Sailor Sei-Boku Blue Black Nano Ink

[mhosea]

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.

 

The "nano" part matters. Sei Boku is a free-flowing, wet ink. If anything an ED is a good choice because of the ease of flushing the feed. The pens I avoid using Sei Boku with are the same ones that I avoid using hard-to-clean inks with in general. I am not sure of the inks pH, and Japanese inks tend to be somewhat alkaline, so users of vintage plastic pens might want to think twice. I converted my blue Parker VS to ED after the sac nipple crumbled to pieces. Sei Boku works wonderfully in it, and so far its plastic seems none the worse for it. I don't know what the body of these pens is made of. Note that I'm just rambling here. A modern plastic pen like the Nemosine should not be a problem.

[Bookman]

 

The "nano" part matters. Sei Boku is a free-flowing, wet ink. If anything an ED is a good choice because of the ease of flushing the feed. The pens I avoid using Sei Boku with are the same ones that I avoid using hard-to-clean inks with in general. I am not sure of the inks pH, and Japanese inks tend to be somewhat alkaline, so users of vintage plastic pens might want to think twice. I converted my blue Parker VS to ED after the sac nipple crumbled to pieces. Sei Boku works wonderfully in it, and so far its plastic seems none the worse for it. I don't know what the body of these pens is made of. Note that I'm just rambling here. A modern plastic pen like the Nemosine should not be a problem.

 

Thanks.

[Bookman]

Teal. Why did it have to be teal. (Question mark omitted purposefully.)

 

I ordered Sailor Sei-Boku expecting to see that "fanstastic darkish blue" color I'd seen in this review and the others under the heading "Sei boku Nano Carbon (blue-black)." When the ink arrived yesterday I immediately installed it in my recently-converted-to-ED Nemosine Singularity/F.

 

Teal? I looked at the bottle. "Sailor Blue Black," it said. I remembered that "blue-black" was German or Dutch or Afrikaans or something for teal. But those posted images in the reviews didn't show on my monitor a hue that resembled Waterman Blue-Black. (A flash of teal on a water test wouldn't be a deal-breaker.) I looked everywhere on the bottle and packaging to find words like "Sei" or "Boku" or "nano" or "carbon" or "pigment" but I didn't find any. I hoped the seller had packaged and sent the wrong ink by mistake, even though the invoice said I'd gotten what I'd ordered and the price certainly reflected that.

 

So this morning I looked at the reviews under the heading "Blue-Black." I hadn't looked there before because, whatever it was, it was clearly different from "Sei boku Nano Carbon (blue-black)," and so I hadn't cared what it looked like. But maybe that was what I had gotten by mistake. And the first review I looked at, seanruss's, told me three things: I had gotten "Blue-Black" because the image I saw was a dead ringer for my ink; "Blue-Black" and "Sei boku Nano Carbon (blue-black)" must be the same ink, and if so, the seller hadn't made any mistake; and, sonova-rhymes-with-witch, I had paid $32 (incl S&H) for teal. To make the matter worse, the pen for which I had specifically bought the ink, my Singularity, with an F nib that consistently darkens inks, let me down this time, the rat.

 

edit: typo

Edited June 8, 2013 by Bookman

[notbob]

You may have received an off bottle. I know my bottle of MB:AH was so brownish, I gave it away. It NEVER looked like the somber, yet true, red I've seen in so many FPN posted examples.

 

Mhhoto's example of Legal Lapis is dead on to my LL and its teal hue. I can only guess his example of Sei-Boku is equally accurate. I find PR Ebony-Blue is also very teal-like. Hopefully, Sei-Boku is a the lovely blue shade i see in mhphoto's examples.

[Ambien]

So this morning I looked at the reviews under the heading "Blue-Black." I hadn't looked there before because, whatever it was, it was clearly different from "Sei boku Nano Carbon (blue-black)," and so I hadn't cared what it looked like. But maybe that was what I had gotten by mistake.

