Skip to main content

Yonaga, Sailor Shikiori


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. 




Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

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) and Balt…
Post a Comment
Read more

Ultra violet shimmer ink, Manuscript

A new caligraphy ink by Manuscript with extreme shimmer. Definitely not something to use in the office but it looked interesting to write some cards with in the upcoming holiday season. This ink is clearly not meant for long notes or letters. A very dark violet or purple with heavy gold shimmer.
I find it a hard to use ink. OK to use in a fountain pen like the TWSBI ECO with a stub nib, but a dip pen made the ink feather and spread, even on Clairefontaine or Crown Mill Vellum paper. On Lalo Vergé it was much better. The ink is very wet, causing considerable show-through and even some bleed-through. The drying time wasn't too bad though with 35 seconds. The shimmer smears easily for a bit longer. As can be seen even on this scan, shimmer is gold and very high. A bit of water will keep the ink readable, enough to rewrite.
The violet or purple is comparable to Herbin's Améthyste de l'Oural. Diamine's Imperial Purple (no shimmer) is brighter and lighter. 
All in all this is a …
Post a Comment
Read more

Bilberry, by Diamine

Bilberry by Diamine is in the twilight zone between blue and purple. Far more dark than the European blueberry it’s named after. Billberry is a very nice dark ink. I’d call it a dark purple leaning towards blue, but it’s really a matter of perception. In any case it’s an elegant ink that works both for personal correspondence as well as note taking in the office. At first glance many will consider it a blue. 
Like most if not all Diamine inks, this ink is very well behaved. No feathering, some shading, and minimal show-through. The ink is less wet than most, writes smoothly and has a drying time that's below average for Diamine (Clairefontaine paper). The ink is very afraid of water, even a little drop or some wetness will smear it and ruin your writing. Even days after writing. 
Diamine’s Lilac Night was my first thought for a comparison, but it’s much lighter and more blue. Noodler’s Tchaikovsky (a not very vibrant purple) and iroshizuku’s Murasaki don’t come close either. 
Bilberr…
Post a Comment
Read more