Ink Review #82

*Please note that the scan is the accurate representation of this color.

Overview

The color/properties:

Pilot Iroshizuku Asa-gao is a deep, yet vibrant blue. There isn’t a lot of shading and little tonal variation, but the ink still darkens up where the ink pools. What’s more noticeable is a slight sheen around the edges of shading areas. While it’s visible in some lighting, it’s not a substantial amount of sheen. I did, however, notice that it would sheen considerably more on Midori MD paper.

Rhodia

Leuchtturm1917

Performance on paper:

Asa-gao should be well-behaved on most fountain pen-friendly papers. There was some minor bleed-through and feathering on the Kokuyo, but not as much as I expected there to be for an ink of higher saturation. I tried the music nib used for the writing samples in this review on Leuchtturm paper, and there were traces of bleeding, though difficult to see. There was slight feathering on the edges of the ink droplets as well (on Rhodia), but not enough to suggest that it would be more harmful to the paper than any other ink. The dry times were slightly below average: the larger nib sizes mostly dried from 20-25 seconds (and one instance on Rhodia where the ink failed to dry by the 30-second mark). Keep in mind that because this ink has a slight sheen, there’s always the possibility that it can be easily smudged by residual moisture on the hand. The water resistance was okay. Water exposure caused instant blue clouding, but there were still dark and legible shadows left over.

Midori MD

Maruman

Tomoe River

Kokuyo

Performance in the pen:

For the most part, Asa-gao’s performance was excellent. There was some expected dryness when writing with the needlepoint, but all of the other nibs had a consistent medium-wet flow and adequate lubrication for a comfortable writing experience. There were a few hard starts using the broad nib, but otherwise, this ink performs well. Cleaning was quick, and the nib units only required a basic soak and flush, however, there was a blue line of residue left inside the barrel of the pen that wouldn’t come out with basic flushing. It scrubbed out easily with a cotton swab, and this shouldn’t be an issue for most pens, but if you have an integrated filling system that is hard to access for cleaning, I would keep that in mind, especially for demonstrators.

• Performance in a pen: 8.5/10

• Performance on paper: 8.510

• Color saturation: 7.5/10

• Sheening: 4/10

• Shading: 4/10

• Dry time: 6/10

• Water resistance: 4/10

• Ease of cleaning: 6/10

• Shimmer: None

My personal thoughts…

I know that Asa-gao is very popular, so it’s going to be difficult to say this, but I don’t love it. There’s nothing wrong with it, I promise! It’s a great ink — an excellent one even! It’s everything you should expect when you think of an Iroshizuku ink. But, as much as I’ve wanted to over the years, I’ve never been attached to it. As far as blue ink goes, it just feels so basic. So tame. So vanilla. Is it weird to describe an ink that way? I had a moment of fascination with it when I noticed the sheen on the Midori paper, but it didn’t last. To top it off, “Asa-gao” translates to “Morning Glory.” I don’t see it. I don’t see the resemblance. If you love Asa-gao, I’m sorry. It’s a great ink and will more than likely perform well for you. But as much as I would like to share the enthusiasm, I just can’t.

More images/info:

Comparisons:

Tools and materials used in the writing samples:

• A TWSBI Diamond 580 AL with 7 nib units including a Needlepoint grind, EF, F, M, B, 1.1mm stub, and an Architect grind. All nibs are tuned to perform at the same medium wetness.

• A Rhodia No16 A5 DotPad

• A Leuchtturm1917 A5 Notebook

• A Midori MD A5 Notebook

• A 68gsm A5 Tomoe River Notebook

• A Maruman Mnemosyne A5 Spiral Notebook

• A Kokuyo Campus A5 Notebook