple due to luster coverage. After rinsing, the lustre still adhered quite solidly in some areas; even in the faded areas an equivalent amount of 'faded' luster still adhered. Will post a close up shot later in the xanthan thread. I'm curious about this behaviour. Summer Lustre: Another ink blend with xanthan x titanium white luster, however did not behave in the same way as the 'random blend' with bulletproof - so there appears to be an interaction of some sort that occurred between bulletproof, xanthan, and luster, or maybe just bulletproof and luster in the 'random' blend. (FYI The plain ink version of Summer Lustre is shown just above and is called 'Sunset'.) If a blend interests you let me know and I'll post up the specifics. However as these tests are all on blue paper, they'll look different on white paper. Someday I'll get around to posting examples and ratios on white (ink cards are in the making). These are big image files. https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/uploads/imgs/fpn_1429165382__image.jpg https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/uploads/imgs/fpn_1429165539__image.jpg https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/uploads/imgs/fpn_1429165639__image.jpg

Hi, after being indoctrinated by LindaMedley into Noodler's CMYK mixing, I'm going to venture into Iroshizuku as well. Obviously, Iroshizuku don't offer a pure black nor a yellow. For yellow, I can get away with orange Yu Yake down the magenta end of the spectrum, and green Chiku-Rin down the cyan. Kon Peki will be my cyan, and Tsutsuji my magenta. Along the black lines, Take Sumi will be adequate for most mixes down the cyan line, however my sample appeared to have a touch of yellow in it which gave Kon Peki a touch of green when blended. I have ordered a bottle of Take Sumi, I'll see what that's like. However, Iroshizuku have no deep blacks down the Magenta line. Are there any pure black inks or black with magenta overtones in chromatography that I may be able to safely mix with Iroshizuku inks? I do have Noodler's bulletproof black which I haven't tried yet, but I'm hoping someone's tried something else with Iroshizuku that they know works. Thanks!

Hi everyone, I am planning to buy some Iroshizuku ink for my fountain pen. Whats your favorite Iroshizuku color? Thanks

http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac209/jasonchickerson/_FUJ6457.jpg http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac209/jasonchickerson/_FUJ6457-2.jpg http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac209/jasonchickerson/_FUJ6458.jpg http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac209/jasonchickerson/_FUJ6460.jpg Yama-guri is a great brown. I'm not sure I'll be getting a bottle. It is very, very similar to the inks compared here, and I actually prefer the less saturated Cacao du Brésil and R&K Sepia. Still, Yama-guri could easily replace my favorite CdB if I needed a really wet ink in this color range. Unlike CdB, Yama-guri definitely looks better on warm-tone paper. I'll try to update with chromatography later tonight. Written review on Rhodia Dotpad no. 16, quick sketch of my earbud (sorry, it was what was in my hand when I started drawing) on Strathmore watercolor paper. Reasonable care was taken to ensure color accuracy, but these are natural light photos, so some variation is expected.

http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac209/jasonchickerson/_FUJ6445.jpg http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac209/jasonchickerson/_FUJ6446.jpg Iroshizuku's lineup of brown inks is a short list of two, or three if we include the golden wheat color, Ina-ho. Top is Rhodia Dotpad. Bottoms is Original Crown Mill Pure Cotton. These three inks are excellent, interesting colors and very well-behaved. While not exactly unique, they are as good or better than their doppelgangers among other brands. Tsukushi is very similar to Faber-Castell's Hazelnut Brown and J. Herbin's Café des Îles, while Yama-guri is a darker, more saturated R&K Sepia or J. Herbin Cacao du Brésil. I don't have enough experience with colors like Ina-ho to draw comparisons. Here's a breakdown: Tsukushi - burgundy undertone Hazelnut Brown - lavender undertone Café des Îles - no undertone (single dye ink) Yama-guri - burgundy undertone R&K Sepia - neutral/brown undertone Cacao du Brésil - lavender undertone While I won't be dropping Cacao du Brésil, I will be adding Yama-guri to my ink drawer. It is an incredibly organic looking ink, reminiscent of writing with a charred stick. It has an early man on cave wall feel. And, these inks dip very well on the right paper.

I've gone most of my life hating colored inks, but I may be mellowing. I bought one of those 30 ml bottles of Iroshizuku Yama-guri (wild chestnut) and it's fabulous! It looks like aged medieval ink, which appeals tremendously to the history nerd in me. I've put it in about half my pens...I may have to invest in a bigger bottle. Has anyone else had this sort of conversion experience?

