Pilot Iroshizuku Syun-Gyo

[Black16]

Should've posted it a week ago, but here we go...

 

 

Usual disclaimer: I have only cheap noname off-white 100gsm paper (it is fp friendly though), am not a pro at reviews and my handwriting is awful and gets even worse when I'm trying to make it look better, still seems legible to others though. I mostly try to review some unpopular inks I have but recently I decided to review just everything I own because some folks might need examples of how these ones behave on cheapish off-white paper. Oh and also my scanner hates inks so I'll be posting only photos as they're more accurate than the scans.

 

 

Brand: Pilot (Iroshizuku series)

Ink name: Syun-Gyo

Available in: 15ml and 50ml glass bottles, proprietary cartridges, worldwide, prices vary but still seems quite affordable, you can get samples from some retailers also

 

Colour group: purple

Saturation: I'd say medium to high

Shading: yes, but not in every nib (somehow most of my <M> nibs gave zero shading with this ink while it shaded nicely in <F> and <EF> nibs, go figure...)

Shimmer: no

Sheen: yup, even on cheapo paper sometimes; bronze/greenish-golden (IMO)

Flow: I'd compare to Waterman's Harmonious Green, might be even wetter

Nib lubrication: not as lubricated as Noodler's but very close, not greasy yet the feel of this ink is pleasant and smooths even feedbacky nibs

Feathering: slightly in fude nib and on absorbent papers (like that brown recycled I added for comparison)

Bleeding: in fude nib, might be in <B> and bigger as well

Nib crud: yes, happened twice - both Laban (IRRC Jowo) and steel vintage nibs got it after it was used in those pens for at least a week; here I refer to the type of dried ink spots that weren't easy to remove with plain water so the toothbrush had to be used

Dry time: 3 to 6 seconds, depending on the nib (ie longer time in wet broader nibs, in fude I didn't check)

Dries out: never happened, sometimes I left pens with it unused for around a week

Start up: flawlessly

Waterproof: medium I guess; the test on the main sheet isn't done - I forgot about it, but the test on an absorbent piece was under tap water for ~15 seconds

Similar inks: 'tis my only purplish ink but I have a similar styled ink and it is Diamine Mozart (I'll describe further, also see the photos)

 

Summary: I love this ink. It was my first Iroshizuku ink and I bought it in 50ml bottle once I saw it. The main thing I like about it... 'tis vintage, "dull", not overly saturated. I'm a sucker for such inks and the only similar one I have so far is Diamine's Mozart (though Mozart is more on the reddish side). Flow is perfect, lubrication is perfect, it is not thick like Noodler's and just a wee bit less watery than Waterman (pun intended). The name of the ink is beautiful too - I've found it is named after a Chinese poem with the exact same title. I had to use a translator to read it, but if I got the main point of it correctly 'tis about an early morning thunderstorm during spring. Honestly, suits the colour very much. The cons are only that nib crud (described above) and the fact it is an alkaline ink hence can't be used in a lot of vintage pens. The colour and its saturation are unique, I'd say. And quite rare IMO, too. The only really fitting "by feel" ink I've encountered so far (through a ton of reviews even, not just in person) is Mozart, yup. I could even get some sheen after smearing it on the cheapo 100gsm paper! The chroma on the paper towel consists only of this particular ink, if anything. And I'm aware that swatches are usually useless but IMHO this one looks almost the same in fps and on swatches.

Fun fact: when bleeds through paper it spreads yellowish shades and looks a lot like bruises.

 

The pens used in this review: Lanbitou 2053 <fude>, Laban Signet <M>, Lamy Safari <custom EF>, vintage Champion <F>.

