AzJon (February 14th, 2018)
This seems crazy, but I can see how they got there.
If people are willing to pay X for a bottle of, for example, red chalk, then why not just charge a high price for a "special" ink to start with.
If it's not LE then they can charge what they want, it won't be marked up in resale after all.
This is definitely not about being a pen and ink manufacturer anymore. Welcome to the "more money than sense" discussions, unless these inks can do something REALLY, AMAZINGLY, SPECIALY, DIFFERENT... then it's just expensive ink.
Sam O
"A fountain pen with a bad nib is like a Ferrari with a flat tyre..." - Brian Gray, Edison pens
Yes, I agree with you.
They might have seen some crazy prices for bottles of ink on ebay and elsewhere, and thought that there are people around who are prepared to pay this sort of money for ink, so why not see how much they are prepared to pay for new ink from Montblanc?
There is currently a bottle of Hitchcock listed on eBay UK for £80, and that's only 30ml! It hasn't sold, of course, but it's still there.
There are people on the FPN threads who are going to buy this Elixir ink, and they don't consider it's a problem for them. That's fine. Each to their own. I suspect everyone has their own price limit over which they won't go when buying ink.
I remember I wouldn't pay $45 plus shipping and PayPal fees to buy a bottle of Sailor Pen & Message Cigar ink. Then Sailor grasped that it was a really popular ink, that they needed to make more of, so they introduced it back into their standard range as Rikyu cha.
Now they are going to reduce their ink bottle sizes, and sell them for the same price. It's not that dissimilar to what Montblanc is doing. They are reacting to the current market trend where people seem to be prepared to pay more for ink than some manufacturers thought they would. If it doesn't work then they will have to try something else.
While people are prepared to pay, manufacturers will react. If no-one bought it, and it all either had to be reduced to sell or go bad, they would probably not try it again.
Last edited by Chrissy; February 15th, 2018 at 04:33 AM.
Sammyo (February 15th, 2018)
I agree with Sammyo about the Mb Elixir inks.
Re Rikyu-cha etc, the original Rikyu-cha pre-dates P & M Cigar so wasn’t a copy.
Cigar and Rikyu-cha are close but are not exactly the same. As someone said elsewhere “they are dizygotic”. However, as always, YMMV. They are likely close enough for some not to discern or bother about the difference. I enjoy having both, and appreciate the differences.
Last edited by migo984; February 15th, 2018 at 03:26 AM.
Lady Onogaro
"Be yourself--everybody else is already taken." --Oscar Wilde
Tanna Japonenis (Evening Cicada) is gorgeous and I think it's my favourite green. I've attached some swatches of some similar inks for you, although none are an exact match, either for colour or other characteristics. Diamine Safari is close, but slightly more brown, and feels drier. KWZ Green Gold (not Green Gold #2) is like Safari in shade; I like its performance better from the pen than Safari. My scan doesn't show it up well. It is actually quite close to Tanna IRL.
Diamine Classic Green is a good green but is more grey than Tanna. Kobe #28 is definitely a truer green then Tanna, but also being a Sailor has the typical Sailor characteristics.
I think Monteverde Olivine is also a close contender, but my bottle is still in Australia so I couldn't include it in this set.
Overall I haven't ever been able to find a ready-made, easily available alternative to Tanna. But there are a few, as you can see, that are close and may be acceptable alternatives for you.
Hope this helps a little.
Tanna Japonensis.jpg
I think Stipula Musk Green is more yellowy...and that ain't cheap either.
My other pen is a Montblanc.
And my other blog is a tumblr!
And my latest ebook, for spooky wintery reading:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CM2NGSSD
Note Montblanc's use of the word "Collection," a common ploy to make a consumer product appear prestigious while urging acquisition of the full set of something. "Limited Edition" works the same way on our psyche.
Chrissy (February 16th, 2018), Sailor Kenshin (February 16th, 2018)
My other pen is a Montblanc.
And my other blog is a tumblr!
And my latest ebook, for spooky wintery reading:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CM2NGSSD
I don't have a swab of my own, but here's a link to a review on FPN. Also, I didn't realize that there were two other beetle inks (burgundy and blue) in the Kingdom Note series. I was only aware of the one before going hunting for a review / image for you. What I have is the Dorcus Hopei Binodulosus, which is the black w/ green sheen. If this isn't the one you were looking for then I apologize for my lack of knowledge of the other two.
http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/fo...-kingdom-note/
Of course based on your post above about the "Joyful-2" being close to what you're looking for I think you might be talking about the Kingdom Note Tanna Japonesis, which is closer to a cicada than a beetle and more reason for me to back away as I seriously misunderstood what you are looking for .
Edit...I read through all of migo's post and see that Tanna Japonesis was mentioned. I missed it. I'm going home and pouring a large glass of whisky!
Last edited by Scooby921; February 16th, 2018 at 11:53 AM.
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