Posts filed under Bungubox

Bungubox Original Ink Morning Glory Red Purple 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!)

This bright pop of color is just what I needed on this cold, snowy week! Bungubox have released a pair of Morning Glory inks, in Red Purple and Blue Purple, to celebrate the vibrant colors of this fleeting flower. This bottle is the Red Purple colorway, and it's a stunner.

The bottle is a 22ml glass bottle with some lovely art on the label. The opening on these mini bottles is a bit small, so it may not fit larger pens. But despite the bottle's small size, the ink has a big impact.

Bungubox Original Ink Morning Glory Red Purple Ink

It's a bright pink, almost neon, with high saturation that shows excellent shading. It can be a softer pink where the ink is finer, then pools to a lovely deep rose color. And it sheens! The sheen is a bright green-gold that really pops where the ink is heavier. Chromatography shows a bright magenta with a touch of emerald that combine to make a pink-purple tone.

It flows very well with no dry feeling at all, even in an EF nib, but it's also not too wet. The sheen doesn't show up much when writing with a fine nib, though. It needs a little more pooling for that to happen. It also needs a longer dry time, going past the 20-second mark.

Water drop tests show some water resistance. Where water was both dabbed and wiped away, there are some faint lines left behind, so a small spill may not erase all your work completely.

This color is unique in my collection. I'm sure there are near-duplicates out there, but this color is much brighter than the close matches I've tested before, and the sheen is sheenier.

Bungubox has these 20ml bottles for 1818 Yen, or between $13-$14, which is a pretty good price, as some of their other inks can exceed a dollar per ml. It's still on the expensive side compared to other brands, however, where you might get 40ml for that price. For a well-behaved ink in a great color with fantastic sheen, I think it's reasonable, and I'm excited to see how its partner color behaves for other reviewers. I may need to pick up a bottle, myself!

(This ink was purchased from Bungubox directly at the 2022 San Francisco Pen Show at normal retail price.)

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Posted on December 29, 2022 by Sarah Read and filed under Bungubox, Ink Reviews.

Bungubox Enshu Cotton Pen Roll and Sleeve Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

Looks like Bungubox have been branching out to other product categories recently. While you probably know Bungubox for their inks first and their Sailor collaborations second, they also offer some pen cases to protect those treasures. And like everything Bungubox does, these cases stand out among the rest.

I have two products from the same color way on my desk. The first is a pen roll that holds several pens in dedicated pockets, and the second is a single mini pen sleeve. They're both made of cotton and feature a colorful, fun fabric that makes me feel happy when I look at it.

I'm not sure of the exact name of this colorway — my Japanese language skills are non-existant. But, I can confirm that it looks ever better in real life than in the photos.

The pen roll has six separate slots to hold pens. The pocket on the end with the Bungubox tag is a lot wider than the rest. I can comfortably fit my AirPods Pro case into this pocket, and it also does great at holding cables and other similarly sized items. It's nice and roomy for those extra large pens in your collection, but I like that it can also hold things that are just a little bigger than pens if you need.

The pocket next to this large pocket is actually a little thinner (less wide) than the other four. I wonder if this is due to the extra wide pocket. Either way, it still fits standard sized fountain pens without a problem. My Pilot 823 or Custom 74 are snug fits, a Lamy AL Star is a very snug fit, and my Opus 88 Demonstrator is on the verge of too tight to comfortably get in and out of the pen roll.

There's adequate padding between the interior fabric and the exterior fabric. I have zero concerns with anything bad happening to my pens in this case during normal use. The fabric is so soft to the touch, and the amount of padding make this thing feel almost like a stuffed animal when it's rolled up. The interior fabric is a softer microfiber than the cotton exterior, and it should be very gentle on pen finishes of all kinds.

The case rolls up easily and uses a thick ribbon of the same cotton material to lash it shut. There's a small acrylic ring attached to the end of the lashing; the color coordination with the soft red is fantastic.

