thINKthursday
iroshizuku Ku-jaku
You won’t rustle any feathers with iroshizuku Ku-jaku.
Iroshizuku inks are produced by Pilot and offer a beautiful palette of colors from which to choose. Ku-jaku is a gorgeous teal that is named after the color of a peacock’s neck. Iroshizuku ink comes in a 50ml glass bottle that has an ingenious divot at the bottom to make filing easier. The bottle is accompanied by a silver cardboard box that is refined and sophisticated. This review was done with a Sailor 1911 F, Lamy AL-Star B and on Rhodia blank No. 18 paper.
Ku-jaku doesn’t offer a lot of shading so the appearance is similar in both a fine and a broad nib. At its lightest, the ink is a cerulean teal color. This slightly shades to the predominate ocean color that occupies most of the color spectrum of the ink. At its darkest, the ink is a deep aqua that has strong green tones.
I’ve tried every Iroshizuku ink and can say they have excellent properties across the board. Ku-jaku has a higher saturation than some iroshizuku inks, but has good dry times at 20-30 seconds. The ink has good flow with no feathering or bleedthrough on Rhodia paper. The ink isn’t water resistant, but it was still possible to make out the writing after a water test.
Teal inks tug at my heartstrings, but even if you’re not the biggest fan of them, I think you’ll have to admit that Ku-jaku is a beautiful color. It has the added bonus of being blue enough that you will be able to get away using it in the workplace.
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 one for you.
Ink it Up!
Chris
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