Tsuyu-Kusa - Pilot Iroshizuku

[visvamitra]

In December 2007 Pilot's created exclusive line of inks called Iroshizuku. I believe they may well be the most well known fountain pen inks in pen world. These inks are supposed to work in any pen with any nib on any paper and in any situation. I haven't tried all of them but so far the Iroshizuku inks I've tried were behaving flawlessly.

The colors were created by Kiyomi Hasegawa who after fifteen years of working in a stationary shop and communicating with Clients come to conclusion that not all fountain pen users are willing to write in black and blue. Wise woman.

The bottles are stunning although they have their issues: if the ink is left unused for some time the cap tends to stick and break when you try to twist it open. It happened to my bottle of Shin-Ryoku.

Anyway Iroshizuku line of inks counts 24 "standard" colors. Three inks were made some time ago for Tokyo stores: Edo-Murasaki, Fukagawa-Nezu and Shimbashi-Iro.After seeing the scans over blogosphere I wish these three were accesible, because they look interesting. Edo - Murasaki looks cool while Murasaki - Shikibu is of no interest to me. Even though I kind of like Fuyu-Syogun I find Fukagawa-Nezu more compelling.

Nothing indicates Pilot plans on extending the official line any time soon (if ever) so let's take a look at what's possible to obtain from dealers and online shops.

http://imageshack.com/a/img538/1595/lYAayJ.jpg

I don't have all of the inks but sooner or later I'll try to check them all. With time I'll review all of them (hopefully).

1. Ajisai
   
2. Ama-Iro
   
3. Asa-Gao
   
4. Chiku-Rin
   
5. Fuyu-Gaki
   
6. Fuyu-Syogun
   
7. Ina-Ho
   
8. Kiri-Same
   
9. Kon-Peki
   
10. Kosumosu
    
11. Ku-Jaku
    
12. Momiji
    
13. Murasaki-Shikibu
    
14. Shin-Kai
    
15. Shin-Ryoku
    
16. Syo-Ro
    
17. Take-Sumi
    
18. Tsuki-Yo
    
19. Tsukushi
    
20. Tsutsuji
    
21. Tsuyu-Kusa
    
22. Yama-Budo
    
23. Yama-Guri
    
24. Yu-Yake
    

Tsuyu-kusa is decent bright blue ink that is named after Commelina Comunis flower

http://www.bekkoame.ne.jp/~sibutaka/nature/images/plants/tsuyukusa_l.jpg

It's waterproof to some extent.

http://imageshack.com/a/img538/8800/sr17bK.jpg

The color is mostly blue, yet it contains a little bit of red dye.

http://imageshack.com/a/img538/8452/k81Ifl.jpg

Basically it's just decent blue ink, not special, just decent.

Ink splash

http://imageshack.com/a/img631/3281/RA4pfQ.jpg

Drops of ink on kitchen towel

http://imageshack.com/a/img673/7465/dCRm5p.jpg

Software ID

http://imageshack.com/a/img673/7989/MnQKUy.jpg

Oxford Recycled ( 90g, satined paper), Kaweco Classic Sport turned to eyedropper, broad nib

http://imageshack.com/a/img911/2474/9qlCxZ.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img538/3429/AoguYa.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img538/9528/rY1w0A.jpg

Calendar

http://imageshack.com/a/img901/538/6uj5r2.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img537/2695/bccydG.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img661/554/IE3sYR.jpg

Comparison

http://imageshack.com/a/img673/931/7J1jrF.jpg

Edited February 18, 2015 by visvamitra

[lgsoltek]

I like this one a lot. The colour is easy on the eye.

[white_lotus]

I hadn't considered this ink before. The color here seems a bit lighter than shown over at Anderson Pens, but the sample at Goulet Pens is closer to your writing, though no shading whatsoever.

 

Looks like a nice color, not too green.

 

Thanks for the review!

[wastelanded]

One of my favourite blues. Using Tsuyu-kusa puts me in a good mood.

[meilinpo]

It looks like this is nearly the same as Asa-Gao, only a bit brighter where Asa-Gao is a bit darker...?

Hard to tell for sure on the monitor.

[inkstainedruth]

Thanks for the review.

Nice color. I think I like this.

How wet an ink is this though? I didn't like Asa-gao because I found it to be really drippy, even though for a lot of people it's their go-to blue ink.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[bone215]

nice blue color

[Safari_Camo]

An Asa Gao with a pinch of Kon Peki?

[wastelanded]

An Asa Gao with a pinch of Kon Peki?

Actually, that's about right!

[Pensei]

I love Tsuyu-kusa. It gives me a slight mental reminder of the old blue in the ink cartridges I used in high school. It may or may not be that color, but it's the way I remember that color. Anyway, I think it's a very attractive ink that also performs perfectly. One of my top five blues, I'd say.

[mulrich]

This and Asa Gao are probably my favorite blues. I just wish they had better water resistance.

[LizB]

I love Tsuyu-kusa. It gives me a slight mental reminder of the old blue in the ink cartridges I used in high school. It may or may not be that color, but it's the way I remember that color. Anyway, I think it's a very attractive ink that also performs perfectly. One of my top five blues, I'd say.

 

 

Yes, I was just thinking it looks like Pelikan Royal Blue to me :-)

[Barracuda]

I love this ink! Thx for the great review!