Yama-budo, Iroshizuku

Yama-budo, or crimson glory vine. A purple ink that is supposed to represent the color of wild grapes. Depending on pen and nib used, the color varies between a dark bright pink and a true purple. Perfect for personal use: notes, casual writing or letters. Personally I think it's a bit too bright and flashy for the office, although admittedly I have used and gotten away with "worse".

There is no argument about the quality of Iroshizuku. Yama-budo writes like a dream in any pen or nib size. No feathering, beautiful shading, negligible show-through, not too wet and excellent lubrication, very smooth in writing. As with most Iroshizuku inks, water will immediately ruin your writing. Drying time is OK, almost 35 seconds on Rhodia.

Compared to other purple inks it's a bit lighter than Montblanc's lavender purple. Compared to Herbin's Poussiere de lune or Larme de Cassis, the ink is not only darker (more purple) but also a lot more saturated.
I like it best with a very broad and wet, or stub nib. I prefer the significantly darker purple that comes out then.

Written on Rhodia paper

Orange!!

It's Spring, we just had King's day and the European Championships football are being held next month. More than enough reasons to fill up some pens with orange inks. I was surprised to see I had gathered eight inks in the past few years that qualify as orange. Some true bright orange, some leaning more towards red or brown. Which one is your favorite? Written on Tomoe river, 52g

Kikyou, Sailor Manyo

A few months ago this new ink series by Sailor was announced. Based on flowers, in a stylish 50ml bottle. What I see is not a flower, but an ink that is stormy blue with a hint of green. Teal? Maybe, but in my opinion it's darker than that, scans and monitors can be slightly deceiving. This ink can be a work horse. Very suitable for note taking, definitely works in the office, but also for personal notes and correspondence. The ink writes like a dream. It's not very wet, but smooth and extremely well-behaved in any pen. Just the combination crown mill vellum paper and a poster nib (as you can see), leads to some feathering of the ink. Drying times are simply fast, with just 12 seconds on this paper! Shading is low. Water resistance is low. Even after days it smears easily with just a tiny drop of water. I called this ink a work horse. It is, and an expensive one. Even though it's wonderful ink, it's simply not special enough to justify the price. Yonaga (Sailor)

Around the World in 80 Days, Montblanc

Visiting Paris last month, I couldn't resist visiting the Montblanc flagship store and pick up a bottle of ink. Around the World in 80 Days is a limited edition ink, part of the recent collection about Jules Verne's description of Phileas Fogg's adventure. Nicely packed and in the well-known beautiful bottle. The ink is someone between blue and green, increasingly green in a wetter, broader nib. As such it is suitable for both the office as well as personal notes and correspondence. Personally, I like the ink best in finer nibs. It seems more dark and blue that way. I have tried the ink on both Tomoe River and Rhodia paper. The ink behaved flawlessly and feels a little bit on the dry side. Drying time is neither slow nor fast, 40 secs on Tomoe River. On Rhodia paper On Tomoe River (52g) The ink doesn't handle water very well, even after a few days the ink smears easily when some water drops are applied. Careful! The full characteristics: F

Fountain pen inks reviews and comparisons

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