Pilot Iroshizuku Shin Kai is a very gorgeous blue-black ink that reminds the user of looking into the deepest depths of the sea. It has nice, subtle shading and lots of sheen on numerous types of paper.
One of my favorite things about Shin Kai is watching it dry. It goes on wet as a deep, dark, moody blue that then dries to a dusky, almost grey blue ink. Once dry, the sheen and shading pop out, giving the user’s writing a bit of pop and uniqueness.
Something that surprised me when I first started using Pilot Iroshizuku Shin Kai was just how well it behaves on low-quality paper. Being a student who is handed all types of paper (none of them being ideal for fountain pens), having an ink that will do well on anything is essential. This property of the ink surprised me because of how wet an ink it is. I assumed that a wet ink meant that it would feather and bleed like crazy on bad paper. Lo and behold, that is not the case with Shin Kai!
In conclusion, I absolutely love Pilot Iroshizuku Shin Kai. It reminds me of my favorite time of day during my favorite time of year - a chilly fall evening at dusk, just as the sun is dipping below the horizon. Additionally, it performs well and has the security of being slightly water resistant. These qualities make it the perfect ink to add to any collection.
Wetness: Shin Kai is a very comfortably wet ink. It is wet enough that it never causes flow issues, but it isn’t so wet as to take hours to fully dry.
Water Resistance: For an ink that is not advertised as water resistant, the resistance and resilience in the wake of a spill is phenomenal. Shin Kai is still easily legible after a big spill, which I find to be a fantastic ink property.
Dry Time: Being on the wetter side of the ink spectrum, Shin Kai still dries amazingly fast. On Rhodia 80 gsm paper, Shin Kai dried in the time frame between 5 and 10 seconds. As a high-schooler who is constantly taking quick notes, fast drying ink is a lifesaver for me.
Written by EndlessPens Blogger Arlo Palmer
