Has Sailor Inks Catch Up Iroshizuku Inks ?

[Patrick L]

Hi everybody,

Upon their release Iroshizuku inks were considered to be amongs the best inks available worldwide, maybe even the best , anyway better than Sailor inks. But I now have the impression that Sailor inks have finally managed to catch up. Maybe that's because of their constantly growing inks available from them under different names ( BUNG BOX, HOUGADO , KOBE).

Please share their thoughts.

Patrick

 

 

 

[JulesSilvan]

Never had the impression that Sailor needed to catch up with Iroshizuku. They're both excellent inks to use.

[ksm]

Both Pilot's Iroshizuku and Sailor's store exclusive lines offers gorgeous colours. Most people can find something to their liking.

 

Pilot's inks are widely available but priced outrageously.

Sailor inks are much cheaper, but very scarce.

 

Two weeks ago, my wife needed to add something to a report written few months earlier. Fortunately she wrote it with Iroshizuku Asa-Gao, so I've been able to get a bottle from brick and mortar store on my way back from work. Getting a bottle of Kobe or BungBox in time would not be possible.

[migo984]

Although Pilot inks are good, I've always considered Sailor inks to be superior.

[ahmet_yuce]

One of the difference between two line is sailor's availability. Sailor 4 seasons inks might be available here and there. But the other Sailor inks seems just custom made boutique inks to me, not easy to find.

Edited October 17, 2016 by ahmet_yuce

[Mew]

55 sailor nagasawa Kobe inks and 16 seasonal inks by sailor are available worldwide from Japan without going through any forwarding service or cool_japan. Based on colour range alone, sailor is superior.

Iroshizuku has higher flow than sailor inks, but sailor has great lubrication which iroshizuku does not offer. Flow is decent too.

Edited October 17, 2016 by Mew

[Chrissy]

Some would say that Iroshizuku bottles are nicer than Sailor bottles.

[mehandiratta]

Both are quality products....

 

Iroshizuku has some colors which sailor can't parallel and vice versa ...

Iroshizuku inks give more premium feel due to their premium bottle.... They are easily available like sailor Jentle inks... but... but.. but Sailor shops exclusive inks are way too expensive and hard to get...

 

So, in my opinion, Sailor Jentle (Regular series) has yet to catch up with the regular supply of no. of colors that Iroshizuku offers plus the premium bottles ...

[Mew]

I can probably tell an equivalent colour in the sailor line for each iroshizuku colour. Nagasawa Kobe and 16 seasonal inks alone would cover 22/24 iroshizuku colours. Whereas iroshizuku doesn't have any sort of substitute for rikyu-cha, and they don't have a decent red or burgundy ink too.

But iroshizuku bottles certainly are nicer.

I have 107 sailor ink colour in 171 bottles, 86 being diamond shaped and 85 being the standard ones. Whereas I have only 2 iroshizuku bottles (soon it'll be 7 once I get Tokyo limited edition iroshizuku).

I certainly prefer sailor, irrespective of the bottle.

 

Diamond shaped bottles are better than iroshizuku bottles. Base is not as wide as iroshizuku bottles so you can get more ml of ink out of it without using a separate filling apparatus.

Edited October 17, 2016 by Mew

[mehandiratta]

I can probably tell an equivalent colour in the sailor line for each iroshizuku colour. Nagasawa Kobe and 16 seasonal inks alone would cover 22/24 iroshizuku colours. Whereas iroshizuku doesn't have any sort of substitute for rikyu-cha, and they don't have a decent red or burgundy ink too.

But iroshizuku bottles certainly are nicer.

I have 107 sailor ink colour in 171 bottles, 86 being diamond shaped and 85 being the standard ones. Whereas I have only 2 iroshizuku bottles (soon it'll be 7 once I get Tokyo limited edition iroshizuku).

I certainly prefer sailor, irrespective of the bottle.

 

Diamond shaped bottles are better than iroshizuku bottles. Base is not as wide as iroshizuku bottles so you can get more ml of ink out of it without using a separate filling apparatus.

 

all the inks you are quoting are hard to get .. plus they are even more expensive than Iroshizuku... as far as bottles are concerned there is a conical drop in iro bottles which gives you the opportunity to most of the ink...

 

rikyu cha is the latest edition... barring that... Sailor regular Jentle line is no comparison to easily available Iroshizuku line of 24 colors... though all 8 colors of Jentle are amazing... and I love them all...

 

All I am saying is that sailor needs to make those 107 inks you are talking about as a part of the regular line-up and also reasonably priced... comparable to Iroshizuku...

 

BTW no diamond bottles available from Sailor directly ... all are shop exclusive...

[migo984]

 

Discounting the issue of availability, and based on how the inks perform in my pens, on the papers I use, Sailor performs better for me than Iroshizuku. Some of the Pilot/Namiki inks feel thin and a bit dry to me, and a few colours are quite dull. But I admit to having a decided preference for saturated inks.

 

Just as an aside, I consider many KWZ and some Oster inks to also be superior to Iroshizuku.

 

This is, of course, is a completely subjective, non-scientific, personal opinion. Everyone will have their own experiences and own preferences.

[Mew]

 

all the inks you are quoting are hard to get .. plus they are even more expensive than Iroshizuku... as far as bottles are concerned there is a conical drop in iro bottles which gives you the opportunity to most of the ink...

 

rikyu cha is the latest edition... barring that... Sailor regular Jentle line is no comparison to easily available Iroshizuku line of 24 colors... though all 8 colors of Jentle are amazing... and I love them all...

 

All I am saying is that sailor needs to make those 107 inks you are talking about as a part of the regular line-up and also reasonably priced... comparable to Iroshizuku...

 

BTW no diamond bottles available from Sailor directly ... all are shop exclusive...

