Kakimori Kurun pigment ink

[yazeh]

 

Rejoice permanent ink lovers, another player is in the game

 

Kakimori is a stationary shop in Tokyo Japan. 

 

They have a range of inks and stationery, which epitomizes Japanese minimalism and elegance. They also make personalized handmade inks and notebooks. 

As of now their inks are available from Vanness in USA, and Laywines/Phidon in Canada, La Couronne du Comte/ Stilo e stile in in Europe and obviously their own shop in Japan. 

 

My apologies for these low quality photos..

 

Packaging: 

 

They have a wide range of pigment inks, which are all waterproof. The bottles are truly beautiful, solid with a big opening and minimal packaging which embodies their sustainability motive.

First off, there’s a warning note in the packaging about clogging. It reminds me of Super5 inks, which recommend to to use their own pens. 

Being used to notoriously naughty inks, I inked several pens and hoped for the best  

 

The ink in a nutshell: Good for M nibs  and above, low lubrication with F/Ef nibs. Long dry times. Nice Shading. Beautiful bottle (though one doesn't write with a bottle, though that's debatable )

 

According to their website: Kurun depicts the dance of a vine's curling tendrils. A green that captures both vitality and a sense of calm.

 

 

#6 fude nib/ reverse fude nib / TR 68gr paper

 

 

 I would say, the greatest issue with this ink is long dry times and lack of lubircation with fine /Ef nibs

 

TR 68gr /EF/F//Reverse Broad/ Broad 

While ink looks pale it is quite legible, despite the scan. However the writing experience is best with broad. Sketch was done with a safari fine nib. 

 

TR 68 gr/Ahab /Medium

Midori: Note how dry time between a reverse broad/ broad  changes drastically. On TR paper  above it's even worse. 

Dry time is very long on TR 68 gr, less on Midori, acceptable on Rhodia, good on Apica and immediate on Field Notes. 

 

I don’t like long dry times for inks, but I found myself reaching for this ink over and over again refilling my testing Safari,for the past 3 months.  The combination works fine as I can use both broad and reverse broad creating a fine line when needed. And ironically, I liked the smudging. 

However, when I switched the safari broad nib for a fine, the pen became scratchy, lubrication non-existent. I didn't like the writing experience. 

 

I think artists would love this ink.  

 

Chroma:

Ink comparison:

Water test: Right side was held under water - Maruman paper

 

 

 ·  Pens used: Lamy Safrai broad/ fine/ Jinhao fude nib/ Medium/ No name EF/ Ahab flex

·  Shading: Depending nib and paper. 

·  Ghosting:  Yes on absorbent paper like Field Notes with a broad nib.

·  Bleed through: Same as above.

·  Flow Rate: Alright... 

·  Lubrication: On the dry side.

·  Nib Dry-out: Not noticed

·  Start-up: Not noticed

·  Saturation:  Muted green. 

·  Shading Potential: Yes

·  Sheen: None

·  Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: Not noticed

·  Nib Creep / “Crud”: No

·  Staining (pen): I doubt it. 

·  Clogging: Only time will say. But none so far. 

·  Water resistance: Excellent

·  Availability: 30 ml bottles 

 

[DvdRiet]

Nice review and nice color, Yazeh!

[axialix]

Greens aren't really my colors, but this one has some really nice shading. And that unique bottle is pretty cool. 👍

[dragondazd]

Oooh interesting. Thanks for sharing.

[mizgeorge]

A lovely review @yazeh thank you

 

I'm afraid it's your fault that I now have a number of these, and I love all of them! 

[yazeh]

49 minutes ago, DvdRiet said:

Nice review and nice color, Yazeh!

 

43 minutes ago, axialix said:

Greens aren't really my colors, but this one has some really nice shading. And that unique bottle is pretty cool. 👍

 

30 minutes ago, dragondazd said:

Oooh interesting. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you, very kind of you 🙏

1 minute ago, mizgeorge said:

A lovely review @yazeh thank you

 

I'm afraid it's your fault that I now have a number of these, and I love all of them! 

