Taccia Hokusai Katsushika Sabimidori (Rust Green)

[white_lotus]

Someone requested a review of this ink since they saw that I had the Red Soil. This inspired me to get on with it, as I was very curious to see what kind of green it was. Rust green, what could that be?

 

This is a very interesting green. Some subtle shading, enhanced by the sheen. The latter is sometimes dark, contributing to the shading, making it quite dramatic. The sheen is definitely red, but often quite dark. The camera picks up the reflection, making it look pink. But it varies depending on light, ink concentration on the paper, and the paper itself. Sometimes the sheen appeared very metallic, making the writing look like graphite pencil.

 

The green is a somewhat neutral bluish-green. It is not bright, but it is well colored. I was a bit worried that it would be a green that I disliked, but that is not the case at all. It's a very pleasant green. It is not a murky swamp green that many people, myself included, really like. This definitely leans very blue as you can see in the backlit photo. When I first looked at the ink, in the evening, I thought maybe a mistake had been made and I was sent the wrong ink. The writing at night looking like a graphite blue if there would be such a thing. It's quite blue when wet, then turning to the green when dry.

 

To me this is a very unique green. Maybe it isn't and I'll learn something. But a reasonable price for a Sailor ink these days. It is $0.50/ml ($20 for 40 ml bottle). The Kobe inks are $30 for 50 ml ($0.60/ml), the Sailor Ink Studio are $18 for 20 ml ($0.90/ml), the new Sailor Four Seasons and Shikiori inks are $15 for 20 ml ($0.75/ml).

 

On Mohawk via Linen, a high quality, somewhat absorbent paper:

 

On Tomoe River paper:

 

Shiny sheen:

 

Nice box!

 

Back

 

Nice bottle!

 

Is this a blue ink? Not really.

 

 

[langere]

I love the package! yes, this is very much a bluish-green. Reminds me of Noodler's Legal Lapis, though that ink is lighter than Rust Green.

 

Erick

[yazeh]

Thanks for the review.....

It reminds of Diamine's November rain....

[VivaTerlingua]

Love the ink, love the packaging. As soon as I saw the Hokusai set, they were a day-one purchase for me.

[cleosmama]

I have this color and love, love, love it.

[SashK]

It's a fantastic ink. I'll be inking it up again soon.

[GreenMountain]

Thank you for the review. I like it very much. I've never seen it sheen the rust you show, but then I usually write in F or EF. I have some regular M. pens...you've inspired me to try it in one of those.

It is definitely green, though it looks quite bright blue in the bottle and when wet. It's not murky but has a smokey feel to it.

[white_lotus]

Glad you are enjoying it! Sheen is typically paper-dependent, absorbent papers need to apply. Light and angle of viewing are factors too. But yes, it's still strange to me how blue it looks in the bottle. I like the term "smokey", and apt description.

[amberleadavis]

WOW that is a heck of a sheen. Thank you for sharing!

[white_lotus]

Only the camera sees it that way, but it sheens in very mysterious ways. Very light dependent.

[GreenMountain]

How does the color compare with J. Herbin Vert de Gris? There is a comparison of the other Taccia blue/grey/green, but not this Sabimidori vs Vert de Gris.

I have Sabimidori in case anyone has Vert de Gris and would like a sample of Sabimidori in exchange for a review!

[Intensity]

I have vert de gris, and sabimidori is ordered, so when it arrives I can post a comparison.

[RJS]

Does it look somewhat green in person? On my iPad screen it looks a pure blue with a red sheen. Not even a hint of green visible...

[subtone]

This is a scan of how Sabimidori looks on Tomoe River paper using a Pilot Prera CM nib, as compared with Herbin Vert de Gris and several other inks in the gray-blue-green range.

 

 

When Sabimidori goes onto the paper it starts out quite blue, then reveals more green as it dries.

 

It has a very notable reddish sheen, similar to that of Taccia Aoguro.

 

To my eyes, in this test, Sabimidori looks a little greener than Vert de Gris.

[Dimy]

Thanks a lot for the nice review.

 

I am personally liking the color a lot and as someone who likes darker shades and uses fine nibs for work I think this will look great. The color changing reminds me of iroshizuku shin-kai which starts as almost royal blue before turning blue-black. I also like its sheen color and well behavior quite a lot.

 

I am currently looking for a brown and green ink (mainly cos I don't have them and am in actual need for one) one of contender for brown has been taccia cha and by the behavior of this ink I expect it to behave well too (fingers crossed) now I might add this one in green list along with a plain green.

 

A question that pops in mind how do you think the ink will perform on office paper (considering it performs well on absorbent papers I am expecting it to do well with office ones too honestly)

[Intensity]

Ok now that I have Sabimidori, I can compare it to Vert de Gris (one of my top favorite inks). They are really nothing alike, except perhaps in generous flow characteristics.

 

Vert de Gris is a very pastel gray with a teal tint. Chalky pastel finish, practically no sheen to be seen.

 

Sabimidori is a vivid deep blue leaning teal while wet, and when it permeates the paper and dries the finish looks much more green. It's more saturated than Vert de Gris. It also sheens easily in the most vivid rust-orange hue I've ever seen in a fountain pen ink. Really bright and glinting metallic.

 

I'll photograph the two at some point to give a better color representation, as these scans and a cell phone pic don't do Sabimidori any justice, but you can see from the images below that the two inks are quite different:

 

 

Edited October 8, 2020 by Intensity

[inkstainedruth]

Does it look somewhat green in person? On my iPad screen it looks a pure blue with a red sheen. Not even a hint of green visible...

I'm finding that to be similar on my MacBook Air screen. Especially in the photos/scans on the more cream-toned papers (on my screen, the first image, on the Mohawk paper, it looks like a very dark blue-black.

Not normally in the range of greens that I like (I tend to prefer ones that lean just slightly yellow -- Robert Oster Moss is one of my favorites). But that is SOME sheen going on there.... Which is Interesting, in that I usually find it's *blue* inks that sheen red.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[amberleadavis]

Intensity, those are awesome comparisons.

[RJS]

Where did you buy this ink, please? It seems to be in short supply...

[GreenMountain]

Subtone and Intensity...thank you both so much! Now I'm even more tempted than ever to get the Vert de Gris. While I love Sabimidori, some days it is just too green and too intense...depends on the mood.

Now, what about a comparison of Vert de Gris and something like Diamine Prussian Blue? I think I already know the answer...Vert de Gris would be softer. I know I shouldn't hijack thread, so I'll go to Vert de Gris review and ask there.