Sailor Kobe Inks: Completionists Need Not Apply

March 1, 2017

My obsession with Sailor ink knows no bounds. If I had to choose a favorite brand of fountain pen ink, it wouldn’t even be close: Sailor would win easily. I probably have nearly two dozen bottles of current and discontinued Sailor inks, including doubles stashed away "for posterity" as well as some exclusive inks manufactured for Japanese retailers. (For more on why I like Sailor ink in general, check out this post that I did last year.)

What I wanted to write about today are the “Kobe Inks” - the line of ink that Sailor manufactures and bottles for the Kobe-Nagasawa Department Store in Kobe, Japan. While the inks that Sailor makes for Bungubox (or “Bung Box”) - another Japanese retailer located in Hamamatsu - have received most of the attention and acclaim in the pen community (probably due to the tulip-shaped ink bottle that they unfortunately no longer use), Kobe inks tended to get overlooked. Last I checked, there were nearly 60 different colors of ink in the Kobe line, a few of which are similar to colors Sailor has issued elsewhere, but many of which are unique.

I have four Kobe Inks in my collection: No. 4 (Foreigners’ Residence Red); No. 6 (Kobe Bordeaux); No. 9 (Suma Purple); and No. 37 (Harbour Island Blue). The inks are numbered for ease of reference, though they’ve also been given names that correspond to various places in Kobe and other themes of the city. I ordered No. 4 and No. 37 from Vanness Pens, who stocks most of the ink, and I picked up bottles of No. 6 and No. 9 from Kobe-Nagasawa directly at the 2016 D.C. Pen Show, where they had a table. It was something else to see that many bottles of Sailor ink - and so many different colors - stacked up in one place.

I like all four of the Kobe Inks that I currently have, but I need to add some of the greens, golds and oranges that can be found in unique shades that many ink manufacturers don't attempt.

It amazes me that Sailor can manufacture such a wide range of ink colors without running into manufacturing problems with certain batches and/or specific colors. Other ink brands like Diamine generally have a good reputation in terms of ink quality and behavior but occasionally people will experience issues with super-saturated colors (especially reds and oranges) clogging nibs, staining, or feathering on cheaper paper. Not so with Sailor. Out of all the colors of Sailor ink that I’ve tried, I have yet to find one that doesn’t function reasonably well on cheap recycled office paper. I’d also add that some of the shades of green, gold, and orange they offer can’t be found elsewhere, with the possible exception of KWZ.

Part of the Kobe-Nagasawa table display at the 2016 D.C. Pen Show. Vanness Pens picked up whatever stock they had left at the end of the weekend (which wasn't much!).

Where to Buy

There’s no longer any need to navigate the world of overseas eBay sellers or third-party shipping agents if you want to get your hands on some Kobe inks. Vanness Pens carries most of the line (54 colors, last I checked), and currently have most colors in stock. The ink is priced at $30 for a bottle or $4 for a 4ml sample, which is a premium over standard Sailor inks but hey, you won’t find these colors anywhere else. Just be warned - hunting for that "perfect" color can get addictive. (Not to mention expensive!)

Disclaimer: I purchased the ink featured in this review with my own funds for my own collection, and was not compensated for this post.

Check out that blue color--available nowhere else.

Ink Review: Bung Box Sapphire (or, The Best Blue Ink Ever!)

August 22, 2015

I can't believe that I've had this ink for over four months and still have not posted a review. It's no secret that I love Sailor Inks, and the special line of inks that Sailor manufactured for the Japanese retailer Bung Box (in Hamamatsu) has developed a cult following. At last week's D.C. Pen Show, Bung Box attended with a suitcase full of ink in tow, and apparently sold all of it.

Frankly, BB Sapphire is the best blue ink I have used. The color pops, it doesn't fade, and the ink has all the great properties of Sailor ink. (When I refer to an ink having "great properties," or an ink that "behaves well," I typically mean that the ink dries quickly and doesn't feather or bleed on the cheap paper that I have to use at work.)

Sailor Bung Box Sapphire in the tall bottle.  I currently have this ink in three pens:  a Delta Dolcevita Soiree with a fine nib, a Lamy 2000 with an EF nib, and an Esterbrook with a signature stub. — Sailor Bung Box Sapphire in the tall bottle. I currently have this ink in three pens: a Delta Dolcevita Soiree with a fine nib, a Lamy 2000 with an EF nib, and an Esterbrook with a signature stub.