Blame it on Mama, mizgeorge

 

[LizEF]

Thanks for another great review, @yazeh!    Love the drawings.  This ink is at the edge of too normal for me, but we'll see...  The shading is beautiful.

[amberleadavis]

Great review!  Ditto on the drawings!  I think the bottle is too cool.  I wish the ink were more saturated. 

[txomsy]

+1 on the bottle, I think it is real hot. Love it.

[yazeh]

17 hours ago, LizEF said:

Thanks for another great review, @yazeh!    Love the drawings.  This ink is at the edge of too normal for me, but we'll see...  The shading is beautiful.

Thanks Liz. The shading is nice. Funny enough the EF nib is behaving better this morning

 

17 hours ago, amberleadavis said:

Great review!  Ditto on the drawings!  I think the bottle is too cool.  I wish the ink were more saturated. 

Thanks. Stilo and still has nice photos and shows the rest of the line. 

2 hours ago, txomsy said:

+1 on the bottle, I think it is real hot. Love it.

It is indeed a handsome bottle. Sturdy and solid....

 

[lapis]

Great review as usual, yazeh! I too find the bottle really crass (however all in a good way). And the ink itself, of course, there's something about it which I can't explain (who cares?) but although it does seem to be quite pale and/or not very saturated (as you said) it does have style. For that, long drying times wouldn't disturb me at all.  ♬ ♫

[LizEF]

43 minutes ago, yazeh said:

Thanks Liz. The shading is nice. Funny enough the EF nib is behaving better this morning

It found out I was paying attention and decided it had better shape up before I looked any closer!   (Like computers do when IT show up.)

 

45 minutes ago, yazeh said:

Stilo and still has nice photos and shows the rest of the line. 

Wow.  I really like how they show their inks - I may have to bookmark the site just for reference.   Thanks!

[Licue]

The bottle looks almost a bit surreal. As if it used to be a round bottle and then melted in the sun.

Very cool 😄

[yazeh]

Using the smudging for "artsy" writing....

 

[yazeh]

4 hours ago, lapis said:

Great review as usual, yazeh! I too find the bottle really crass (however all in a good way). And the ink itself, of course, there's something about it which I can't explain (who cares?) but although it does seem to be quite pale and/or not very saturated (as you said) it does have style. For that, long drying times wouldn't disturb me at all.  ♬ ♫

 

Thanks Lapis, much appreciated. It's less pale in person

And yes it does have style. ... 😎

 

[yazeh]

1 hour ago, Licue said:

The bottle looks almost a bit surreal. As if it used to be a round bottle and then melted in the sun.

Very cool 😄

Yep. You should see their promotional photos. It's all in the bottle

 

[namrehsnoom]

Thank you for showing us this ink… I personally like the soft colour of this green. Looks really nice… kind of a pastel-green. Shading might be too heavy for me. And also looks like an ink that’s made for broad nibs only. But then again… that colour makes up for a lot. I’m adding this one and the brand in general to my “to explore someday” list….

[yazeh]

3 hours ago, namrehsnoom said:

Thank you for showing us this ink… I personally like the soft colour of this green. Looks really nice… kind of a pastel-green. Shading might be too heavy for me. And also looks like an ink that’s made for broad nibs only. But then again… that colour makes up for a lot. I’m adding this one and the brand in general to my “to explore someday” list….

I was sure you would appreciate their beauty. I'm looking forward to see your reviews in the future. Now all I need is a time machine

 

[amberleadavis]

I keep checking out the bottle. 

[yazeh]

1 hour ago, amberleadavis said:

I keep checking out the bottle. 

I doubt if they have anything saturated. Though Po, seems to be bright red, depending nib and feed. But from what I gather the only saturated inks are the darker ones....