 

The pics:

(artificial lights, also tried different angles to show how the colour changes under those)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

P.S.:

I'll list here other inks I own and love and use often and plan to review, if someone's interested in any of these - please let me know so I'll choose them first:

- Diamine Mozart

- Pierre Cardin Logos Black

- Karkos Red

- Karkos Brown

- Karkos mix (my own of previous two)

- ONLINE Cranberry

- ONLINE CedarWood

- De Atramentis Copper Brown

- Lamy Petrol (2025)

- Noodler's Ottoman Rose

not daily use because of shimmer:

- De Atramentis Pearlescent Whiskey Brown Silver

- PenBBS #153 "Burning of the White House of 1812"

popular wide-known:

- Sailor Doyou

- Waterman Harmonious Green

- J. Herbin Amber de Birmanie

- Pilot regular Black

- Kaweco Caramel Brown

- Schneider Black

- J. Herbin Rouge Grenat (in the mail)

 

[LizEF]

Thanks for another great review, @Black16!  Don't be surprised if one day you encounter an ink that hates your camera and loves your scanner. (Or worse, just hates them both...)

 

That's a really interesting color.  It reminds me a little of KWZ Brown-Pink.  Very cool chroma-paper-towel pic!

 

1 hour ago, Black16 said:

Nib crud: yes, happened twice - both Laban (IRRC Jowo) and steel vintage nibs got it after it was used in those pens for at least a week; here I refer to the type of dried ink spots that weren't easy to remove with plain water so the toothbrush had to be used

Huh.  That's interesting.  I don't think I ever needed to use a toothbrush to remove nib crud, but then, I probably would have just rubbed it with my finger and forgotten about it...

 

1 hour ago, Black16 said:

Dries out: never happened, sometimes I left pens with it unused for around a week

Start up: flawlessly

Equally interesting that this was the case despite the nib crud.

 

Looking forward to whatever comes next!

[yazeh]

Wow what fun, engaging review. Thanks for doing it I really enjoyed reading about your "wee" review.

As @LizEF mentioned some inks hate to be in the spotlight, scan or photo.

That chroma is intriguing. The behaviour reminds me of some Noodles ink ( maybe Rome ), when one of the dyes reacts with the reverse side of the paper and takes over. Keep on doing. You have a very eclectic selection. Looking forward to discovering then. 🙏🙏🙏

[InkyProf]

Thanks for this! I have this in a pen now, after waiting months for it come back into stock in the US, and I'm enjoying it a lot: it's more of a red/purple-black than anything comparable I have (like Sailor Manyo Kuzu, which I got as a substitute while it was unavailable), and I really like that, as I'm fond of inks that produce the "wait, that's not black!" response. I will have to watch for crud: no problems so far, but I've only had it in one pen.

[Black16]

On 7/2/2025 at 10:08 PM, LizEF said:

Don't be surprised if one day you encounter an ink that hates your camera and loves your scanner. (Or worse, just hates them both...)

 

I've an old iPhone with a sucky camera so I have to tweak the lights to get the closest colours in the photos already, but at least it looks more real and correct than scanner (can't tweak its inner lamp).

 

On 7/2/2025 at 10:08 PM, LizEF said:

That's interesting.  I don't think I ever needed to use a toothbrush to remove nib crud, but then, I probably would have just rubbed it with my finger and forgotten about it..

It also behaves this way only on gold plating. From the stainless steel parts I removed it easily with just fingers and water. With gold plated areas I had to  use the help of a toothbrush. The same thing happened on both nibs it contacted for the longest time period - vintage Champion and Laban. I didn't use it with any gold nibs so can't say anything about such a combination, but it makes me think about some interesting chemical components in this ink... Can't name any unfortunately as I never studied how dyes react with metals (yet) but I will consider some scientific researches.

 

On 7/2/2025 at 10:08 PM, LizEF said:

Looking forward to whatever comes next!

Thanks! I found some very interesting Taiwanese and Chinese inks recently so I plan to buy a few bottles for tests, hope those are decent. PenBBS so far behaved better than De Atramentis, for example. I still love their Copper Brown hence will buy it again, but so far both their regular and shimmer inks were not as well behaved as similar tinted Diamine or shimmer PenBBS... And all sheening Diamines I really want are country-exclusive (lucky Germany!) so bothering myself with catching them on eBay isn't a kind of game I'm into. Thus decided to try Asian brands now, some of Wearingeul's inks look promising too.

[Black16]

On 7/2/2025 at 11:58 PM, yazeh said:

Wow what fun, engaging review. Thanks for doing it I really enjoyed reading about your "wee" review.

As @LizEF mentioned some inks hate to be in the spotlight, scan or photo.

That chroma is intriguing. The behaviour reminds me of some Noodles ink ( maybe Rome ), when one of the dyes reacts with the reverse side of the paper and takes over. Keep on doing. You have a very eclectic selection. Looking forward to discovering then. 🙏🙏🙏

Noodler's Rome is on my To-Get-ASAP ink list but I didn't find a perfect pen for it yet so now I'm slowly buying other inks from the list

 

I actually just visited a stationery store to get myself a Leonardt Poster #8 nib for reviews, might help with swabs IMO. I'll add photos to the original post once done. Already tried this ink with Leonardt Principal and it looks somewhat different from how it is in fps tho still great.

[Black16]

On 7/2/2025 at 11:59 PM, InkyProf said:

Thanks for this! I have this in a pen now, after waiting months for it come back into stock in the US, and I'm enjoying it a lot: it's more of a red/purple-black than anything comparable I have (like Sailor Manyo Kuzu, which I got as a substitute while it was unavailable), and I really like that, as I'm fond of inks that produce the "wait, that's not black!" response. I will have to watch for crud: no problems so far, but I've only had it in one pen.

Yup I know the feeling! I call such inks 'dull' tho I guess it is not the best term but I've no idea how else to call them. I suspect Lamy Dark Lilac, Kaweco Smoky Grey and something else (must check my notebook) to have similar effect, but I didn't try them yet. Lamy Petrol 2025 has it in some nibs (I'll do a review, must figure out how to arrange it better) and ONLINE CedarWood is one of my most fave not-exactly-black-but-blackish inks. Lamy's seem to be very saturated and the Dark Lilac seems to be a sheen monster so this one might show interesting effects.

[InkyProf]

 

1 hour ago, Black16 said:

Lamy Petrol 2025 has it in some nibs (I'll do a review, must figure out how to arrange it better)

 

The new Lamy Petrol is on my "maybe" list, so your review will be welcome!

[Black16]

1 hour ago, InkyProf said:

 

 

The new Lamy Petrol is on my "maybe" list, so your review will be welcome!

I'd say it is a complicated ink. It looks very different in different nibs (ie not the same in Parker 45 <M> and Laban <M> and Creeks N Creeks <M>, etc). That's why I'm still figuring out how to show all that stuff in a better way. Might just ink up all my idle pens with it soon. I didn't like it in my grail EDC, for example - it felt boring. But it looks beautiful both in Parker 45 and Heiko 460 tho it looks like two different inks then. I never tried it in any flex nibs though, only in dip flex nibs. there 'tis another completely different story

[InkyProf]

Intriguing, thank you! If I get some will be sure not to pass judgment on it on the basis of one use... probably a good rule in general, but especially here.

[LizEF]

2 hours ago, Black16 said:

PenBBS so far behaved better than De Atramentis, for example. I still love their Copper Brown hence will buy it again, but so far both their regular and shimmer inks were not as well behaved as similar tinted Diamine or shimmer PenBBS...

De Atramentis inks tend to be very wet, and that property won't generally work well with ordinary paper.  My sample of Whiskey Brown Copper had way too much glitter in it - didn't want to flow from my poor Japanese EF nib.

[Black16]

24 minutes ago, LizEF said:

De Atramentis inks tend to be very wet, and that property won't generally work well with ordinary paper.  My sample of Whiskey Brown Copper had way too much glitter in it - didn't want to flow from my poor Japanese EF nib.