Hi, I'd like to present you another review that I've made for polish fountain pen forum - that's why the text is not written in english. I'd love to prepare new scans (in english this time) but I don't have time. Anyway, I hope at least some of you will find it useful even tough you won't - probably - understand the text as polish is not the most popular language to learn I'm not really into grey inks. To be honest black and grey are my least favourite colors. Some greys, especially the complex ones can look interesting though. One of these is Kiri - Same·I won't buy a bottle because there's just no chance I'll ever use grey ink on every day basis, however it's interesting for a grey http://imageshack.com/a/img834/9840/6gvgt.jpg Few drops of ink on kitchen towel http://imageshack.com/a/img823/2373/jkuw1.jpg INFORMATIONS Producer: Pilot Color: Kiri - Same Saturation: moderate Flow: very good in all pens I filled with it Shading: present Dry time: 10-15 s on most papers http://imageshack.com/a/img841/8219/cfvsu.jpg Waterproof http://imageshack.com/a/img822/3991/abiw.jpg Drawing - copied from some internet site, I was looking at the screen and drawing with my Pilot 78G with broad nib. http://imageshack.com/a/img841/9885/n80k.jpg 1. Rhodia - Scans http://imageshack.com/a/img856/518/lur9.jpg http://imageshack.com/a/img819/7752/z84d.jpg http://imageshack.com/a/img819/7872/0r0h.jpg http://imageshack.com/a/img822/60/l6kk.jpg http://imageshack.com/a/img834/3512/ahrpe.jpg Calendar - scans http://imageshack.com/a/img841/7853/k9r85.jpg http://imageshack.com/a/img819/1718/zs1e.jpg http://imageshack.com/a/img819/9938/hcpv.jpg Few photos http://imageshack.com/a/img834/1866/5g5kg.jpg http://imageshack.com/a/img850/1579/26cx.jpg

I delayed buying this ink for ages and ages based on the many reviews that stated emphatically that this was a bright pink ink, and I'm not a fan of that but I do like reds. The ink kept tempting me and eventually I caved in. So it arrived and I speedily opened the box, pulled out the cheap index card and the dip pen and got to work. It laid down a deep, deep red with a darkish purple undertone; not pink at all. Now I know, dip pens lay down a lot of saturated ink, so the next step was to get it into a pen. Only wanted a small bit, so stuck it in a cheap pen with a converter and a decent nib that is somewhere between juicy and dry. Wrote a little on fairly decent well behaved paper - again, a nice deep red, tiny bit of shading to a pink or magenta hue but still having that darkish purple undertone to it. Then tried it on Rhodia and it was still red, but a little lighter and it had quite noticeable pink shading, then on Tomoe and it was pink, bright pink! I have heard that Iro inks are very well standardised and that there isn't much by way of variation between bottles and batches so I don't suspect that I have a strange batch. I really like the ink, but won't be using it anytime soon on Tomoe, but the subtlety to it on other papers is lovely. Have others had this experience with it?

This is the second round of ink testing that I am doing - the first is already three months in and you can find those posts on my blog. I figured that for this one I would start from the beginning on here and post updates as I go along. Eek! I am so excited about this. After taking nearly a month to fill up a new page full of inks (partly because I went on vacation for a week), it’s finally ready: As with my first epic ink test, I will have four tests running in parallel: a control which will be kept in a plastic sleeve in a notebook, an ambient light test which will hang on my fridge, a water test, and a sunlight test which will hang in my bedroom window. The ambient and sunlight tests are already in place, so let’s meet our contenders for this round, shall we? Just in case you cannot easily read my handwriting, here are the inks that will be tested: Pilot Varsity disposable pen in black Diamine Salamander Noodler’s Black Swan in Australian Roses Pelikan Edelstein Aventurine Iroshizuku Tsutsuji Private Reserve Shoreline Gold Paradise Pen Turquoise Iroshizuku Ku-Jaku Fisher Space Pen, black ink Yoobi gel pen Organics Studio Gregor Mendel Diamine Poppy Red Standard Sharpie marker Noodler’s Sequoia Green Organics Studio Edgar Allen Poe Noodler’s El Lawrence Pilot G2 in purple Sharpie pen in purple *The test indicator was written in a black sharpie pen* This is sad because it also shows you just how far behind I am on posting reviews. I will eventually post reviews for all of these inks except probably the Sharpies… Anyway, I am very interested in seeing how these inks perform because a lot of them are not marketed as being “bulletproof” or “archival” or “eternal” - they are just regular inks. The paper used is Staples bright white 24 lb inkjet paper and the pens were mostly a mix of M and B nibs. Right away I can share the results of the water test: To do this test I submerged the paper in a bowl of cool tap water and let it soak for a few minutes. I then pulled it out, gently blotted off the excess water with a paper towel, and allowed it to air dry on a metal rack. I would say the following inks “passed” my water test, in that they would be easily still readable by someone who did not do the original writing: Pilot VarsityDiamine Salamander (this is weird, because as I noted in my review I saw some water resistance there but then retested on different paper and it was not there, but this is the same paper I used in the review so…?)Noodler’s BSiAR and El LawrenceIroshizuku Ku-Jaku (I saw similar performance on the water test which will accompany my review)Fisher Space Pen and Yoobi gel penOS Gregor Mendel and Edgar Allen PoeBoth Sharpies The rest of the inks I would say are not terribly water resistant. Obviously this is my opinion and you might feel differently, but a lot of them washed out just a bit too much for me to write anything that needs to be permanent. So, that’s where I will leave this for now. In a month I’ll update on how the other two tests are coming along and in the mean time I’ll start working on the page for round 3! :-)

