EFNIR: Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-peki

[LizEF]

Extra Fine Nib Ink Review: Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-peki

This is review #390 in my series. Here's the YouTube video:

Post-recording notes: This is a bright blue (not teal, not turquoise). Dry time was under 20 seconds in test, so, obviously, feed saturation will play a part. The microscope slide was dullsville.

Cleaning required only plain water, but expect lots and lots of flushes to clear out seriously concentrated dye.

Zoomed in photo (This is the best color of my images.)

Photo (formerly screenshot) (Text is a smidge too dark.)

Scan of Completed Review (Color is off a little, not sure how.)

Absorbent Paper Close-up (top is puzzle paper like thick newsprint, bottom is old 20lb copy paper) (Colors are close. Shading is exaggerated.)

Line width (Roughly 311µm. The "I" in "Ink:". Magnification is 100x. The grid is 100x100µm. The scale is 330µm, with eleven divisions of 30µm each. With 390 inks measured, the average line width is 299µm.)

Swatch card comparison (Everything should be slightly more to the green side, but attempts to adjust the color in that way make Kon-peki look off and too pale, so I'm leaving it. Kon-peki is the most accurate reproduction of the four.)

Previous Review: Kitty Inkpot Windy Forest Seeks Alpine Birds.

Images also available on Instagram: @zilxodarap.

Due to an overabundance of inks, the poll is discontinued for now. I will prioritize older inks before they can go bad. I will continue to do 2 chromashading, then one older ink, until all the chromashading are done. Then I will alternate 1 older and 1 non-US ink for however long each "stash" lasts. Please don't send me more inks until 2030.

View a list of my inks, complete with review results in a google sheet.

Need to catch up on The Adventures of Quin and Makhabesh? Find the whole story here. Or read Part 8: The Ice Fields Adventure.

Hope you enjoy. Comments appreciated!

[Lithium466]

Thank you for your review

Are Iroshizuku still "something" (understand that as you want!) now that the lineup has been on the market for a while? This one didn't seem to inspire you much (not talking about the story of course) 🤔

[LizEF]

40 minutes ago, Lithium466 said:

Thank you for your review

You're most welcome!

 

40 minutes ago, Lithium466 said:

Are Iroshizuku still "something" (understand that as you want!) now that the lineup has been on the market for a while?

In hindsight, I don't think as highly about the line as I once did. There's been a lot of hype around the line and I think that made them seem more impressive than they actually are.  One thing is sure: they seem to "work" well (flow, usually decent lubrication, usually easy to clean with plain water).  Other than that, it's really a question of how much you like the color.  And if you do like the color, you'd best jump on it, because Pilot seem to have taken a liking to discontinuing the more interesting shades.  

 

Oh, and the bottles are pretty (though that certainly wouldn't justify the cost for me).

 

43 minutes ago, Lithium466 said:

This one didn't seem to inspire you much (not talking about the story of course) 🤔

This color is too blue for me to like it.  It either needs more green (which I think is where the scan goes wrong - adds too much green), or it needs to be muted into a blue-black or grey-blue, or something.  To me, this color doesn't seem unique or otherwise exciting.  (But I know a lot of people adore these bright blues - they can have my share.   )

[yazeh]

Another great review @LizEF. 

I was relieved to see one of the classics, even though I don't care for the color and my experience with Pilot inks has been limited.  

 

Your comment about hype was intriguing. Are you ambivalent towards the brand because they're hyped, or because the color of this particular ink is "dulls-ville"? 

 

When I read giant squirrel, I imagined a King Kong ( or better the Great Grape Ape ) version of a rodent and winced  when it perched on Quin's shoulder. 

 

Love the Eckhart Tolle quote and am looking forward to see how Vika and trees will save the opposers. 

 

Thanks for bringing the magic of trees on this hot spring day (which will cool down drastically tomorrow.) 🙏🙏🙏

 

 

 

 

[Sailor Kenshin]

A. I have this ink.

B. It's in a Pilot pen now!  Not a Prera but a Met.

 

@LizEF, thanks once again for the magic of the story and for the ink review.

 

(We have trees all over the yard but it's too hot to go out there. )

[LizEF]

47 minutes ago, yazeh said:

Another great review @LizEF. 

 Thanks!

 

48 minutes ago, yazeh said:

I was relieved to see one of the classics, even though I don't care for the color and my experience with Pilot inks has been limited.  

  Now that I've changed from the poll to "age", you'll probably see more of the "classics".

 

50 minutes ago, yazeh said:

Your comment about hype was intriguing. Are you ambivalent towards the brand because they're hyped, or because the color of this particular ink is "dulls-ville"?

