Pilot Iroshizuku Tsuki-Yo: Revisited

Earlier this year, I purchased a sample of the fabled Tsuki-Yo, a fountain pen ink that (by popular opinion) exudes subtle and complex qualities, and is much adored at FPN.  My week with Tsuki-Yo was underwhelming, and I've not written with it since.  However, I continue to see remarks and ongoing conversations at FPN about how lovely this ink is.  As I read, and re-read, I am compelled to find out what I'm missing.  (Read Sandy1's review: here and saskia_madding's review: here.)

My first encounter with Tsuki-Yo was with a Broad-nibbed TWSBI 540.  I enjoy my 540 and had initially thought that the nib was somewhat juicy.  But, since that time, I revisited Tsuki-Yo in two different pens.  That changed my opinion of my TWSBI, and the ink.  I have no issues with my TWSBI, but I now think it does write more on the dry side thus when I inked it with Tsuki-Yo, it went down onto the paper with a greenish, or "teal" cast.  I like teal, except that in some of the reviews I'm reading on FPN, the reviewers refer to it as "blue" and not "teal".  So what am I missing?

I switched to two pens that I find to be very wet writing.  I also tried writing samples on various papers such as: Rhodia, Leuchtturm1917, Apica and Clairefontaine Graf-it.

White Paper
On Rhodia, it does have a little tiny bit of a slate hue, that if viewed at a certain angle, and with one eye closed (*wink!*), could translate greenish (to some!).  Overall, however, it does "read" blue.

Rhodia.  Photo is slightly out of focus at the top, but the ink shade is accurate.

Rhodia.

Ivory Paper

In my use of Tsuki-Yo earlier this year, when used on ivory colored paper, the teal hue was over the top.  Here, in my Leuchtturm1917 journal which has ivory pages, the green is not apparent at all.  I do think that the difference can be attributed to the use of a wetter writer.  In the samples below, I definitely see more of the fabled blue complexity for which Tsuki-Yo is known.  YAY!  In fact, on Leuctturm1917 it's absolutely lovely.  I think I even prefer it to the Rhodia, because, yes, the complexity really comes through.  I like it.  This was a total surprise, because during my initial experience with Tsuki-Yo + TWSBI = I avoided ivory papers.  What a surprise to see that I cannot see green here at all.  

Leuchtturm 1917.

I thought a side-by-side comparison might be interesting, thinking that a green cast would jump right out at me.  It doesn't.  

Grey paper.  Lovely Apica 6A10.  Italic nib in first sample; fine nib in second.

Slightly textured, white sketchbook paper.  Clairefontaine Graf-It.   Italic nib in first sample; fine nib in second.

The moral of the story:
Pen+paper+ink combo really does make or break it.

Here, wetter writing pens made all the difference.  The greenish-hue was far less apparent - if at all.  I'm enjoying Tsuki-Yo, and it is now on my "To Buy" list.  

Two Sunsets on a Clear Day in May

I decided to spice things up for handwriting practice today and inked up my calligraphy pens with sunset-themed fountain pen inks.  Caran d'Ache Sunset recently became a surprise favorite of mine over the winter, and since I was so enchanted with it, I decided to try Iroshizuku Yu-Yake (which means "sunset" in Japanese).  They are both quite different, but a pleasure to use.  Caran d'Ache is a deep red-ish, pink whereas Iroshi is a yellow-orange, with deep orange shading.  Where the Caran d'Ache is slightly on the dry side, the Iroshi is neither too dry, nor too wet.  

In terms of personal preference, I enjoy the Caran d'Ache more because perhaps I am simply more inclined towards reds and pinks, as opposed to orange shades of ink.  However, the shading with Iroshi Yu-Yake is really gorgeous, and really "one-ups" the Caran d'Ache in that respect.  There is just this beautiful interplay of yellow and orange within the same letter that it makes the entire word appear to be on fire.  

One of the qualities I enjoy most about the Caran d'Ache is that evokes memories of one of the most beautiful sunrises I have ever seen.  Last fall, I was traveling regularly and had to wake up very early in the morning (3:00 am) to catch an early flight to Atlanta which connected in Philadelphia.  When I arrived in Philly, it was still dark.  It happened to be a Monday morning, and there were hundreds of people at the gate waiting for this flight; it was wall to wall people.  Standing room only.  Business people, college students, vacationers.  I was lucky to get a seat and even better, it was facing the tarmac, but I happened to be engaged in conversation with the person next to me.  She stopped talking mid-sentence and pointed to the glass windows and said, "Look at that sunrise!"  I turned and the sky was flooded with deep pink and dark grey.  Sitting in front of those large airport windows, it was as if we had a front row seat in front of this large expanse of sky.  It was amazingly beautiful, and we just sat there looking at it for quite some time.  I don't think I have ever seen a sunrise that breathtaking before or since.  What I remember most distinctly aside from the beauty of that morning, was that there were so many people at that gate who were entirely disinterested, or playing with their iPad, or iPhone apps, or talking business on the cell phone, or talking business with the person at their side.  It was as if this young woman and I were the only people in the world who saw it, and it was both strange and wonderful at the same time.  I felt transported from the chaos for just a few moments, and yet I was still sitting right there.  The shade of Caran d'Ache Sunset is amazingly similar to that pink sunrise that I saw that morning, and, as a result, I do have a fond affection for it.

Caran d'Ache Sunset on Clairefontaine Graf-it.

Iroshizuku Yu-Yake on Clairefontaine Graf-it.

