Sailor Kiwa-Guro (Nano-Black)

[visvamitra]

I'm not crazy about black inks but I'm crazy about Sailor inks. Some time ago I've bought 12 bottles of ink from one of FPNers and Kiwa-guro was one of them. I must say I'm impressed. The ink is perfectly waterproof and, above all, it doesn't cause any troubles in pens. I've left in Lamy Al-Star for one week and the pen started without any issues once I pressed the nib to the paper.

 

Photo of the bottle

http://imageshack.com/a/img905/8441/Iz4u9Q.jpg

Ink Splash

http://imageshack.com/a/img911/7779/iIFvpv.jpg

Drops of ink on kitchen towel

http://imageshack.com/a/img910/541/dTnOup.jpg

Sofgtware ID

http://imageshack.com/a/img907/2194/RoYXyY.jpg

Clairefontaine, Lamy Al-Star, stub 1,1

http://imageshack.com/a/img907/1377/1eaH98.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img633/1074/0Qgf0Z.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img903/574/XLFrPj.jpg

Leuchtturm 1917, Lamy Al-Star, stub 1,1

http://imageshack.com/a/img903/6508/SIapkv.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img911/9639/O0TXPd.jpg

 

After one hour of soaking (the blue comes from other ink)

 

http://imageshack.com/a/img903/5348/w9pA3M.jpg

[abstract49]

Seems a bit of a "warm" black as we would say in B&W darkroom parlance, perhaps the slightest greenish cast? Or is this from (a) the scan or ( my monitor (which I have calibrated to the best of my ability)?

[haruka337]

Another favorite black ink!

 

Really enjoying all the black ink reviews I'm seeing lately on the forums.

[Tas]

Looks like a lovely black black.

 

. . . I leave pens loaded with ink for months at a time and I'm still a little nervous of using this ink.

[inkstainedruth]

Hmm. Unlike what Tas said, this does not appear on my screen to be "super" black. Am I detecting a bit of shading?

I tried this ink in a Preppy set up as a rollerball and it did not go well. The rollerball feed just gummed up on me. I'm planning to give it another go in a regular fountain pen at some point, though -- it just may be that it doesn't do well with that sort of setup.

Thanks for the review.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[fuddmain]

I'm not a black ink person either, but this is an absolute favorite for me. This would probably be the ink I chose if I could only have one. Very smooth, permanent, and writes well on most papers (even Moleskine).

 

Seems a bit of a "warm" black as we would say in B&W darkroom parlance, perhaps the slightest greenish cast? Or is this from (a) the scan or ( my monitor (which I have calibrated to the best of my ability)?

 

This is a true black. There are no other colors in this ink.

 

Looks like a lovely black black.

 

. . . I leave pens loaded with ink for months at a time and I'm still a little nervous of using this ink.

 

I had a pen loaded with this ink that was lost, then found over a year later. Didn't take much more than a typical flush and the pen was just fine. I'm not great when it comes to pen hygiene and I've never had any trouble with this ink.

[Tas]

Hmm. Unlike what Tas said, this does not appear on my screen to be "super" black. Am I detecting a bit of shading?

I tried this ink in a Preppy set up as a rollerball and it did not go well. The rollerball feed just gummed up on me. I'm planning to give it another go in a regular fountain pen at some point, though -- it just may be that it doesn't do well with that sort of setup.

Thanks for the review.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

I should've been clearer, apologies. I meant black black as in no underlying greens or blues etc - I'm still a HOD & Charlie pen convert

This is a true black. There are no other colors in this ink.

 

I had a pen loaded with this ink that was lost, then found over a year later. Didn't take much more than a typical flush and the pen was just fine. I'm not great when it comes to pen hygiene and I've never had any trouble with this ink.

 

That's good to know. I may well give it a go as my waterproof ink when my De Atrementis Archive Black runs out Thank you.

 

 

[haruka337]

Looks like a lovely black black.

 

. . . I leave pens loaded with ink for months at a time and I'm still a little nervous of using this ink.

 

I've left this ink in my Lamy Vista for a month (though I don't recommend it for any ink! ) and had no hard starts or other problems. Kiwa-guro has also been the most lubricating black ink I've used to date--makes some of my toothier nibs write like buttah.

 

I will say that some users experience difficulty in cleaning out pens and converters after use. I've not experienced this, but I understand I'm in the minority here. Though, I do use a lot of lubricating and "laxative" inks in my pens, so this may play a part in my anomaly.

 

---

 

The matte of this ink is interesting and layers in a curious way (not sure if I could call it shade), but it gives Kiwa-guro a unique depth. It's a black ink with a lot of character.

