Sailor Shikiori Yonaga (20ml bottle for $15) is the other new blue color added into the smaller bottles released this year from Sailor as the Shikiori line. We talked a bit about it this week on Ep. 292 of The Pen Addict and neither Brad or I were clear as to whether Sailor was moving away from the larger Jentle bottles completely. I’m still looking into it so as soon as I know more, I’ll let you know. In the meantime, the larger bottles are available on Anderson Pens for all the Jentle Four Seasons colors. The only small 20ml bottles are the four new colors including Yonaga.
My initial impression of Yonanga was that it was just a vibrant indigo blue. It’s that shibori blue. The deep, rich indigo color. However, I let my swatch sit long enough to discover that there is actually a sheen of green/gold to the ink that you might not notice right away. It appeared after the ink had time to sit for awhile and dry completely. The green/gold sheen rose to the surface of my Col-o-ring swatch card after a couple days. Maybe I didn’t notice it right away because it was overcast when I did the swatch (hurray, January) or it took some time for the cast to rise to the surface.
I noticed the sheen a bit more on the Rhodia writing sample but my gut reaction to Yonaga was lukewarm initially to this color overall. I don’t tend to go for deep blues in general. However, upon reflection, I am really appreciating the depth of this color. If blues are your cat nip, this one might just be one you’d want to consider.
I pulled out a few comparable blues from the collection thinking I’d have so many that were exactly the same only to discover that they were all just a little different. Parker Quink Blue Black is a little dirtier, while the Bookbinders blues are both more vivid blue. The Robert Oster Dark Star Blue is probably the closest match and, milliliter-to-milliliter, a better value, But if I had to pick from Sailor’s own line of awesome blues, Souten wins with a fabulous blue and a wonderful sheen too.
Addendum:
Another little tidbit about these Sailor Shikiori inks! Accodring to the JetPens newsletter, the new Shikiori colors Yonaga, Shimoyo, Yodaki (review soon) and Yozakura (review tomorrow!), they were all made to match the new Tsukuyo-no-Minamo fountain pens ($70). They look like a gold accented version of the ProColor line with gold tone hardware and sparkle infused translucent bodies with contrasting caps. Gaudy or pretty? I can’t decide?
Well, well. That explains something.
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 Yonago (20ml bottle for $15)
Pure Pens in the UK have announced that :-
Sailor will be phasing out their current bottles during 2018.
The Jentle name will disappear and whilst Black, Blue & Blue/Black will stay in 50ml bottles, the Seasons range will become ‘Shikiori’ and shrink down to 20ml. The price will be reduced due to the smaller bottled.
That’s a beautiful blue ink. I like the deepness of it and that it’s a little darker than Souten. Thanks!! =)
Pure Pens : “The price will be reduced due to the smaller bottled.” Hmmm. Nope! Price per ml has risen 65% +/- Nice try tho’.
How much for handsomest-ever Orange Cat aka OC, better name Rhodi? He’s a doll!
Oh, why didn’t I think to name him Rhodi? He’s the best packer we have so I don’t think we can sell him. But you can visit with his cousin, Dave, at Wonder Fair in Lawrence, KS. They are brothers from other mothers, for sure!