Sailor has released all of their ink colors in tiny 20ml bottles under the Shikiori sub-brand. But with this release, there are four new colors available only in this set and one of those colors is Shimoyo (20ml bottle for $15).
The bottles are actually very elegant with a matte gold faceted plastic lid and a square glass bottle. The labels are rounded squares with decorative patterns in colors similar to the ink color. The patterns remind me of the designs on currency as does the design on the crest on the box.
If you don’t keep the box and don’t read Japanese, you might want to peel the sticker off the box and put it on the top of the bottle since the bottle is not labelled with the color name in English.
Shimoyo is a solid blue black color. I jokingly wrote in my hand written sample that this color is “business in the front and business in the back too.” There is a bit of shading but I didn’t notice much sheen until I was doing the written sample.
In spite of its overall, buttoned-up appearance, there is a hint of reddish magenta around the edges. Its ever-so-slight. It made me think that if this very business-y ink were a person, it would be a very proper salaryman who might occasionally toss back a few too many drinks at the bar after work and get up and croon a few sappy songs on the karaoke machine but never ever admit to it in the morning.
As much as my initial instinct was to say that Shimoyo looked like every other blue black ink, there are subtle differences between each color swatch I pulled out. Some were bluer, some were more violet, some were darker and some were lighter.
While I don’t know that I needed another blue black in my already copious collection, if your collection is not as extensive as mine and you were looking to pick one, Shimoyo is a nice option. The small bottle means its not a huge commitment and it also means its not a huge price tag either.
TOOLS
- Paper: Rhodia Uni-Blank No. 16 ($6.95) with 6mm guide sheet
- Pens: Empire vintage traveling dip nib holder with Zebra G titanium nib ($33.50 per 10-pack), Esterbrook #2442 nib in a Shawn Netwon custom nib holder
- Swatches: Col-o-Ring Ink Testing Cards
- Brush: Kaimei KT-3 natural weasel portable brush pen ($29.37)
- Ink: Sailor Shikiori Shimoyo (20ml bottle for $15)
Do you know if these are replacing 50ml bottles? I’ve heard that some stationery shops weren’t able to order 50ml Sailor inks since these came out.
Yes. The 50ml bottles are being discontinued and the smaller bottles are becoming the standard if I understand everything correctly. It breaks my heart.