Sailor - Sou Boku - Mini Review And Comparison With Sei Boku

[Intensity]

Sailor SouBoku is the latest nano-pigment ink from Sailor. It is a darker and more muted version of Sei Boku. Where Sei Boku has more vibrance and more noticeable green component to it, Sou Boku is a very somber classic blue-black. I reserve my personal judgement of this ink's color for now, but concede that it does look quite nice on ivory paper. Sei Boku is still my personal preference for its more cheerful hue.

 

Being a nano-pigment ink, water resistance is fantastic. Drying time is very quick as well.

 

This ink sheens quite readily, but the sheen is not at all distracting or very "in your face". It's just a subtle hue shift toward a red-black, giving the writing some character. I've added some super sheening splash samples, but you won't see that much sheen in normal writing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Tas]

:wub:

I adore this ink.

Thank you for another fine review of it.

 

I'm sure it'll grow on you as Sei Boku did on me

[Caeruleum]

Thank you very much for the review and comparison.

I like Sei Boku a lot for its properties, a little less for its colour. I like the colour but it is not quite what I expected after having read many reviews and especially having searched for reviews and comparisons. So I appreciate seeing Sei Boku and Sou Boku side by side and will probably continue to contemplate if I should get Sou Boku when my Sei Boku runs out.

[Karmachanic]

I'm thinking of introducing Sei-Boku to a bit of Kiwa-Guro, as I'm not particularly enamoured with it's hue either.

[A Smug Dill]

Thanks for the review!

 

I get more than noticeable sheen in normal writing from both of those inks:

 

 

 

Edit: Sorry, I didn't frame the photo properly to show the last line of writing on the line-gridded paper; it states that the paper is from a Maruman m.memo DMP-A7 notepad with 60g/m² paper.

Edited May 14, 2019 by A Smug Dill

[Intensity]

Yeah, both of the pens used in my review are dry writers, so there is less sheen. It can only go up from my samples, given good paper that doesn’t suppress sheen.

[amberleadavis]

These are wonderful comparisons.

[A Smug Dill]

I think I'll re-test them in a little while (after I get my camera repairs sorted — not cheap and not fun), but I was very surprised to see that the sheen from Sailor seiboku survived a 30-minute soak in a bath of clean, warm water.

 

Edit: The results are here.

Edited May 16, 2019 by A Smug Dill

[VivaTerlingua]

Love both of these inks, always try to keep one pen inked up with one of them at all times.

[arellano81366]

Many thanks for this review. I have one question tho. As far as you know, this one is Sou Boku??? I bought and I was told it is but is in Japanese so no idea.

[Intensity]

This is Sei Boku in the now-older style bottle. Sou Boku was only released in the new-style rectangular bottle, as shown in the top photograph of this thread. All 3 of the pigment inks (Sei Boku, Sou Boku, and Kiwa Guro) are now sold in the rectangular bottles. My bottle of Sei Boku is the older style, like yours.

 

The text on the label is key too.

 

Sei Boku:

 

 

Sou Boku:

 

(Image Source: https://www.penchalet.com/ink_refills/fountain_pen_ink/sailor_kiwa-guro_pigmented_ink.html )

Edited June 27, 2019 by Intensity

[inkstainedruth]

I recently tried a sample of Sou-boku. And I LOVE it. I really need to get a full bottle. Or maybe a couple of bottles, to have a backup.

I was never interested in Sei-boku because it's too teal leaning. If I want a teal-leaning blue black with some permanence, I've got Noodler's 54th Massachusetts. And my experience with Kiwa-Guro in a Preppy set up as a rollerball was not a happy one.... But Sou-boku? Yes definitely a must have, IMO opinion (although when I go to flush the pen out I may change my mind... ).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Caeruleum]

Did Souboku and Seiboku stain your Lamy 2000? I ask because I dream about this combination :-)

[mana]

Did Souboku and Seiboku stain your Lamy 2000? I ask because I dream about this combination :-)

Nope, I tried Souboku in mine without any issues. It feels like a very well behaved ink.

[Caeruleum]

Nope, I tried Souboku in mine without any issues. It feels like a very well behaved ink.

I really like Seiboku's behaviour but it has stained feeds of pens in which I use it. I was afraid it might be harder to clean off a 2000's special surface. Thanks!

[JulieParadise]

I really like Seiboku's behaviour but it has stained feeds of pens in which I use it. I was afraid it might be harder to clean off a 2000's special surface. Thanks!

 

Sei-Boku (the blueish/turquoise variant) and Sou-Boku (the blue-black) are behaving totally different in that respect. Sei-Boku felt hard to clean off while with Sou-Boku I never had that problem.

[Tas]

 

Sei-Boku (the blueish/turquoise variant) and Sou-Boku (the blue-black) are behaving totally different in that respect. Sei-Boku felt hard to clean off while with Sou-Boku I never had that problem.

Agreed

[aurore]

What a great review! Thank you very much!

[Mercian]

[sigh]

I have been very happily using only one blue-black ink for years (Rohrer & Klingner Salix), but have also been coveting one other (Pelikan Edelstein Tanzanite) for several years.
At Christmas I decided to treat myself to a bottle of the Tanzanite, in order to finally be rid of the nagging craving.

 

Within a month of doing so, I have found this thread, and now I find that I am coveting Sou Boku

 

I suppose it simply must be the case that the number of inks that one has in one’s possession is doomed to always be ‘n-1’, where ‘n’ is the number with which one would feel satisfied/sated.

[Eclipse157]

Yes. Possessing an inordinate amount of ink is a source of inexhaustible joy.