Lennon Tool Bar - Shi Shi Zi

[yazeh]

 

Lennon Tool Bar - Shi Shi Zi

 

Ink Review # 202

 

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🧾 Description

 

Shi Shi Zi is a pale, high-shading, green-grey ink, named after the protective lions in front of Chinese temples. 

 

It’s part of the 2024 Summer Guardian Beasts limited edition, which includes Bixi, Komainu, and Feng Shi Ye. 

 

Flow and lubrication are lacking, water resistance is dubious, and you’ll have bleed-through and show-through on thin copy paper. 

 

If you want it to be legible, you’ll need a wet pen. 

 

According to ChatGPT: “Founded in 2014 in Tamsui, Taiwan, Lennon Tool Bar (藍濃道具屋) takes its name from ‘lán nóng’—meaning rich indigo—and ‘dào jù wū’—meaning workshop or tool shop—echoing its roots in traditional indigo-dyeing and its identity as a creative atelier for color.”

 

I hope one of our Mandarin-speaking members can clarify or confirm these claims. 

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 🧪 Chroma

 

 

 

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 ✍️ Writing Samples (scan)

The scan of Midori and Tomoe River was off, so I didn’t post it. 

Rhodia / Iroful

 

 

 

 

Hammermill 20lb  

I had a little adventure with this ink. When I filled my Jinhao, I realized that I hadn’t cleaned the pen. So, I had to use creative techniques to make the image seamless. The photo didn’t work as well. 

 

 

 

 📸 Photo

Rhodia/ Iroful

 

 

 

Midori / Tomoe River 68 gsm

 

 

 

Hammermill

 

 

 

 

Closeup - Iroful

 

 

 

 🔍 Comparison

 

 

 

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 💧 Water Test

 

 

 

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 🎨 Artwork

Lost in Savannah

Talens Mixed Media paper

Mouse lost Cat on a Safari trip, so he climbed up on a “hill” to look for him. 

 

 

 

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- Pens Used: Pilot F3A EF/Semi-flex, Lamy (EF/F/M/B), Jinhao 450 

- What I Liked: Mysterious colour. Learning about Chinese temple lions.   

- What I Did Not Like: Writing with it.

- Writing Experience: So, som decent with M/B. 

- Pros: High shading

- Cons: Low lubrication, dryish flow, pale colour. 

 

 

 🧷 Ink Characteristics

 

- Shading: Extreme, especially on Iroful 

- Ghosting: On copy paper, with most nibs. 

- Bleed-Through: Same as above. 

- Flow Rate: On the dry side. 

- Lubrication: Below average. 

- Nib Dry-out: Did not notice. 

- Start-up: Ok.

- Saturation: You must be kidding me. 

- Sheen: No.

- Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line:  Did not notice.

- Nib Creep / Crud: Did not notice.

- Staining (Pen): No. 

- Clogging: No.

- Cleaning: Very easy.

- Water Resistance: Futile.   

 

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 🛒 Availability

 

-  Available in 30 ml bottles worldwide. 

 

 

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 💬 Closing

 

This is a pale grey-green ink for writing ephemeral poems on good Japanese paper (for extreme shading) or thick absorbent notebooks like Peter Pauper, for legibility. It’s mostly an artistic/niche ink. 

 

No fountain pens were hurt in preparing this review.   

 

Please don’t hesitate to share your experience, writing samples, or any other comments — the more the merrier.   

 

 

 

 

 

[LizEF]

Who wouldn't want an ink named after protective lions!?   Looks at the writing samples.  Hmm.  Me, I guess.

 

2 hours ago, yazeh said:

Flow and lubrication are lacking, water resistance is dubious, and you’ll have bleed-through and show-through on thin copy paper. 

Wow.

 

Meanwhile, the irony in the company name, when I'll I've seen from them so far are not-so-rich, ridiculously pale inks, is either funny or tragic - I'm not sure which....

 

The chroma is interesting, if lacking in beauty...

 

Good quotes.

 

Love the swatch cards, as always.    And the water test - Mousey does not seem the least afraid of fierce guardian lion.

 

But "Lost in Savannah" takes the cake!  What a wonderful drawing and fun story for it!  The elephant and tree in the background are perfect.  (I love those trees - acacia, no?)

 

Thanks, @yazeh, for another great ink review!

[yazeh]

39 minutes ago, LizEF said:

Who wouldn't want an ink named after protective lions!?   Looks at the writing samples.  Hmm.  Me, I guess.

