Red Ink Review: Tono & Lims "Superstar T"

I first heard about Tono & Lims inks on the Japan-centric stationery podcast “Tokyo Inklings,” which is an excellent listen for those interested in Japanese stationery, and especially the market for store-exclusive and specialized Japanese releases. Tono & Lims, a newer line of inks that represents a collaboration between a Japanese brand and a South Korean ink producer, is frequently mentioned on the show as the maker of many of the exclusive and limited edition inks for Japanese pen shows and clubs. Over the past year or so Tono & Lims inks have become available in the United States via retailer Shigure Inks, which stocks more than twenty “lines” of Tono & Lims inks for both fountain and dip pens, amounting to over 240 different colors at the time of writing. This might be intimidating to some, and even I had some difficulty navigating the various options. I would have appreciated slightly more guidance on the differences between the various collections and the properties of the inks in each line. That said, let’s dive in.

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Tono & Lims uses a very simple square glass ink bottle, but I absolutely love the artwork on the box.

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So far, I’ve only sampled one color from the expansive Tono & Lims lineup, but I’ve really enjoyed the experience. The color I chose - no surprise here - is “Superstar T” from their limited edition pen show line, described as a “dark maroon” fountain pen ink. The color didn’t turn out exactly as expected. I would definitely describe this ink as more of a rich blood red as opposed to what I consider “maroon,” and the color of the ink I received looks quite different from the swatch online. In any event, Superstar T is still a gorgeous ink which flows well in all the various pens I’ve tested, doesn’t bleed or feather on most papers, and dries relatively quickly. I’d describe the performance as similar to Sailor ink.

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Of course, it wouldn’t be a red/burgundy ink review without a comparison against my favorite red ink of all time, Montblanc’s now-ancient limited edition Alfred Hitchcock. As you can see, the Superstar T is much more of a classic red than the Hitchcock, which has the purple undertones that I associate with maroons/burgundies.

I went ahead and swabbed a couple of other similar inks, including Vanness-Joey Feldman “Good Evening” collaboration ink and my own attempt to replicate MB Hitchcock using Platinum’s Mix-Free Inks. Paper used is the bright-white Write Notepads paper that I carry in the shop, which I absolutely love for showing off reds.

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Superstar T makes a perfect match for my PenBBS “Manjusaka” acrylic 456!

Takeaways and Where to Buy

I fancy myself a red ink connoisseur, and Tono & Lims Superstar T is an exceptional red ink that I can see myself using regularly. I’m definitely looking forward to testing out more of their colors. I purchased the bottle shown here from Shigure Inks, which as I mentioned carries multiple collections of Tono & Lims fountain pen and dip pen inks in addition to other brands of pens and stationery. Tono & Lims inks are relatively pricey, coming in at $22 for a 30ml bottle, but increased “per ml” pricing is probably unavoidable with smaller import brands that maintain such a large number of different colors.

One note on Tono & Lims: Read the descriptions carefully. Certain of their inks are intended only for use with glass dip pens, not fountain pens, probably because the inks have special properties that would cause them to stain, clog, or just not flow well in a fountain pen feed.

Disclaimer: I paid full price for the ink shown here, purchased with my own funds, and have no affiliation with Shigure Inks other than as a customer. This post does not contain affiliate links. Going forward, T.G.S is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and the T.G.S. Patreon Program, which offers access to online meetups, exclusive discounts and pre-orders, and more!

Workhorse Inks Update: Water-Testing TWSBI Inks

Last week I wrote a post on TWSBI Blue-Black, a workhorse fountain pen ink that shows significant water-resistance to the point where I would consider the ink basically waterproof. Following that post, I received several questions about how the other TWSBI inks compared, so I decided to do a quick test.

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Basically, the “test” was exactly what I did with the TWSBI Blue-Black: I dunked a sheet of Rhodia paper containing a writing sample of all five standard colors in a glass of water for five minutes. Admittedly, this is a pretty “extreme” test, so the effects are probably more akin to your notebook going through the washing machine than to a few raindrops or a spilled drink that’s quickly wiped away. Here are the results:

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As you can see, TWSBI Blue-Black clearly performed the best, followed by TWSBI Black, which also showed significant water-resistance. TWSBI Midnight Blue also remained quite legible. Unsurprisingly, Sapphire Blue and Red showed little water-resistance, though both did remain legible to the point where you would probably be able to recover most of your writing.

Overall, I’m very happy with how the TWSBI Inks performed, and the Blue-Black, Midnight Blue, and Black inks will likely find their way into my permanent work rotation. I carry all five of these inks in the Curated Shop, and as I mentioned in the prior post, they’re priced competitively at $15.99 for a 70ml glass bottle. We also carry the full range of other TWSBI products, including the TWSBI Diamond 580 ALR in “Prussian Blue,” as well as the new TWSBI ECO Lilac, which we recently added to our offerings!

The T.G.S. Curated Shop is an authorized retailer of all brands we carry. By shopping with us, you are supporting original content, pen reviews, pen show events, etc. from The Gentleman Stationer. If you would like to support us even further, please consider checking out the T.G.S. Patreon Program, which offers access to online meetups, exclusive discounts and pre-orders, and more!

Workhorse Inks: TWSBI Blue-Black

I’ve been doing more ink reviews lately, probably because I’ve been doing more writing (including a heck of a lot of writing on cheap paper). One of my most frequently used “workhorse” inks has been TWSBI Blue-Black, a modern iron gall blue-black ink in the tradition of classic Pelikan Blue-Black, Lamy Blue-Black, and old-formulation Montblanc Midnight Blue.

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Admittedly, this isn’t a flashy ink. The blue-black color goes on dark and dries to the steel blue color that you may recall seeing on vintage business documents. The big advantage is that iron gall inks tend to perform quite well on even the cheapest recycled copy paper and legal pads. I’ve managed to use this ink in a broad nib at work with decent results, whereas most fountain pen inks are unusable on our stock office paper. Iron gall inks also show good water resistance, so you’re writing will be protected against water (and coffee) spills. See below for an example of how well the TWSBI Blue-Black does after a dunk in a glass of water.

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I think TWSBI describes this ink as “water-resistant” out of an abundance of caution. I soaked this writing sample in a glass of water for 5 minutes. I would consider this, in my own personal terminology, “waterproof”. This is HP 28lb copy paper.

But Won’t Iron Gall Inks Hurt My Pens?

One persisting “myth” of pendom is that iron gall ink will corrode your pens. While it’s true that you should exercise caution with vintage and homemade iron gall ink, as well as some of the stronger calligraphy formulations, most modern inks made specifically for use in fountain pens are safe to use provided you practice decent pen hygiene and flush your pen periodically. Even then, I’ve had TWSBI Blue-Black loaded into this Diamond 580 ALR Nickel for a couple of months, and there has been no clogging, staining, or corrosion.

Takeaways and Where to Buy

TWSBI Blue-Black has earned itself a place in my rotation as a go-to work/office ink, and I’ve had at least one pen inked with it for the past year or so. At $15.99 for a giant 70ml bottle, you’ll also get your money’s worth. You can purchase TWSBI Blue-Black ink, as well as other TWSBI products, in the T.G.S. Curated Shop. Recently, we added the TWSBI Diamond 580 ALR in “Prussian Blue,” as well as the new TWSBI ECO Lilac, to our offerings!

The T.G.S. Curated Shop is an authorized retailer of all brands we carry. By shopping with us, you are supporting original content, pen reviews, pen show events, etc. from The Gentleman Stationer. If you would like to support us even further, please consider checking out the T.G.S. Patreon Program, which offers access to online meetups, exclusive discounts and pre-orders, and more!

First Look: Introducing Esterbrook Inks!

I’m happy to reveal that Esterbrook inks will be coming soon to your favorite pen retailers, in a range of nine new colors, six standard and three shimmer. (You may have seen these teased on the Esterbrook Instagram account over the past week.) Cary was kind enough to send me samples so that I could publish my first impressions, and so far, so good. While I’ve not had the opportunity to fully test these inks in my pens, I inked up a few this morning and will be putting them through the testing process.

Standard colors include Cobalt (blue), Ebony (black), Evergreen, Aqua, Tangerine, and Scarlet. As shown below, there are also three “Shimmer” inks: Shimmer Aqua, Shimmer Tangerine, and Shimmer Lilac. At first glance, all of the colors are vibrant, and I haven’t noticed any loss of saturation or smearing in the two weeks since I swabbed the sample sheet shown here.

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I chose Evergreen and Shimmer Lilac to test out for the week.

Initial Thoughts and Where to Buy Once the New Inks Hit the Market

I’m liking the color selection here, which strikes a good balance in the sense that Esterbrook has included somewhat offbeat colors such as the tangerine and lilac alongside more standard “pen company” colors such as blue, black, green, turquoise (“Aqua,” which is a shade darker than is typical) and red (“Scarlet”). Even the standard blue is a rich “Cobalt” that I could see getting plenty of use. While I’m not a huge shimmer ink user, I will note that the “shimmer” here isn’t overly glittery, seems usable for everyday writing, and might pair quite nicely with one of the Diamondcast Esterbrook pens.

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Esterbrook chose a more traditional ink bottle design, akin to the classic Pelikan bottles.

The Esterbrook inks are not available for purchase quite yet, but they should start appearing at your pen retailer of choice over the next couple of weeks. I’m almost certain Vanness Pens will have these inks in stock as soon as they hit store shelves. Stay tuned for final details on pricing and for an updated link to purchase.

Disclaimer: Esterbrook provided me with the ink samples and ink bottle featured in this review free of charge, for review purposes. This post does not contain affiliate links.

Workhorse Inks: Exploring Iroshizuku, Part II (Asa-Gao, Murasaki-Shikibu, and Aji-Sai)

Today I’ll delve further into Pilot’s Iroshizuku line, looking at three more inks from Pilot’s luxury ink brand. One of these, Asa-Gao (“Morning Glory”), has served as a core blue ink for me over the years, while the other two are inks with which I have relatively little experience: Muraskai-Shikibu (“Japanese Beautyberry”) and Ajisai (“Hydrangea”). All three are in the blue-purple family, with Asa-Gao being the most blue, Murasaki-Shikibu the most purple, and Ajisai a hybrid of the two.

Three writing samples compared, top to bottom: Asa-Gao, Murasaki-Shikibu, and Ajisai. All writing samples are done on Midori MD Cotton paper, which is now back in stock in The Curated Shop! Pens used for writing samples include a TWSBI Diamond 580 (Asa-Gao), a PenBBS 456 Vacuum Filler (Murasaki-Shikibu), and a TWSBI Vac 700R Iris (Ajisai).

Asa-Gao (“Morning Glory”)

I’m not particularly subjective here: Iroshizuku Asa-Gao is one of my favorite inks of all time. A rich royal blue that sometimes shows just the slightest hint of purple, it’s the ultimate workhorse ink because it’s not only gorgeous, but a well-behaved, non-distracting color that will look just as good in your journal as it does in the office. I’ve also found Asa-Gao less likely to take on that faded, washed-out look that some basic blue inks adopt as they dry. Though I haven’t made my way though the entire lineup yet, I can’t imagine liking any two Iroshizuku inks better than Asa-Gao and Yama-Budo.

Iroshizuku Asa-Gao: A “safe” blue ink that really pops.

Murasaki-Shikibu (“Japanese Beautyberry”)

The next two inks, Murasaki Shikibu and Ajisai, fall into the category of inks that I’m probably less likely to use on a regular basis, but are still excellent choices if you like the colors and appreciate shading. Murasaki-Shikibu, the “core purple” of the Iroshizuku lineup, offers a less-saturated purple option for those who love purple inks but perhaps don’t love using them in clear demonstrators, where they can be difficult to clean and even have a tendency to stain. (I’m looking at you, Waterman Violet - sorry, “Tender Purple.”)

Ajisai (“Hydrangea”)

Ajisai was a pleasant surprise! Like Murasaki-Shikibu, Ajisai is a softer color that shades nicely. Online reviews and ink swatches unfortunately tend to show Ajisai as much more washed out than the ink actually is. On more absorbent paper, the color is quite legible, to the point where I can see myself using this one regularly. I also have several massive hydrangea bushes in my yard, and can confirm that Pilot absolutely nailed the color match with a blue-purple hydrangea bloom. (Fun fact: Hydrangea blooms are either pink or blue, depending on the pH of your soil, so you can change the look of your garden with additives!)

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In certain light, you can almost detect a touch of double-shading (i.e., when the ink shades in more than one color) in Ajisai. The lighter area of this swab shows the slightest hint of purple.

Takeaways and Where to Buy

The deeper I go into the ink line, the more I love Pilot Iroshizuku. Prior to this year, I had never given much thought to Murasaki-Shikibu or Ajisai, and both ended up as inks that I could easily introduce into the regular rotation. One goal of this longer-term project is to evaluate Iroshizuku as a solution for those looking for perhaps not “one ink,” but a single ink brand from which they can select any color and expect consistent performance across the line. So far, so good!

As of 2023, The T.G.S. Curated Ship is able to offer you Pilot pens and inks directly, including the entire Iroshizuku lineup. We currently carry the 50ml bottles of ink, priced at $24.

Further Reading

Check out Part I of this series here, in which I look at Yama-Budo (Crimson Glory Vine), Shin-Ryoku (Forest Green), and Kon-Peki (Deep Cerulean Blue). I have most of the other inks in this series and will be working my way through them as I write my pens dry and need to refill.

The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. We no longer participate in third-party affiliate programs.