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Maruzen Athena Sepia

yogalarva

By yogalarva
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yogalarva Extremely Rare

yogalarva

Posted
Posted

This is another one of those reviews that has been hard for me to write. Not because it didn’t live up to my expectations, but because it exceeded them so far…

 

fpn_1410522541__tumblr_inline_nbrmmtfpyg

 

This ink sample was sent to me by same kind soul as the Tsuki-yo. It’s a very hard ink to get here in the States, and so far I’ve only found one online retailer who carries it (I’ll get to that later).

 

Maruzen Athena ink is sold in Japan and that’s about the extent of what I know about the brand as a whole. I do know that this ink is a deep, rich brown that is dark enough to be a reliable daily user but just interesting enough to set yourself apart from black and blue users.

 

fpn_1410522614__tumblr_inline_nbrmuuffvp

 

Because it’s so dark there’s not much for shading, but there is a little bit. Otherwise the behavior is everything I could ask for and more - no feathering, little bleeding, great flow, and some really fantastic water resistance.

 

Alright, here’s the only problem with this ink - you can’t really buy it here. The only place I’ve found is Nanami Paper and you can expect to pay roughly $1/mL to get your hands on a bottle of the good stuff. Is it worth it?

 

That is a question only you can answer. To me it definitely is and as soon as I free up some cash I’m going to buy a bottle. I’m sure that if you try really hard you can find a similar color but probably not the wonderful behavior. If you do find a match, please let me know. :-)

 

This ink was provided to me for the review and I am not being compensated in any way. All opinions expressed above are my own and you are free to disagree with them if you like.

Fountain pen blog | Personal blog

 

Current collection: Pilot Vanishing Point, TWSBI Vac 700, Kaweco Al Sport, Lamy Safari, Nemosine Singularity

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playtime Extremely Rare

playtime

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Posted

Perceptive and penetrating! I, of course, whole-heartily agree with your review - an ink of note, and one that I wish were more readily available at a more friendly price.

 

i wonder if FPN could arrange some group buy, or even some specially conceived ink, for FPN members. I'd readily purchase a bottle!

 

many thanks again for sharing your thoughts.....

 

J

"Writing is 1/3 nib width & flex, 1/3 paper and 1/3 ink. In that order."Bo Bo Olson

"No one needs to rotate a pen while using an oblique, in fact, that's against the whole concept of an oblique, which is to give you shading without any special effort."Professor Propas, 24 December 2010

 

"IMHO, the only advantage of the 149 is increased girth if needed, increased gold if wanted and increased prestige if perceived. I have three, but hardly ever use them. After all, they hold the same amount of ink as a 146."FredRydr, 12 March 2015

 

"Surely half the pleasure of life is sardonic comment on the passing show."Sir Peter Strawson

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alarickc Extremely Rare

alarickc

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I need to pick up a bottle of this for comparison (and because the bottle is sweet) but I think I have found a mix of sailor inks that comes freakishly close to this. The mix is 4pts sailor epinard and 1pt sailor grenade. It produces a lovely deep reddish brown.

IMG_1178.jpeg.e0dbec8c08b32c0f0a13228a0e4b78fa.jpeg

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Sinistral1 Antique

Sinistral1

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My bottle is in a guarded, underground vault disguised as a Prairie Dog town somewhere in western South Dakota. Really cool vintage bottle, and my research on it's properties (hoping it contained "real" sepia) revealed it as another Sailor made exclusive ink for Maurzen.

Breathe. Take one step at a time. Don't sweat the small stuff. You're not getting older, you are only moving through time. Be calm and positive.

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Cyber6 Donor Pen

Cyber6

Posted
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I need to pick up a bottle of this for comparison (and because the bottle is sweet) but I think I have found a mix of sailor inks that comes freakishly close to this. The mix is 4pts sailor epinard and 1pt sailor grenade. It produces a lovely deep reddish brown.

