Pilot Iroshizuku Chiku-rin Ink Review

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

Spring is still a couple months away (at least), but that doesn't mean your ink has to be cold and gloomy. Iroshizuku chiku-rin is a cheery yellow-green ink that comes alive on paper. It's not an orthodox ink color to be sure, but it's delightful to say the least. No matter what's going on, this ink cheers me up.

The English version of chiku-rin is "bamboo forest," which fits this color perfectly. With a wetter nib, you get more saturation of the green, but in most of my pens, this lays down as a light green with yellow accents. If the nib is dry, however, it might be difficult to read your writing later on as the light yellow color doesn't contrast well to white paper. It's also probably safe to say that this ink isn't office friendly. Overall, it's a beautiful color that I love using.

The shading of chiku-rin is great. It's not as dramatic as some inks, but it provides a good range of color depth in most pens. Obviously, the larger the nib, the more variation, but this ink also shades well in smaller nibs due to the light color. I've also used this ink in a Pilot medium nib, and the shading behavior is just as great as with this 1.1mm stub in the review pictures.

I was shocked when I measured the dry time of this ink and found that it is consistently dry after about 8-10 seconds. This is something to consider if fast dry time is important to you. In the world of fountain pen inks, that's a rare dry time. Obviously, this will depend on the nib you're using and the size of the strokes, but for most non-specialty nibs that are medium or smaller, you can count on a quick dry time.

Like every Iroshizuku ink I've used, this ink flows well, has no issues starting, and is generally really well-behaved. It's easy to clean, lubricates the nib nicely, and performs consistently in a variety of nibs. Bleeding hasn't been an issue, but it would be difficult for me to see if there were small amounts due to the light color.

The ink shade is so light that show-through also isn't an issue. In standard Field Notes paper, there will be a fair amount of show-through, but in other fountain pen friendly papers, this won't be an issue. The only time I can see the ink on the opposite side of the page is if the paper is lit from behind.

I'm consistently pleased with every Iroshizuku ink I try, and chiku-rin is no different. With this ink line, you can expect great behavior and ink characteristics. The only real concern you have as a buyer is picking the colors you like. I'm not well-versed in the light green and yellow-green spectrum, but I really do enjoy using this ink fairly often. It goes great with cold, wet, wintery days, but it also looks great on a warm summer day. It's a happy color, and that's probably my favorite thing about it.

Chiku-rin is available in a standard 50ml bottle as well as a smaller 15ml bottle.

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

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Pilot Ridge Four-Color Ballpoint Multipen Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter.)

I haven't ever cared much for multipens. I often find them to be bulky, rattle-y, and the refills can be fiddly and don't hold enough ink. Many times I run out of one color before the rest, and I find myself playing refill roulette. As a child, I thought they were magical, but eventually my inner curmudgeon took over. So when someone says they have a great multipen, my initial thought is "you mean you have a convenient cluster of mediocre pens". I'm just admitting my bias up front, here, because this review should be read through that lens.

The Pilot Ridge is a pretty great multipen. I'm using it more than I thought I would--and it somehow seems to have claimed a permanent residence in a pocket of my carrying case. What has ultimately won me over is that it's a multipen that doesn't look or act anything like a multipen.

For one thing, it's very slender. The main part of the barrel is even slimmer than a Retro 51, and the black model has a sleek matte finish that is smooth and comfortable to hold. The texture provides just the right amount of grip friction. Overall, the pen is very minimalistic and elegant in its simplicity. Despite it's slimness, though, the pen is quite heavy. It packs a lot of pen into its small frame, and I found myself getting some hand fatigue after about thirty minutes of writing. But a multipen isn't likely what one would use for a long writing session, anyway.

Part of its sleekness is the lack of those wing-like slide-clicks that you see on so many multipens. The Ridge uses, instead, a smooth twist mechanism that deploys the different tips in a rotation. It's completely silent, and quickly springs each color forward till you get to the one you want. Admittedly, sometimes it goes too quick, so you have to backtrack--but the twist works in both directions, so once you get the sequence down, you can find your desired color quite efficiently.

One small issue I have with it is that the only way to tell what color you have is to look at the tiny band on the end of each cartridge tip as it pops out. There's very little difference between the blue and green, and in low light, it can even be difficult to tell between the blue and black. I've found myself squinting at it often, and wishing for a better way to indicate the ink color. Another problem with the mechanism is that there is very little pause space between colors, so positioning it in such a way as to keep the tip retracted takes a little fiddling. It would also only take a small agitation for it to move past that between-spot and deploy the tip in a pocket or bag. So I don't recommend this pen for pocket carry.

