Search the Community

Ink Tests for the Common Office - Sailor Jentle Tokiwa-Matsu Today in my Ink Tests for the Common Office series I am reviewing Sailor Jentle Tokiwa-Matsu, aka Pine Green. When I received this ink in my latest sample-haul, this was the first one I grabbed. I sincerely doubted that I would have cause to use a green ink in the office for anything other than corrections, and only having three pens, I did not think that I would be using it much until my collection inevitably grows. So without further ado, let’s move on to pictures! Chromatography There is a whole lot going on here, from teal-blue, sky-blue, pine-green, a light burnt-umber, and pale-yellow. It's definitely a pretty combo. White-Copy Paper I am beginning to realize that sheen is very, very rarely going to happen on standard office paper. Honestly, that's okay, because for work I don't want too-too much going on to draw attention to the fact that this is neither blue or black. It is slightly on the wetter side of things, and does feather and bleed-through, just slightly less than Namiki Black. As long as you don't swipe/drop water all over the page, or smear the ink, you probably wouldn't notice, at first, that the ink is not an office-standard color. Because of how wet the ink is, I would not recommend this for two-sided documents on standard Staples white copy. As with my previous review, alcohol was not available. Bleach caused the ink to almost disappear, except for the barest of yellow remnants. Photocopy Pursuant to the recommendation of namrehsnoom, I am including an image of what the ink looks like after photocopying. It is interesting to note that smearing and water damage didn't seem to show up much, if at all. If one were able to mop up a spilled drink quickly enough, a b/w photocopy of the document would probably look just fine. This gets me thinking...maybe I should add Dr. Pepper or coffee reaction tests in the future...hmmm. Moving on. Longer Writing Sample - White Copy Yellow Legal Pad In longer writing samples, the bleed-through and show-through start becoming more noticeable, but so does the shading. There was no bleed-through on the Staples yellow legal pad, which is really starting to impress me for cheap paper. Because the yellow paper doesn't suck up the ink as much, smearing was much more prevalent. Staples Copy Shading Yellow Pad Shading Even on cheap paper, the shading shows up, although it is not super noticeable. Final Thoughts: Surprisingly, I feel comfortable using this ink in the office. I would not use this ink for signing my name, however, as water and bleach can mess with longevity too much. And, while I would certainly use this ink for notes on the legal pad, and possibly corrections, I would not use this on any two-sided documents (which, lucky for me, are anathema in my office). If you like more reserved greens, or just want to rebel in inconspicuous ways, I think you might want to give this ink a shot. For this review I used a Xerox 3220 Scanner set to Color at 300dpi, an iPhone 7s back-camera with no filters and set to large, a Brother MFC 8810DW photocopier, and some beautiful, industrial florescent lighting, as one would most often find in these circumstances. Disclaimer: I received this sample from Anderson Pens at my own expense. I am not being compensated for this review, or sponsored in any way. Colors may appear differently on different screens. The images and opinions in this post are mine and mine alone.