 

 

You know.. I am going to try that... I have both colors... :P

fpn_1481652911__bauerinkslogo03.jpg
**** BauerInks.ca ****

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"The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it's the illusion of knowledge." -Stephen Hawking,

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Cyber6 Donor Pen

Cyber6

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Let me know what you think of it.

 

 

OH WOW.... I am SHOCKED!!!!!... They are almost identical... Your ratios were quite off thou. I started with 1:2 ratio Grenade to Epinard.. I do a fair amounts of mix, and Epinard is a very saturated ink, I wanted to make sure no to blow it...

 

The first test was EXACTLY the correct ratio. I will post scans..

 

Sadly.. since both Epinard and Grenade have been discontinued, they are not such an easy Maruzen Sepia replacement anymore.

I am guessing the same can be achieved with Okuyama and Tokina Matsou.

 

 

 

Back with the scan...

 

fpn_1411179357__maruzen_mix.jpg

Edited by Cyber6

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**** BauerInks.ca ****

**** MORE.... Robert Oster Signature INKS ****

**** NICK STEWART - KWZI INKs TEST ****

"The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it's the illusion of knowledge." -Stephen Hawking,

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alarickc Extremely Rare

alarickc

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Nice! I'll try that one out. The four to one mix makes a duskier color; it would seem that these two, or their almost dupes, can make a range of red-sepias.

IMG_1178.jpeg.e0dbec8c08b32c0f0a13228a0e4b78fa.jpeg

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Cyber6 Donor Pen

Cyber6

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Nice! I'll try that one out. The four to one mix makes a duskier color; it would seem that these two, or their almost dupes, can make a range of red-sepias.

 

 

I can definitely see more purple in the 1:2 mix... but only in the swabs... you can't see any difference in the writing with the naked eye.

 

With different nibs, paper even the ink flow... these two can easily be identical "twins".. :lol:

fpn_1481652911__bauerinkslogo03.jpg
**** BauerInks.ca ****

**** MORE.... Robert Oster Signature INKS ****

**** NICK STEWART - KWZI INKs TEST ****

"The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it's the illusion of knowledge." -Stephen Hawking,

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rudyhou Collectors Item

rudyhou

Posted
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this one certainly nice and dark enough as daily formal office-use ink color. another one of the few on my list of japanese inks to get. :thumbup:

-rudy-

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BMG Extremely Rare

BMG

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I would love to pick up a bottle of this ink. Does anyone know where you can get it?

Écrire c’est tenter de savoir ce qu’on écrirait si on écrivait. – M. Duras

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Sinistral1 Antique

Sinistral1

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Cooljapan (Atsu) on eBay - send him an email for his price.

Breathe. Take one step at a time. Don't sweat the small stuff. You're not getting older, you are only moving through time. Be calm and positive.

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BMG Extremely Rare

BMG

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Have just done so. :) Many thanks Sinistral1!

Écrire c’est tenter de savoir ce qu’on écrirait si on écrivait. – M. Duras

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bjh13 New

bjh13

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Posted

Cooljapan (Atsu) on eBay - send him an email for his price.

 

He's my hero, not only got me this ink but also Hakase Sepia.

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Cyber6 Donor Pen

Cyber6

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He's my hero, not only got me this ink but also Hakase Sepia.

 

 

 

HAKASE !!! Dude... that is like Gold !!! :wub:

 

 

C.

fpn_1481652911__bauerinkslogo03.jpg
**** BauerInks.ca ****

**** MORE.... Robert Oster Signature INKS ****

**** NICK STEWART - KWZI INKs TEST ****

"The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it's the illusion of knowledge." -Stephen Hawking,

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bjh13 New

bjh13

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Posted

 

 

 

HAKASE !!! Dude... that is like Gold !!! :wub:

 

 

C.

 

It cost practically as much as gold. I'm glad I got it, but it sure killed my ink budget for a long while..

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