I have three bottles of Bung Box ink: 4B ("Bung Box Blue Black"), Sapphire, and Norwegian Wood (emerald green), the latter of which I picked up last week. All of my bottles are the special Bung Box tall version, as opposed to the shorter Sailor bottle with an internal inkwell. I've heard that Sailor is discontinuing the special tall bottles--at the D.C. Show, several of the inks that Bung Box brought with them were packaged in the regular Sailor bottles. There's nothing wrong with regular Sailor ink, but it can be difficult to fill a large piston-fill pen such as a Montblanc or a Pelikan using an ordinary Sailor ink bottle. Cartridge/Converter pens pose less of a problem, because you can fill the converter directly without even dipping the nib.

Bung Box ink is expensive. In the U.S., you can purchase from Vanness Pen Shop for $35.65 per bottle. Currently, their stock is limited. You can also try to track down contact information for the shop in Japan, and there are several eBay-based purchasing services who can obtain Bung Box Ink for you, but there will not be significant cost savings. The price per-bottle will remain around $35 (possibly $30 if you buy multiple bottles and can save on shipping).

Sailor Bung Box Sapphire writing sample on Rhodia Paper.  The ink looks darker with a very broad, wet nib.  I've also included a color comparison with several other "bright blue" inks.  The Sapphire color is unique and, personally, my… — Sailor Bung Box Sapphire writing sample on Rhodia Paper. The ink looks darker with a very broad, wet nib. I've also included a color comparison with several other "bright blue" inks. The Sapphire color is unique and, personally, my favorite.

The Bung Box ink bottle is extremely attractive, and solves the problem many have with Sailor's regular ink bottles:  they are too shallow to fill a large-nibbed pen. — The Bung Box ink bottle is extremely attractive, and solves the problem many have with Sailor's regular ink bottles: they are too shallow to fill a large-nibbed pen.

A Rare Ink from Japan: Bung Box Blue Black

April 15, 2015

Following the blogs and Instagram accounts of pen enthusiasts based in Japan is a form of self-torture for me. They have everything we want but don’t have over here: a plethora of stores in seemingly every town where you can browse pens, ink, fine paper, etc. at your leisure. Each of these stores carries something special: an exclusive pen, fountain pen friendly stationery, and frequently, exclusive lines of ink.

Those of us stuck Stateside can only dream of having those options available to us. Most pen people who live outside of 3-4 major metropolitan areas must resort to online shopping and annual trips to pen shows. The horror. But drool in vain no more, because the good folks at Vanness Pen Shop in Little Rock, Arkansas have begun importing at least one line of ink made by Sailor for Bung Box, a small store in Hamamatsu, Japan. A couple weeks back, I picked up two bottles, the “4B” (which stands for Bung Box Blue Black), and the Sapphire Blue. Both are excellent inks, and 4B is hands down the best blue black ink I have ever used.

This is Sailor ink, so there’s nothing new here in terms of properties. It dries quickly, doesn’t smear, doesn’t feather on cheap paper, and is a good all-around low-maintenance ink that works well for daily writing. What’s so nice about this ink is the color. 4B has incredible depth, and leaves the reddish sheen on the page that certain Sailor inks are known for. I’ll let the handwritten review and a few photos speak for themselves.

Bung Box 4B is a very deep, rich color.  I prefer that my blue black inks be dark, as opposed to those that lean to the grey or greenish side of the spectrum. — Bung Box 4B is a very deep, rich color. I prefer that my blue black inks be dark, as opposed to those that lean to the grey or greenish side of the spectrum.

Here’s the big drawback, however: this ink is expensive. At $35 per bottle, Bung Box is priced higher than Pelikan Edelstein and Pilot Iroshizuku. It sits at the same price point as Caran D’Ache, which to me is expensive for ink. Regular Sailor ink runs at $15-17 per bottle (after a recent price increase), and even the Limited Edition Sailor Kobe Ink (carried by eBay seller CoolJapan) is priced at $19.99. Unless you’re a Sailor ink nut like me, I’d try out some of the less expensive and more readily available Sailor colors first before splurging on the Bung Box. The Kobe Ink comes in a huge range of colors, and while I haven’t tried it, I suspect that some of those inks are very similar to the Bung Box offerings.

