Sailor Rikyu Cha - Compact Review

[Intensity]

Yeah I guess sheen is not really the right term, or else I should say that "sheen" in the case of inks encompasses a color shift based on the dye concentration. High enough concentration causes an apparent color shift, which can take on a metallic glint under certain lighting (and with high enough concentration).

 

For instance, Lamy Petrol ink: you can only see the rose gold metallic sheen aspect on very concentrated spots where the ink is not absorbed and dries thickly on the surface. However in normal writing, you can see it shifting slightly toward red where it pools up--not enough to shine, but enough to see the color shift just barely there.

 

Same with Tokiwa Matsu, except it doesn't take much effort for the color shift to take place. I don't know if sheen is effectively some crystalline latice or some other molecular arrangement that requires enough ink to result in different light reflecting properties (color change vs. normal liquid state of the ink in solution).

 

We only refer to sheen as something shiny, but really "sheen" begins much earlier with ink as a color shift that can--but not always does--culminate in metallic glint.

Edited December 24, 2017 by Intensity

[Jan2016]

Tokiwa Matsu has 2 characteristics:

 

1. " Color Shifting"

2. Sheen

 

It are 2 different things.

I now see that you can see the different effects in the swab strokes, the three lines at the bottom. First stroke three passes, bottom stroke one pass.

Here you can see nicely the difference between sheen and color shifting, and yo can see that the less ink, the greener the appearance.

[biancitwo]

I asked above what are my granddaughter and I missing in this ink. I received no answer. Now, I have a more serious question. Has this ink clogged any of your pens? I finished the fill last night and found the piston frozen. This pen was recently lubricated, perhaps just prior to filling it with this ink. My next step was going to be remove the nib, clean it well and re-lubricate the piston. The nib unit would not budge. I put this nib unit in when I filled it with this ink. After soaking a awhile, a some serious pressure, the nib and feed came out. The collar has not budged. After the feed was soaked separately, I found congealed brown deposits in the feed channels. There are brown stains inside the barrel, which the collar prevents my cleaning. Surely, this experience is not unique.

Edited January 18, 2018 by biancitwo

[NicolausPiscator]

Thank you for your review which I missed in November! But RIkyu-Cha is one of my favourite inks! It is an undecided colour, delicious and the sheen is marvellous!

[Jan2016]

@biancitwo

I have one of my most expensive pens continuously inked with Rikyu-Cha and never experienced any clogging or other problems. I consider the Sailor inks of high quality and also with their other inks I do not experience problems like clogging.

As far as an answer for your question, I think there are some answers in this thread, but if you do not like the ink, just do not use it, there are more then enough other interesting inks :-)

[biancitwo]

@biancitwo

I have one of my most expensive pens continuously inked with Rikyu-Cha and never experienced any clogging or other problems. I consider the Sailor inks of high quality and also with their other inks I do not experience problems like clogging.

As far as an answer for your question, I think there are some answers in this thread, but if you do not like the ink, just do not use it, there are more then enough other interesting inks :-)

Utterly sensible advice, but I would like to know the reason for this unpleasant and potentially disastrous experience.

[Intensity]

Such severe clogging after just one fill sounds like a result of a deposit due to contamination. That is, the ink may have reacted with something it came in contact with and formed a precipitate. How were the feed and reservoir cleaned from the previous ink? What was the ink previously used in this pen? Was there a substance used to clean the pen still left in the pen? Just some targeted questions to see if your issue could be narrowed down a bit to the causes. I would say that your experience is pretty dramatic, and if such a thing were common, we'd be hearing about it all the time. Instead, Sailor inks are very popular and considered to be well behaved, if not all great about not staining converters.

[biancitwo]

I cannot deny the possibility of contamination. My Pelikan 400 had been out of rotation for a few months. Before it was filled, it was flushed again for good measure. It glistened as vintage Pels do. It had had only Iroshizuku Asa Gao when inked during the last several years. I've never had trouble cleaning a pen after Asa Gao. Nonetheless, I have a barrel with significant deposits that I cannot reach, because of the frozen nib collar. All of this is in a pen that appeared beautifully clean, and an ink with which no one has had problems. I appreciate your thoughts. When the collar is removed, I may learn more.

