Pilot Iroshizuku Kosumosu (Cosmos Flower)

I won this bottle of ink from an FP Geeks giveaway.

I have to admit that I am impressed by the stature of the bottle itself, and with the quality textured paper that the ink label is printed upon. It's a very striking bottle indeed. Although Kosumosu is named after the Cosmos Flower, this light pink shade is reminiscent of cherry blossoms that bloom here in the Northeast U.S. during springtime. Cherry blossoms are one of my favorite spring things. Kosumosu displays beautiful shading in a darker pink. There is also a fleck of orange that comes through and it is not unattractive. I say this, because I really don't like orange, but I quite like it here. It is not overpowering. I tried to capture this by taking a photo of the ink on the inside of the cap, and on a paper towel.

I inked my Pink LAMY Safari which was waiting patiently on stand-by for Kosumosu to arrive. My first test drive was with a 1.5 italic. Thus far, this is the only pen I've used Kosumosu in, so I cannot speak to its performance in other pens. I did adjust this nib to write on the wetter side. I very much like the shading. It also played well in my Leuctturm1917 dot notebook, which can sometimes get fussy with pens or inks that are too wet.

Everyone always comments on the nice behavior, and excellent lubrication of the Iroshizuku line. I'm still relatively new to fountain pens, and I'm still trying various inks from various manufacturers and such. Prior to this bottle, I had only tried 2 ml samples of Asa-Gao, Ku-Jaku, and Kon-peki; all displayed nice behavior with excellent lubrication. Thus, I have only a few inks in the line that I could possibly compare this to, but that being said, I think it holds the line in terms of the behavior standard that Iroshizuku is known for. It is definitely smooth and enjoyable.

Drying time with this wet writing 1.5 italic and Leuchtturm1917 paper is approximately 13 seconds. I've tried Kosumosu on both white and ivory papers. I prefer the ivory; it gives it a little extra something. Although, the orange tint does come through a little bit more on white paper (see sixth photo down from the top which was written on Clairefontaine Graf-It). I enjoy using Kosumosu in my journal. I wanted something cheery as we enter the New England winter months. Because of its whimsical nature, it's unlikely that I will use Kosumosu at work. Here are some more photos for your viewing pleasure. If you wouldn't mind, please forgive my terrible handwriting.

[Those "things" you see on the page are a weak attempt at drawing cherry blossoms.]

Cheers and Happy Trails and all that.

-kp