Some Ink Tests

[USG]

3 hours ago, Lithium466 said:

Darn these Tsuwairo inks @USG! How would you compare Platinum BB's lubrication to the Pilot?

 

I'm just getting started with these inks but my first impression (which could very well could change) is that the Pilot Tsuwario inks are both wetter and more lubricated than Platinum BB.

 

I loaded the inks into 3 Jinhao X159s <fine nibs> for comparison.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A standard ink

 

 

[USG]

I tried to capture the ink's colors without the sheen... it wasn't easy.

 

It's probably nib variation between pens, that the Tsuwario Blue has a wider line width than the Blue black, which is the opposite of what I found using the Doufold dip pen.

 

CLICK TO ENLARGE AND SEE SHADING

 

 

 

 

[Mechanical]

Here is the very nice Bungubox Ruri Sea ink.  I pulled out the Cosmo Air Snow for this.  It is quite charming.

 

[USG]

6 hours ago, Mechanical said:

Here is the very nice Bungubox Ruri Sea ink.  I pulled out the Cosmo Air Snow for this.  It is quite charming.

 

That color looks so nice.  How does it compare to First Love?

[USG]

The usual suspects on Tomoe River-S Paper

 

 

 

First Love was the only one to sheen

 

Shin-Kai has a little action

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mechanical]

15 hours ago, USG said:

That color looks so nice.  How does it compare to First Love?

 

Ruri Sea is a bit darker than First Love (Dye).  It's an introvert with some personality.  First love is a brighter blue, kind of electric and extroverted... The Ruri Sea sheens more readily, for me.  Both inks have enjoyable shading.

 

The flow and wetness is about the same.  These are reliable, easy-flowing inks.

 

 

[USG]

14 hours ago, Mechanical said:

 

Ruri Sea is a bit darker than First Love (Dye).  It's an introvert with some personality.  First love is a brighter blue, kind of electric and extroverted... The Ruri Sea sheens more readily, for me.  Both inks have enjoyable shading.

 

The flow and wetness is about the same.  These are reliable, easy-flowing inks.

 

 

 

Do you think you could review your Bungubox inks again with more pics?

[Mechanical]

9 hours ago, USG said:

 

Do you think you could review your Bungubox inks again with more pics?

 

I've taken so many photos, and only one out of ten are at all close.  I need better lighting, I think.  The natural light I used in Summer was pretty good, but the Winter light just isn't doing it for me.  Working on it... 

[USG]

On 11/30/2025 at 3:31 PM, Mechanical said:

 

I've taken so many photos, and only one out of ten are at all close.  I need better lighting, I think.  The natural light I used in Summer was pretty good, but the Winter light just isn't doing it for me.  Working on it... 

 

Maybe you could use additional lighting...  

LINK

LINK

[USG]

Clairefontaine Stationary:  Limited shade and sheening

 

 First Love Pigment shaded....

... and sheened

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pilot Tsuwario Blue that was so dynamic on Cosmo Snow... 

Looks like this on Clairefontaine...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mechanical]

I'm not entirely happy with the way the colors came out, but here's an overview of the five Bungubox Ink samples I've been playing with.  These are all on Iroful paper.

 

First, here's a shot of the full page so you can see, basically, how the colors compare to one another.

 

These are all quite nice inks to work with.  First Love (Dye), Ruri Sea, and 4B all have some sheen and they will provide shading on almost any paper.  They flow really well and are a pleasure to use if your pen is not too wet.  The Hanzi nib on the Safari... well I wouldn't want anything wetter.  

 

The Dye version of the First Love is quite nice.  On a lot of papers it is just a nicely shading blue, but on Iroful, it really come through with both shading and sheen.  Looked great.  It does a similar good job on Cosmo Air Snow.  Sorry it's a bit out of focus; I often shoot family photos with a similar level of blur.

 

The Ruri Sea played well across a number of papers that I tried it with.  And going back to look at my notes and writings, done in Ruri Sea, was delightful.  Similar in wetness to the First Love (Dye).. possibly just a bit more restrained in flow. Maybe.

 

 

I was very fond of the 4B (Bungu Box Blue Black).  It would often go on so dark, you'd think it black... at least at first.  Then as it dries you get the appearance of a blue black where the blue shading is almost a teal.  But in this picture, angled to get the best sheen, you don't see the full effect of the shading.  I do really like this one.

 

The "Something Blue"  ink always has this characteristic shading, as shown, but in my experience never any sheen -- even on this cooperative Iroful paper.  This shot makes it seem more green than it is.  In real life, it comes off as a solid light blue.

