Posts filed under Ink Reviews

Kyo No Oto Sakuranezumi Ink: A Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

Kyo No Oto inks are made in Kyoto, Japan. Also known as Takeda Jimuki or TAG, the inks in this collection are meant to evoke colors from the beautiful city of Kyoto.

Sakuranezumi is a purple-grey color inspired by cherry blossoms beneath grey, cloudy skies. Literally, the words "sakura" and "nezumi" mean "cherry blossom mouse," which just makes me so happy. I mean, these days, it's the little things, am I right?

The ink comes in a 40ml glass bottle curved on the sides and flat in the front and back. The bottle is tall enough to ink large nibs (unlike the flat, round Sailor bottles that drive me crazy).

This dusky-grey purple is, in a word, glorious. On the Col-o-dex card, you can see the various shades of the ink in the swab and the green sheen in the splats.

Sakuranezumi is especially pretty on white Rhodia paper. I used my Leonardo Furore with a 14k 1.3 stub nib to test the ink. It displays excellent shading and is saturated enough to work well in all nib sizes. The ink is fairly wet, drying completely after about 35 seconds. It is not waterproof.

Chromatography displays the complexity of this ink. It contains multiple colors which make for the rich purple-grey when combined.

Kyo No Oto Sakuranezumi Ink Chromatography

The ink is lovely in extra-wide nibs (such as my Handwritmic ruling nib), demonstrating shading, sheen, and deep pools of color.

I used my MD Notebook Journal to practice calligraphy and to write a long passage out with the Leonardo stub. This ink looks extra nice on cream-colored paper.

Kyo No Oto Sakuranezumi Ink Alphabet Close

I looked through all my purple ink swatches, and none of them was similar to Sakuranezumi. I'm sure there are probably similar inks, but to my great delight, I don't own them. I love it when I find an ink that is unlike any in my collection.

You can purchase Kyo-no-oto Sakuranezumi from Jet Pens for $22.00 (for a 40ml bottle). Yes, this is a higher priced ink, but if you love moody colors with lots of character, it's totally worth it.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on September 4, 2020 by Susan Pigott and filed under Kyo-no-oto, Ink Reviews.

Tono & Lims One Year Anniversary "Sun" Ink: A Review

Tono & Lims One Year Anniversary "Sun" Ink Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

Tono & Lims is a South Korean ink company that ink enthusiasts in the west are getting to know, thanks to newfound availability at stores like Shigure Inks. Brad and Jeff have posted reviews on two other colors of Tono & Lims. Now it's my turn.

Sun is an ink that Tono & Lims produced to celebrate their first anniversary. It's a pink-orange color that fluoresces in ultraviolet light. It's not as subtle as the color I call coral because of its fluorescent properties. It's hard to capture the exact hue in photographs.

Tono & Lims One Year Anniversary "Sun" Ink

On my Col-o-dex card, the ink is pretty flat, exhibiting little shading and a tiny amount of sheen in the ink splats.

On Rhodia white paper, the fluorescent orange is bright, but there's little shading and no sheen. It is not waterproof and dries quickly.

Chromatography shows that pink is the primary color in this ink. If you look closely, you'll see a light band of fluorescent green.

I don't own a black light, so I can't show you what the ink looks like in the ultraviolet spectrum. However, you can see the fluorescence when the ink interacts with water.

My ruling pen brought out the best of the ink, demonstrating some shading and a bit of green sheen.

Fools Cap paper tamed the ink into a more standard coral color, absorbing the fluorescent properties. It makes a pretty mandala, though!

Tono & Lims "Sun" is an interesting ink. I appreciate ink companies that do something unusual with their inks, and fluorescent ink is a new concept for me. That said, I'm not crazy about this color, and I'm not sure what fluorescent ink has to offer. The last time I owned a black light was in Junior High, so it's hard for me to find a practical use for the ink without one. Nevertheless, I'm intrigued by Tono & Lims and plan to try other colors soon.

You can purchase a 30ml bottle of Sun from Shigure Inks for $22.00. That's a bit on the expensive side (though Sailor Ink Studio is $18 for 20ml), so you might want to order samples first before you commit to an entire bottle.

(The Pen Addict purchased this ink at full retail from Shigure Inks.)

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Posted on August 14, 2020 by Susan Pigott and filed under Tono & Lims, Ink Reviews.

Diamine Purple Bow Ink Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And check out her latest book, Out of Water, now available where books are sold!)

Last year's Inkvent Calendar from Diamine was a huge hit, and this lovely hue was in pride of place as the December 24th offering. Yes, Purple Bow seems like the perfect color to top off all the gifts!

This is a deep, blue-toned purple that leans more toward violet than magenta, and even appears to be blue under some lighting. It has a ton of character, showing some shading, and a hearty amount of sheening. The sheen is a copper color that looks red at some angles and gold at others, and deliciously opulent at any angle.

In fine lines, it has a fast dry time, with minimal smudging at 15 seconds and none at all after 20. In bolder, wetter lines, it takes a very long time to dry, and even showed no change in smearing after 30 seconds. It's a well-lubricated ink with great flow.

It is not a water-resistant ink, but it did not wash away completely in a splash test, even when the water was wiped away instead of dabbed. Your work may survive a minor tea accident, but probably don't take it swimming.

Despite my rather extensive collection of purple ink samples, this one was not a duplicate for any of them. It's more blue than the other rich purples, but richer than my other blue purples. In tone and sheen, it was closest to De Atrementis Alexander Hamilton, but that one is far more rosy than this one. If you're a purple ink fan looking for a new purple with lots of character, this one is a big winner.

It comes in a wild glass bottle with concave sides and wee ball feet--it almost looks like a sea creature. I dig it. And it's only about $10 for a 50ml bottle via Stilo & Stile, which is such a good price I had to triple check it, because I thought that couldn't be right. All around, this one is too good to miss.

(The Pen Addict purchased this pen at full retail from Stilo & Stile.)

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