(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)
Sometimes there’s an ink you see on the Internet in a review or on Instagram that you simply must have. It doesn’t matter if that ink is difficult to obtain or if it comes in a dinky 20ml bottle or if it’s expensive, or if you have to wait weeks for it to arrive from Japan--you buy it anyway. Sailor Ink Studio 123 is one of those inks.
I first saw 123 on Mountain of Ink’s review of Set 1 of Ink Studio inks. I was mesmerized by this strange and magical unicorn ink that shifts between gray, green, and purple depending on its mood.
Sailor Ink Studio is a collection of one hundred inks (out of 20,000 created!) that were blended by inkmeisters at Ink Studio events. Each number represents a unique blending code (source: Sakura Fountain Pen Gallery).
I purchased my 20ml bottle of 123 from an eBay seller who stocks the collection (although you’ll discover that 123 is often out of stock). I paid $21.49 for the bottle (including shipping). It took about two weeks to arrive.
Although the bottle is tiny, I am not disappointed with this ink. It really is unique and magical, but it isn’t necessarily the most practical color for writing since it can be very light and hard to read depending on the paper.
For my initial ink test, I used Rhodia paper and a TWSBI Eco with a 1.1mm stub. The ink shows up well on white paper and looks like a dusty purple with the stub nib. But, the swabs fluctuate between gray, green, and lavender. The ink is not waterproof, but it dries quickly.
