thINKthursday
Kobe #15 Maiko Green

Your friends will be green with envy when you’re using Kobe #15.

thINKthursday – Kobe 15 Maiko Green

Kobe #15 is piney green that writes as beautifully as it looks. Kobe inks are produced by Sailor and have the same wonderful properties found in their entire line. All Kobe inks are also designated with a number, so Maiko Green can also be referred to as Kobe #15.  Kobe ink comes in the same 50ml round glass bottles as Sailor ink. Because the bottle is fairly short, some pens are a little more difficult to fill from the bottle. This review was done with a Sailor Pro Gear F, and a Lamy Safari B on Rhodia blank No. 18 paper.

Maiko Green has a similar appearance in both a fine and broad nib. The ink shaded decently in both, leading to a nice spectrum of greens. At its lightest, the ink is a pear/olive green. From there, it shaded to richer piney greens. At its darkest, the ink was a rich seaweed green. While you might be able to get some sheen on Tomoe River paper, there was none on Rhodia.

Kobe inks benefit from all the same wonderful properties as other Sailor inks. Maiko Green had good flow with no feathering or bleedthrough on Rhodia paper. The ink is fairly saturated but had good dry times at 20-25 seconds. While there was no water resistance, clean up was easy.

I’m a sucker for greens and Kobe #15 fills a gap in the Sailor/Kobe green spectrum. It’s not as mossy as Tokiwa-Matsu, and it’s significantly lighter than Miruai. It’s very close to Kobe #34, but on the greener side. Overall it’s a wonderful ink to use and admire.

As with any ink review, the pen, paper and person doing the writing will influence the way the ink looks. If you’re not sure about a color, try a sample to see if it’s the color for you.

Ink it Up!
Chris

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