Yup and I tend to like pens that are juicy writers so the combo plays against me. The shimmer particles are huger than in PenBBS inks from what I noticed. I've Whiskey Brown Silver from De Atramentis, it looks nice and I guess if I'll ever manage to finish the bottle (I've no idea where to use it so far) I'll even buy another one. PenBBS's #153 didn't clog even a cheap Kaweco Sport knock-off and does almost zero feathering in flex nib on crappy absorbent paper I use for grocery lists so IMHO 'tis some good quality there.

Also Copper Brown (the regular ink) stains so I wouldn't use it in pens with transparent parts obviously. The ink itself is great but not very well-behaved in the big range of pens and situations. Probably I'll find a pen with zero clear parts and with a drier nib for it as I love the colour, but in my Caran d'Ache <F> 'tis a disaster even on fp-friendly 100gsm paper. Am aware of Cd'A nibs to be wetter than others of the same size, but still 'tis very juicy for an <M> even I'd say. It worked better in my vintage Japanese ED (shiro nib, probably EF, with some decent flex) but the pen needs some restoration hence I can't ink it up right away.

Sometimes I sacrifice convenience if I really like the ink, this is the exact situation Same with Syun-Gyo - I can't use it in the pen I wanted to pair with it, but now it is paired with my old Laban Signet and sometimes I use it in Lamy Safari Umbra, might find even more suitable pens later.

[LizEF]

31 minutes ago, Black16 said:

The shimmer particles are huger than in PenBBS inks

Yes, most are.  PenBBS appear to use a different type of shimmer.  I think Colorverse do as well.

[yazeh]

5 hours ago, Black16 said:

Noodler's Rome is on my To-Get-ASAP ink list but I didn't find a perfect pen for it yet so now I'm slowly buying other inks from the list

 

5 hours ago, Black16 said:

I actually just visited a stationery store to get myself a Leonardt Poster #8 nib for reviews, might help with swabs IMO. I'll add photos to the original post once done. Already tried this ink with Leonardt Principal and it looks somewhat different from how it is in fps tho still great.

Yes ink behaves differently with different nibs, wetness and papers. Looking forward to your new only adventures.  👍 

[Black16]

3 hours ago, yazeh said:

Yes ink behaves differently with different nibs, wetness and papers.

I actually meant the difference between fountain pen and dip pen nibs. The type of shading is different based on a dip or fountain pen's the nib is. I suspect it all to be about tipping as vintage "ballpoint" dip nibs give similar effect as fountain tipped nibs. I need a needlepoint-ground fp to research into this theory now... But to test a stub would be interesting as well (shamefully I have zero stubs in my collection, yet).

 

3 hours ago, yazeh said:

Looking forward to your new only adventures.  👍 

Thanks! Kinda got to the point where I got myself some watercolour paper already

 

5 hours ago, LizEF said:

Yes, most are.  PenBBS appear to use a different type of shimmer.  I think Colorverse do as well.

Do you know anything about Diamine on this subject? I plan to get their Dragon Blood one day, but if their shimmers are closer to De Atramentis then I'll have to get a special pen for it first...

[LizEF]

2 hours ago, Black16 said:

Do you know anything about Diamine on this subject? I plan to get their Dragon Blood one day, but if their shimmers are closer to De Atramentis then I'll have to get a special pen for it first...

Of those I've reviewed, Diamine shimmer particles are more like De Atramentis, Herbin, and Robert Oster than PenBBS or Colorverse (the only two that seem to use finer particles).  Diamine flow better than any of them, in my experience.  (One De Atramentis was over-full of glitter, Robert Oster was too dry.  The finer glitter was too hard to see from a Japanese EF nib.)

