(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)
Several weeks ago, Vanness sent the Pen Addict ink samples for review. One of the inks I received was Kyo-no-oto No. 6 Adzuki-iro, a burgundy ink that I loaded into my TWSBI Eco T to test the pen. I loved the ink so much that I purchased a bottle.
Adzuki-iro means “red beans.” It is a limited edition ink from the TAG Stationery Store in Kyoto, Japan. “Adzuki-iro” sounds more beautiful to my ear than “red beans,” and this color certainly lacks any brown tones that I would associate with red beans. The color is a gorgeous cabernet that reminds me of the deeper hues of cherry blossoms.
In my ink test, you can see how Adzuki-iro performs on Maruman Septcouleur paper. It has lots of saturation, especially when you layer it, and it dries fairly quickly. It is not water resistant.
I was fascinated by the chromatography test. The ink contains a wide array of colors: light blue, lavender, pink, red, and orange.
This complexity gives the ink much more depth and character than two similar inks, Kyo-Iro No. 5 Keage-Sakura and Robert Oster Cherry Blossom.
Although Adzuki-iro isn’t a super sheeny ink, it does exhibit a bit of green sheen when it pools.
The ink performs quite well in my TWSBI stub (I’ve been using it for several weeks), though the shading characteristics are much more noticeable in wider nibs.
I really love this ink. It is not as flashy as Iroshizuku Yama-Budo, which makes it much more versatile--it is dark enough in finer nibs that you could definitely use it at work and for correspondence. In wider nibs, its lovely burgundy-pink tones and shading make it a great choice for cards, art, and calligraphy.
You can purchase a 40ml bottle of Adzuki-iro from Vanness Pens for $28.00. You might want to hurry, though. Since this is a limited edition color that I am crazy about, I may wind up purchasing whatever Vanness has left in stock!
(Vanness Pens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.
Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!