 

I've tried diluting this ink to check out underlying colors, but this ink is pure pigmented black. Perhaps, the matte feature of the ink, in the image above, gives the illusion of brown undertones, but there are none.

[akustyk]

It is a great ink. Its behavior on ordinary office paper is fantastic, and it causes no problems in pens, just as the OP said. I do not think it's warm, it has a nice, matte black look when dry. Compared to the Platinum Carbon black ink, the Sailor behaves better on cheap paper, with no bleed-through on even the worst of copy papers.

[Tas]

Oh well, the list is now 18 strong

[Morbus Curiositas]

Thanks Visva

 

I love Sailor too

 

But in comparison....

 

The sailor bung box armor black (check White Lotus excellent review!) Appears more black to me

[haruka337]

Thanks Visva

 

I love Sailor too

 

But in comparison....

 

The sailor bung box armor black (check White Lotus excellent review!) Appears more black to me

 

It would seem so, but Kiwa-guro is actually darker than Bunbox Armor Black.

 

A few weeks ago, I compared all the black inks I owned, Armor and Kiwa-guro being among the group. Armor's underlying purple made it the less darker of the two black inks.

 

Don't get me wrong: Armor is dark (as white Lotus's review can attest) , Kiwa-guro is darker, but neither are the blackest inks out there. Though, at this point, I'm not looking for the blackest black; I'm looking for character, performance and quality. Kiwa-guro has it in spades.

[tinta]

I have given away all of my black inks but one, Sailor's Kiwa-Guro, in cartridges. Whenever black ink is appropriate, I use Kiwa-Guro in one of my Sailors. A really reliable black.

Thanks Visvamitra for posting you usually thorough review.

[dcwaites]

Technically Kiwaguro is a quantum black, because the carbon particles that make it up are, as the name says, nano particles, smaller than the wavelength of light (the same applies to most of the black particles in burnt-oil soot that is used in traditional India Ink). It comes out on paper as a matt black. Because of the way our eyes and brain work, glossy blacks like Heart of Darkness actually look blacker, but that is the way we are wired.

"There is no fault with reality, please adjust your brains."

 

This is an ink that will work on papers that will not otherwise take FP ink. I have one notebook, and the only ink I can use is Kiwaguro in an XXF Parker 51. And the ink works beautifully in that pen.

 

Now, if only it came in Parker Penman Sapphire blue at 10 cents a gallon, I would be set for life.

(And yes, I know about Seiboku, but it isn't PPS.)

[jmccarty3]

As others have mentioned, the matte finish of Kiwa-guro is most unusual. It has a most luxurious writing feel and appearance.

[mrchan]

Hmm. Unlike what Tas said, this does not appear on my screen to be "super" black. Am I detecting a bit of shading?

I tried this ink in a Preppy set up as a rollerball and it did not go well. The rollerball feed just gummed up on me. I'm planning to give it another go in a regular fountain pen at some point, though -- it just may be that it doesn't do well with that sort of setup.

Thanks for the review.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

This ink isn't super black at all, in fact it is a very matte black/grey. It behaves super well and dries amazingly fast. It is a very reliable black ink and I plan to add another bottle to my collection.

[jandrese]

Hmm. Unlike what Tas said, this does not appear on my screen to be "super" black. Am I detecting a bit of shading?

I tried this ink in a Preppy set up as a rollerball and it did not go well. The rollerball feed just gummed up on me. I'm planning to give it another go in a regular fountain pen at some point, though -- it just may be that it doesn't do well with that sort of setup.

Thanks for the review.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

I've used it very successfully in a Visconti EcoRoller.

[holgalee]

I've observed that the ink clings onto the sides of my converter, which isn't ideal when the ink level is low. Does anyone else have that experience?

[jmccarty3]

I've observed that the ink clings onto the sides of my converter, which isn't ideal when the ink level is low. Does anyone else have that experience?

 

 

I had a similar problem with Nanoblack, but it was solved instantly by the addition of a couple of drops of dish soap to the bottle. Other wetting agents should work as well.

[TheDutchGuy]

As others have mentioned, the matte finish of Kiwa-guro is most unusual. It has a most luxurious writing feel and appearance.

+1

 

This ink has the unique feature that it makes the line width of a nib narrower. So if you ordered a F but you think it looks more like a MF or a M, try this ink! And it does so without sacrificing flow or lubrication, at least in the sense that I'm not actually experiencing dryness issues in any way, shape or form even though it is a dry-ish ink. OK, that sounds contradictory so let me try again. This ink reduces line width. Of course this is due to a reduced flow as compared to other inks, but the pen doesn't *feel* dry. With this ink you just want to write and write and write some more. It's really amazing.

 

I don't like black, but this ink makes me forget about that. Amazing stuff.

Edited December 17, 2018 by TheDutchGuy