Given that it will take me forever to use up 50ml of ink, however, I’m happy with my purchase and I consider my $35 well spent. As I mentioned, Vanness carries the full range of Bung Box inks, in addition to other imported ink lines such as Akkerman and Callifolio that, to my knowledge, are not available anywhere else in the U.S.

Disclaimer: I purchased this ink with my own funds from Vanness, and was not compensated monetarily for this review in any way.

Why on Earth Did Sailor Discontinue Apricot?

April 1, 2015

Ever since we got the word last year that Sailor was discontinuing it's current Jentle line of inks, and, somewhat oddly, replacing them with new versions of inks previously issued as "limited editions", I've been mourning the discontinuation of Apricot, Sailor's orange ink. I understand that this is utterly nonsensical. I'm hoarding two or three bottles of the stuff, and since I've only finished one or two bottles of ink in the five years I've been in this hobby, this probably qualifies as a 10-year supply, if not more. (Some people may use orange ink on a daily basis. I don't.) Despite this, over the past year I've been searching for a suitable alternative to my Apricot, should I ever run out.

If you look carefully, in the background, you can see my newest ink obsession.

Enter the first pretender. Iroshizuku Yu-Yake is a perfectly good ink. It doesn't feather on my cheap office paper, it flows well, and it has a nice pure orange color that shades decently. So what's the problem with it? I'll show you:

This isn't a 100% accurate color reproduction, but it's close (Orange Inks are hard to photograph/scan.)  In this picture, the Yu-yake shows up a tad light, and the Apricot a shade darker, but the difference in vibrancy is accurate. — This isn't a 100% accurate color reproduction, but it's close (Orange Inks are hard to photograph/scan.) In this picture, the Yu-yake shows up a tad light, and the Apricot a shade darker, but the difference in vibrancy is accurate.

Yu-yake certainly doesn't have the same "pop" as the Apricot, and to be fair, Pilot probably intended Yu-Yake to be a completely different color. It's also somewhat unfair that I chose to show off the Apricot in a 1911 with a Nagahara-tuned music nib, but Apricot looks just as good in a fine nib. Iroshizuku does win out on the cheap office paper that I have to use on a daily basis at work, so I will probably keep this bottle around. Apricot tends to bleed through.

The hunt for a suitable Apricot replacement continues. But then again, what else do I have to do with my time and money?

Ink Review: Sailor Yama-Dori

August 20, 2014

I was fully expecting to find this ink overrated, and thought it would be impossible for it to live up to the hype generated before its (re)release. I was wrong. While I love Miruai and Nioi-Sumire, Yama-Dori is probably going to end up being my favorite of the new Sailor Jentle line.

The color is a dark teal. Miruai could also be considered a very dark teal, but this ink has a different tone altogether because there's more blue in it. The color has a lot of subtle depth: there is some reddish sheen to the ink once it dries and you look at it from an angle, but it doesn't photograph very well (at least with my limited skill and equipment). You do, however, see a lot of shading with some black coming through where the ink is heavily applied to the paper.

In a way, the ink reminds me of a mix Pendleton Brown does (or did, before Organics Studio started making inks for him) called Blakwa, which I understood to be a 50/50 mix of Waterman Black and Waterman "Inspired Blue" ("formerly South Seas Blue," commonly known as "turquoise"). That mix didn't have the sheen, and wasn't as saturated, but I always thought it was a cool color.

Yama-Dori has all the properties of the Sailor Jentle ink line: good dry time, even on super smooth paper; low feathering and bleed-through, even on super cheap paper, and what I would call a very balanced level of color saturation. It's not watery ink, but it's also not super saturated to the point where it will smear. What I especially like about this ink is that it's an interesting color that is dark enough to use for work, or pretty much any other purpose.

Handwritten Ink review of Sailor Yama-Dori Ink on Exacompta card stock.  The pen I used is a Pilot Vanishing Point with a Broad nib stubbed by Mike Masuyama. — Handwritten Ink review of Sailor Yama-Dori Ink on Exacompta card stock. The pen I used is a Pilot Vanishing Point with a Broad nib stubbed by Mike Masuyama.

Thanks to our sponsors at Pen Chalet for sending me this bottle. In full disclosure, I received this bottle for review purposes free of charge.