Pilot Iroshizuku Fuyu-gaki
Ink Review #48
*Please note that the scan is the accurate representation of this color.
Overview
The color/properties:
Fuyu-gaki is a vibrant orange with light pink and yellow undertones. It shades with a soft gradient and low contrast in both cursive and print writing. It’s not a lot of shading, and the contrast is generally low, but there’s just enough to bring out the pink undertones in the areas that the ink doesn’t pool to give this ink a cool and refreshing coral blush. There was a minor golden sheen around the edges of some of the ink droplets, but it’s so minimal that I don’t foresee it ever showing up in writing.
Ink splat
Ink droplets
Performance on paper:
While this ink is generally well-behaved, there was some light feathering in the Leuchtturm, Maruman, and Kokuyo notebooks. There was heavy bleed-through as well in the Kokuyo. There’s also a lot of noticeable feathering around the ink droplets. Fuyu-gaki should be fine with most fountain pen-friendly paper options, but it may pose some issues with the less ink-resistant papers, especially when used with wetter flowing pens. Even with high-quality papers, you may notice light feathering around the dots on letters or small punctuation marks.
The dry times were a touch below average, but all of the nibs dried within the 30-second mark, and on Kokuyo, the ink managed to dry within 10 seconds with all of the nib sizes.
Water exposure causes light clouding, and while there are some light orange shadows left over, they may be too light, messy, or hazy to be readable.
Water resistance
Chromatography
Performance in the pen:
Fuyu-gaki has a medium-wet flow that feels well-lubricated and pleasant to write with. During my tests, I had a lot of issues getting it to work with the needlepoint nib (it didn’t), but otherwise I didn’t run into any problems with the other nibs. There were no hard starts, stops, or skips, and the ink kept up well during extended writing, with no noticeable drops in flow.
Cleaning was easy as well: the ink washed out with a single soak and flush and didn’t leave behind any residue or traces of color in the pen or nib units.
Some of the feathering on Leuchtturm (left) and Maruman (right)
Written on 52 gsm Tomoe River paper (white, 6mm ruling) with a medium nib.
Written on Midori MD paper (cream, 7mm ruling) with a medium nib.
Written on Clairefontaine Triomphe paper (white, 7mm ruling) with a medium-fine nib.
Written on Midori MD paper (cream, 7mm ruling) with a medium-fine nib.
Performance in a pen: 8.5/10
Performance on paper: 7.5/10
Color saturation: 8/10
Sheening: 1/10
Shading: 2/10
Dry time: 6.5/10
Water resistance: 3/10
Ease of cleaning: 8/10
Shimmer: None
My personal thoughts…
I originally came into possession of this ink through my girlfriend, who absolutely hated it. Seriously, she disliked it so much that it almost ended up on the freebie table at the DC pen show before I commandeered it for myself. Now that it’s safe with me, I can talk about it. Hooray!
Fuyu-gaki (meaning “winter persimmon”) is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a bright and fresh orange that resembles a fuyu-persimmon — it’s perfect for winter. “A winter orange? Not fall?” Absolutely! You see, fuyu-persimmons are cultivated in the fall, but they’re harvested and enjoyed in the early winter. Inspiration for the color aside, it’s still an excellent winter orange. That hint of pink undertone changes everything. Now it’s a cool orange. A vibrant orange. But not so much that it looks artificial. No, it’s a beautiful, natural, vibrant orange.
In case anyone was wondering, I did manage to bring my girlfriend around to this ink later. She gave me a Diplomat Elox with a bad nib to repair, and I handed it back to her with a fixed nib and this ink inside, and she loved it. “Guess what ink that is.”
”It’s my Fuyu-gaki, isn’t it?”
Later that day, I found a test sheet on which she had scribbled “Diplomat Elox w/ Fuyu-gaki The Betrayer! ♡”
Another happy ending. 👍
Written on 52 gsm Tomoe River paper Pilot Custom 74 (medium nib).
More images/info:
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