My experience with several Iroshizuku inks leads me to believe they're not so special as the hype suggests.  They're good, but they're not the pinnacle of inkdom.  There are some I really like: Yama-budo, Yama-guri.  There are others that I think are good, but not good enough to buy.  And there are some I don't like.  And in every case, it's the color that makes or breaks it for me.

 

52 minutes ago, yazeh said:

When I read giant squirrel, I imagined a King Kong ( or better the Great Grape Ape ) version of a rodent and winced  when it perched on Quin's shoulder. 

Green. Green squirrel!  The Librarian's little spy / messenger.    (Inspired by your review of the ink by the same name.)  He's definitely not a giant squirrel.  It's funny how our brains or eyes or something change the input.  

 

54 minutes ago, yazeh said:

Love the Eckhart Tolle quote and am looking forward to see how Vika and trees will save the opposers. 

  It's an interesting thing to think about - trees are both still, and not still at all (though much of their movement is too slow for us to perceive in real time).

 

56 minutes ago, yazeh said:

Thanks for bringing the magic of trees on this hot spring day (which will cool down drastically tomorrow.) 🙏🙏🙏

You're most welcome!  Last week, we had high 90s and 50s, only a couple days apart!  Craziness!   I think a week of 60s in April and a week of low 70s in May isn't too much to ask for!  Enjoy your rollercoaster ride!  

[LizEF]

38 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

A. I have this ink.

 It's very popular!

 

38 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

B. It's in a Pilot pen now!  Not a Prera but a Met.

 Pilot inks in Pilot pens are a magical combination!

 

38 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

@LizEF, thanks once again for the magic of the story and for the ink review.

You're most welcome!

 

39 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

(We have trees all over the yard but it's too hot to go out there. )

 You'll have to learn from afar!  (And heat has its own way to teach stillness.  )

[inkstainedruth]

I love Kon-peki.  Trying to remember, though, if it was one of the colors that got discontinued a couple of years ago (I sure hope it wasn't).

@LizEF Thanks as usual for the comprehensive review!

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[yazeh]

1 hour ago, LizEF said:

Green. Green squirrel!  The Librarian's little spy / messenger.    (Inspired by your review of the ink by the same name.)  He's definitely not a giant squirrel.  It's funny how our brains or eyes or something change the input.  

 Do not read Efnir reviews on your phone. (repeat 100 times) .  

1 hour ago, LizEF said:

There are some I really like: Yama-budo, Yama-guri.  There are others that I think are good, but not good enough to buy.  And there are some I don't like.  And in every case, it's the color that makes or breaks it for me.

I got confused with the names. It reminds me of Yaba-daba doo!

[LizEF]

2 hours ago, inkstainedruth said:

I love Kon-peki.  Trying to remember, though, if it was one of the colors that got discontinued a couple of years ago (I sure hope it wasn't).

Nope, Kon-peki is still available.

 

2 hours ago, inkstainedruth said:

@LizEF Thanks as usual for the comprehensive review!

 You're most welcome!

[LizEF]

1 hour ago, yazeh said:

Do not read Efnir reviews on your phone. (repeat 100 times) .  

 

2 hours ago, yazeh said:

I got confused with the names. It reminds me of Yaba-daba doo!

 That's another interesting question - does the name stay the name, regardless of language, or does the same product have a name in each language where it's sold?  Translate or transliterate, that is the question!  

 

(-budo is the magenta / purplish color; -guri is the dark brown, similar to R&K Sepia.)

[yazeh]

3 hours ago, LizEF said:

 

 That's another interesting question - does the name stay the name, regardless of language, or does the same product have a name in each language where it's sold?  Translate or transliterate, that is the question!  

 

(-budo is the magenta / purplish color; -guri is the dark brown, similar to R&K Sepia.)

I think it's a plus to have the original name. For me these names is an opportunity to travel. For ex

 I just learned that Yama means mountain. So one is mountain grape or wild grape and the other mountain Chesnut.

 

[inkstainedruth]

Cool!  It wouldn't have occurred to me to check on the translations as to what the names mean.  

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[LizEF]

2 hours ago, yazeh said:

I think it's a plus to have the original name. For me these names is an opportunity to travel. For ex

 I just learned that Yama means mountain. So one is mountain grape or wild grape and the other mountain Chesnut.

[A Smug Dill]

10 hours ago, inkstainedruth said:

Trying to remember, though, if it was one of the colors that got discontinued a couple of years ago (I sure hope it wasn't).

 

It wasn't.

 

Ina-ho, Tsukushi, and Tsuyu-kusa were the first to be replaced in the Pilot Iroshizuku line-up.

 

Kiri-same, Kosumosu, and Tsutsuji were in the second tranche of colours purged.

 

If you like a Pilot Iroshizuku ink whose name begins with “Tsu”, buy it now while you still can, I tell ya!

