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So it's December, and I felt like a nice warm mug of J. Herbin Cacao Du Bresil in the snow. This was the first ink that I ever bought a second bottle in the same color range - Rohrer & Klingner's Sepia - and felt completely justified as although they are close each has its own unique qualities (most interestingly, one is warm, one is cool!). . . . . then on "Black Friday" = "Ink Discount Day" my love for greenish browns (I think I have nearly five million of these at this point) provoked me to order (cheap, I promise!) both Rikyu Cha and Yama Guri (and Stipula Verde Muschiato, but that is still on back order!). Oh, and I have Doyou, which is more of a Brown Black than Taupe, but still - time for a "Taupe Off"! . . . . and then that very afternoon what does Santa bring but my other "Discount Day" bargain, a Birmingham Pens Model A (Secretariat finish, Knox 1.5mm stub, really wet writer yummy!) with a two "free" bottles of ink including Winky's Hamburgers Root Beer which makes Taupe #5!! Here's some scans:

Yama Guri found its home in an Imperial Blue Lamy Studio, with a really smooth fine nib that lays a fat line; it seems to evaporate less than in other pens, which lets you see the subtle yellow and grey nuances. First by itself on two papers; Fabriano Traccia brings out more nuances than Rhodia's pad n. 8, in good sun light. Next a comparison with other colours on Rhodia: First row of other colours: Chiku Rin, Vert Empire, Verde Muschiato, Ina Ho, Inti, Lie de Thé, Perle Noire, Verdigris. Second row: Mandarin, Ama Iro, Kon Peki, Souten, Équinoxe 6, Tsuyu Kusa, Asa Gao, Myosotis. Third: Fuyu Gaki, Orange Indien, Ancient Copper, Rouge Hematite, Diamine Poppy Red, Perle Noire, Ajisai. And then on Fabriano Traccia:

So I got a new nib and feed for an old Sonnet from Dutchpen, it wasn't exactly smooth and skipped, but I thought "hey it might be a used nib, can't expect much" but after writing more with it, it's become much smoother and has almost no skipping. Moral of the story: don't give up on a nib. The other nib I got from Forecast pens is the smoothest I've ever tried, apart from my Sailor Pro gear Standard with a 21k nib. These Sonnets can be very enjoyable! The one on the right is using Yama Guri, which I think finally found a good home. That Fabriano Taccia paper is quite nice too.

http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac209/jasonchickerson/_FUJ6457.jpg http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac209/jasonchickerson/_FUJ6457-2.jpg http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac209/jasonchickerson/_FUJ6458.jpg http://i900.photobucket.com/albums/ac209/jasonchickerson/_FUJ6460.jpg Yama-guri is a great brown. I'm not sure I'll be getting a bottle. It is very, very similar to the inks compared here, and I actually prefer the less saturated Cacao du Brésil and R&K Sepia. Still, Yama-guri could easily replace my favorite CdB if I needed a really wet ink in this color range. Unlike CdB, Yama-guri definitely looks better on warm-tone paper. I'll try to update with chromatography later tonight. Written review on Rhodia Dotpad no. 16, quick sketch of my earbud (sorry, it was what was in my hand when I started drawing) on Strathmore watercolor paper. Reasonable care was taken to ensure color accuracy, but these are natural light photos, so some variation is expected.