Sailor Bungbox Shogun Armor Black

[white_lotus]

Hello again. This is another review of a Sailor custom ink for the Bungubox store in Japan. It's king of strange to actually have bought a custom black ink from Japan when I could have bought a bottle of Sailor Jentle Black for less than half, or Sailor's nano-pigment black Kiwa Guro for a bit less than the custom ink. And I would not have had any issues with those inks and they are readily available.

 

But it was available and I like black inks. The usual papers apply here: Mohawk via Linen, Hammermill 28 lb inkjet paper, and Tomoe River.

 

Overall the ink is really wet and quite dark. A good solid black ink. Not sure when this ink will be available again. Bungbox isn't currently having their full lineup available, and while a black ink may be great for Japan, it's hard to say whether it would get much interest here.

 

There is a little bit of shadiness on the MvL, but that doesn't come across in the photo at all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The ink blot shows a big of a greyed blue similar to OS Carbon, which I recently reviewed.

 

Not bad resistance to water, but the ink isn't claimed to be such.

[visvamitra]

I love the name of the ink, but as I'm not really into blacks, I will never buy a bottle. Thank you for showing it to us though

[white_lotus]

I think you have it right that I bought it because of the cool name. But it was only $28 then.

[haruka337]

While not my favorite black, it is, as you imply, very well rounded for a black ink and would satisfy anyone partial to this color. However, I do prefer its brother: Bungbox Music Black, a darker, more lubricating ink with blue undertones, where as Armor has purple undertones (at least I think so ). The small image below shows Bungbox Music Black in the left column and Bungbox Shogun Armor Black in the right column. The two top colors are diluted with equal parts water and ink, the two bottom colors are unaltered.

 

 

The nuance of both blacks may be too subtle for those who do not care for this color, but it makes a world of difference to me.

[white_lotus]

That photo is a little small!

 

Yes I agree that blacks are very subtle inks, which is why I like them. Not to say I don't like my other colorful inks as well.

[haruka337]

Bigger is better!

 

Top row is Bungbox Shogun Armor Black, bottom row is Bungbox Music Black (left column is undiluted, right is diluted with water):

 

 

I don't believe the difference between the two black ink samples translate well in this image, but in person it is very noticeable. While Shogun is dark, it's not quite as saturated as Music and I believe it's due to Shogun's purple undertone. I find black inks with blue undertones to be darker than those with purple. Blacks with blue-green undertones seem to produce the darkest black inks on the market.

[white_lotus]

Thanks for the bigger picture that makes it much easier to see the differences.

 

I guess if you just want the blackest black, Aurora Black and a number of Noodler's offerings would meet that criteria. And save oneself a chunk of shiny change. But I'm sure BB Music Black is very nice.

[haruka337]

Yeah, but I've had loads of issues with Aurora and Noodler inks. I prefer problem free ink lines and Sailor exclusives (as well as Iroshizuku and KWZI) provide that, so I don't mind paying a little more.

[mmg122]

I don't use black ink often but when I do, I like my black to be black. Although not my favorite BungBox black, it is a good, unequivocal black.

Very nice review, white_lotus.

[GardenWeasel]

Quite a nice looking ink! I am fond enough of black to commonly have one pen always with a black ink. Great review and thank you!

[white_lotus]

Thanks for the comments!

[MathurinKerbouchard]

Great review. Thank you for introducing to us other black inks. The more choices we have, the better.

[Morbus Curiositas]

Not a big black fan

But this is a true black

 

Just like this is a truly nice review

 

Thanks White Lotus.... more please :-)

[white_lotus]

Thanks so much. Working on it. Have to empty a couple pens, then I can refill something new.

[ethernautrix]

I don't know why I look at reviews of black inks when I KNOW I'm not giving up my Noodler's Black (sometimes boosted with Old Manhattan Blackety-Black Black), but Shogun Armor looks enticing -- as does the other SB Music Black. I even like the diluted versions of them.

Thanks for the temptation!

[bdanh1989]

Hello again. This is another review of a Sailor custom ink for the Bungubox store in Japan. It's king of strange to actually have bought a custom black ink from Japan when I could have bought a bottle of Sailor Jentle Black for less than half, or Sailor's nano-pigment black Kiwa Guro for a bit less than the custom ink. And I would not have had any issues with those inks and they are readily available.

 

But it was available and I like black inks. The usual papers apply here: Mohawk via Linen, Hammermill 28 lb inkjet paper, and Tomoe River.

 

Overall the ink is really wet and quite dark. A good solid black ink. Not sure when this ink will be available again. Bungbox isn't currently having their full lineup available, and while a black ink may be great for Japan, it's hard to say whether it would get much interest here.

 

There is a little bit of shadiness on the MvL, but that doesn't come across in the photo at all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The ink blot shows a big of a greyed blue similar to OS Carbon, which I recently reviewed.

 

Not bad resistance to water, but the ink isn't claimed to be such.

Thank you for your review. It's very great but have you ever used Sailo Nano Black ink?? If you have used, can you tell me about the different. Thank you

[haruka337]

Sailor Nano Kiwa-guru is a micro pigmented ink were as Bungbox Armor is dye based, both provide two entirely different writing experiences.

 

Where Armor falls within the spectrum of a typical dark black, Kiwa-guru does not. It's a dense, matte, somewhat layered black. While there are nuances to be found within the former, the latter displays more obvious characteristics.

 

Armor, like most Sailor inks, is a mid-range lubricating ink with good flow. Kiwa-guro is extremely lubricant. Both provide excellent writing experiences.

 

Armor is easy to clean out of a pen, but Kiwa-guru can be a pain due to the Nano pigments. Though, I've never had issue cleaning out either ink, I understand I'm in the minority when it comes to Kiwa-guro.

 

If you want a well rounded, nuanced, saturated black, Bungbox Shogun Armor is the way to go. If you want a highly lubricant ink with layered depth and a matte that dulls it's saturation--some maintenance required--, than Sailor Nano Kiwa-guro is the ink to use.

[pwnrat]

That black is quite dark indeed.

[McKool]

So how would Sailor Bung Box Shogun Armor Black compare to one of the old standards.... Aurora Black?

[white_lotus]

Hm, looks like I never actually did a review of Aurora Black, so I don't have an easy reference for comparison. But if you don't already have a bottle of BB Shogun Armor Black, I can tell you that you'll pay more than twice as much for a black ink.