(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)
Based solely on my collection of inks and what I normally have inked up in my pens, you could assume that I lean very unfairly toward the blue realm of ink colors. While it's true that I have way more blue inks than any other combined, I didn't try to amass this many on purpose. I'm just fascinated by the different shades of blue and how they play with green, purple, black, and red, and there just seems to be so many interesting inks that I need to try. The latest ink in my blue collection is Sailor's Manyo Yomogi.
The Sailor Manyo ink series is a collection of eight dye-based inks that represent popular flowers that are frequently mentioned in the Japanese Man'yōshū — an ancient collection of poems. Yomogi is a dark blue with a lot of green in the mix, as well as a gorgeous red/purple sheen in some areas. It's been a pleasure using this ink for the past couple of weeks, and it's still surprising me with the amount of character it can expose through shading and sheen alone.
Comparing it directly to other inks in Sailor's lineup, this is like a darker version of Yama-dori — one of my favorite dark teal inks to date. While this is an obviously blue ink, there's also a fair amount of dark green that transforms this from blue to teal depending on the width and heaviness of the stroke. it's fascinating to write with this ink and see how the colors change across the page. The shading is subtle, but it does just enough to vacillate between these colors sporadically and create something magical.
While shading is always a favorite characteristic of mine, Yomogi has another trick up its sleeve — some amazing red and purple sheen. You can only see the sheen in certain light and particularly where the ink pools up. When it happens, it's spectacular. I really enjoy seeing these red/purple hues pop off the page in certain light.
One thing this ink does not excel at, however, is dry time. It normally takes between 20 and 30 seconds for strokes to dry with this ink, which is a little on the long side for my preferences. I definitely have to remember to keep notebooks open a little longer than normal before closing them, and I can't imagine how problematic this ink would be for left-handed writers. While it's gorgeous, it certainly takes its time when drying. This is something worth considering before purchasing this ink.
And that's another thing — this ink isn't exactly cheap. For a 50ml bottle, you'll spend $24. Is this too much? I don't think so. The delight I derive from using this ink is well worth the price of admission, but you can find many other high-quality inks for a lower price if that's a major concern. In terms of Japanese fountain pen inks, this price is right on target, especially with recent price increases to keep up with inflation. 50ml will last quite a while, so it's a good investment in your own joy if this is an ink color that makes you happy. I've really enjoyed using it over the past couple of weeks, especially with all the cold weather that's hit the states over the last week.
You can find Yomogi at JetPens, along with many other Sailor Manyo inks.
(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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