I had fun with handwriting practice today, but my handwriting really needs some work.  Today's exercise was "horizontals and v-shapes".  I really need to get into the discipline of playing with my calligraphy pens once a day.  I always enjoy handwriting practice, because it's very relaxing but I have long struggled with perfecting "s", "t", "q" and "x".  I really need to exercise a bit more effort in this regard. 

Iroshizuku Yu-Yake / Lamy Joy 1.5/ HP#24

Caran d'Ache Sunset / Sheaffer Calligraphy pen Broad 1.8mm/ HP#24

On Rhodia.

On Rhodia.

05/20/12: edited to add samples on Rhodia.

LAMY Joy 1.1 and 1.5: A Comparison

I received these Lamy Joy italic fountain pens from Lily at JetPens, who was gracious enough to send them to me for review on my amateur little blog here.  I have had a lot of fun with these pens, as I have been curious about them for some time, now.  Until this point, I have been using LAMY italic nibs in my regular LAMY Safari fountain pens.

LAMY Joy is typically used for calligraphy, or sketching (if using an extra-fine nib), and it is shaped differently from the iconic LAMY Safari because the barrel of the pen is slightly longer and tapered, which contributes to ease of use when engaging in more creative activities.  Below, the LAMY Joy is featured on the left with black body and red clip; LAMY Safari featured on right with red body and black clip.  Note that the caps look similar, but the barrel on the Safari is round-ish and somewhat blunt, whereas the Joy features a narrowed tapering.

Otherwise, the overall properties of the LAMY Joy are quite similar to the LAMY Safari fountain pen which many of us have grown to love.  It has the shaped grip section for easier handling, it is a cartridge/converter fill, features an ink view window, and is capable of swapping nibs with Safari, and several other LAMY fountain pens such as Vista, Studio, Pur, and others.

This review focuses specifically on the LAMY italic nibs.  I decided to do a side by side comparison of the 1.1 and 1.5 italic nibs using Pilot Iroshizuku Fuyu-Syogun (greyish/blue/black) and Pilot Iroshizuku Kiri-Same (a pinkish/brownish/grey).  I had a lot of fun completing this review, and learned quite a bit along the way.

I am by no means an expert calligrapher, or expert on any matters pertaining to fountain pens or calligraphy.  However, this year, I decided to improve my handwriting which led me to the world of italics and calligraphy.  As mentioned in other posts, I have been using Fred Eager's "The Italic Way to Beautiful Handwriting" and he teaches improvement in handwriting through the teaching of italic and calligraphic principles.  I have by no means been terribly disciplined, as he encourages practice every day, which I have not been doing religiously.  That being said, I do practice and have seen improvement by following the exercises.  In fact, the other day, someone told me that my handwriting actually looked "stylish".  I took that as a compliment.  Thank you, Fred Eager.  =)

So, getting down to the review: I decided to engage in my regular handwriting exercises but using both pens instead of the 1.5 italic, which is generally recommended.  As a beginner, I found that the 1.5 was much easier to use than the 1.1 for the purposes of completing the exercises.  The 1.1 is much finer, and actually required more exacting skill to use.  I had to focus a little bit harder to achieve the same effect.  However, when it comes to general handwriting, the 1.1 is far better and easier, and just plain more fun.

I also found that the 1.1 almost did not look like an italic per se when compared to the 1.5, and I did not see as much shading in the 1.1 either.  On the flip side, the 1.1 is much smoother and of slightly better quality than the 1.5.  I say this, and feel confident in doing so, because I have heard this remark echoed in other reviews and posts on the Fountain Pen Network, and elsewhere.  In the end, both are a "joy" to use, and I would not hesitate to use either when practicing my handwriting, or in personal correspondence, or journaling.

Here are a couple of samples so that you can see some of the differences for yourself:

The paper used here is Strathmore Calligraphy 400 series.

Here is another sample on Rhodia.

Again, on Strathmore Calligraphy 400 Series.

Handwriting practice with LAMY Joy 1.5, Iroshizuku Kiri-Same, and HP#24 paper.  HP#24 showed slight feathering with Kiri-Same, but was otherwise a pleasure to use.  Much more shading and line variation is apparent with the 1.5 italic nib.

A closer look: LAMY Joy 1.5 with Iroshizuku Kiri-Same.

Handwriting practice with LAMY Joy 1.1, Iroshizuku Fuyu-Syogun, and HP#24 paper.  No feathering here.  Shading and line variation is apparent, but not as dramatic as the 1.5.  

(Side note: please kindly overlook the fact that I misspelled "cacophony".  Much appreciated.)

A closer look: LAMY Joy 1.1 with Iroshizuku Fuyu-Syogun.

As far as the inks are concerned, both Kiri-Same and Fuyu-Syogun were a pleasure to use, and display the shading and behavior properties that Iroshizuku inks are known and loved for.  They are both gorgeous colors and shade beautifully, but when used here, it was simply more apparent with the larger nib size.  

In conclusion, I highly recommend LAMY Joy.  I much prefer it for handwriting practice and calligraphy because the tapered barrel does give a bit more "grace" to the writer, shall we say.  It's easier to use, allowing the writer to achieve more exacting precision with this type of writing.  Overall, I was more pleased with the shading seen with the 1.5 nib, however I enjoyed the 1.1 a bit more since it was smoother and simply glided on the paper.  I will be using both nibs again, but will likely incorporate the 1.5 into my handwriting practice and the 1.1 into my journaling and personal correspondence.  

Thanks again to Lily at Jet Pens for for being so gracious and sending these pens!  The inks used were from my own stash, but can be purchased at JetPens also.  

Cheers!

-kp