Graf von Faber-Castell Yozakura 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.)

Yozakura means "night cherry blossom," and that certainly describes the color of this ink from Graf von Faber-Castell. It is the dusty pink color of cherry blossoms in the evening light of Japan.

The 75ml bottle is beautiful in its own right. It is made of glass in an oblong shape with a thick, stable base. The cap is gilded in silver with the Graf von Faber-Castell logo on top.

Yozakura ink is dry and light, especially in finer nibs. It does not exhibit any sheen but offers good shading. Graf von Faber-Castell states that it is indelible ink, though in my water test it faded slightly.

The ink has a salmon tinge to it, as you can see on the Col-o-dex card. Because the ink is waterproof, chromatography doesn't separate the colors effectively.

A large, wet nib brings out the best in this ink with lots of shading, color variation, and pooling.

I used my TWSBI 580 EF nib to test the ink in longer writing sessions. This wasn't the best choice, in retrospect, because the ink is so dry and light. It's almost unreadable in my MD Paper journal. However, I think it would work much better in broad and stub nibs that have a wet flow.

Yozakura is similar to Robert Oster Sushi (reviewed here). It's a bit darker than TWSBI Pink and much lighter than Kyo-iro Keage-Sakura and Iroshizuku Tsutsuji.

I love dusty pinks and purples, so I created a mandala with Yozakura and Kyo-no-oto Sakuranezumi (reviewed here). This isn't one of my better mandalas, but I like the color combination.

You can purchase Graf von Faber-Castell Yozakura from Vanness Pens. 75ml costs $32.00. That's a lot of ink, so you might want to try a 4ml sample first ($4.00).

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

---

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!

Kaweco Sport Coral Collectors Edition 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. And check out her latest book, Out of Water, now available where books are sold!)

Kaweco Sport pens are petite but practical, colorful, fun, and affordable--making them the Pokemon of the pen world. They are almost too collectible, between new color series releases and a scattering of limited and collectors editions.

This new Collectors Edition is a Coral color--not to be confused with (or to be entirely confused with) the Kaweco Sport Coral Guilloche Special Edition released by Fontoplumo earlier this year. While the two are extremely similar in name and color, there are a few obvious differences. The Coral Guilloche has gold debossed lettering that specifically says "Coral by Fontoplumo" on one of the pen facets, and the body has a patterned texture to it. This Coral Collector's edition has the classic Sport smooth plastic, and the lettering is debossed but has no color to it. It says "collectors edition" on the facet. See? Totally different. I'm of the bold opinion that you can't have too many coral pens, anyway.

Speaking of bold, this baby comes with a double broad nib option, which happens to be the model I was sent. This nib is a show-off. It will absolutely highlight the best properties of your ink as it glides across the page. This thing is for writing with emphasis, and I love it.

The one downside to the double broad nib is that it will eat through your ink supply faster, and this wee pen only takes short standard international cartridges (or a few options of specially-made wee converters that, by all accounts, are not great). You can find a lot of lovely colors and inks in short cartridges, though, including some beautiful ones from Kaweco. And there's always the option of refilling your cartridge with a syringe. There are also success stories out there from the brave souls who have eyedroppered their Kaweco Sports, but that's a step outside my comfort zone.

Kaweco nibs are easy to swap around, so you can customize that element of your pen, if you like. Replacement nibs are about $11.50 for steel, which I think is very reasonable. You can also get clips that friction fit in a variety of metal color options for around $6. Considering this pen costs under $25 to begin with, you can get a lot out of a low investment here. The price point puts it in a great range for gifts, too.

Kaweco Sports are tiny workhorse pens. Workhorse ponies. Workponies? In any case, they are small, adorable, tough, reliable, and full of rainbows. This coral color is incredibly charming--classic, but bright and cheerful. I'm not entirely clear where the fuzzy line is drawn between special editions, collectors editions, and limited editions, but I imagine this is one you don't want to wait on.

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

---

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!

The Pen Addict Podcast: Episode 428 - Stacked Nibs

Where the magic happens …

I was thrilled to talk to Gena Salorino of Custom Nib Studio this week on the podcast. We had a fun conversation about her start, her current business, and what the future holds. Thanks for joining me Gena!

Show Notes & Download Links

This episode of The Pen Addict is sponsored by:

Squarespace: Make your next move. Enter offer code PENADDICT at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase.