Take-Sumi - Pilot Iroshizuku

March 19, 2015

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).

Ajisai
Ama-Iro
Asa-Gao
Chiku-Rin
Fuyu-Gaki
Fuyu-Syogun
Ina-Ho
Kiri-Same
Kon-Peki
Kosumosu
Ku-Jaku
Momiji
Murasaki-Shikibu
Shin-Kai
Shin-Ryoku
Syo-Ro
Take-Sumi
Tsuki-Yo
Tsukushi
Tsutsuji
Tsuyu-Kusa
Yama-Budo
Yama-Guri
Yu-Yake

Take - sumi was named after bamboo charcoal. The ink is quite waterproof:

http://imageshack.com/a/img538/667/cyusNb.jpg

The ink is quite waterproof:

http://imageshack.com/a/img673/8905/ZX3oka.jpg

Chromatography:

http://imageshack.com/a/img537/1009/NTXZBK.jpg

I must admit I kind of like it to my surprise.

Ink Splash

http://imageshack.com/a/img537/2739/MBKC47.jpg

Drops of ink on kitchen toweol

http://imageshack.com/a/img633/1685/VWcBsI.jpg

Software ID

http://imageshack.com/a/img905/913/1vUu8t.jpg

Oxford Recycled ( 90g), Kaweco Classic Sport używany jako zakraplacz, stalówka B

http://imageshack.com/a/img661/6224/XrHWuw.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img910/9017/RoSrUA.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img905/4366/ChIT82.jpg

Kalendarz,Lamy Studio, F

http://imageshack.com/a/img661/2048/yytpy1.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img661/6079/yvCO0p.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img673/3297/Ut9YAR.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img913/3952/zsLCJT.jpg

Teneues, Kaweco Sport Classic, B

http://imageshack.com/a/img537/7933/26Ai1g.jpg

Lyreco Budget, Hero 5028, stub 1,9

http://imageshack.com/a/img903/5998/fBcf1p.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img538/5519/G8TBPn.jpg

Comparison

http://imageshack.com/a/img540/9093/LDRBJm.jpg

March 19, 2015

Thank you for the marvellous pictures and the time you've taken to create these Iroshizuku posts.

I particularly like Take-Sumi mixed with Kon-Peki. I re-inked a pen back-to-back with the blend today because I liked it so much (rare; I usually switch colours). Of course, it was one of the few blends I didn't measure when I mixed (oops). Just a little Take-Sumi.

Take-Sumi blends beautifully and evenly as a grey.