Two Kyoto Ink Reviews: Ohara’s Morning Snow and Hisoku

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

For Christmas Santa bought me some fabulous ink! (Well . . . actually, I ordered the ink and Santa wrapped it, but whatever). I asked for several Japanese inks. One was Kobe’s Mikage Grey (which I included in a review of grey inks here). The others were Kyoto TAG inks: Kyo-no-oto Hisoku, which is a limited edition ink, and Kyo-iro Ohara’s Morning Snow. These are inks produced by the TAG stationery store in Kyoto, Japan.

I fell in love with Kyo-iro Ohara’s Morning Snow when I first saw it on the Vanness website. The name comes from the soft purple shadows that appear in snow drifts on cold mornings (not that we have such days in Abilene, Texas, sigh). The color is a muted purple that can be quite dark in wide or flexible nibs and nicely subtle in finer ones.

I tested the ink using my Aurora Nebulosa with a medium italic nib (no flex). The ink shades well and writes beautifully, though it is a bit on the dry side. As you can see from the swipes, the ink can appear as a dark purple or (as in the swab) a dusky purple. It is not waterproof.

Chromatography reveals several colors in Ohara’s Morning Snow: dark blue, purple, lavender, pink, and light blue.

The ink exhibits wonderful shading and sheen in wide nibs, as demonstrated using my Handwritmic Ruling Pen.

But for normal writing, the ink is much more subtle, as you can see in these writing samples with my medium italic nib. The poem is by Christian Wiman who teaches at Yale.

##Kyo-no-oto Hisoku

I saw a swatch of Kyo-no-oto Hisoku on the Fountain Pen Network and went nuts over it. Poor Lisa at Vanness Pens got about a dozen emails from me about this ink. Fortunately, she was able to procure a bottle and got it to me in time for Christmas. Hisoku means “secret,” and this ink looks like something whispered in the wind. Unfortunately, it is a limited edition.

Hisoku is an unusal color. It’s not bright like a teal ink and it’s not dark like a blue ink. Vanness calls it a “steel blue.” I think it looks like the muted blues you sometimes see in Renaissance paintings. I tested it using an Omas fine extra flessibile nib. It exhibits gorgeous shading and the color is quite unique. It reminds me a little of Noodler’s Dostoevsky, but I like Hisoku better. The ink is wet and is not waterproof.

Chromatography reveals some of Hisoku’s secrets. It is a muted blue ink with some yellow tones.

Hisoku looks fantastic in a wide nib with excellent shading and sheen where the ink pools.

I wrote out a poem by one of my favorite poets (Mary Szybist) using my Omas pen, but something is wrong with the feed and the nib kept railroading.

So, I switched to my TWSBI mini with a 1.1mm stub. The ink performed well. It’s wet, but not deeply saturated, yet it shades beautifully.

I love Kyoto inks because they are soft, distinctive colors that evoke emotions in me that other inks simply do not. I can’t explain this. Perhaps the names of the inks create images in my mind that stimulate emotions. Perhaps the colors themselves remind me of fond memories. Either way, the inks are special to me.

You can purchase both Kyo-iro Ohara’s Morning Snow and Kyo-no-oto Hisoku at Vanness Pens. 40ml bottles are $28.00 and 4ml samples are $3.50[

(These inks were purchased from Vanness Pens at a discount with my own funds.)

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Posted on December 29, 2017 by Susan Pigott and filed under Kyoto, Ink Reviews, Tag.

Karas Kustoms Decograph Fountain Pen 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.)

Karas Kustoms, renowned machinist of metal pens that can withstand nearly apocalyptic conditions, has decided to explore their softer side with a line of thermoplastic and acrylic pens called the Decograph. The design fuses the ultramodern aesthetic of Karas with the sleek Art Deco look of vintage pens. It's a perfect blend, a very attractive pen, and the super light thermoplastic makes it a tool I can write with for hours.

