Perle Noir is one of the most recommended and well reviewed black inks out there. When I bought this ink a few years ago, I was disappointed. It is not the blackest, not the smoothest, not the fastest drying ink, not an archival ink, not the cheapest. I decided to give it a second chance so I eyedropped a Preppy with it and filled a Lamy All-star. Over the past few days I have written many pages of work notes with the ink. Perle Noir is a well behaving black ink that is sold at a reasonable price, but it doesn't excel in anything. Below some writing samples, followed by drying times and test in water resistance. Drying times are about average to slow, 45 secs with a broad nib on Tomoe River 52g paper. The ink is certainly not water resistant, but it can handle an accidental drop. The full characteristics: Feathering none Shading hardly any Show through negligible ...
My first experience with this brand, Sailor Shikiori. Shikiori meaning four seasons. I read the stories that these are simply the old Jentl inks, rebranded and a lot more expensive. I never used those either. The bottle is small (20ml) and beautiful. Yonaga means long autumn night. The color represents an autumn night without the moon. The naming of the inks definitely reminds of Iroshizuku's style of naming their inks.
Yonaga is a very dark blue, with a slight hint of green. In very broad (oblique) nibs a bit of green sheen can be seen, but in normal pen sizes I didn't notice it. Being a dark blue, Yonaga can be used almost everywhere. Work notes, business correspondence, signing, personal notes, letters and writing.
The ink is very well behaved. Arguably the smoothest ink I have ever used. Quite wet, which makes drying time long (almost a minute) and there is some show-through even on quality paper. No feathering though and the shadowing is beautiful, clearly visible but never extreme or too much. Water resistance is low to moderate. Water will almost always require some rework of the page, but the text remains legible and won't be lost.
The color comes close to Iroshizuku's Shin Kai (Yonaga is just a bit more green). Imperial blue by Diamin is a lot more bright and saturated. Blue nuit by Herbin doesn't even come close.
All in all this is a very nice, but seriously overpriced ink.
