Efnir: Pilot Iroshizuku Asa-Gao

[LizEF]

Extra Fine Nib Ink Review: Pilot Iroshizuku Asa-gao

 

This is review #34 in my series. Here's the YouTube video:

 

Post-recording notes: Shading is better in the zoom than what my eyes see. Cleaning was a little more difficult than expected. The converter came clean with a single rinse with pen flush, but the section required a little rubbing with a cotton swab (perhaps because there was no piston in there to loosen the ink's hold). This made me curious so I tested water resistance and found that while a lot of color comes up, some blue remains - paler, but readable.

 

And here is a screen of the final result, for those not interested in the video:

Scan of Completed Review:

 

Zoomed in photo:

Absorbent Paper Closeup (puzzle paper like thick newsprint):

 

Screenshots also available on Instagram: @zilxodarap

 

Previous Review: Diamine Prussian Blue.

 

Want to influence the inky sequence? Take the "next ink" poll.

 

Hope you enjoy. Comments appreciated!

[inkstainedruth]

Hmmm. I didn't like Asa-Gao when I tried it because I found it drippy. Wondering now if an EF nib would control that better, especially in a drier pen....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[LizEF]

Hmmm. I didn't like Asa-Gao when I tried it because I found it drippy. Wondering now if an EF nib would control that better, especially in a drier pen....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

Interesting. No dripping, not over-wet from my Penmanship. So yeah, if you've got a dry-ish EF, it may work well there - it was a pleasure in mine (except the far-too-ordinary blue color).

[Tincansailor]

Always look forward to your reviews! One of my favorite "Blues." Never had an issue, and I sometimes get a nice sheen too. And the bottle looks impressive on ones desk

[LizEF]

Always look forward to your reviews! One of my favorite "Blues." Never had an issue, and I sometimes get a nice sheen too. And the bottle looks impressive on ones desk

Thanks! No sheen from this nib, but it's not hard to imagine it sheening from a wetter nib - it's quite saturated, and that seems to be one of the ingredients. And yeah, those Iroshizuku bottles are gorgeous - even their little ones are quite attractive.

[I-am-not-really-here]

Agreed, it looks like just like ballpoint ink. Maybe a broader nib would help but no rush to try.

[Charles Rice]

What ya got on your right hand?

 

[LizEF]

Agreed, it looks like just like ballpoint ink. Maybe a broader nib would help but no rush to try.

From the color swatch in the video, and the dipped Jinhao, it looks like you might get shading from a broader nib, but still, too ballpointy.

 

What ya got on your right hand?

It's a partial glove meant to prevent smudging and to let your hand slide around more easily (or not get stuck, really) on electronic drawing tablets. Here's the JetPens page for it: https://www.jetpens.com/SmudgeGuard2-SG2-2-Finger-Glove-Cool-Black-Small/pd/13670

 

I decided to use it to make absolutely sure that if there was any skipping during the review, it wasn't caused by hand oils.

[yazeh]

Great review Liz .... I see now the wizard's zephyrs swayed by the zephyr as they stood in awe of the morning glory

[LizEF]

Great review Liz .... I see now the wizard's zephyrs swayed by the zephyr as they stood in awe of the morning glory

Those crazy wizards!

[LizEF]

Here's the line width measurement. The line is one of those used for dry time.  Magnification is 100x.  The grid is 100x100µm.  The scale is 330µm, with eleven divisions of 30µm each.  The line width for this ink is roughly 270µm.

 

[XYZZY]

I didn't see this review when it was fresh, but stumbled across it a month back and was shocked at people saying it looks like ballpoint ink.  But I just put it into a new pen, a Pilot Custom Kaede with #10 F nib, and I have to say that it looks like ballpoint ink.  Sigh.  The pen lays down a line that is not only thinner than what I'm used to but drier as well, and I'm sure those two things make all the difference.

 

Normally I have this in a Pilot #30 FM nib which, and in spite of what you'd think from "F" vs "FM", lays down a much wider and wetter line.  The width of the line is enough that you see a faint hint of blurple, not just blue.  Ballpoints all over prostrate themselves, pour ashes on their heads, and shout "we're not worthy!".

 

Of course it's all in the eye (and the nib and the paper) of the beholder.

 

I do have to be careful with this ink in that pen:  my over/side-writing style can end up smearing the paper a small amount.  I either have to write slowly, or keep a sheet under my wrist.

[LizEF]

18 minutes ago, XYZZY said:

I didn't see this review when it was fresh, but stumbled across it a month back and was shocked at people saying it looks like ballpoint ink.  But I just put it into a new pen, a Pilot Custom Kaede with #10 F nib, and I have to say that it looks like ballpoint ink.  Sigh.  The pen lays down a line that is not only thinner than what I'm used to but drier as well, and I'm sure those two things make all the difference.

  Well, it is a pretty vibrant blue, one I might recommend in place of Noodler's BSB, but at the end of the day, that's what ballpoints and rollerballs give you: blue blue.

 

19 minutes ago, XYZZY said:

The width of the line is enough that you see a faint hint of blurple, not just blue.  Ballpoints all over prostrate themselves, pour ashes on their heads, and shout "we're not worthy!".

 

19 minutes ago, XYZZY said:

Of course it's all in the eye (and the nib and the paper) of the beholder.

Indeed.  (Don't ask my opinion of blurple...)