[yazeh]

2 hours ago, Black16 said:

I actually meant the difference between fountain pen and dip pen nibs. The type of shading is different based on a dip or fountain pen's the nib is. I suspect it all to be about tipping as vintage "ballpoint" dip nibs give similar effect as fountain tipped nibs. I need a needlepoint-ground fp to research into this theory now... But to test a stub would be interesting as well (shamefully I have zero stubs in my collection, yet).

 when one uses dip pens of all sorts, glass/ metal, reed, or plume, the amount of ink applied is much more than fountain pen. I haven't seen dip pens with tipping, unless you're talking about the Kakimori or some of the modern Sailor dip pens.

 

2 hours ago, Black16 said:

 

Thanks! Kinda got to the point where I got myself some watercolour paper already

Enjoy playing with it. It's quite a different experience. It's most suit ale for ink art and ink washes.

 

[Black16]

On 7/6/2025 at 9:45 PM, LizEF said:

Of those I've reviewed, Diamine shimmer particles are more like De Atramentis, Herbin, and Robert Oster than PenBBS or Colorverse (the only two that seem to use finer particles).  Diamine flow better than any of them, in my experience.  (One De Atramentis was over-full of glitter, Robert Oster was too dry.  The finer glitter was too hard to see from a Japanese EF nib.)

Many thanks for this info! I was suggested here to get myself a Sailor Hocoro dip pen so I guess I'll be getting some of these shimmer inks anyway as they might work just fine with a dip nib on heavier papers.

 

On 7/6/2025 at 9:54 PM, yazeh said:

when one uses dip pens of all sorts, glass/ metal, reed, or plume, the amount of ink applied is much more than fountain pen. I haven't seen dip pens with tipping, unless you're talking about the Kakimori or some of the modern Sailor dip pens.

There were so-called "ballpoint" dip pens, you can get vintage Brause nibs for example. That's not tipping but produces a very similar experience. There's also Leonardt 300 and as far as I'm aware 'tis the only modern nib of such kind. I didn't get it for myself to try out yet. I've Brause Pfannenfeder, I'll try to update this topic with more photos right now as I've found a similar ink and also made more swatches.

I've none of glass pens either, but was eyeing Moonman N8 for a while now. Looks very practical, honestly.

 

On 7/6/2025 at 9:54 PM, yazeh said:

Enjoy playing with it. It's quite a different experience. It's most suit ale for ink art and ink washes.

I've also read about Bristol paper being good for sheening inks, might try it later too. Will anyway try to get some of those high end expensive Japanese papers in the future for tests of my own inks just to see how it'll work on such papers. I've heard Rhodia isn't that good for testing ink properties.

[Black16]

Posting this update as a separate post for convenience (will include the link into the OP).

 

Here're some swatches and dip nib tests. Yup my "calligraphy" is probably worse than my handwriting but I don't actually do it - never studied it and bought these nibs just outta curiosity and for the sake of fun. Anyway maybe someone will be interested in how the ink changes its shading with dip nibs (might be useful for artists?). Sorry I've no idea what paper artists who draw with dip pens use hence I wasn't able to provide tests with it, This is just some paper I had on my hands, prolly 80gsm even (the one with lines) so yup it feathers when more ink applied by such nibs. And with Leonardt Poster #8 there's no feathering on fp-friendly paper ('tis my usual noname off-white 100gsm one). The sheening puddle is on white watercolour paper - I can look up what brand I got if anyone needs, might be useful for swatches.

The similar ink I had already and I was always sure 'tis a dark teal ink. Until I swatched it and saw how actually purple it is! 'Tis darker than Syun-Gyo and colder, but it still deserves to be compared IMO. That's one of my fave inks - ONLINE CedarWood.

 

Dip nibs used: Leonardt Hiro 40 "Blue Pumpkin", Leonardt EF Principal, Leonardt Poster #8, vintage Brause Pfannenfeder (that "ballpoint" one).

 

And yeah I again tried different angles to show this gorgeous ink, it is amazing even on the cheapest papers!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[yazeh]

I had forgotten about those nibs. I believe Waverly had similar nibs. Lovely images and photos.