 

 

 

"Tears of Alice" had the most sublte shading of this batch.  It's green and green.  Never any sheening and the shading, when present, makes it look a little washed out in places.  On the other hand, it does have a (hard to see) dark outline.  That's something that makes it more legible and more generally usable for writing than you might think.  Somehow I feel like pilfering in the baking supplies looking for mints after I've been writing with this.  It looks... tasty.

 

If I were to take the plunge and pay the $50 for one of these inks... I'd probably go for the 4B.  Because I almost always go for blue black.  And for people looking for wetter inks to go with their dry nibs, especially the First Love, Ruri Sea, and 4B might be worth looking at.

[USG]

On 12/1/2025 at 11:51 PM, Mechanical said:

I'm not entirely happy with the way the colors came out, but here's an overview of the five Bungubox Ink samples I've been playing with.  These are all on Iroful paper.

 

First, here's a shot of the full page so you can see, basically, how the colors compare to one another.

 

These are all quite nice inks to work with.  First Love (Dye), Ruri Sea, and 4B all have some sheen and they will provide shading on almost any paper.  They flow really well and are a pleasure to use if your pen is not too wet.  The Hanzi nib on the Safari... well I wouldn't want anything wetter.  

 

The Dye version of the First Love is quite nice.  On a lot of papers it is just a nicely shading blue, but on Iroful, it really come through with both shading and sheen.  Looked great.  It does a similar good job on Cosmo Air Snow.  Sorry it's a bit out of focus; I often shoot family photos with a similar level of blur.

 

The Ruri Sea played well across a number of papers that I tried it with.  And going back to look at my notes and writings, done in Ruri Sea, was delightful.  Similar in wetness to the First Love (Dye).. possibly just a bit more restrained in flow. Maybe.

 

 

I was very fond of the 4B (Bungu Box Blue Black).  It would often go on so dark, you'd think it black... at least at first.  Then as it dries you get the appearance of a blue black where the blue shading is almost a teal.  But in this picture, angled to get the best sheen, you don't see the full effect of the shading.  I do really like this one.

 

The "Something Blue"  ink always has this characteristic shading, as shown, but in my experience never any sheen -- even on this cooperative Iroful paper.  This shot makes it seem more green than it is.  In real life, it comes off as a solid light blue.

 

 

 

"Tears of Alice" had the most sublte shading of this batch.  It's green and green.  Never any sheening and the shading, when present, makes it look a little washed out in places.  On the other hand, it does have a (hard to see) dark outline.  That's something that makes it more legible and more generally usable for writing than you might think.  Somehow I feel like pilfering in the baking supplies looking for mints after I've been writing with this.  It looks... tasty.

 

If I were to take the plunge and pay the $50 for one of these inks... I'd probably go for the 4B.  Because I almost always go for blue black.  And for people looking for wetter inks to go with their dry nibs, especially the First Love, Ruri Sea, and 4B might be worth looking at.

 

Very nice MCL !  I wonder what gives T of A that dark outline?  I really like those inks especially your choices, First Love, Ruri Sea, and 4B.  I'd like to see more of them on different paper.   How about b7 Natural?

 

Speaking of Nippon's b7, I think you were the first one to use it.  The more I write on it the better I like it.  It's a bright white paper, which is good for color,shows nuances very well and doesn't feather.

 

I still haven't come up with an ink for my 823.  I'm really starting to dislike that pen, because I can't unscrew the section to flush the ink out of the feed, (like you can with every other VAC pen).... which sorta makes it a one ink pen unless you open it up from the back.

 

Got any ink ideas for the 823?

[Mechanical]

8 hours ago, USG said:

 I wonder what gives T of A that dark outline? 

 

I really don't know how it works. I would be happy to see this effect with all light color inks... but in my experience, it is rare.   It is a subtle effect, but that "outlining" really improves the legibility of Tears of Alice.  

 

9 hours ago, USG said:

How about b7 Natural?

 

I'll check to see if I still have some b7 at hand... and continue to refine my photo lighting.  I do a lot of writing in my Hobonichi Techo, and on that paper, the Ruri Sea adds just the right amount of shading and sheen.  The 4B just looks black.  You can find the blue shading only with careful inspection. 

 

9 hours ago, USG said:

 

I still haven't come up with an ink for my 823.

 

I love writing with the Pilot 823; what an excellent pen!  I'm still using Pilot Blue Black in mine, and I haven't tried to switch inks.  I wonder if one of your Bungubox First Love inks aren't good candidates?  

 

9 hours ago, USG said:

I'm really starting to dislike that pen, because I can't unscrew the section to flush the ink

 

I think you mentioned before that the threads under the blind cap -- I mean the cap connected to the plunger rod -- do have flat sides to permit the use of a wrench.  I might try wrenching that open for cleaning at some point in the future. 

