Sheaffer Peacock Blue Versus Iroshizuku Ku-Jaku?

[jhylkema]

I apologize if this topic has been done to death, but here goes.

My mum told me that she used to love Sheaffer Peacock Blue when she was in school. Sadly, that Ink appears to have been discontinued. However, I showed her the Iro product line and she thought that ku-jaku once a very close match based on what she saw on the computer screen. Of course, we know that the colour rendering on computer screens in fallible and always resembles exactly whats on the paper, so I was curious if you guys thought that ink is a good match. If not, is there a different ink you would recommend?

[inkstainedruth]

I have not tried Ku-jaku but I have made attempts to find a modern equivalent to Skrip Peacock. The closest I've found so far is Diamine Turquoise. (Even Diamine Havasu Turquoise was not a close enough match, even though both it and Edelstein Topaz have tons of shading and are really similar to each other.)

I looked at some scans online of Ku-jaku but they all seemed to be a little darker and greener than Skrip Peacock on my screen -- and I'm working from a 3/4 pint bottle of the stuff I found in an antiques mall a few years ago.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[lapis]

ku-jaku is greener and browner; the best two replicas of the Skrip I know of are Waterman's South Sea Blue (= Inspired Blue today) which is a little lighter, more watery and bluer, or Visconti's Turquoise, the most intense of all three.

[OCArt]

I agree with the poster above, Ku-Jaku is very, very different than vintage Sheaffer Peacock Blue. The substitutes mentioned earlier are great suggestions and you might also consider Sheaffer's own Turquoise ink. It is possible to find bottles of Peacock Blue on eBay from time to time but do note that Peacock blue faded very quickly so I wouldn't use it for anything that needed long-term readability.

 

Please see this wonderful post by Visvamitra that directly compares the two Sheaffer inks.

[amberleadavis]

Yes, Sheaffer Peacock Blue is not the same as any of the Iro inks. Those of us using FPs before the golden age of inks loved SPB because it wasn't blue, black or blue-black, but we could convince our teachers / employers that it was blue.

 

I also agree,

 

Visconti Turquoise, Diamine Turquoise and even modern Sheaffer Turquoise (though not a perfect match, is inexpensive, reliable and close).

[Kalessin]

Luckily, vintage Sheaffer Peacock Blue is commonly available, fairly stable in the bottle, and not priced like Parker Penman Sapphire is these days.

[chromantic]

​Skrip Turquoise is certainly my favorite turquoise, it's bright and cheerful and always brings a smile to my face when I use it. Well-behaved even on cheap paper, nice shading and a lovely red/pink sheen, what's not to like.

 

edit: typo

Edited April 5, 2018 by chromantic

[Runnin_Ute]

Anyone know how Lamy Pacific/Turquoise compares? Diamine Steel Blue is probably too green. Doesn't Paper Plume in New Orleans have a peacock blue?

[ErrantSmudge]

Luckily, vintage Sheaffer Peacock Blue is commonly available, fairly stable in the bottle, and not priced like Parker Penman Sapphire is these days.

Overheard at the 2018 LA Pen Show: "Peacock Blue is the next Penman Sapphire."

[ErrantSmudge]

Anyone know how Lamy Pacific/Turquoise compares? Diamine Steel Blue is probably too green. Doesn't Paper Plume in New Orleans have a peacock blue?

 

 

I have both; Lamy Pacific/Turquoise definitely has a green cast to it compared with Peacock Blue. I'll do a side-by-side if I can get a bit of free time.

[Torrilin]

My take is you have a ton of good options if you liked Peacock. Turquoise is a favorite blue shade and even the most conservative ink lines have one. And a lot of them are influenced by Peacock.

 

Peacock is pretty much a textbook shading ink. There’s lots, and it’s very subtle. Some shading inks will almost have a light/dark line and it might not have much to do with how a letter was made. Peacock will show you what was done if you know what to look for. You can see hesitations and stops to think sometimes. Very lively.

 

There can be a red halo. This boosts the contrast and makes a relatively light ink more readable.

 

Sheen largely shows up on paper with slow dry times, and I’m a lefty. Also I was a broke high school student when I used peacock , and the papers that sheen best tend to have a fairly expensive sizing used. So I don’t think I’ve ever seen it. And given how slow drying the ink was even on absorbent paper, I wouldn’t have wanted to. It’s basically my benchmark for the outer edge of usable but slow drying.

[Chrissy]

You can still buy bottles of Sheaffer Skrip Peacock Blue on ebay from time to time. Diamine Turquoise is very similar.