Ink Review: Pilot Iroshizuku tsuki-yo (Moonlight)

[Chrissy]

Today I’m reviewing Pilot Iroshizuku tsuki-yo ink.

From Japanese this translates to moonlight and it is a very nice mid to dark blue/ slightly blue-black colour. It’s a very attractive shade and a lovely ink to write with. I’m surprised that I haven’t used it much before.

Tsuki yo 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. It felt quite wet while writing.

It dried quite quickly in just over 10 seconds on the Clairefontaine Triomphe paper and didn’t smear after it was dry.

Available in attractive Pilot Iroshizuku 50ml and 15ml glass bottles from many outlets worldwide. Prices vary considerably so it's worth shopping around for P.I. inks.

• Flow Rate: Very good - felt quite wet.
• Lubrication: Very smooth.
• Nib Dry-out: Not noticed.
• Start-up: Immediate.
• Saturation: Not saturated
• Shading Potential: Some very nice shading seen, and sometimes a red sheen.
• Show-Through: Some seen on Moleskine paper.
• Spread / Feathering / Woolly Line: A little seen on cheaper paper.
• Nib Creep / “Crud”: Not seen, even after several days in the pen.
• Staining (pen): Not seen after several days - easy clean-up.
• Staining (hands): Washed off of my hands after two washes.
• Clogging: Not seen.
• Water resistance: Not a waterproof ink.

PI tsuki yo.jpg