Pilot Iroshizuku Ama-iro Ink Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

For the longest time, I thought Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-peki was my favorite blue ink from the Iroshizuku line. It's bright, has great shading properties, dries relatively fast, and looks great everywhere. I always shied away from Ama-iro because it looked too light — almost transparent. Well, I eventually cracked and decided to give Ama-iro a shot, and I'm really glad I did.

I've never used an Iroshizuku ink that I disliked, so I was sure that Ama-iro would be a nice ink that lacked the "wow" factor of others. The name translates to "Sky," which is very fitting given the light, bright blue hue. In my book, they could also call it "Bora Bora" because it looks like the clear blue waters of Indonesian island paradise.

Like I said, I didn't go into this ink thinking I would care for it. To my surprise, I was completely wrong. This is just another example that shows you should never assume anything. Immediately after inking it up, I was enamored with the light blue shade that had a beautiful shading behavior. In a matter of minutes, I went from "meh" to "love it."

What makes the Ama-iro so great? Well, the color. If you've used an Iroshizuku ink before, you know what to expect. It's an incredibly well-behaved ink with beautiful color characteristics, great flow, and pretty bottles. The Iroshizuku inks are my favorite of any other brand. That said, I was 100% sure that I would never find an ink that compares to my beloved Kon-peki, and I'm sure there are plenty of folks that hold that same opinion. Let it be known, this opinion has not changed, but Ama-iro is nipping at the heels of this special title. It's closing the gap with every stroke from my pen.

The sky can be different colors depending on weather conditions and what locale you're currently in. For me, this color reminds me of a clear, sunny day in Colorado — somewhere around 6,000 ft. elevation. They're clean, crisp, and rich with color. That's exactly what this blue is like. It's not just a flat light blue — it's rich and has amazing depth.

My favorite characteristic of this ink is its ability to shade to a medium blue. I've used the ink in several pens, and I love using it in wetter, broader nibs that can really show off the shading. It really is something to behold.

Another favorite feature of this ink is the dry time. I clocked it somewhere between 10 and 15 seconds when using a Japanese medium nib and a European medium nib. Not the fastest dry time, but definitely impressive.

Apart from that, all the other characteristics of this ink are in line with all the other Iroshizuku line. Great flow, easy to clean up, no bleeding or feathering, and minimal show-through.

If your favorite blue ink is Iroshizuku Kon-peki, you should give this ink a try. It's a great cousin to add to your collection for those days when you need some bright sky cheer.

JetPens sell this particular ink in two sizes: 50ml bottles and 15ml bottles. Pick up the smaller size if you aren't sure it's the right color for you! I hope you are as pleasantly surprised as I was.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

Pilot Iroshizuku Syo-ro Ink Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

Pilot Iroshizuku inks are well-known for being great fountain pen inks, and I'm sure we've all tried our fair share of different colors from the brand. For many of us, some of our favorite inks come from this line, and for good reason.

I've long been a fan of their Kon-peki ink, which is a bright blue that pops off any page. But, it can be a bit too much pop for some moods. Another favorite color of mine for fountain pen inks is turquoise mixed with other colors to tone down the gemstone feel. Sailor Yama-dori is a wonderful ink, and I've recently come to love Franklin Christoph's Midnight Emerald. Both of these inks are dark, subdued, and expose beautiful levels of depth when writing. So, it was only inevitable that I try the Iroshizuku color that somewhat matches the same spectrum. In short, it's an exceptional ink with a beautiful color.

Pilot Iroshizuku Syo-ro is labeled as "Pine Tree Dew" on JetPens' site, which boils down to "Gray Turquoise." In this case, I think the word arrangement is perfect — it's definitely a turquoise ink with a bit of gray mixed in, not the other way around. There's plenty of color in the ink, but it's subdued enough to make it elegant and intriguing. I like inks that make you look twice or second-guess your first assumption.

If you've ever tried an Iroshizuku ink, you know what to expect. If you never have tried them, you're in for a treat. Like all other in this brand, the Syo-ro ink is smooth, quick-drying, and resists feathering and bleeding on pretty much all papers (with the exception being cheap copy paper). There's a fair amount of shading to create the beautiful level of depth in the colors, and it works well with a pen that has some flex.

I've tried some other green inks in the past that I hoped would match the characteristics in this ink. Sadly, most of them looked dull on the page after the ink dried. With Syo-ro, the color is still bright and present after the ink has dried. The color looks like it has life, which exactly what I want from an ink that I use daily.

Show-through, bleeding, and feathering are minimal with this ink. It's remarkably well-behaved in many circumstances, and it's gentle on your pens as well. Cleaning is an easy exercise.

Dry time on this ink keeps surprising me. In most cases on my Rhodia pad, I could only create a tiny smudge on the 10-second mark. This is very quick for a fountain pen ink, and something to keep in mind if that attribute is important to you. Keep in mind, though, that this will vary based on the nib and feed unit for every pen you use.

I really have nothing bad to say about this ink. Sure, the Iroshizuku inks aren't the cheapest, but that's for good reason. When you buy an ink from this line, you know that it will perform well. The only thing you have to decide is what color, or how many.

Syo-ro is available from JetPens in two sizes: a 50ml bottle and a 15ml sample bottle. With the 15ml bottle being half the price of the 50ml bottle, it's hard to justify choosing it. It might make more sense if it was a 25ml bottle to match the price difference, or if the price was more in line with a bottle that is only 30% of the larger one. At any rate, if you like turquoise and fountain pens, this is one you don't want to miss.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

Pilot Iroshizuku Fuyu-gaki Ink Review

I finally take the favorite ink of Myke Hurley for a spin, thanks to a kind reader (Hi Lori!) who sent me a sample of Pilot Iroshizuku Fuyu-gaki many moons ago. I'm a fan of orange, and orange inks, but Fuyu-gaki isn't going to make my primary ink rotation any time soon.

My feelings on this ink are hard to pinpoint. It's a nice, perfectly fine ink. It behaves wonderfully, as every Iroshizuku ink I have tried does. The orange is bright, but doesn't exactly pop. Nor is there much shading. It moves from medium orange to red, but it's not hugely obvious. It's good, but doesn't knock my socks off.

This is where ink samples come in handy. I'm glad I got to try it before committing to a bottle. Myke drinks the stuff, but my little vial will keep me stocked for a while. Oh Sailor, why did you have to discontinue Jentle Apricot with no valid replacement???