The second in this batch of ink reviews is for one of my favourite blue inks, Pilot Iroshizuku Asa-Gao.

As is typically the case with Iroshizuku inks, there’s no great backstory to the name of the ink. “Asa-Gao” means Morning Glory, so the name derives from the mainly blue coloured flowering plant. I say mainly blue because there’s not only blue forms but white, purple and pink too. Even the blue form varies a great deal, but the name is still appropriate for this deeply saturated ink with a hint of purple.

The bottle came from an Ebay supplier – this was before I was aware of a more reasonably priced Amazon supplier. At the time of writing the price can vary from about £15 to an eye-watering £90. Since there are still some lower priced suppliers around at the moment I’ll class this is moderately priced for the purposes of this review.

I have already desribed the typical 50ml Iroshizuku bottle and box in my review of Pilot Iroshizuku Fuyu-Gaki, so I won’t repeat myself. The difference here is that the labels on the bottle and box are coloured to fairly closely match the ink, although I think they look a bit washed out compared to the ink.

The test pen in this instance was a Pilot MR Silver with a medium nib.

The ink showed little water resistance although faint blue lines were left under running water. The droplet test obliterated the lines completely. Cleaning was easy, and the drying time was quite quick at around 20 seconds.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

This really shows why I like this ink – no feathering, moderate shading without ever looking washed out, good flow and above all the colour is a really nice, no nonsense, business blue leaning towards purple. I typically use this ink in a Lamy 2000 with a fine nib, so there’s a quick writing sample with that pen (not that there’s any appreciable difference).

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

Some feathering here, but still acceptable.

Yellow Post-It

Looking a little bit washed out, but still okay.

Field Notes – Pitch Black

This paper also drains the colour a little, but performamnce on this paper is still okay overall.

Mnemosyne Word Card

This gives a good indication of the shading this ink is capable of.

Conclusion

As is usually the case, my liking for this ink comes down to the colour. It’s as close to my ideal blue as I’ve seen so far. It performs well on mosts papers and while more water resistance would be nice, I’ve yet to come across another blue ink that ticks all the boxes. Until I do this will suit me for everyday use.

Reflections on the colour

Pilot Iroshizuku Asa Gao

Pilot Iroshizuku Asa Gao - Close Up

Pilot Iroshizuku Asa-Gao - Word Card

The post Pilot Iroshizuku Asa-Gao Ink Review appeared first on Stationary Journey.

The subject of the second review is Pilot Iroshizuku Fuyu-Gaki. No great backstory on this one, but I had also seen a number of positive reviews of this ink. In general, the Iroshizuku line is well-regarded. Most UK retailers charge £25 – £30 per 50ml bottle, which normally put the ink in the “luxury” category. However, I bought this bottle from Amazon Marketplace for £12.68 – which I would consider puts this ink in the “mid price” range. The fact I can get a bottle sent all the way from Japan for roughly half the price I could but it in the UK could be the subject of a post in itself.

In this case the test pen was Pilot Prera with a medium nib. I usually test with a Pilot MR, but of this occasion I wanted to try out the Prera and thought this would be a good ink to use. The nib is very similar to the MR though.

The box has an attractive silver grained finish – the name and colour are clearly visible. The bottle is very heavy with a thick base and groove to help reach the last few drops. While the bottle does look very attractive, I must admit I am somewhat put off by what feels like a degree of unnecessary packaging clearly intended to give a luxury feel. The neck of the bottle is slightly on the narrow size for me.

The ink showed no water resistance when tested, and a few drops of water rendered text illegible.

The ink was very easy to clean from the pen.

The drying time on Rhodia was around 40 seconds, which I would consider moderate.

On a general note all the handwriting scans make this ink look more red than it is in reality. The photos are more accurate.

Rhodia Dot Pad No 16

The ink flowed very well and was a pleasure to write with. The ink dried slightly darker than it came out of the pen.

Ryman Memo Block 9cm x 9cm

Again the ink performed well without problems.

Yellow Post-It

Even on the usually troublesome Post-it the ink performed well with minimal skipping or feathering. The contrast with the paper was good too.

Field Note – Pitch Black

Feathering on this paper was minimal – this really could be a viable candidate for note-taking with character.

Mnemosyne Word Card

The swab showed more slightly more shading than in the scanned image, which is also slightly biased towards red. The photo of the card below the tile could a more accurate colour rendition.

Conclusion

This is a great ink which performs well. I like the colour, so will be using it again. I can’t see the lack of water resistance being an issue in the situations I would use the ink. The only issue that may put me off buying this ink again is if I had to pay full UK price – in that case I would look at other options first.

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