 

39 minutes ago, LizEF said:

 

Wow.

 

Meanwhile, the irony in the company name, when I'll I've seen from them so far are not-so-rich, ridiculously pale inks, is either funny or tragic - I'm not sure which....

Yes, many companies in the East specialize in that. I’m wondering if it’s more cultural: in the East, subtlety is often appreciated, while in the West there’s more of an “in your face” mentality. Of course, this is conjecture and a gross simplification.

39 minutes ago, LizEF said:

 

The chroma is interesting, if lacking in beauty...

 

39 minutes ago, LizEF said:

Good quotes.

Thanks!

39 minutes ago, LizEF said:

Love the swatch cards, as always.  

 

39 minutes ago, LizEF said:

 

  And the water test - Mousey does not seem the least afraid of fierce guardian lion.

Well mouse is quite used to felines.  

39 minutes ago, LizEF said:

 

But "Lost in Savannah" takes the cake!  What a wonderful drawing and fun story for it!  The elephant and tree in the background are perfect.  (I love those trees - acacia, no?)

I believe it is. It's funny how a drawing is created. I drew a lion cub, then added the mouse, then the story, then the background.

39 minutes ago, LizEF said:

 

Thanks, @yazeh, for another great ink review!

A pleasure.  

[Sailor Kenshin]

My eyes!  

I love gray-greens but have trouble seeing/reading this one. Even the chroma dragon looks weak.
 

How you managed to write this review is a mystery, @yazeh!
 

But what I was able to see is cool, especially lion or leopard and Mousie. Thanks again for these ink-splorations!  💝

[yazeh]

1 hour ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

My eyes!  

Sorry. 🔍

1 hour ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

I love gray-greens but have trouble seeing/reading this one. Even the chroma dragon looks weak.

It's been in real life. But still pale. It needs a wet pen, and even then.  

1 hour ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

How you managed to write this review is a mystery, @yazeh!

Practice.  

1 hour ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

But what I was able to see is cool, especially lion or leopard and Mousie. Thanks again for these ink-splorations!  💝

Glad something was useful in this review.

 

[inkstainedruth]

@yazeh Interesting color, but too pale to be legible on the page.  

But thanks as usual for the comprehensive review and fun artwork.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[yazeh]

9 minutes ago, inkstainedruth said:

@yazeh Interesting color, but too pale to be legible on the page.  

I'm guessing this is more of journaling ink, for thoughts we want to write, but not read again.  

9 minutes ago, inkstainedruth said:

But thanks as usual for the comprehensive review and fun artwork.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 You & your wallet are most welcome.  🙏

[InesF]

Oh!, this one is indeed pale. 😳

 

Thank you, @yazeh, for this ink review, for finding nice quotes, for making a water test with an ink that looks like the residues of an already made water test  and for hiding a lion in the Savannah (which seems having been easy with this ink  ). 

 

Highly subjective comment: Based on the quotes, I got the impression that communicating the message of the writing suffers from the pale lines. It feels similar to children drawings of persons where the "more important" are drawn bigger. There had been already a lot of review writings with pale and with dark inks, but I recognise this impression today for the first time. 🤫 🤷‍♀️

 

Thanks again - it's a good day for me when I learned something new - and looking forward to the next episode of:

"Fun with @yazeh's ink reviews"

[yazeh]

5 hours ago, InesF said:

Oh!, this one is indeed pale. 😳

 

5 hours ago, InesF said:

 

Thank you, @yazeh, for this ink review, for finding nice quotes, for making a water test with an ink that looks like the residues of an already made water test  

5 hours ago, InesF said:

and for hiding a lion in the Savannah (which seems having been easy with this ink  ). 

Most welcome. !

 

5 hours ago, InesF said:

 

Highly subjective comment: Based on the quotes, I got the impression that communicating the message of the writing suffers from the pale lines. It feels similar to children drawings of persons where the "more important" are drawn bigger. There had been already a lot of review writings with pale and with dark inks, but I recognise this impression today for the first time. 🤫 🤷‍♀️

I think this ink would benefit from very wet pens, and become more legible.  But it could benefit as a therapeutic/ spiritual journaling tool, writing down our "darkest" thoughts with the palest of ink, realizing that we are not our thoughts. 🙏 

5 hours ago, InesF said:

 

Thanks again - it's a good day for me when I learned something new - and looking forward to the next episode of:

"Fun with @yazeh's ink reviews"

Thanks! Next week I would either go earthy IG or fiery red.