Nagasawa and seasonal inks are not hard for people outside Japan to get. That's 71 colours. Nagasawa inks are reasonable priced too. About $4.5 more than the cost of iroshizuku inks. I don't think $4.5 is too much, it's acceptable.

About the conical depression, people have said that it is useless and does not help in filling the pens. If it is useful, then I think the filling apparatus given by sailor for each jar bottle would be more useful.

 

Rikyu-cha was also available back in 2010.

 

Nagasawa Kobe ships directly to people living outside Japan, so they are making 71 inks easily available. That's 3 times the number of inks in the iroshizuku colour palette.

Edited October 17, 2016 by Mew

[mehandiratta]

Nagasawa and seasonal inks are not hard for people outside Japan to get. That's 71 colours. Nagasawa inks are reasonable priced too. About $4.5 more than the cost of iroshizuku inks. If $4.5 bothered me, I would probably look at a new hobby.

About the conical depression, people have said that it is useless and does not help in filling the pens. If it is useful, then I think the filling apparatus given by sailor for each jar bottle would be more useful.

 

Rikyu-cha was also available back in 2010.

 

Nagasawa Kobe ships directly to people living outside Japan, so they are making 71 inks easily available. That's 3 times the number of inks in the iroshizuku colour palette.

 

Each to his own... I still believe Iros to be a tad better in overall comparison... and yes that is my opinion...

BTW I just looked up at Rakuten Nagasawa Inks are priced at USD $18.66 ( Sold by Nagasawa) and Iroshizuku at USD $12.44 ( sold by Komamono)

 

http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/nagasawa/item/kobeink-bl/

http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/komamono-honpo/item/ink-50-ty/

 

So the difference is almost USD $ 6.2 approx....

 

maybe for you, money does not matter whether it is 4.5 USD or More... but for me, it does matter I can get 3 bottles of Iro as against 2 bottles of Kobe inks... which are equally good and critically acclaimed...

 

And quoting MIGO984 ... KWZI inks are better and there is no denial... and that is also a better deal compared to Iros.

 

BTW these are my opinion and you are entitled to your own....

[AndyYNWA]

Although Pilot inks are good, I've always considered Sailor inks to be superior.

+1

[lapis]

Although they each have their own merits, the one and only thing which bums me incessantly is that the newest and/or most interesting Sailors are just too complicated to get a hold of, whatever they end up costing.

[Mew]

 

Each to his own... I still believe Iros to be a tad better in overall comparison... and yes that is my opinion...

BTW I just looked up at Rakuten Nagasawa Inks are priced at USD $18.66 ( Sold by Nagasawa) and Iroshizuku at USD $12.44 ( sold by Komamono)

 

http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/nagasawa/item/kobeink-bl/

http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/komamono-honpo/item/ink-50-ty/

 

So the difference is almost USD $ 6.2 approx....

 

maybe for you, money does not matter whether it is 4.5 USD or More... but for me, it does matter I can get 3 bottles of Iro as against 2 bottles of Kobe inks... which are equally good and critically acclaimed...

 

And quoting MIGO984 ... KWZI inks are better and there is no denial... and that is also a better deal compared to Iros.

 

BTW these are my opinion and you are entitled to your own....

Yes, to each his own.

 

I edited that post 15 mins before you posted yours, because I felt whatever I said wasn't too polite and could have been said in a better manner.

 

What I will say is, that comparison of prices isn't fully fair.

Komamono-honpo isn't a brick and mortar store, it's an online store, hence, the retail prices are less. They will remove 8% Japanese consumption tax for which will make it more cheaper.

On the other hand, Nagasawa Kobe is a brick & mortar store, and they have to keep the shop running, so there is no discount. They are not a tax free shop either, so even if you go to their store in person and show your passport, they cannot tax remove the consumption tax.

Iroshizuku retail price in Japan: 1620 yen for most of the shops.

Nagasawa Kobe retail price: 1944 yen

[haruka337]

Sailor and Iroshizuku (Iro')--to be frank, there is no comparison here.

The quality, price range, availability (disregarding shop exclusives) writing experience, the sheen/shade and color range of Sailor inks are currently unparalleled. I'd take a $6 bottle of Sailor Jentle Black over any Iro or other brand any day. Other brands may have one or two precious qualities to it, but not all and none execute as well as Sailor. It's less about comparing Sailor to other brands; it's about how other brands stack up to the Sailor standard.

Don't get me wrong. While I'm in the process of purging most of the Iro' from my inventory, I will maintain the 15ml bottles and I do own other brands of ink such as F-C, KWZI, MontBlanc and the like, however, none equal to Sailor.

As most have already stated for themselves, this preference is based on my own sensibilities.

[Mew]

I'd say that we are comparing quality and attributes, not bottle shapes and bargains. So I'll still disregard prices and availability in favour of sailor.

[haruka337]

I'd say that we are comparing quality and attributes, not bottle shapes and bargains. So I'll still disregard prices and availability in favour of sailor.

That's pretty much what I figured.

[Aelie]

It's difficult to directly compare Pilot's line up to that of Sailor's because their target markets are different. Iroshizuku might be premium, but I don't think it was created for a small population passionate about inks (who will go to extraordinary lengths to buy them!). And I suspect making 100+ inks available on Amazon at the price of Iroshizuku would be economically unsound, whereas with tiny production runs and limited sales outlets Sailor can make money doing just that. So it would be unfair to compare Iroshizuku lineup to Sailor's shop specific inks. Jentle Four Seasons to Iroshizuku might be a fair comparison, but I would stop there.

 

Iroshizuku has been around for nine years. Sailor has been making non-black/blue/blue-black inks longer than that as far as I know. I would have to say that if anyone was playing "catch up," it was Pilot.