Sailor For Maruzen Athena Sepia

[white_lotus]

I'd taken some of the pics earlier, but only now getting to posting the review.

 

Sailor makes inks for the Maruzen chain of stores under the Athena brand name. I'm not sure how widely they are available at the different stores. There have been some LE inks, but the Sepia is supposedly normally available. I received a sample from a generous FPN member. I hope someday to be able to acquire a whole bottle. There are a lot of other inks labeled "sepia," and this one is not the ultimate sepia. It's very good however. So having it in your ink wardrobe is not bad.

 

Tried on Mohawk via Linen and Hammermill 28lb Inkjet paper.

 

The photo here I just couldn't get the right color. One way too dark, another too red. In this it seems a bit too dark towards black. You can see the burgundy undertone in the wipe tests.

 

 

 

An angled view. Again too black looking. You can see in the lighter parts of the shady notes the brownish tone.

 

The ink held up well to water. Not eternal like Athena herself, but decent. The actual color here is quite accurate I think. Best of the bunch by far.

 

[senzen]

Great review (the Mohawk looks amazing), interesting ink.

[bstnnyc]

Thank you for reviewing all of these Sailor browns! It is so helpful to see them back to back in your reviews!

[playtime]

Thanks for the review - very thorough - and very honest.

 

But I am eager to hear what you're ultimate sepia is:)

There are a lot of other inks labeled "sepia," and this one is not the ultimate sepia. It's very good however. So having it in your ink wardrobe is not bad.

[white_lotus]

Thanks for the encouragement! The only brown that didn't make it into the rotation was Noodler's Beaver. So I think I've covered all that I have at present.

 

I haven't settled on an ultimate sepia yet. There was the thread with something like 84 sepias, and I lack most of them. So the search continues...

 

After I finished up the greens I have, it'll be on to your favorite color bstnnyc — blue! It's my favorite too. So I'll have a "Blue Period" for a while.

[jmccarty3]

I love these dark browns, but I look forward to your reviews of the blues!

[Barkingpig]

I like this ink a lot. Have kept it in the Pilot 823 since I first filled it. I did not know it was a Sailor ink but am certainly glad to know so. I purchased my bottle from Nanami Paper when I first ordered some Tomoe River paper. I remember it cost more than most inks but not any worse than most "boot legged" inks from Japan. You again gave an excellent picture of this ink. I am enjoying Bung Box Espresso currently & find it is very close to Penman Mocha. Like them both and probably "truth be told....haven't met many browns I don't like."

[bstnnyc]

After I finished up the greens I have, it'll be on to your favorite color bstnnyc — blue! It's my favorite too. So I'll have a "Blue Period" for a while.

Yay! I can't wait for the blue period to begin! (even though I prefer the "Marie Therese" years to the "Blue Period" )

[white_lotus]

Thanks so much for the support. Well I'm a real fan of the Cubist work of Picasso and Braque, as well as, Juan Gris. The photos in the art books don't do them justice. So just be patient as I don't want to dump out the fills of these yummy greens. And after this winter I need to see some green!

[konradwhite]

Thx. How did U produce the last photo?

[white_lotus]

The grid had water droplets that were blotted with a paper towel after 1 minute, 3 min., 5 min.

 

The writing had a cup of water poured over it.

[Intensity]

Picked up a bottle of this ink at a Maruzen store, and yep, can definitely confirm it's made by Sailor--it has completely identical bug-spray like chemical scent that Maruzen Athena Blue Black (made by Sailor and is the same as the standard Sailor Jentle Blue Black just in a nice Athena bottle) has. I have both Blue Black and Sepia inked in 2 pens for testing side by side right now.

 

Sepia does a remarkable job looking very much like actual chocolate! Very nice. I worried it would be near-black in appearance, but with a broad nib there is quite a bit of shading, and all shows brown color. I could see it looking more off-black if I let the ink sit in a pen for a long time, but then most inks would follow the same pattern in higher concentration.

Edited June 16, 2019 by Intensity

[white_lotus]