Last year when I traveled to Japan I generally wanted to avoid buying stuff I knew I could easily get outside Japan. This included Sailor Ink Studio which I had heard was eventually going to be available to retailers outside Japan. Nevertheless I still wanted to try them out so and I grabbed Ink Studio 935 and 941 as they caught my eye the most (it was still a difficult decision!). I love purples and this reminded me of Dark Lilac (one of my favourite every inks) so I think it was a good choice. If you are interested in how Ink Studio sits within the rest of the 100 total inks check out this extensive overview of all inks!
Read MoreInk Review Hakase Real Sepia Dark
Hakase Real Sepia Dark is an ink I’ve been intrested in for quite a while and late last year I pulled the trigger. The ink isn’t a particularly exciting colour but the ink is unique because it is, as the name suggests, real sepia. It is made from actual cuttlefish ink which is one of the oldest forms of inks. The colour sepia is based on the colour of cuttlefish ink (which is this brown colour) and the name is from the Latinised Greek name for cuttlefishfish, “sepia”. Because of this I don’t believe the ink is vegan!
Read MoreRespective: Friday February 22nd
Articles I’ve read
Flex Nibs And Ink Characteristics (Inkophile) ✑ Interesting overview of soft nibs (though I’d not describe any as flex, personally).
Maker’s South Leather Field Notes Sleeve (Write Experience) ✑ Great looking sleeve for field notes sized notebooks.
Mini Review: Nakaya Decapod Twist vs PenBBS 380 (Hand Over That Pen) ✑I’ve been really impressed with the quality of PenBBS pens. There’s no question who wins in the looks category between these though.
Kingdom Note inks (exPENsive Photography) ✑ Great photos of a few Sailor Kingdom Note inks
The Great Grey Fountain Pen Ink Comparison (Fountain Pen Love) ✑ Excellent resource for grey inks! So many!
Sponsors
Pen Classics ✒︎ Sailor Ink Studio 100 inks are available! These are 100 unique inks based on the ink mixing studio Sailor put on in Japan. Lots of great colours to choose from. I’m a huge fan of Opus 88 pens, and a great place to grab Krishna’s increasingly sheeny inks and Stationery TAG’s Kyo-no-oto and Kyo-iro!
Desk Bandit ✒︎ The only place I know that stocks Carpink! Full range of the beautiful Nagasawa Kobe inks as well as Nagasawa’s Sailor Pro Gears! Full Range of Colorverse. So many great things! My favourite Kobe inks are #38, #41, #19, and #69! Desk Bandit are also selling Sailor’s Ink Studio!
La Couronne do Comte (10% off with MACCHIATOMAN10) ✒︎ Grab the new Pastel Lamy Safaris! They look great (and I don’t really like Safaris nor Pastel colours but I love these!)
Pen Chalet (10% off with MACCHIATOMAN) ✒︎ Great range of eclectic brands! From 3•Osters to Taccia inks and from Taccia to Wancher fountain pens! I’m very eager to try Taccia.
Pen Savings (12% off with MACCHIATOMAN) ✒︎ My go to place for US inks such as Organics Studio, Noodler’s, Monteverde, and Private Reserve. My favourites are Noodler’s Black Swan in Australian Roses, Golden Brown, Navy and Turquoise as well as Private Reserve Avocado!
Sailor Ink Studio Overview (100 inks) (Updated 2020)
I purchased my set of Sailor Ink Studio inks (all 100) from Pen Classics in New Zealand. These Ink Studio 100 are based on the Ink Studio custom inks blended by Ishimaru that are held at events around Japan throughout the year. These 100 are chosen, somehow, from the the the thousands of custom blends that people have asked the inkmeister at these events to make for them. As for the numbering, there is certainly patterns about them and they aren’t randomly numbered.
Read MorePen Mega-Review: Sailor Pro Gear
Why is this a mega-review? Because it’s not about a single Sailor Pro Gear; it’s about the model. I’ve got several Pro Gears, myself, and I’ve borrowed some from a friend who also collects Sailor Pro Gears. While this is predominately about the full size Sailor Pro Gear, I’ve got some slims, some interesting nibs, a Realo, and exclusive, limited, and standard line pens. I don’t really see the point of doing a full review of a pen just because it has a different finish or material or colour but I wanted to show off a bunch of Sailor Pro Gears. That is why this is a Sailor Pro Gear Mega-Review!
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