Search the Community

I have a bottle of MB Oyster Grey and as much as I want to like it, I find it way too dry. I didn't want to waste it and was wondering what I could mix it with that may help with the dryness. I have this ink at my holiday home where I only have a few inks, so the choice is limited. The end result (see below) is 6 parts OG & 1 part Pilot Iroshizuku Yama-Budo. The ink is still a little dry and next time I think I'll try 5 parts OG to 1 part YB. YB is so saturated it dominates OG, hence the 6:1 ratio. I like the colour. Unfortunately the pic. shows the ink as slightly more grey than in reality but it was taken with my iPad on a dull day.

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). Ajisai Ama-Iro Asa-Gao Chiku-Rin Fuyu-Gaki Fuyu-Syogun Ina-Ho Kiri-Same Kon-Peki Kosumosu Ku-Jaku Momiji Murasaki-Shikibu Shin-Kai Shin-Ryoku Syo-Ro Take-Sumi Tsuki-Yo Tsukushi Tsutsuji Tsuyu-Kusa Yama-Budo Yama-Guri Yu-Yake Sample of Tsuki-Yo was send to me by Mishka5050. Thank you a lot! The color is inspired by and named after moonlight: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/75/Skogsoy_moonlight.JPG/800px-Skogsoy_moonlight.JPG Waterproofness: http://imageshack.com/a/img540/8616/xOKQuV.jpg Chromatography: http://imageshack.com/a/img905/5226/a32I8R.jpg It's not bad but I'm not crazy about this ink Ink Splash http://imageshack.com/a/img911/4994/LHUFCa.jpg Drops of ink on kitchen towel http://imageshack.com/a/img903/7206/H46nPP.jpg Software ID http://imageshack.com/a/img537/3235/6IxWrE.jpg Oxford Recycled ( 90g), Kaweco Classic Sport, eyedropper, stalówka B http://imageshack.com/a/img908/285/u7HL3P.jpg http://imageshack.com/a/img910/1772/NsS6x3.jpg http://imageshack.com/a/img901/6175/qMJPa5.jpg http://imageshack.com/a/img673/9303/aCqWZL.jpg Calendarz, Kaweco Classic Sport, B http://imageshack.com/a/img908/6809/JRGYRs.jpg http://imageshack.com/a/img537/84/q0AbSb.jpg http://imageshack.com/a/img537/9798/wcHPJj.jpg http://imageshack.com/a/img540/707/mzY3To.jpg

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). Ajisai Ama-Iro Asa-Gao Chiku-Rin Fuyu-Gaki Fuyu-Syogun Ina-Ho Kiri-Same Kon-Peki Kosumosu Ku-Jaku Momiji Murasaki-Shikibu Shin-Kai Shin-Ryoku Syo-Ro Take-Sumi Tsuki-Yo Tsukushi Tsutsuji Tsuyu-Kusa Yama-Budo Yama-Guri Yu-Yake Take - sumi was named after bamboo charcoal. The ink is quite waterproof: http://imageshack.com/a/img538/667/cyusNb.jpg The ink is quite waterproof: http://imageshack.com/a/img673/8905/ZX3oka.jpg Chromatography: http://imageshack.com/a/img537/1009/NTXZBK.jpg I must admit I kind of like it to my surprise. Ink Splash http://imageshack.com/a/img537/2739/MBKC47.jpg Drops of ink on kitchen toweol http://imageshack.com/a/img633/1685/VWcBsI.jpg Software ID http://imageshack.com/a/img905/913/1vUu8t.jpg Oxford Recycled ( 90g), Kaweco Classic Sport używany jako zakraplacz, stalówka B http://imageshack.com/a/img661/6224/XrHWuw.jpg http://imageshack.com/a/img910/9017/RoSrUA.jpg http://imageshack.com/a/img905/4366/ChIT82.jpg Kalendarz,Lamy Studio, F http://imageshack.com/a/img661/2048/yytpy1.jpg http://imageshack.com/a/img661/6079/yvCO0p.jpg http://imageshack.com/a/img673/3297/Ut9YAR.jpg http://imageshack.com/a/img913/3952/zsLCJT.jpg Teneues, Kaweco Sport Classic, B http://imageshack.com/a/img537/7933/26Ai1g.jpg Lyreco Budget, Hero 5028, stub 1,9 http://imageshack.com/a/img903/5998/fBcf1p.jpg http://imageshack.com/a/img538/5519/G8TBPn.jpg Comparison http://imageshack.com/a/img540/9093/LDRBJm.jpg

http://yoonhalee.com/images-inks/iro-kon-peki-sm.png http://yoonhalee.com/images-inks/iro-kon-peki-close-up.png

Deleted

A quick water-fastness test of 17 inks on a sheet of Rhodia dotpad paper. They all dried for at least a week prior to when I conducted the test. I rinsed the sheet in warm water, soaked it for half an hour, and then pressed it under a stack of magazines to dry. http://i669.photobucket.com/albums/vv56/k4p2tog/InkWaterTest1copy.jpg De Atramentis Aubergine (4) Diamine: Hope Pink (2) Marine (1) Peach Haze (1) Syrah (3) Noodler's: 54th Massachusetts (5) Antietam (3) Bad Green Gator (5) Baystate Concord Grape (4.5) Black Swan In Australian Roses (4) Green Marine (4) Kung Te-Cheng (5) Liberty's Elysium (3.5) Pelikan Edelstein Ruby (2) Pilot Iroshizuku: Ama-Iro (2) Yama-Budo (3) Private Reserve Tropical Blue (1) Notes: I was having feed issues with the pen with which I wrote the Bad Green Gator sample, which is why it is lighter than normal. The way the waterproof Baystate Blue and the more fugitive Baystate Red combine produces a decent imitation of mimeograph printing. I've given a numerical rating based on remaining legibility. 5 = Unchanged 4 = Changes to color but still entirely readable 3 = Readable, but it is getting hard 2 = If you stand on your head and squint, you just might make something out 1 = All gone!

http://www.amazon.com/Iroshizuku-INK-50-TY-Pilot-japan-import/dp/B0019XWYC4/ref=aag_m_pw_dp?ie=UTF8&m=A2Y996WTWV2P3P Hurry, get yours now, only ten left.

http://yoonhalee.com/images-inks/iroshizuku-ku-jaku.png http://yoonhalee.com/images-inks/iroshizuku-ku-jaku-closeup.png

http://yoonhalee.com/images-inks/iroshizuku-tsuki-yo.png http://yoonhalee.com/images-inks/iroshizuku-tsuki-yo-closeup.png

http://yoonhalee.com/images-inks/iroshizuku-syo-ro.png http://yoonhalee.com/images-inks/iroshizuku-syo-ro-closeup.png I want a bottle of this like you wouldn't believe.