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Iroshizuku

Uncial

By Uncial
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Uncial Antique

Uncial

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I am rather excited to have received a few bottles of Iroshizuku ink for the first time! Having used either Parker Quink Back (back in the day) and for the last few years Waterman's Black, I must say that the influence here nudged me in the direction of trying out coloured inks - which I have never done before, partly because I wasn't that fussed on what was available here. Writing samples posted here started to make me wonder; so I took the plunge and have to say I am very glad I did.

 

So, first off, I tried the Tsuki-yo (Moonlight). Nice shading....in fact, very, very nice shading; but the colour didn't really do much for me. I found myself staring at the page thinking, 'meh'. A pang of doubt crept in as I began to wonder if I had made a mistake.

 

Second attempt: Yama-guri (Chestnut). I breathed a great sigh of relief. A very beautiful ink. Not a huge amount of shading, but I love the colour.

 

Number three: Ina-ho (rice ear). By now I knew I was on to a good thing. Really beautiful ink. Nothing I would have ever dreamt of using, but the colour and the shading just make me want to write.

 

Last - but certainly not least: Syo-ro (Dew on the Pine). This one truly blew me away. It is an incredibly beautiful teal. I actually thought I might like this one the least, but it has just the right amount of shading, it's quite quick drying and the colour,....well, I just keep looking at it and thinking 'mmmm'.

 

Waiting on the Asa-gao and the Kon-peki. For some reason the supplier in their wisdom posted it in two separate boxes, but I'm looking forward to getting them now. So far I think that the Syo-ro might empty all too quickly!

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swanjun Collectors Item

swanjun

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On some papers, notably Tomoe River, Syo-Ro also has a red sheen that is very beautiful.

 

I hope Tsuki-Yo grows on you; it's probably my favorite. :)

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BillZ Vintage

BillZ

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I saw some of these inks at Dromgoole's in Houston on my last visit. The bottles are beautiful but still it's just INK! Is the $% justified by the quality of the product?

Pat Barnes a.k.a. billz

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Koyote Collectors Item

Koyote

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Uncial, I find that Tsuki-yo's color looks different on different papers and in different light. I urge you to not give up on it yet.

 

Good to see your opinion on Syo-ro, as that is one I am considering.

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Uncial Antique

Uncial

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Will keep trying with Tsuki-yo. I have a few different notebooks, so I should be able to experiment a little over the coming days.

 

As for the cost, yes they aren't exactly cheap. I got mine through amazon.co.uk and they came in around £13/£14 pounds a bottle and the postage was fairly reasonable if I ordered six bottles at once. It is still a lot of money for ink, but where I live Waterman blue or black costs 8 Euro (just under £6.50). For the price I paid I think it was worth it - I've got some very, very nice ink. Of course, I might be codding myself as these are the very first coloured inks I have ever tried!

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Ghost Plane Ancient Artifact

Ghost Plane

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Kind of spoiled me for other ink. Oh, I'm still using up my PR, R&K, DeAtramentis, and Herbin. Noodlers does a few tricks Iroshi won't. But when I have a high end pen that absolutely has to work on unknown paper... KuJaku tends to go in every time.

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papabear16 Extremely Rare

papabear16

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I, too, agree on being spoiled. I use tsukushi in my journal and a lot of take-sumi at the office, and they just perform so darned well. If only there was a really dark blue-black (like Noodler's 54th or Diamine Blue-Black)—I probably wouldn't buy any other ink.

 

(Okay, that's pretty unlikely, but still ...)

Girls say they want a guy with serious ink, but then pretend to be bored when I show off all my fancy fountain pens. ~ Jason Gelles

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Pterodactylus Collectors Item

Pterodactylus

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Hmmm, opinions and preferences are different.

I have two Iroshizuku inks and both didn't impress me neither their colors nor their behavior.

 

I have Ku-Jaku and Asa.Goa, both are IMO simple monochrom inks without great, not even average shading potential.

Yes, they behave well, but not better than other inks.

 

E.g.the R&K inks behave not worse also with great colors and I get about 7 bottles R&K ink for one Iroshizuku.

 

For me they are not worth the ridiculous price.

But this is only my personal opinion,

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RudyR Vintage

RudyR

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Chiku Rin is right up there with my Mont Blanc Johnathan Seaweed Green as my favorite green inks. Something very zen about it.

Edited by RudyR

What Would The Flying Spaghetti Monster Do?

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Enoch_Root Near Mint

Enoch_Root

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I love the Shin-Ryoku. The swabs I've seen online dont do it justice (where have I heard that before!!). It's darker and richer on the page.

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WOBentley Collectors Item

WOBentley

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I like virtually all of the...Tsuki-yo is one of my favorites actually, but I love Yama-Budo, Fuyu-gaki and Yu-Yake and Momiji...

This post contains 100% recycled electrons

http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/ae8/Catriker/Pen%20Pics/SmallCzarNikolai.jpg

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Alex2014 Rare

Alex2014

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My preferred Iro inks are ku-jaku and yama-budo, that seems very original colors. I use them daily. Momji and murasaki-shikubu are also beautiful. I always have some FPs inked with them. Many Irs inks are nice, but I try to find some closed nuance because of the price. Diamine offers a large palette, and J. Herbin has some amazing light inks (Blue Pervenche i.e.) that seems to me matchless.

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