Kyo-no-oto No. 6 Adzuki-iro Ink: A Review

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

Several weeks ago, Vanness sent the Pen Addict ink samples for review. One of the inks I received was Kyo-no-oto No. 6 Adzuki-iro, a burgundy ink that I loaded into my TWSBI Eco T to test the pen. I loved the ink so much that I purchased a bottle.

Adzuki-iro means “red beans.” It is a limited edition ink from the TAG Stationery Store in Kyoto, Japan. “Adzuki-iro” sounds more beautiful to my ear than “red beans,” and this color certainly lacks any brown tones that I would associate with red beans. The color is a gorgeous cabernet that reminds me of the deeper hues of cherry blossoms.

In my ink test, you can see how Adzuki-iro performs on Maruman Septcouleur paper. It has lots of saturation, especially when you layer it, and it dries fairly quickly. It is not water resistant.

I was fascinated by the chromatography test. The ink contains a wide array of colors: light blue, lavender, pink, red, and orange.

This complexity gives the ink much more depth and character than two similar inks, Kyo-Iro No. 5 Keage-Sakura and Robert Oster Cherry Blossom.

Although Adzuki-iro isn’t a super sheeny ink, it does exhibit a bit of green sheen when it pools.

The ink performs quite well in my TWSBI stub (I’ve been using it for several weeks), though the shading characteristics are much more noticeable in wider nibs.

I really love this ink. It is not as flashy as Iroshizuku Yama-Budo, which makes it much more versatile--it is dark enough in finer nibs that you could definitely use it at work and for correspondence. In wider nibs, its lovely burgundy-pink tones and shading make it a great choice for cards, art, and calligraphy.

You can purchase a 40ml bottle of Adzuki-iro from Vanness Pens for $28.00. You might want to hurry, though. Since this is a limited edition color that I am crazy about, I may wind up purchasing whatever Vanness has left in stock!

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

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Posted on February 15, 2019 by Susan Pigott and filed under Kyo-no-oto, Ink Reviews.

Kamio Japan Paco-Tray Pen Case 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. And check out her first novel, The Bone Weaver’s Orchard, now available where books are sold!)

I'm eternally delighted by the many ways a simple concept like a pen case can be made new and exciting and clever. The Kamio Japan Paco-Tray Pen Case is all of those things. It appears as a simple rectangular cuboid--not very big, not ornate or fancy--but put into practice, it's a wee genius of a thing.

It's a clamshell-style, nylon canvas case, with the zip opening lengthwise across the front and side edges. It has a double zipper, which is always a plus. When opened, the inside lining blooms like an accordion into three separate trays. Magnets in the spine snap together to hold the case open. When you close it, the dividers hold the contents nested in those trays, so everything stays neat and orderly and is easy to find when you need it. If you overstuff the pockets (lol if), there may be a few things that smoosh out into other compartments, but otherwise it does a great job of keeping things separated. When the case is closed, the magnet in the spine can be used to attach the case to a metal surface, like the front of a desk drawer.

Despite its small size, the case can hold a surprisingly large number of pens. A few dozen easily, plus accessories. It is, alas, too short to hold some wood case pencils at their full length, but once they've been sharpened down a bit, they'd fit, too. The rectangle shape makes it easy to fit in bags alongside books and other pen cases.

One downside is that you can't just open one end of the case and dig out a random pen. Because of that tray lining, the case has to be opened the whole way to get to anything. So, it's great for sitting down to a work station, but not great for quick access.

It is, overall, one of my favorite pen cases that I've reviewed. I love compartments, and I love the way the magnet keeps the case open. It doesn't so much hold your pens as present them to you, like the small treasures they are. At $16 on JetPens, it's also a really good price. If you need more ways to carry your pens (lol if), this is a great tool for the job.

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

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Posted on February 14, 2019 by Sarah Read and filed under Kamio, Pen Case.