[A Smug Dill]

14 hours ago, LizEF said:

There's been a lot of hype around the line and I think that made them seem more impressive than they actually are. 

12 hours ago, LizEF said:

My experience with several Iroshizuku inks leads me to believe they're not so special as the hype suggests.  They're good, but they're not the pinnacle of inkdom.

 

I think the same can be said about Parker Penman Sapphire. I liked it, and it remains the only ink of which I've finished a full bottle by filling pens (as opposed to selling or giving away samples drawn from it), back in the day a quarter of a century ago when accessible ink choices were far fewer.

 

These days the market (and awareness of it in the English-speaking ‘world’) is flooded by thousands of ‘distinct’ inks of various brands from countries of origin spread far and wide across the globe. Just to be clear, contrary to one rather vocal opinion in this forum, I think the abundance is a good thing, even if it exceeds one (or any) individual's capacity to keep track and ‘know’ all of the offerings and then make the ‘best’ choices, instead of accepting one's limitations and acknowledging that everyone else's is different, so one chooses to limit themselves to one subset and make (perhaps) sub-optimal choices inside it while leaving everyone else on social media the possibility of doing ‘better’ than oneself.

 

I do think that a lot of ‘enthusiasts’, especially newcomers to the fountain pen hobby scene, these days get distracted “chasing a spurious starlight” (quoting one of my favourite stage musicals that I sadly never saw on stage), instead of start with first principles and focus on their personal use cases and requirements arising from such, when it comes to desiring and selecting inks. That misguided pursuit feeds hype, as does a lack of willingness to “be your own man/person” in social media like it's ‘democratic’ and a platform for everyone to speak up for their personal tastes instead of trying/pretending to stand with the loudest subgroups who presume to be representative of the whole globally.

[OCArt]

You've probably seen this before but here is a chart of the original Iroshizuku ink names and colors

 

[AmandaW]

I'm a fan of Iroshizuku, my favourites being Syo-ro, Yama-guri and Tsukushi (sadly discontinued). I haven't tried Kon-peki.

 

In Australia, they can be pretty reasonably priced (especially when on sale) for a generous bottle when compared to other 'nice' inks which are around half the mils, but not half the price... 

 

[LizEF]

7 hours ago, A Smug Dill said:

I think the same can be said about Parker Penman Sapphire. I liked it, and it remains the only ink of which I've finished a full bottle by filling pens (as opposed to selling or giving away samples drawn from it), back in the day a quarter of a century ago when accessible ink choices were far fewer.

 

These days the market (and awareness of it in the English-speaking ‘world’) is flooded by thousands of ‘distinct’ inks of various brands from countries of origin spread far and wide across the globe. Just to be clear, contrary to one rather vocal opinion in this forum, I think the abundance is a good thing, even if it exceeds one (or any) individual's capacity to keep track and ‘know’ all of the offerings and then make the ‘best’ choices, instead of accepting one's limitations and acknowledging that everyone else's is different, so one chooses to limit themselves to one subset and make (perhaps) sub-optimal choices inside it while leaving everyone else on social media the possibility of doing ‘better’ than oneself.

 

I do think that a lot of ‘enthusiasts’, especially newcomers to the fountain pen hobby scene, these days get distracted “chasing a spurious starlight” (quoting one of my favourite stage musicals that I sadly never saw on stage), instead of start with first principles and focus on their personal use cases and requirements arising from such, when it comes to desiring and selecting inks. That misguided pursuit feeds hype, as does a lack of willingness to “be your own man/person” in social media like it's ‘democratic’ and a platform for everyone to speak up for their personal tastes instead of trying/pretending to stand with the loudest subgroups who presume to be representative of the whole globally.

 Well said!  I'll add that when you're a newbie, the abundance of choice is more overwhelming, and the "fear" of wasting your money is greater (you having no experience) and so you tend to believe the hype more (the most and loudest voices lead you to believe something is best, even when reality is that it's just more popular, or perhaps just more spoken of).  Once you pass the newbie phase, hopefully your personal needs and preferences start to overrule the hype.

 

Finally, to some degree, what one perceives as "preference" may not be "real" - for example, when I started in the FP hobby, I would never have expected to even like murky greens, let alone have the color take top place (along with certain blue-blacks).  But someone shipped me about 20 samples early on and I discovered that colors I thought I had no interest in were absolutely fantastic as inks!   This is what sold me on samples and started me on the road to inky variety and ultimately doing these reviews.  So, my advice to any and all is:

• get samples
• try colors you think you won't like, because they might just become your favorite

[LizEF]

6 hours ago, OCArt said:

You've probably seen this before but here is a chart of the original Iroshizuku ink names and colors

Thank you!