Kyo-Iro Stone Road Of Gion

[crahptacular]

Kyo-Iro Stone Road of Gion

 

So far, I’ve enjoyed all of the inks that I’ve acquired from the Kyo-Iro/Kyo no Oto lines, and this one is no exception. They have beautiful packaging, interesting colors, evocative names, and solid performance. From what I’ve seen of the line, their inks are relatively subtle and understated, and don’t really jump off the page at you, so don’t expect them to be eye-catching, vibrant colors. I'm not always in the mood for bold, bright colors, and I like the sense of atmosphere you get with these subdued tones.

 

This ink is a faded, greyish brown that isn’t too saturated. When wet, there’s a very slight yellow/gold tone to the ink, which recedes as it dries, leaving a final appearance that doesn’t particularly lean towards any undertone besides grey. Most of my other browns have some hint of yellow, green, or red, but this one doesn’t really. The ink is aptly named; not only is the color reminiscent of dusty cobblestone roads, but given that the ink isn’t heavily saturated, the darks and the lights are quite distinct, like the variety of colors in cobblestones. The ink behaves well, with good flow (not gushing, but not dry) and gentle shading. I think in a EF or dry F nib, this ink would probably underwhelm, but I’ve used this in a wetter F nib and still liked the results. I think this ink also benefits from warmer colored papers. I like the ink much more on Tomoe River (both white and cream are yellowish) than Rhodia or laserjet paper (bright, pure white).

 

Lubrication: Moderate

Shading: Moderate-Low

Sheen: None

Water Resistance: Zero

Other notes: I did this review on cream paper, which brings out the brown a little bit; on white paper, the grey comes out more instead. The writing samples at the end are on white paper.

 

The following sample was done with a Franklin Christoph 02 (Medium Cursive Italic) on Tomoe River (52gsm, cream, loose-leaf). Doodle was done with a Size 3/0 mop and size 0 liner brush in addition to the pen. Flex writing was done with a Leonardt Principal dip nib.

 

Bad Scanner Disclaimer: Scan is slightly more accurate than photo in this one, especially for the comparisons at the bottom. The big smear along with all five comparison inks came out pretty true to life in the scan, which I usually can’t manage to do. Photo is a bit better for the doodle.

 

Scan:

 

Photo:

 

Comparison inks from left to right (big smear is the featured ink):

KWZ Honey, Robert Oster Melon Tea, J Herbin Lie de The, Graf von Faber Castell Hazelnut Brown, Sailor Doyou

 

Kokuya Campus:

 

Maruman Mnemosyne:

[namrehsnoom]

Love your review format ! And the ink looks nice too, but a bit too under-saturated for my taste.

[visvamitra]

Stunning review

[Carrau]

Another lovely sketch and review-I became interested in this ink after Vis' review (thanks again Vis), and it's nice to see it reviewed again. I've attached a pic of a stone road in Gion, but I'm afraid it compares unfavorably to your beautiful impression of Gion. Thanks again.

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=cobblestones+in+gion+japan&client=safari&hl=en-us&prmd=minv&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjRmNHQvqXWAhVBTSYKHZ9NAq4Q_AUIEigC&biw=1024&bih=672#imgrc=HbZmHZNKIyLKwM:

[Barkingpig]

Thank you for another stunning review. I ordered this ink more than a year ago, enjoyed it & moved on to the new folks, until I filled a pen a few weeks ago. I remember now why I had enjoyed it so much. I have sufficient legibility with the shading of dark to light & appreciate the grey tone despite enjoying browns. It is just a nice subtle ink; your review is much appreciated.

[crahptacular]

Another lovely sketch and review-I became interested in this ink after Vis' review (thanks again Vis), and it's nice to see it reviewed again. I've attached a pic of a stone road in Gion, but I'm afraid it compares unfavorably to your beautiful impression of Gion. Thanks again.

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=cobblestones+in+gion+japan&client=safari&hl=en-us&prmd=minv&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjRmNHQvqXWAhVBTSYKHZ9NAq4Q_AUIEigC&biw=1024&bih=672#imgrc=HbZmHZNKIyLKwM:

I did look at some pictures of Gion for reference and it seems the actual stones they use to pave their roads are much more uniform and orderly than how I imagined them. It was my inability to draw straight lines that convinced me to stick with the romantic interpretation.

[DrDebG]

Very nice review! Thank you. I may have to try these inks out.

[Ghost Plane]

So tempting to try this in an 03B

[Carrau]

I did look at some pictures of Gion for reference and it seems the actual stones they use to pave their roads are much more uniform and orderly than how I imagined them. It was my inability to draw straight lines that convinced me to stick with the romantic interpretation.

I'm certain we're all delighted that you trusted your artistic instincts. Thanks again.

[ENewton]

Lovely, as always. Note that Gion itself is quite wonderful, photographs notwithstanding.

 

I appreciate the point about brown inks sometimes showing hints of green. Not an effect I appreciate.

[MsRedpen]

Thank you for another great review!

 

I like this colour

 

...might need to get a bottle...

[fountainpagan]

Beautiful!! Thank you.

 

Humm, I may get one bottle of this one.

[elpenguino]

The only big downside I can see with this review (OK all of your amazing reviews) is that I am going to want the ink, I am going to buy the ink, and my pitiful excuse for handwriting and art will fall far short of the amazing things you make this ink do. This is the burden I bear, but thank you for showing what they are capable of. Very cool review format. I also like your swatch system of comparison.

[senzen]

Love these reviews, this ink looks very soothing... Just as I was reviewing a thread about brown inks and concluding I didn't see myself getting another brown ink... Oh well.

[Aquaria]

Undoubtedly the street from which the drawing came from:

 

[crahptacular]

Yes, although I recall using a picture with much different lighting, that's definitely the same street. You'll notice after getting about one building into either side I kind of gave up on the reference

[Gazcom]

Stunning review, and lovely ink indeed!

 

Can I ask if the written sample was a quote from "Dance, Dance, Dance" by Haruki Murakami? I read it in Italian, but the Dolphin Hotel brought me back memories of that book.

[crahptacular]

Yes, it is, from the English translation. I must have cropped out the part where I wrote the source of the excerpt. I'm a fan of his books so many of my writing samples are in his words

[johnboz]

That's a beautiful review and a lovely ink! I really like the less saturated look and color of the ink. Thank you!

[bureaudirect]

Love your reviews