Wrapping the lashing around the case and then tucking the end of the lashing through once is enough to keep this thing secure. It's a really quick process once you teach your hands to do it after a few tries.

The mini pen sleeve is adorable! It uses the same cotton fabric on the exterior, but uses a different color of the softer microfiber fabric on the inside. The sleeve has some padding, but not nearly as much as the pen roll. The sleeve is almost completely sewn shut except for a two inch opening along one of the long sides. This little sleeve is perfect for anything the size of a Kaweco Sport.

As an added bonus, I can load up a Kaweco in this sleeve and then tuck the sleeve into the large pocket of the pen roll. My Kaweco doesn't need the extra protection, but it gives you an idea of how large that pocket is on the pen roll.

It's also worth noting that Bungubox also offer a standard length pen sleeve (with the same fabric options) that fits the majority of fountain pens.

I've actually taken to rolling up the case and attaching the small sleeve to the side of the pen roll with the lashing. You can barely tell it's there due to the matching fabric, and it's a quick and convenient way to carry 7 pens in a small, tidy package.

Bungubox has these cases available on their website. As of this writing, the pen roll converts to about $40 USD, and then mini sleeve goes for about $12 USD.

These are lovely little cases that I've really enjoyed using! They aren't tough ballistic nylon that can weather the elements, but they're so soft and easy to use. The fabric selections are lovely, and the functionality is exceptional. If you have a chance to check these out and are in the market for some new pen cases (let's be honest — we're always in the market for that), then these are a fantastic option.

(These products were purchased from Bungubox at normal retail price at the 2022 San Francisco Pen Show.)

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Posted on October 26, 2022 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Bungubox, Pen Case.

Bungubox L'Amant Fountain Pen Ink Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

It's been quite a long time since I've tried a new Bungubox ink, so this is long overdue. L'Amant is a lovely purple ink with plenty of vibrant character and a few surprises. Since Bungubox can be a little difficult to find in the US, I don't have a large collection. But, I expect quite a bit from based on my past experience with it. Luckily, L'Amant doesn't disappoint.

On the surface, L'Amant is a cheery purple ink with a good deal of shading between dark tones. It's dark enough to blend in with a professional setting, but bright enough to stick out. What surprised me is the gold/green sheen that appears in some spots. The edges of ink pools is where I see the most of this sheening behavior, and I can't get enough of it. It totally surprised me.

L'Amant is a dye-based ink, and it dries extremely fast. In my testing in a medium cursive-italic nib, most of my writing was dry to the touch in 10 to 12 seconds. Wetter areas were dry by 15 seconds. Again, pretty impressive.

Performance is definitely on par with what I've seen with other Bungubox inks. There's zero feathering and bleed on good paper, it flows extremely well, and finds the perfect balance of lubrication and wetness.

The ability for this ink to deliver a consistently vibrant and calm purple on the page is stellar. The surprise green/gold sheen around larger pools of ink is simply delightful. Unfortunately, this sheen doesn't come out much in smaller nibs. You need to use a large nib to see this in action.

The marketing for this ink makes a big deal out of the bottle shape and the box it comes in. The heel shape of the bottle is unique and easy to use, and I really appreciate the big ink swatch on top of the cap to show you what's inside. The box is designed in a way so that the top third flips open to act as a kick stand for the ink bottle. The idea is that you use the box to prop the ink bottle at a good angle for getting at the last few milliliters of ink in the bottom. This is nifty and certainly a well-thought-out design consideration, but I'd probably just use a syringe to get out the last bit of ink. Using this setup requires you keep the box around — which is fine in my case — but not everyone wants to keep the ink packaging around. Pro tip to those that toss out the ink boxes: ink is much easier to store and move when you keep them in their box. Boxes are easy to stack, whereas oddly shaped ink bottles are not!

At $44.50 for 30 ml, this ink definitely comes at a premium price. Bungubox has an excellent reputation and I can whole-heartedly recommend paying the premium price for any of their inks that tickle your fancy. If you haven't had the opportunity of trying out any Bungubox inks, definitely add them to your list.

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

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