Look what came in the mail today http://i.imgur.com/5HT16ZW.jpg?1 My cursive is a bit rusty, so bear with me http://i.imgur.com/gV2B2YH.jpg?1 And some pretty pictures of the pen: http://i.imgur.com/zs6FiJw.jpg?1 http://i.imgur.com/duQDTJV.jpg?1 http://i.imgur.com/wPb8TLv.jpg?1 http://i.imgur.com/ghbSf4J.jpg?1

Seriously, the names of these Iroshizuku inks will be the death of me. Doesn’t matter how many times I write/type it, I always have to double check the spelling. This ink was given to me as a birthday gift from my mother. Unlike the Shin-ryoku that she got me for Christmas last year, I had specified this color as one that I really wanted. Remember how unimpressed I was with the Pelikan Violet because it had too much red in it? This is a perfect purple ink for me because it’s much more towards the blue side of things. Seriously, I can’t get over how much I love this color. I’m a sucker for jewel tones, and this hits that mark right on. It was also surprisingly water resistant, which is a plus for me since I don’t like to make an ink a “daily user” unless it has at least a bit of water resistance, and I was going to be really sad if this had to be a special occasion only ink. Like pretty much every other Iroshizuku ink I’ve tried, this one behaves wonderfully and gave me no troubles with feathering or bleeding, even on the Field Notes paper. And it didn’t do the weird disappearing act when highlighted that I saw with the Pelikan ink, so that’s a plus. Overall, I really recommend this ink. Then again I might be biased because I think it’s like the most perfect color ever. I also don’t know that I have tried any other inks that come really close in terms of color, so if you know of one that matches and has good behavior and is cheaper than the premium $28/50 mL that we see with Iroshizuku inks, let me know! This ink was given as a gift and I am not being compensated for this review in any way. All opinions above are my own and you are free to disagree with them if you like. Full page scan of the review:

This is one of the lesser-known (maybe) Iroshizuku inks. It's not as famous as Asa-gao or Kon-peki, but it's a decent blue. Maybe not special enough to be noticed. Splash Sheen expected. http://f.cl.ly/items/1B3s2F141F1g1R3I0I29/ts-splash.png Writing Sample http://f.cl.ly/items/170G3G0r0M1W2y3D432D/ts-sample.png Close-Up Shading: quite nice. http://f.cl.ly/items/1A2H3n2K142W2V471r06/ts-closeup.png Drop on wet paper towel Interesting that it has a pink component in it. http://f.cl.ly/items/2F0T0C2F01080H1n3t13/ts-chroma.png Comparison I'm too lazy to clean up pens and fill them up for comparisons, so these lines and "smudges" are made with a... toothpick. The scanner makes them look less green. In fact Souten is noticeably greener that Tsuyu-kusa in comparison. Diamine Mediterranean Blue is greener than Souten, and R&K Blu Mare is even greener (more like turquoise). http://f.cl.ly/items/0d3i0y0s0R3T3Q3Y0H3q/ts-comparison.png Verdict Dry time is not long. Water resistance is not good. It's a pleasing colour, but the sheen is not prominent in normal writing. I quite like it, but it's not special enough for my love. I like Souten more. Samples are written with a Pilot VP F nib on Rhodia Pad.

Very recently in Japan, Pilot has released a sample set of Iroshizuku inks for 2100 yen. Grab a white box and pick any 3 of the 15 ml bottles! Here's a store blog post with some pictures. http://plaza.rakuten.co.jp/penstyleden/diary/201411190001/ I haven't gone out hunting looking for these yet, but I want to find a shop with a display. Hopefully we can see these become available online sometime in the near future!

Buy one of these at $28 + shipping and get one of these FREE ! Buy three of these at $28 and get three of these FREE and FREE shipping in the USA. Call or email to select your colours. Vanness Pen Shop Little Rock Arkansas 501 -353-2362 vanness1938@sbcglobal.net

Some of you may have seen the Iroshizuku Co-Razy Group Review. To keep on top of this, I knew I needed all the inks. The whole monthly format was, in fact, to make buying all the inks possible, as I can afford one a month... Well... I figured out they'd cost half if I bought them all at once. They arrived today: Engeika had packed them really well, and shipped them along. Each box was wrapped in bubble wrap, and had been opened to tuck some bubble wrap in to keep the bottles from sliding around. More bubble and some packing peanuts in the box to keep everything solid. Today, eighteen inks arrived. With the six I already had, that makes the whole set. Yay! Now I'm ready for the next two years! (Half-price Iroshizuku: Order from http://www.engeika.com/ and order over $200 to get free shipping. It's about 15 bottles. They're $13.50 a bottle instead of $25-28. It'll take just under a month to arrive.) ... I might have enough ink now.

Staples is currently selling both inks for $24.39 (one can have it shipped for free to the local Staples store to avoid shipping charges). Other colours are in the $28 - $35 range. But it was my excuse to try Asa-gao. (No affiliation)