Right now, the pen comes in two standard colors: black and almost-black-but-actually-wait-it's-green. The green pen is shown here. In low light and at first glance, it appears to be shiny black, but once the light hits it, it's a dazzling beetle green. The effect is downright magical. If Voldemort had need of a pen, he couldn't choose better than this one. There are also regular special editions of this model, so keep your eyes peeled for a color that speaks to you.

The pen arrives in a swanky aluminum tube. It feels like a time capsule from outer space. There is no doubt, from the first moment, that there's something special inside. The pen is cushioned securely in the tube with a foam insert, and the whole setup makes for an attractive pen stand.

The pen is equipped with a standard #6 Bock nib and a Schmidt K5 piston converter. Gold, black, and Titanium nibs are available at additional cost. The nib performed well--standard and as expected for a Bock nib, though with a little more feedback than I personally prefer. It writes with a good flow and starts right up even after sitting for a day. The nib unit screws out and can be switched and swapped as you fancy.

The pen body is beautifully designed, with an elegant taper and well-fitted machined aluminum finials. The top finial is slightly pointed at the center and the bottom shows the Karas logo--all very understated and elegant. The clip is a machined aluminum piece with classic Art Deco chiseled shaping, secured with a piece of spring steel under the top finial. It feels sturdy but flexes enough to perform well.

The cap screws on with all plastic threads that are tucked high enough inside the cap that they should prevent the thin lip of plastic at the cap edge from cracking. The threads are smooth and secure and don't interfere with the pen's grip. The grip section is hourglass shaped and tapers quite narrowly. It fits perfectly in my hand, which means some may find it to be too narrow.

It's one of the more comfortable pens I've held. The shaped grip, light weight and balance, and the way the plastic warms in my hand all make for a really pleasant writing experience. It's a pen that makes me want to pick it up and write for hours.

At a start price of $165, it's considerably more expensive than Karas's other models, but is priced in line with similar pens from other companies and seems more than fair. I'll be watching the limited edition releases and hoping for more color choices from this line in the future.

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

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Posted on December 28, 2017 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Karas Kustoms, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

Pilot Cocoon 0.5mm Mechanical Pencil Review

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

The Pilot Cocoon mechanical pencil is a familiar design that was born from the popular Pilot Metropolitan fountain pen. I've long been a fan of the Metropolitan, and the Cocoon hits a similar price point and comfort level that makes it easy to love.

Apart from sharing the general shape and feel of the Metropolitan, that's where the similarities stop. This is a pencil after all! Pilot also makes gel pen and other versions of the Metropolitan and Cocoon line, but those all feature a cap system. For the pencil, there is no cap; instead, it looks like a posted Metropolitan or Cocoon all the time.

To advance the lead, just click the cap down a couple of times. The build quality of the pencil is good, which is to be expected for the name. There's a shirt protector built into the tip of the pencil, which prevents the lead from snagging anything when retracted. For my taste, I wish the tip retracted fully into the pencil body, but that's a bit much to ask for the price range. As it works today, I have no real complaints.

0.5mm is the only lead size available in this line of pencils. Pilot could probably sell a few more units if they offered a couple other sizes, but 0.5mm is a good middle ground.

If you remove the cap from the pencil, there's a tiny eraser that closes the lead tube. To refill the lead, just remove the eraser to drop the lead into the tube. Of course, Pilot sell replacement erasers in a set of 5, but I'd recommend picking up a dedicated eraser to use with your pencils.

There's a nice range of colors available for this pencil, from silver, black, white, and several in between. In all, there are eight colors available.

When using the pencil, the Cocoon feels great in the hand. It's not too heavy, but it also offers a great deal of control and stability. I've used it quite a bit and haven't had any complaints on the way the pencil feels. It isn't fair to say that it feels just like the Metropolitan or Cocoon since the overall design and construction is much different. It looks very similar, but feels entirely unique.

All in all, the Cocoon mechanical pencil is a fantastic iteration of a beloved pen lineup from Pilot. It's a solid pencil with a great aesthetic, and also available in a wide variety of fun colors. Students and professionals alike can enjoy this pen, and the price is low enough to make it an easy decision.

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

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