Modern Fuel Pencil Review

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

Modern Fuel is an independent shop based in Austin, TX that you might know from their previous Kickstarter campaign. A custom-made, precision writing device, the Modern Fuel Pencil is a gorgeous feat of design and manufacturing.

I've always had a thing for drafting pencils and lead holders. My dad, being an engineer, always had a collection of different pencils at his desk that I could experiment with. Later, I worked at a college bookstore that stocked drafting supplies, giving me even more opportunity to test and experiment with all the specialized and precise tools that abound in that discipline.

Once I became more and more familiar with the stationery world, I started branching out and trying more mechanical pencils. The pencil market is fascinating due to the level of engineering and design thought that go into these things. Rotating lead? Fascinating. Shaking the pencil to advance the lead? Gimmicky, but still cool because it works. Once you get into the all-metal drafting pencils, there's a different level of ingenuity and craftsmanship that appears. The Rotring 600 is still one of my favorite writing instruments, and I love using it. You might say that the Modern Fuel Pencil fits in that same category, but you'd be wrong.

This pencil is off the charts when it comes to detail and precision. The tolerances on this things are unbelievable. I'll never get tired of completely missing a seam because it's almost impossible to see. With this pencil, I didn't know the nose cone unscrewed until I looked at photos on the website and realized you removed the nose cone in order to replace the lead mechanism with a different size. Mind: blown.

Another marvel (at least for me) is the lead pipe. I've seen and used plenty of pencils that retract the lead pipe when not in use. This is a helpful feature because the lead pipe acts like a stabby syringe when shoved in pockets or dropped over body parts. It works beautifully, but I'm mostly impressed by the minute tolerances between all the parts. There's no wiggle room, but it doesn't feel rigid or stiff either. That's an incredibly difficult task to pull off well, and Modern Fuel have done it.

The other end of the pencil also operates exactly like you expect. The black eraser is always in full view, and I really appreciate the visual contract it provides against the shiny steel. It also happens to work well as an eraser. Remove the eraser and you have access to the lead storage, but this opening serves a duel purpose. There's a small hex nut in the barrel that allows you to unscrew the lead mechanism. Like I mentioned earlier, you can easily swap out the mechanism with a different lead size. The fact that the nut that controls this swap is hidden inside the barrel is yet another feat of design that delights me.

As an added bonus, you can opt for an "Eraser Plug" accessory that replaces the eraser with a flush nut. It's a beautiful, clean look and I'd imagine this is a great alternative if you prefer a larger eraser.

The clip that came with the pencil is also black, providing some additional visual contrast to the stark metal. The clip is surprisingly strong and does a great job of keeping the pencil from rolling away. The clip does not come pre-installed, and it takes a good bit of effort to install! Luckily, it stays put and it doesn't create any scratch marks on the pencil body during the install process.

Those are the details of the pencil, but then there's the pencil as a whole. It feels great in the hand. There's a satisfying weight that's still within the comfort range. It's just enough weight to make your marks feel sure and controlled, but not too much to cause fatigue after a few minutes of use. The stainless steel quickly warms up in your hand, and even though there isn't any grip texture on the body, it's surprisingly secure. When writing, it feels like using a precise instrument instead of a mechanical pencil. It feels like a tool that was purpose-built with laser-focused vision. In short, it's a perfect mechanical pencil.

With such high praise, it seems like this pencil has it all. It looks great, it performs flawlessly, it's dependable and versatile. What are we missing? Ah, yes. The price. At $200, this is likely the most expensive pencil I'll ever use. After the initial sticker shock faded, I spent some time thinking about this object. I thought about how much I've paid for fountain pens that are produced on a large scale from a combination of plastics and precious metals. All things considered, I think $200 is a fair price for this pencil. If you understand the level of quality attached to this pencil, you'll know exactly what you're buying, and it will be worth every penny.

The Modern Fuel Pencil is certainly not for everyone, and that's OK. For those of us who enjoy exceptionally high-quality writing instruments, this pencil is a delight. If you like the design and have the means, I encourage you to pick one up.

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

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