Sailor Sei-Boku Blue Black Nano Ink

[notbob]

Sheen is, according to Nathan Tardif, the crystallization that occurs when certain inks dry, usually in areas that were wetter (the bottom parts of heavily shaded letters) and around the edges (where some inks tend to pool, especially with flexible script).

 

Ah-ha! Thank you for that edification. I was totally unaware of such a phenomena and from now on I'll look closer to see if I have any sheeny inks.

[Sblakers]

Mhphoto. I seem to be stalking your ink reviews picking up which ever ones you deem drool worthy. My favorite ink so far has been Sargasso Sea. However, I think this sailor nano blue black might usurp it. I have only dip tested this ink ( waiting for my mb jules Verne to arrive ) and I have to completely agree with your review. This ink is amazing. Thank you again for your reviews. I am a chaser of sheen as well and your reviews have been invaluable to me.

[amberleadavis]

I tried this ink a year ago and wasn't really impressed. I tried it again recently and was WOWed.

 

http://sheismylawyer.com/INK/attachments/2013-03-31_TLVPP_02_small.jpg

 

[terminal]

Another fantastic review!

 

Did you notice any more difficulty cleaning than usual?

[doggonecarl]

I have cartridges of Sailor Sei-Boku, but the pens I use them in have nibs so fine I never noticed the shading and sheen. My bottle of Sei-Boku arrived yesterday and I was thrilled to see how it performed in a pen with a broader nib.

 

This is going to be a regular in my rotation!

[amberleadavis]

@Terminal - I like super saturated - finicky inks ... so I didn't notice anything unusual.

[terminal]

@Terminal - I like super saturated - finicky inks ... so I didn't notice anything unusual.

 

Ok thanks good to know! I love the look of this ink and I'm *pretty* diligent in terms of cleaning my pens, so this might be a "must buy" for me... to the Goulet wishlist batman...

[sirtoti]

Thanks for your extensive review.

 

I like the shading, and after reading your review I think I'll get one bottle of this ink.

[dcrosier76]

Thanks for the great review and pictures. I have gotten several recommendations for this ink,

but after seeing your handwritten review, I am super excited to get my hands on a bottle of this!!!

[notbob]

mhphoto,

 

This is four months later and I'm pretty savvy on ink sheen, as you've seen. So, let's go back to smear. You state this ink works great on printer grade paper. Does it smear on that, too? Your test was done on Rhodia and we both know that's a pretty hard surfaced paper and not representative of most printer papers. I know my Legal Lapis will smear almost forever when used on Tomoe River paper, which is even less absorbent than Rhodia/CF, but it dries thoroughly when used on HP1124 printer paper. Can the same be said for Sei-Boku?

 

I've been reading your ink reviews for some time, now, and really enjoy them. I particularly appreciated the water test, as I will be using a blue-black ink to fill out some legal docs in the future and figure the ink I use should, at the very least, be water proof. I'd have loved to see LL in that test. From what I've seen, both Legal Lapis and Sei-Boku appear to meet that requirement, but I don't want my docs prone to smearing.

 

I've gotten samples of the entire Sailor ink line (non-pigment) and love their inks. Guess I need a sample of S-B before committing to a pricey big bottle. I AM gonna get a full bottle of Sailor Grenade, which is now officially my all-time favorite magenta/red. That ink is simply beautiful.

[mhphoto]

mhphoto,

 

This is four months later and I'm pretty savvy on ink sheen, as you've seen. So, let's go back to smear. You state this ink works great on printer grade paper. Does it smear on that, too? Your test was done on Rhodia and we both know that's a pretty hard surfaced paper and not representative of most printer papers. I know my Legal Lapis will smear almost forever when used on Tomoe River paper, which is even less absorbent than Rhodia/CF, but it dries thoroughly when used on HP1124 printer paper. Can the same be said for Sei-Boku?

 

I've been reading your ink reviews for some time, now, and really enjoy them. I particularly appreciated the water test, as I will be using a blue-black ink to fill out some legal docs in the future and figure the ink I use should, at the very least, be water proof. I'd have loved to see LL in that test. From what I've seen, both Legal Lapis and Sei-Boku appear to meet that requirement, but I don't want my docs prone to smearing.

 

I've gotten samples of the entire Sailor ink line (non-pigment) and love their inks. Guess I need a sample of S-B before committing to a pricey big bottle. I AM gonna get a full bottle of Sailor Grenade, which is now officially my all-time favorite magenta/red. That ink is simply beautiful.

 

I'm not at home right now, but I suspect there might be just a liiiiiiiittle bit of Sei-Boku smearing on copy paper, but I'm basing that on the fact that it contains pigments and dyes, instead of just dyes. Pigmented inks tend to smear unless they have a strong binder (which usually means that ink's a no-no for FPs). I will check when I get home though and make sure.

 

As far as the water tests go, I actually did do a Legal Lapis test, though it wasn't in the same thread as the one containing Sei-Boku. Here are both.

 

http://i1355.photobucket.com/albums/q712/FiveCatKnittery/NoodlersBluesWaterTest.jpg

 

 

http://i1355.photobucket.com/albums/q712/FiveCatKnittery/VariousSoakTest1.jpg

 

[mhphoto]

Here you go! I'm going to go back tonight and do a 24 hour smudge test, but I'm guessing there will still be some smudging.

 

http://i1355.photobucket.com/albums/q712/FiveCatKnittery/981A0593-9596-42C1-892C-409C15E8F083-37998-00000657410A06DC.jpg

 

 

Gotta love an ink that shades that well on copy paper while using a flex pen...

Edited April 6, 2013 by mhphoto

[mhphoto]

Here's a close up of the one hour result. You can't see it very well, but there was a bit a smudging.

 

http://i1355.photobucket.com/albums/q712/FiveCatKnittery/DF34789F-79BB-4BA3-A941-F9399943D16F-37998-000006590E15DD78.jpg

[notbob]

Here's a close up of the one hour result. You can't see it very well, but there was a bit a smudging.

 

That's not too bad. One of my fave inks, Cactus Fruit Eel, takes at least 24 hrs to fully dry on CF paper. If Sei-Boku dries enough to prevent smearing by means of papers stacked one atop another, that's all I'm looking for.

 

Thank you kindly for taking the time to check that for me.

[terminal]

Yeah no kidding, awesome research.

[amberleadavis]

@MHPhoto - Thank you that is very helpful.

[georges zaslavsky]

very lovely ink , close in color to diamine prussian blue thanks for the review

[Nonsensical]

When I first got a bottle of this stuff, I was unimpressed. Then I tried it on cheaper paper, and it actually didn't feather. The fact that it is water resistant doesn't hurt either.

 

I think the colour grows on you, it did for me, at least. I've only tried it with XF nibs, though.

[Horseknitter]

Wondering why I've not broken into my bottle of this ink! What am I waiting for?

 

Really helpful review and motivating. Thanks for your great work!

[Bookman]

Thanks for the great review, mhphoto. I'm thinking of using Sailor Sei-Boku in the Nemosine Singularity/F I converted (no pun intended) to an eyedropper yesterday. Pardon the noobieness, but I've never had an eyedropper before and I've never used pigment-based ink. Would pigment-based inks generally and Sailor Sei-Boku specifically pose any problems for an eyedropper? For instance, I would hate to fill my pen with that pricey ink and find out it was never likely to pass through the tiny section aperture.

Edited June 5, 2013 by Bookman