 

Yes, it is possible you've accidently ordered Sailor Jentle Blue-Black, which sounds similar but is a different ink. I admit I had to make sure I had placed correct order for S-B Nano Carbon. BTW, I bought mine from Amazon.

[mhosea]

And the first review I looked at, seanruss's, told me three things: I had gotten "Blue-Black" because the image I saw was a dead ringer for my ink; "Blue-Black" and "Sei boku Nano Carbon (blue-black)" must be the same ink, and if so, the seller hadn't made any mistake; and, sonova-rhymes-with-witch, I had paid $32 (incl S&H) for teal.

 

There's no "Carbon" in the name (I assume you picked that up from from a competing product of Sailor Kiwa Guro, i.e., Platinum Carbon Ink). Anyhoo, the regular Sailor blue-black says "Jentle Ink" on the bottle. The nano pigmented blue-black does NOT say "Jentle". Simple as that.

 

http://www.sailorpen.com/accessories.html

 

 

As for the appearance of Sei-Boku, I find it to be rather difficult to predict and depending on both pen and paper. Sometimes it seems more teal, sometimes more blue, sometimes more gray. If you got the "Jentle Ink" and paid for Sei Boku, contact the seller and get it sorted out. If that is the case, and you ordered from a good dealer, you just got a free bottle of ink.

Edited June 11, 2013 by mhosea

[Bookman]

 

Yes, it is possible you've accidently ordered Sailor Jentle Blue-Black, which sounds similar but is a different ink. I admit I had to make sure I had placed correct order for S-B Nano Carbon. BTW, I bought mine from Amazon.

 

According to my intent, my memory, my email order confirmation, and my invoice, with the jacked-up price, I ordered "Sailor Sei-Boku Pigmented Nano Blue-Black." I suppose it's possible the vendor pulled the wrong box off the shelf. I ordered from the Goulets and I've never had a problem before. I'm emailing them photos of the box and bottle to show what I received. There must be some way they distinguish between boxes/bottles of Jentle Blue-Black and Sei-Boku Blue-Black.

[Bookman]

 

There's no "Carbon" in the name (I assume you picked that up from from a competing product of Sailor Kiwa Guro, i.e., Platinum Carbon Ink). Anyhoo, the regular Sailor blue-black says "Jentle Ink" on the bottle. The nano pigmented blue-black does NOT say "Jentle". Simple as that.

 

http://www.sailorpen.com/accessories.html

 

 

As for the appearance of Sei-Boku, I find it to be rather difficult to predict and depending on both pen and paper. Sometimes it seems more teal, sometimes more blue, sometimes more gray. If you got the "Jentle Ink" and paid for Sei Boku, contact the seller and get it sorted out. If that is the case, and you ordered from a good dealer, you just got a free bottle of ink.

 

When I used the word "carbon" I was quoting from the "Index of Ink Reviews." When we look through that list, we see three separate Sailor blue-black inks. Under the general "Sailor" heading we see "Blue-Black," which I assumed to be Jentle Blue-Black. Scrolling farther down, under "Sailor (waterproof)," we see "Blue-Black" and "Sei boku Nano Carbon (blue-black)."

 

I apologize for the subtlety in my attempt to show that this ink ought to be titled correctly in the index and all reviews be consolidated. The separate titles make it appear that the reviews are for two different inks. I relied on these titles. "Sei boku Nano Carbon (blue-black)" clearly referred to the ink I was considering, and so I looked at the reviews under this title. "Blue-Black," whatever that was, was a different ink and so I didn't bother to check out its reviews. Had I done so, I might not have bought this ink.

 

Now, having said all that, it's still possible the vendor sent the wrong ink, and I'm going to try and find out today.

 

Edit: Correction of location of quoted "carbon"

Edited June 11, 2013 by Bookman

[mhosea]

 

When I used the word "carbon" I was quoting from the "Index of Ink Reviews." When we look through that list, we see three separate Sailor blue-black inks. Under the general "Sailor" heading we see "Blue-Black," which I assumed to be Jentle Blue-Black. Scrolling farther down, under "Sailor (waterproof)," we see "Blue-Black" and "Sei boku Nano Carbon (blue-black)."

