Ink Review: Pilot Iroshizuku murasaki-shikibu

[Chrissy]

Today I’m reviewing Pilot Iroshizuku murasaki-shikibu ink.

From Japanese this translates to the Japanese Beautyberry fruit and is an interesting bright lilac colour.

I didn’t have many similar inks to this one to compare it with. It’s quite a different colour to other lilac or purple inks.

Murasaki-shikibu didn’t suffer from any hard starts or non-starts when I put the uncapped pen down to do swab tests, dry times and water resistance. The ink was very well-behaved.

It dried in 16 seconds on the Clairefontaine Triomphe paper and didn’t smear after it was dry.

Available in attractive Pilot Iroshizuku 50ml and mini 15ml glass bottles from many outlets Worldwide. Prices can vary quite a bit, so shop around.

• Flow Rate: Very good.
• Lubrication: Nicely smooth.
• Nib Dry-out: Not noticed.
• Start-up: Immediate.
• Saturation: Not saturated
• Shading Potential: Some shading seen.
• Show-Through: Some seen on cheaper papers.
• Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: None seen.
• Nib Creep / “Crud”: Not seen, even after several days in the pen.
• Staining (pen): Not seen after 3 weeks - easy clean-up.
• Staining (hands): Washed off of my hands easily.
• Clogging: Not seen.
• Water resistance: Not sold as waterproof, but shows good water resistance.

PI muraski shikibu M.jpg