I puzzled over whether to do two posts or just one for this duo and decided that for me they will always be inseparable.  The gods of pen mail were kind yesterday.

  • Pilot Iroshizuku Edo-Murasaki
  • Pilot Iroshizuku Shimbashi-Iro
  • Pilot Iroshizuku Fukugawa-Nezu
  • Franklin Christoph Model 66 Stabilis
  • Franklin Christoph Black Cherry
  • Franklin Christoph Tenebris Purpuratum
  • 5x Lamy converters (for good measure of course lol)


Unfortunately I was so excited about the items I didn’t take a family photo of them yet, but they will all be featured here.

Lets start with the ink ^_^

The ink comes in the usual gorgeous Pilot Iroshizuku packaging.



I opted for the 50ML versions of these inks but there is a 15ML set available somewhere out there in the world.  I am super glad that I got the larger quantity because this ink is just amazing!

InkJournal Entry:


Lines going down on Tomoe paper:

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This is my favorite blue!  I know I have said this before, but I mean it this time.  All other blues I have tried before this one are dead to me…well not dead to me but far off seconds!  There is no sheen that I can see in this ink, and that must mean I love the color a lot.

There is some shading, and the saturation is good enough to be legible but its really that fanciful, happy color that carries the day with this one.  My heart will break a little when the bottle of is empty.

Now on to the pen…

The Franklin Christoph packaging is very subtle but beautiful.  It comes in a white box that holds two blue ink cartridges, a cute leather case, and the pen which is preloaded with a converter.


They include documentation about the nib and lifetime warranty.

I am usually very much a converter person, but after seeing loads of beautiful F-C eye droppers, I felt I was ready for the challenge!  I watched the F-C video about the silicone grease a few times and then I set to work.  I’m ashamed to say I used the silicone grease from TWSBI that I got with my pink 580.  I had heard mixed reviews of that grease, but I forgot to order grease from F-C and I am super impatient, I decided to proceed.

I should have had no fear because it worked!


The results were nothing short of spectacular.  The F-C is one of my most photogenic pens.  And the swishing ink?  How can that be wrong?

One thing that I had an issue with upon first use was the nib.  I opted for an HPS SIG M nib.  The SIG stands for Stub. Italic, Gradient.  The nib is supposed to be smooth like a stub but with line variation similar to the cursive italic.  Before purchasing this pen, I had spoken with people who had this particular nib and also read reviews about it.  It seemed like the consensus was that the nib was super smooth, and I could not find a single negative review about it.


So of course I went in thinking that I would just put pen to paper and it would be magic.  I was wrong.  My first stroke basically put a hole in the 52GSM tomoe paper I use on a daily basis.  This was not the experience that I kept reading about. I was so distraught I almost changed the nib, but my pen friends told me that the nib may have a “sweet spot”.  I decided to keep writing and I eventually found it!  And when I did the nib was magic just like in the other reviews.  I hold my pen at a non-standard angle, and being my first foray into specialized nibs, I did not know what to expect or how to troubleshoot.  Next time I will know!

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Both this pen and this ink are amazing, and together they are just an unstoppable combo.  What is your favorite pen/ink combo?