TAG Kyoto - kyo-no-oto - hisoku

[mizgeorge]

1 hour ago, namrehsnoom said:

I’m unfamiliar with the use of Flow-Aid. How much to add to the ink? A drop per filling? Per bottle? Any pointers?

 

I use the Flow-Aid because it's easy to get here (on Amazon or at most art stores), whilst the Lightning fluid (which I think is the Organics Studio formula) would involve international shipping.  You're supposed to be very scientific and take measurements etc, but in reality, I just decant a little ink into a sample vial and then dip a piece of wire (straightened paper clip would do) into the Flow Aid and stir it into the vial - that's plenty enough.  

 

I think the maximum to use is 1% or less, so I guess four or five drops would fix a full-size bottle, but I don't want to overdo it, so I just do a fill's worth at a time. It takes little enough time for such a dramatic improvement and means I can use inks that I would otherwise have to pass on. 

[dapprman]

I love the colour and got it when it first came out, but dry is an understatement.  I do have pens it will work in, but a broad OMAS (which as is tradition with them is very good for ink flow) suffered badly from hard starts with it.

[lgsoltek]

Just filled a Pelikan M1000 Broad nib with this ink. It's gorgeous as a colour, but as an ink it's atrocious. It barely flows even in the wettest pen. The nib literally squeaks across paper. And all those hardstarting and skipping. It's barely usable even in a Pelikan M1000 broad, and I can't imagine how I would be able to write with this ink in another pen. It's just bad.

[Intensity]

2 hours ago, lgsoltek said:

Just filled a Pelikan M1000 Broad nib with this ink. It's gorgeous as a colour, but as an ink it's atrocious. It barely flows even in the wettest pen. The nib literally squeaks across paper. And all those hardstarting and skipping. It's barely usable even in a Pelikan M1000 broad, and I can't imagine how I would be able to write with this ink in another pen. It's just bad.

 

Yes, this is why I don't have a full bottle.  Fantastic color, however.  If you are into that kind of color range, try Sailor x Nagasawa Kobe #68 Nishi Maiko Pearl Blue.  It's a bit too free-flowing even, more like Pilot Iroshizuku inks.  Fine on the lubrication end.

[namrehsnoom]

6 hours ago, lgsoltek said:

... It's gorgeous as a colour, but as an ink it's atrocious. It barely flows even in the wettest pen....

It is indeed very dry, but for me it’s not really a problem with M nibs and above. Hard starts I noted only with F-nib. Kyo-iro Moonlight of Higashiyama (that I’m using now) is another very nice colour with same order of dryness in the ink. Best pen pairing so far for me is my Edison Collier with M or 1.1 nib. 
Admittedly, my tolerance level for dryness is at the high end of the scale (Mount Everest level). But even I am now looking around for some Photo-Flo to try, so I can use these inks with my F-nib pens.

[lgsoltek]

26 minutes ago, namrehsnoom said:

It is indeed very dry, but for me it’s not really a problem with M nibs and above. Hard starts I noted only with F-nib. Kyo-iro Moonlight of Higashiyama (that I’m using now) is another very nice colour with same order of dryness in the ink. Best pen pairing so far for me is my Edison Collier with M or 1.1 nib. 
Admittedly, my tolerance level for dryness is at the high end of the scale (Mount Everest level). But even I am now looking around for some Photo-Flo to try, so I can use these inks with my F-nib pens.

You can also try an infinitesimal amount of diluted dish soap in place of Photo-Flo.

[Intensity]

There are some very dry and low-lubrication inks like Pelikan Edelstein Aquamarine and GvFC Deep Sea Green, and I'm used to those and like them fine in all types of nibs and pens.  But I feel like this ink is on a whole new level of dryness and poor lubrication.  I had trouble with it even in my wetter pens.  It just wasn't nice to use, but I wanted to love it because of its hue range.

[lgsoltek]

2 hours ago, Intensity said:

There are some very dry and low-lubrication inks like Pelikan Edelstein Aquamarine and GvFC Deep Sea Green, and I'm used to those and like them fine in all types of nibs and pens.  But I feel like this ink is on a whole new level of dryness and poor lubrication.  I had trouble with it even in my wetter pens.  It just wasn't nice to use, but I wanted to love it because of its hue range.

That’s exactly what I felt. This is a whole new level of unpleasantness in writing.

[aimi]

So I finally got around to inking my pen up with this beautiful colour. I was aware of the many reviews stating that it is incredibly dry or at least vastly under-lubricated, so I went for the broadest nib I have, a Sailor Zoom nib. So far I haven't experienced any dryness yet, so it just may be that this pen puts down enough ink to combat it. The colour is absolutely fetching- I'm so glad I was able to trade for a sample of this!

[Intensity]

So far I've found Sailor pens/nibs to be quite forgiving for ink performance (somehow I've had around 10 different Pro Gears and Pro Gear Slims... what can I say, they are excellent pens), regardless of tipping size, so good choice! 

[aimi]

5 hours ago, Intensity said:

So far I've found Sailor pens/nibs to be quite forgiving for ink performance (somehow I've had around 10 different Pro Gears and Pro Gear Slims... what can I say, they are excellent pens), regardless of tipping size, so good choice! 

Hah, I do see one in your avatar! This is my only Sailor and I find it neither wet nor dry and yet it has worked perfectly with everything I’ve tried so far. A real goldilocks

[CatAddict]

Thank you so much for the extensive reviews on the TAG ink line! They are coming out with new colors and I'm super interested