The above photo was taken in direct sunlight. Ink is swatched on Clairefontaine 90gsm paper, using a glass dip pen.
Specs
Name: Shikiori Yamadori
Maker: Sailor Inks
Color Family: Blue
Properties: Sheening, Shading
Purchased at: Goulet Pens
What’s in a name?
Sailor’s Shikiori line celebrates the beauty of each of the four seasons in Japan. Yamadori is “copper pheasant”, reflecting the shade of greenish-blue and metallic flash of a pheasant’s plumage.
Swatches
A large swatch of ink showcases the darkest this ink gets, as well as the maximum properties it has (when held at the right angle to show any shimmer or sheen). But what about when you’re writing a letter or notes with it?
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| At a distance, even in full sunlight, it looks like a slightly turquoise blue ink with some shading to a darker hue. |
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| Even close up, the red sheening is subtle and mostly along the edges of some letters. |
The above was written on Clairefontaine 90gsm paper, using a Fountain Pen Revolution Jaipur V1 fountain pen with a Flex nib.
Of course, for maximum effect you want to see it in light and in motion. The following video shows the ink swatched on Skylab Letterpress 160gsm cards.
Thoughts
The red sheen on this ink is very subtle, and really only pops when you’ve either laid down a thick layer of it, or when you’re under direct light (like the sun) holding the paper at an angle. The blue trends a little on the green side, so it’s almost more of a turquoise- that’s more evident in the lighter strokes. Technically, this is a sheening ink…but I see it as both sheening and shading, as the variation in blue hue- from light to very dark- stands out to me even more than the sheening.
It’s well behaved- no pen clogging, not too wet, not too dry. Overall, it’s a reliably good ink, as Sailor tends to make. If you need something office-appropriate but you’re a wee bit of a rebel, this would be a good ink choice for you.
*All pics and vid were taken using an iPhone XS and color-adjusted to best reflect the hue of that ink.
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