I’m surprised at how much I like the color of Tono & Lims Fukuoka: Fidelity. But what color is it? I think it is more Watermelon Shaved Ice than Strawberry Popsicle, but I think that’s the range we are playing in. A range I have never dabbled in before.
In general, I like pink inks. Maybe even love them. But the pink inks I like the most have to be bright, vibrant, saturated, and strong. I’ve never found much use for lighter shades of pink, mostly - I think - due to my note taking style of writing, as opposed to journaling, letter writing, or other long forms of expressive writing.
Or it’s all just an excuse to not experiment, which is not a good excuse at all!
When I went ink shopping a few weeks ago, I browsed through some of the swabs at Shigure Inks to find a few shades to try out that were out of my norm. Yes, I bought a blue black and a bright blue, but I tried to mix in something out of my wheelhouse a bit. Fukuoka: Fidelity fit the bill perfectly.
This shade of pink is quite a jump in color range from my normal favorite pink, Califolio Andrinope. Andrinople is more of a hot pink/magenta, which I love, while Fukuoka: Fidelity is more of a fruit-colored pink. Neither is a dusty/flowery pink, which is a shade I’m apparently working my way towards.
I inked it up in my Pilot Custom 92 with a Broad Cursive Italic nib to help show of the character of this color, which it has more of than I thought. The darkest shades are bright, evoking the ripe center of a watermelon, before toning down a shade or two, as if you were working your way down to the rind.
Too specific of a description? Yeah, probably so. But I like this ink! I won’t be eating it, or drinking it, or anything but writing with it, but I am having fun with it. That’s my favorite feature of any ink.
Tono & Lims is a new brand for me, and one of the dozens (hundreds?) of Asian ink brands (T&L is from South Korea) out there that are just now becoming accessible to the rest of the world. My first experience has been very positive, as the ink has been easy to use. It flows well, has moderate shading, dries quickly, and cleans well. It doesn’t have any of the more extreme ink features, like heavy sheen, but that’s not an ink feature I want all the time. This is an ink I can use all day, every day.
After using Fukuoka: Fidelity and enjoying it as much as I have, I’m ready to dabble a little more in the Tono & Lims ink catalog. I also sent off a couple of bottles to the review crew, so I’ll be interested in their colors and what they have to say about them.
(I purchased this ink from Shigure Inks at full retail price.)
Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.
Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!