 

I apologize for the subtlety in my attempt to show that this ink ought to be titled correctly in the index and all reviews be consolidated. The separate titles make it appear that the reviews are for two different inks. I relied on these titles. "Sei boku Nano Carbon (blue-black)" clearly referred to the ink I was considering, and so I looked at the reviews under this title. "Blue-Black," whatever that was, was a different ink and so I didn't bother to check out its reviews. Had I done so, I might not have bought this ink.

 

Now, having said all that, it's still possible the vendor sent the wrong ink, and I'm going to try and find out today.

 

Edit: Correction of location of quoted "carbon"

 

You are right about the index of reviews needing to be corrected here. I see where the misnomer "Carbon" came from now. A couple of reviewers actually made this mistake. Possibly it traces back to a particular vendor's web site, but we don't really care. We should just get the title right and consolidate the two lists of Sei Boku reviews as you suggested.

 

I don't think the regular blue-black is teal-leaning at all, so it seems certain that you got Sei Boku. Perhaps you can remember if the box was predominately blue or predominately white. The Sei Boku box is blue, the Jentle box white. As I said, Sei Boku varies greatly in appearance. Generally the wetter the pen and less absorbent the paper, the darker it is. A dry pen on absorbent paper is going to get you the teal-leaning color.

Edited June 11, 2013 by mhosea

[Bookman]

 

You are right about the index of reviews needing to be corrected here. I see where the misnomer "Carbon" came from now. A couple of reviewers actually made this mistake. Possibly it traces back to a particular vendor's web site, but we don't really care. We should just get the title right and consolidate the two lists of Sei Boku reviews as you suggested.

 

I don't think the regular blue-black is teal-leaning at all, so it seems certain that you got Sei Boku. Perhaps you can remember if the box was predominately blue or predominately white. The Sei Boku box is blue, the Jentle box white. As I said, Sei Boku varies greatly in appearance. Generally the wetter the pen and less absorbent the paper, the darker it is. A dry pen on absorbent paper is going to get you the teal-leaning color.

 

The box this ink arrived in is blue, so likely it is Sei-Boku. I've sent photos of the box and bottle to Goulet Pens. I'm sure they'll confirm what you've said. I've never bought Jentle Blue-Black before. But, like Jentle Blue, I suspect Jentle Blue-Black has an aroma of phenol, which my new ink is consipicuously missing, which is another reason not to like it. Meanwhile, for the nonce, I'm running Pilot Blue-Black through my Singularity. It too is rather free-flowing and, in my own testing, it is virtually waterproof. And it smells great.

 

 

Update: Goulet Pens confirms I did receive Sailor Sei-Boku.

Edited June 11, 2013 by Bookman

[Alexandra]

So why don't have have a bottle of that yet? It's lovely!

[AndyYNWA]

As I said, Sei Boku varies greatly in appearance. Generally the wetter the pen and less absorbent the paper, the darker it is. A dry pen on absorbent paper is going to get you the teal-leaning color.

This is quite frustrating... When I see the reviews of this ink as a dark blue I get severe cravings for it. But when I then see a review where it appears quite pale, it doesn't appeal to me at all.

 

My Lamy AL-star is quite wet, so maybe there are possibilities for the ink to lay down dark. I need some gravitas on the paper.

 

Have to think about it a bit more....

[Bookman]

Sailor Sei Boku is my least favorite fountain pen ink in the drawer. (I might fill one pen once a year with it.) But it is my favorite dip pen ink by far. I use Speedball nibs ## 512 (F) and 513 (EF), and the line it produces with each (but even more so with the 513EF), is much darker and richer than the teal version I get from from my FPs. It sits up on the nib like any other dip pen ink. Well behaved and predictable. And it's waterproof. As a dip pen ink, I think it's outstanding.