Pilot Iroshizuku Ink Giveaway

Pilot Iroshizuku fountain pen ink is one of the most well respected inks on the market. The colors are varied and vibrant, and they behave well in all types of fountain pens and on all types of paper. Talk to anyone who has used Iroshizuku ink and you will hear raves.

Which Iroshizuku ink is your favorite? Mine is currently Shin-Kai, a beautiful blue grey which I need to review soon. I want to try more colors, and I bet you do too. Here is your chance to win a single bottle of Pilot Iroshizuku ink in the color of your choosing!

How to enter:

1. Leave one comment on this post telling me your favorite Pilot Iroshizuku color, or which color you would like to win anytime between now, and Thursday night at 11:59 PM Eastern Time. You are limited to one entry. This contest is limited to US residents only.

2. For this contest, I will pick one winner at random from the comments section of this post. The comments will be numbered in the order they are received, i.e. the first comment is #1, the second #2, and so on. The Random Integer Generator at random.org will be used to pick the number of the winner.

3. The contest winner will be posted on Friday, June 7th. The winner will have one week to email me via the Contact link at the top of the page.

Thanks and good luck!

Tomoe River Paper Review

I am rarely caught completely off guard by a product these days. Sure, there are plenty of surprises and disappointments along the way, but to be shocked is a rarity. Tomoe River Paper shocked me.

I heard many of my fountain pen friends sing the praises of this brand but I never dug in and learned more about it. Who knew how much I was missing. A kind reader emailed one day offering up samples (hi Rachael!) and before you know it they landed in my mailbox.

Since I hadn't done any previous research on Tomoe River I was nothing short of stunned when I opened the envelope. Did you ever use tracing paper when you were a kid? That is essentially the look and feel of Tomoe River Paper. It is thin, transparent, and crinkles with ease if you are not careful. There is no way fountain pens will perform well on this paper, right?

Wrong. In so many ways.

To begin with, Tomoe River Paper is very smooth when writing. Rhodia/Clairefontaine level smooth. No matter the size of the nib - from 1.5 mm stub nibs down to my Japanese EF nibs - they all glide across the page with no feedback at all. On top of that, there is no bleed or feathering. That is the real shocker to me. I'm not sure how a paper this thin manages that but it is the truth.

As great as it is there are some downsides to consider. With the Rhodia-level smoothness also comes Rhodia-length dry time. Lefties beware. You also will not be able to use the back of the page either. Remember my tracing paper comparison? That's what the back of the page looks like. And like I mentioned before, it is fragile, crinkling with ease if you bump it around a lot.

That said, I'm sold. The uniqueness and feel of the paper has me wanting more. Nanami Paper seems to be the main source at this time, and bookbinder Jesse Aston has journals available from time to time (reviewed here). Both sell blank Tomoe River Paper - where are my beloved grids?

I may not be completely out of luck if I want to branch out a little. Did you hear me butcher the name Hobonichi in episode 54 of the podcast? What I was referring to is the Hobonichi Techo Planner, which uses gridded Tomoe River Paper. I'm not a planner guy, but this might make me change my mind (see how the Japanese use their Hobonichi Planners). If nothing else, it gives me hope I will be able to get gridded Tomoe River Paper in the future.

To read more about Tomoe River Paper and see many more ink samples and dry time tests check out Azizah's review at FPGeeks.

Ink Links

-- Lamy White Joy Set Special Edition (2013) (kmpn)

-- A No-Number Nineteen-Twenties Swan (Goodwriterspens's Blog)

-- Testing my Lamy Safari (Hjertnes.me)

-- Lamy Safari 2013 Neon Yellow (Does This Pen Write?)

-- Esterbrook J Double Jewel – Restored – NPI Gregg 1555 Nib (No Pen Intended)

-- The Sketchnote Typeface (Rohdesign)

-- "Premium" Writing Paper (Clairefontaine & Rhodia) (The Daily Acquisition)

-- Ask The Desk: Pen Testing Notebook (The Well-Appointed Desk)

-- WAY Better Than Poi or Don Ho: Retro 51 Vintage Surf Tornado Rollerball (Limited Edition) (From the Pen Cup)

-- Ink Notes: Namiki Blue (Fountain Pen Quest)

-- Palomino Drawing - Luxury Notebook Series (Pens Paper Inks...Whatever!)

-- Burton’s technical drawing arsenal (doane paper feed)

-- Newest additions to the Collection: Faber Castell TK 9600 Clutch Pencil and Ohto Graphic Liner Needle Point Drawing Pens Set (Lung Sketching Scrolls)

-- Pilot Vortex Fountain Pen (OfficeSupplyGeek)

-- Review: Montblanc Je T'aime Love Letter Ink (Gourmet Pens)

-- Aurora Talentum Black/Chrome inked with Rohrer & Klingner Blau Schwartz LE (JustDaveyB)

-- Pilot Custom Heritage 91 Fountain Pen Broad Nib & Tsukiyo Body (Ink of Me Fondly)

-- Pilot Petit 1 Fountain Pen Review (Write to Me Often)

-- BIC 4colours (penfan.ru)

-- Kokuyo Ink (Crónicas Estilográficas)

-- 2013 Lamy Safari Special Edition - Neon (My Orange Brompton)

-- Rotring 600 Ballpoint - Lava Pen Review (The Clicky Post)

-- Handwritten Post: The Story of My Pen and Paper Addiction (A Penchant for Paper)