Mini-Review:nagasawa Kobe Le: Van Gogh Deep Blue

[yongsheng]

Hi guys, this is my first time doing ink review.

Van Gogh Deep Blue is a LE from Nagasawa Kobe, I purchased it directly from Nagasawa Kobe on rakuten, but there are other global distributors around on the Internet.

The first thing that pops to my eyes is the box. If you're familiar with Sailor inks, then you know they all have the same size paper box and the same round glass bottle.Well, at least before they double their price. Anyway I was really enthralled by the Van Gogh painting , the deep blue uniform on the box. What's more, since Nagasawa Kobe didn't follow Sailor and increased their price, too, $20 w.o shipping fees for 50ml LE ink seems economical to some extent.

 

 

 

The ink is on the wet side. It's so wet that the sheen seems uniformly spread across the lines and curves, and I'm glad that the sheen has a low contrast compare with the 'base' color. otherwise it would be too eye searing to use. It seems to lean towards black, but make no mistake it's a true deep dark blue. I believe it's suitable for some serious purposes, but it could be 'too serious' for personal journals.

 

 

 

Edited March 30, 2018 by yongsheng

[Sinistral1]

Thank you for your review. I especially like your discussion about the price and bottle size.

[chromantic]

Grats on your first review, nicely done.

 

I love the color - a very​ dark blue and not blue/black. But I have to say that I'm a bit disappointed with the performance, in that it dries very quickly on the nib, much more so than my other Sailor inks (including the companion Dark Green).

[Bill Wood]

Thanks for the review and the tip on Kobe ink prices. I didn't know Kobe bumped their prices.

[Ghost Plane]

Grats on your first review, nicely done.

 

I love the color - a very​ dark blue and not blue/black. But I have to say that I'm a bit disappointed with the performance, in that it dries very quickly on the nib, much more so than my other Sailor inks (including the companion Dark Green).

Good to know. I was debating this, but after experiencing the quick dry with another Kobe green, I’m paying attention to drying times.

[chromantic]

Good to know. I was debating this, but after experiencing the quick dry with another Kobe green, I’m paying attention to drying times.

 

​I tested green and blue in not very air-tight JIFs so it's only natural they need a little help getting started after sitting overnight. The green need just a little help (quick swipe under running water), on a par with other Sailors, but the blue need a lot of help. I moved the blue to a VFM but the situation is not much improved. Next step will be trying it in a screw-on cap; I imagine that should help somewhat with the overnight drying but there's still the problem of not pausing to think too long when writing.

[inkstainedruth]

Thanks for the review. This one bears some looking into, even with the potential drying issues.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[chromantic]

​I've good news to report. I inked an M150 and, after several hours, it started right up. Then I let it sit for well over 24 hours and, again, it started right up with no hesitation. Flow is good, the color is a tiny bit lighter (the darker color in the JIF and VFM likely due to evaporation) and the shading is a bit more noticeable, as well.

 

All in all, a good example of how the pen can make the difference, and something I need to keep in mind when testing.

[Honeybadgers]

$20 for 50mL is botique, but not absurd. Platinum classic IG inks are $25/bottle.

 

Now, $40 for a botique in the standard sailor bottle (which is hands down the third worst ink bottle on earth, only ahead of J. Herbin's 30ml and 1670 bottles) for mose kobe inks is a horrible ripoff.

Edited April 8, 2018 by Honeybadgers

[amberleadavis]

Thank you for a terrific review.