[NicolausPiscator]

I have also filled Rikyu-Cha in different pens and I have never mad bad experiences and I know clogging form other inks, e. g. Platinum ink.

[catalyst]

Several of you love this ink. I've only used it in a Pelikan 400, with oblique medium nib. My observant 5 year old granddaughter saw it written on Tomoe paper and said, "I like your brown ink, Poppa." That is what it looks like, dark brown. It also seems to write a wider line than other inks in that pen. What and why am I, and my granddaughter, missing?

 

This ink and several of Sailor's inks like this are highly dependent of what paper you use. I am writing a review of this inks's twin: Pen and Message Cigar, displaying the several different looks on different papers. I don't think that anyone will argue that this ink generally falls under some shade of brown, even though when wet it is definitely greenish.

 

I asked above what are my granddaughter and I missing in this ink. I received no answer. Now, I have a more serious question. Has this ink clogged any of your pens? I finished the fill last night and found the piston frozen. This pen was recently lubricated, perhaps just prior to filling it with this ink. My next step was going to be remove the nib, clean it well and re-lubricate the piston. The nib unit would not budge. I put this nib unit in when I filled it with this ink. After soaking a awhile, a some serious pressure, the nib and feed came out. The collar has not budged. After the feed was soaked separately, I found congealed brown deposits in the feed channels. There are brown stains inside the barrel, which the collar prevents my cleaning. Surely, this experience is not unique.

 

 

I dont know what to say about this experience, I have never had an experience like this even with the most notorious ink brands. I have even at times left many different sailor inks, diamine inks, Noodler's inks and more in cheap piston pens for longer than I should, but a quick soak and all had been well. This ink in particular is not water resistant in the least, so some water should wash it right out.

 

I would check that lubrication, the lubrications I have used includes the TWSBI silicone grease, Wingsung grease and some silicone grease I got off amazon and have never had a problem.

[FPRebel]

Great review and pics!
Rikyu-cha's transition from green (wet) to brown (dry) caught me by surprise. The first time I used it, I thought I had a pen (Ranga) or a paper (Tomoe River) problem. Haha!
I like the ink quite a lot; however, I also really like the green that it is when wet. What ink compares to this green?

[catalyst]

Great review and pics!

Rikyu-cha's transition from green (wet) to brown (dry) caught me by surprise. The first time I used it, I thought I had a pen (Ranga) or a paper (Tomoe River) problem. Haha!

I like the ink quite a lot; however, I also really like the green that it is when wet. What ink compares to this green?

 

 

From my Review of Pen and Message Cigar I did a mini comparison of all the inks I thought were close enough that I had. Of these Rikyu-Cha, Cigar, Tokiwa Matsu and Epinard (the most green the 4) all have somewhat of a color change from wet to dry, although none as drastic as Rikyu-Cha/Cigar, which are basically twins. Tokiwa-Matsu has a brilliant Copper Sheen on certain papers as well.

 

[Jan2016]

Great review! Tokiwa Matsu, one of my other favorites... :-)

[biancitwo]

I asked above about Rikyu-cha clogging a pen. I was certain that was the ink. Looking at my ink journal I find that I had removed Rikyu-cha and filled it with Pelikan Smoky Quartz. I apologize for my error.

[Jan2016]

No problem. Only thing is now... why does Pelikan has this behavior??? ;-)

[NicolausPiscator]

Hmmm... Rikyu-Cha and Cigar, twins? ... brother and sister?

[Jan2016]

or identical twins...? :-)

[minddance]

Rikyu Cha, as with most other Jentle Inks, flow slower and slower in most of my pens. Use these inks real fresh for good flow. Shigure and Oku Yama are two that behave rather differently from the rest in my limited experience.

[NicolausPiscator]

or identical twins...? :-)

 

Mmmm... or baby clones? With a small but significant difference in MRNA? ;-)

Edited January 29, 2018 by FinScherlis

[Fishkabob]

Thats a really nice color. hows the bleed and feathering? I found some of my sailor inks feather a lot and some dont