Sailor makes such fantastic inks, especially greens. Spurred by the generosity of our very awesome Claudia, I've put together a five-way comparison of pine green Sailor inks. You know, for those of you who need a reason to buy more. Er, right. Thanks, C.! Writing Samples http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac209/jasonchickerson/_FUJ0123.jpg Lamy 2000 F/M on Clairfontaine Triomphe http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac209/jasonchickerson/_FUJ0124.jpg Lamy 2000 F/M on Rhodia R http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac209/jasonchickerson/_FUJ0121.jpg Lamy 2000 F/M on Tomoe River The first thing I noticed in comparing these inks is how similar Tokiwa-matsu (current version) is to the discontinued Epinard. In writing, they are close enough to identical to my eye. Unless one plans some pointed pen calligraphy (see below) or other specialized use, owning one is enough. If I had to choose one, I'd pick Tokiwa. It is more lubricated and in a broad nib pen, which I didn't use here, will sheen more. The real standout for me in this comparison was Maruzen Jade, which is gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. It's like someone asked J. Herbin to recreate Tokiwa/Epinard and this dreamy, muted wisp of an ink is what they came up with. I love it. The two Kobes were also less saturated than Tokiwa/Epinard, but they differ in hue more than Jade. The Kobes also felt thinner and less lubricated than the other three inks here, making them less pleasant to write with. Swatch Washes (three times fast!) http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac209/jasonchickerson/_FUJ0119.jpg Sakura Koi Water Brush on Clairfontaine Triomphe http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac209/jasonchickerson/_FUJ0118.jpg Sakura Koi Water Brush on Rhodia R http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac209/jasonchickerson/_FUJ0120.jpg Sakura Koi Waterbrush on Stilman & Birn Gamma Series I'll let the swatches stand for themselves, except to say that they all show very little water resistance. I would not expect any of these inks to hold a line for pen and ink washes. I'm so sure that I didn't bother trying. And for those that are unfamiliar with Stilman & Birn, they make some of the best sketching journals around. This is cotton rag paper more akin to watercolor paper than stationary. Chromatography http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac209/jasonchickerson/croma_FUJ0128.jpg From left, Tokiwa-matsu, Epinard, Maruzen Jade, Kobe #1 and #49 Each chromatography strip received a single drop of ink. The larger diameter circle and apparent amount of ink in the Tokiwa-matsu suggests that ink has a higher amount of lubrication/surfactant. Interestingly, though Tokiwa is more complex than the other inks here, all these inks save Kobe #49 utilize the same or very similar dyes in different combinations. #49 lacks the more waterfast dark blue dye that I suspect is responsible for sheen in the other inks. Purty Writing (that's Texas twang, ya'll) http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac209/jasonchickerson/_FUJ0125-Edit.jpg Zebra G nib (dipped) on Original Crown Mill Pure Cotton Tokiwa-matsu has become one of my go-to inks for pointed pen calligraphy. It behaves extremely well, holds a fine hairline and works on many papers. The only downside of Tokiwa for calligraphy is that when this much ink is put down, the ink sheens so heavily red that it no longer appears green. Maruzen Jade performs just as well as Tokiwa, sheens just a bit, and maintains its green hue. I would definitely add this to my calligraphy ink line-up. The other inks simply don't have the lubrication/viscosity properties required for this type of calligraphy out of the bottle. Plus, though they lack saturation, they show almost black on the page. http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac209/jasonchickerson/_FUJ0126.jpg http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac209/jasonchickerson/_FUJ0126-2.jpg Equally useable but Jade stays green, while Tokiwa sheens red Conclusion If I could pick one ink of the five shown here, it would be Tokiwa-matsu. I love the color, love the sheen, love the bottle. Luckily, it is one the only ink shown here that is available outside Japan without pricey importing through a third party. I am taken with Maruzen Jade, as well. But it's long gone, I'm told. Kobe inks are available through Cool Japan on Ebay ($20).

http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac209/jasonchickerson/tokiwa-matsu%2003.jpg http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac209/jasonchickerson/tokiwa-matsu%2002-2.jpg http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac209/jasonchickerson/tokiwa-matsu%2004.jpg http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac209/jasonchickerson/tokiwa-matsu%2001.jpg http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac209/jasonchickerson/tokiwa-matsu%2002.jpg http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac209/jasonchickerson/tokiwa-matsu%2001-2.jpg http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac209/jasonchickerson/tokiwa-matsu%2005.jpg Tokiwa-matsu is not a color I would normally love. I like my greens on the warm side, but this is a definite pine that borders on emerald in some light. Yet there is something very special about it. I wish it were better behaved on cheap paper, but I guess there is no perfect thing. It should get plenty of pocket time in any case. Tokiwa looks especially nice on ivory paper. Quick sketch of a sphere on cheap Strathmore watercolor paper. Notice how the line does not hold at all with a light wash. I haven't done any proper sketching with this one and I'm not likely to; it will be relegated to background washes if anything. Strangely, it may work for skies... Care was taken to ensure color accuracy, but it was a tough one. It seems I could only get the Tokiwa-matsu or the Alt-goldgrün to look right, never both. Hopefully it's not too far off.

As nearly everyone knows Sailor, a Japanese company, makes very fine pens and very fine inks. This ink came out with the most recent issue of "Four Seasons" inks a few years back. (A new release is coming soon, perhaps October 2016.) I've had this ink a while, and I'm sure I've used it, but it appears I never actually reviewed this ink. Some folks prefer their greens to lean either towards blue or towards yellow. This one leans towards blue as you might expect from being called "Evergreen Pine". Not as dark as Miruai, Tokiwa-matsu definitely shows as a green ink. So chances are you can't cheat at work pretending it's a black. But it has all the good Sailor qualities of flow and lubrication and rich saturation we have come to appreciate. The usual papers for me: Mohawk via Linen=MvL, Tomoe River=TR, Hammermill 28 lb inkjet=Hij. Quite shady on all papers I used. The B nib on the Pelikan lays down a lot of ink with this wet Sailor. Lots of red sheen on Tomoe River. Not completely washed away, but definitely not very water resistant either. Fairly typical actually.