 

There is one post where the user mentioned using the famous "salad spinner centrifuge" to clean out his 823.  In his case, I think he did this flush and spin after each fill.  i haven't built one of these centriguges yet, but I like the idea!

[inkstainedruth]

@USG I think what you're looking at is what some people on here call "haloing".  I don't know what causes it, but it's when the edges of a pen stroke dry darker than the the rest of the line.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Penguincollector]

   So here are some photos taken late last night of a few Blue-Black inks on Cosmo Snow. I used three dipped pens: Sailor Hocoro fude nib with reservoir, Hongdian N8 with a broad glass nib, and a Parker Vacumatic Sub Deb that I was looking to use a blue black in, but it didn’t like any of them (it preferred vintage Quink). 

Here’s the whole page:

 

 

 

The Manyo Kikyou outlines:

 

 

There were many good shading inks:

 

 

 

 

  The shimmer inks are beautiful:

 

 

[USG]

16 hours ago, Mechanical said:

the Ruri Sea adds just the right amount of shading and sheen.

 

I'm very interested in Ruri Sea after seeing your pics

 

16 hours ago, Mechanical said:

love writing with the Pilot 823; what an excellent pen!  I'm still using Pilot Blue Black in mine, and I haven't tried to switch inks.  I wonder if one of your Bungubox First Love inks aren't good candidates?  

 

ConfusedMe thought you had Pilot Blue in you 823??? 

 

16 hours ago, Mechanical said:

I think you mentioned before that the threads under the blind cap -- I mean the cap connected to the plunger rod -- do have flat sides to permit the use of a wrench.  I might try wrenching that open for cleaning at some point in the future. 

 

I didn't unscrew it but I tried some of the wrenches that came with my other pens and some fit...

 

16 hours ago, Mechanical said:

There is one post where the user mentioned using the famous "salad spinner centrifuge" to clean out his 823.  In his case, I think he did this flush and spin after each fill.  i haven't built one of these centriguges yet, but I like the idea!

 

It would have been so much easier if Pilot didn't glue the section to the barrel

[USG]

13 hours ago, inkstainedruth said:

@USG I think what you're looking at is what some people on here call "haloing".  I don't know what causes it, but it's when the edges of a pen stroke dry darker than the the rest of the line.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

Yes, that's it. I couldn't think of the name when I was writing the post. 😀👍

[inkstainedruth]

Glad I could help.  

Every now and then I'll space on peoples' names or on nouns and it just scares the CR@P out of me every time it happens (there's family history of Alzheimers/dementia coming in from BOTH sides of my family) and I have to mentally work my way around from some other direction to remember the word/name I'm looking for.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Mechanical]

9 hours ago, USG said:

 

I'm very interested in Ruri Sea after seeing your pics

It's a very very nice ink.  And the wetness is quite close to the Bungubox First Love that you already have. 

 

9 hours ago, USG said:

ConfusedMe thought you had Pilot Blue in you 823??? 

No, you're right I did do the first fill with the Pilot Blue that came with the pen.  Since then, it's just been one fill after another with Pilot Blue-Black.  So I did switch inks, but just Pilot-Blue to Pilot-Blue-Black -- and I didn't worry about getting a complete flush from that first Blue.  :-) 

 

Maybe you have an Pilot Iroshizuku ink that would be just right for the 823?  And I did kind of like that Sailor Manyo Kikyou that PGC has in her sample above.  Intrigued, I looked it up on Mountain of Ink... and it has a lot going for it.

 

Ooh ooh, and what about one of the Teranishi Guitar inks? Night Time Soda?  Lady Emerald??  I like those every time I see them and they remain on my extensive "to-buy" list.

 

9 hours ago, USG said:

I didn't unscrew it but I tried some of the wrenches that came with my other pens and some fit...

Yes, this would be my first course of action for deep cleaning. But I am seriously considering a salad spinner.  :-)

 

 

 

[USG]

On 12/3/2025 at 10:35 PM, Penguincollector said:

   So here are some photos taken late last night of a few Blue-Black inks on Cosmo Snow. I used three dipped pens: Sailor Hocoro fude nib with reservoir, Hongdian N8 with a broad glass nib, and a Parker Vacumatic Sub Deb that I was looking to use a blue black in, but it didn’t like any of them (it preferred vintage Quink). 

Here’s the whole page:

 

 

 

The Manyo Kikyou outlines:

 

 

There were many good shading inks:

 

 

 

 

  The shimmer inks are beautiful:

 

 

 

Fabulous Pics PGS ! 👍😀  More !

I don't have Kikyou, but my Shin-Kai does a similar thing.

Tell me about your glass nib pen.