The thin cartridges are securely housed in the two parts of the barrel. The two sections pull apart to reveal the four D1 cartridges. The cartridges are friction-fit into the revolving mechanism--just pull one out to replace it. They are quite tiny. I haven't run out of any ink yet, but I don't imagine each cartridge has a very long lifespan.

The ink was another pleasant surprise. It's ballpoint ink, but upon first use, it could be mistaken for gel ink. It is very smooth and vibrant with excellent flow. It's Pilot's special Arco ink, formulated with low viscosity, and it just glides. The green still has a little of that washed-out ballpoint ink look, but the red, black, and blue all have more intensity than I've seen in other ballpoint inks. And if you want to add more wild colors to the lineup, it appears to take any D1 refill, so there are lots of other brands and colors to choose from.

I was a little surprised by the price--at $54.50, it seems a bit high. It is definitely well-constructed of quality materials, so it may be my general aversion to multipens clouding my view here, but if someone had handed it to me and asked me to guess the cost, I'd have been way off.

While it isn't something I would have picked out for myself, I think this pen would make an excellent gift--especially for a graduate or a young professional getting their first job or promotion. It would be great to give to a visiting business partner, or a valued assistant or teacher. It's very elegant and professional looking, and super practical. The multi-function is inarguably great for editing, grading, or coding notes. Personally, I have a feeling I'll be ordering some refills at some point, and this may very well be the first multipen that stays in my collection. It brings back some of that old multipen magic, much to my inner curmudgeon's dismay.

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

Pilot Iroshizuku Fuyu-syogun Fountain Pen Ink Review

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

It might be 2017, but there's still a long stint of winter ahead for most of us. When I decided to order a bottle of Pilot Iroshizuku Fuyu-syogun, part of my reasoning was due to the wintery color of the ink. Another reason is that I haven't had any experience with gray inks of any kind. A few days later, it's in my pen and putting a smile on my face.

Being an ink from the Iroshizuku lineup, I knew to expect a well-behaved ink. I just wasn't sure about the color. Gladly, it's a very low-key blue-gray that shades nicely. It's not dreary at all. It's crisp and stoic like an early winter morning full of snow and clouds. Even though those conditions can be miserable, they can also be beautiful.

The color of Fuyu-syogun is gray with a heavy blue undertone. At times, the overall color can look like a pale, cold violet. When you look closely, it's unmistakably gray. The shading is the main reason your eyes want a second take. The blending and shifting of gray, blue, and violet make for some beautiful shading qualities. Even though the color is subdued, it stands out enough to possibly be a problem for regular office use. But, it's a tough call about how professional this ink is. It could pass in some office environments.

One minor setback for me is the lack of saturation I get in some of the lighter strokes with this ink. It's a minor complaint, and it pretty much disappears (the complaint, that is) when used in a larger or wetter nib. After trying the ink in a Kaweco EF and a Pilot F, I can say that I'll probably never use this ink in anything but a European medium nib or larger. Keep that in mind if you prefer inks with more potent saturation. Smaller nibs don't show off the nice shading this ink is capable of.

The last several inks I've tried have had relatively fast dry times. It's not something I've done on purpose, and it's not even a feature that I demand out of my inks. All the same, Fuyu-syogun dries rapidly. In my tests using a medium nib, it dried consistently between 10 and 15 seconds for normal writing. Fast drying inks are always a nice bonus.

Feathering, bleeding, and show-through are minimal with this ink. Given the light color saturation in most nibs, show-through isn't a concern for nearly any decent paper type. Even when I've tried this ink in a 1.5mm dip nib, I wasn't able to detect any feathering or bleed. Like all other Iroshizuku inks, it's well-behaved and predictable in this sense.

I ordered this ink from JetPens, and it's one of the Iroshizuku lineup that come in two sizes: 50ml or 15ml. I've recently been on a small bottle kick because of how easy they are to store. And even though 15ml is a lot less than 50ml, it still goes a long way in fountain pen terms.

This is a great ink, and a permanent favorite for me. It's my first gray ink experience, and I'm glad it's a positive one. If you're looking for a neutral, slightly-blue gray ink to try, give this one a look. With gray inks, you can choose from many different shades (from cold to warm, blue to brown), but this is a great place to start.

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

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