Mix Your Own Shades Of Ink In Tokyo - Ink Stand

[grilledcheese]

I just came back from a trip to Tokyo and while it is in general a stationery paradise, one pair of shops in particular really stood out for me. These were Kakimori, a pen/pencil/paper/notebook shop, and the sister store, Ink Stand, right next door. The shop itself describes their products in English, with better photos than mine, here: http://www.kakimori.com/works/pg11.html

 

I thought I'd go into a little more detail for anyone interested.

 

When you walk in, you see a sort of science-lab looking long counter on your right, with little stations set up for four or five people. It's a long, narrow shop, so I think that's why they have little signs saying 'reserved', but it was empty at midday on a weekday when I went in, so they let me just go ahead.

 

 

Each station has a row of the available base pigments (these are pigment based inks), a few small mixing cups, a glass beaker, a glass pen, and everything else you need.

 

 

A clerk talks you through the whole process. You choose either two or three base inks, and record how many drops of each you're using. I used two of A, one of B, noted (A2 B1) on the test pad, stirred with the glass stirrer, sampled it. I wanted a bit more A, so I drew a line under that, added another drop of A, noted (A3 B1), and repeated the process. I'm just giving an example, the colors are actually named to make it a bit easier.

 

 

I knew I wanted to make a sort of eggplant color, so I consulted the chart for a starting point and tinkered from there. They give you 45 minutes to tinker, and I think you can make up to two custom colors per session, although I suspect that this, like the reservation system, is a guideline to make sure they can accommodate everyone during busy times. They were so nice and so accommodating, I doubt they would sit around in an empty shop refusing to let me more just because I'd hit a limit.

 

 

They do warn you that these are pigment inks and explain the need for proper cleaning, offer their own cleaning fluid, their own pens. They have samples of these, inked up with all the different premade color blends they offer, if you prefer to buy something 'off the rack'.

 

 

I'm aware that it is unlikely I will come up with a totally new, precise shade of ink in under 45 min, standing at a counter in Tokyo, that none of the many major ink companies with hundreds of bottles and decades of professional development have yet noticed, so I only spent about 10 minutes blending. Still, it was really pleasurable and I got to take home a unique souvenir. If I find I adore my personal ink, I can just give them the ratios next time and they will blend up another batch.

 

My final word on this spot is that it is very much *unlike* Loft, Itoya, or the other big shops in busier areas like Shibuya or pricy neighborhoods like Ginza. This is not eight storeys of *everything*, it's a carefully curated collection of very special things. I give it my highest recommendation.

 

Please also see my posts on the sister store, the pen shop Kakimori here and their custom notebook-making feature here.

Edited May 3, 2017 by grilledcheese

[ManofKent]

Fascinating shop - thank you for sharing.

[otw]

Very cool! Would you be willing to post a small example of the ink(s) you created?

[grilledcheese]

Very cool! Would you be willing to post a small example of the ink(s) you created?

Post as in mail? Or post a photo?

[otw]

A photo, please.

[bobje]

What a terrific journal of the experience, grilledcheese! Thank you.

[gerigo]

Lovely write up. Kakimori has always been a place I wanted to hit up but never had the time. Next time, I will definitely go.

[grilledcheese]

Thank you, folks, I feel a bit like a spammer breaking it up into three posts in different fora but it really was such a great experience and the shop's not in the main shopping areas, so I thought it might be useful to get a closer peek.

 

Here are some written samples. The paper is white, apologies for the color cast, I have a funky mix of light sources here and sunlight was too strong for my phone's camera.

 

 

 

I'll try to snap some better pics with a real camera later today. Thanks everyone for the kind comments!

[amberleadavis]

Oh, yes, I love it!

[otw]

Great color!

[grilledcheese]

Thank you, folks!

[amberleadavis]

White Lotus just brought it to my attention that these are pigment based. How are they doing in your pen?

[white_lotus]

According to their web site, they say they cannot guarantee any pen using their inkstand ink except in a pen from Kakimori or inkstand. They do have their own special cleaner to flush out your pen.

 

http://inkstand.jp/please-note

[grilledcheese]

So far, so good in the Pilot Metropolitan F nib, but it's only been a day or two. I wouldn't use it to fill a pen I'd weep over having to discard, in case the unthinkable happened. I was also really worried about all the sparkle in the Herbin Emerald of Chivor, so I've emptied out a Platinum Preppy cartridge and refilled it with a pipette, but it seemed to wash out pretty thoroughly just with water.

 

I should note that I'm very much a novice so what looks clean to me might not pass with a more experienced eye.