Ama-Iro Blue Iroshizuku Ink by Pilot

Bought from Santa Trading JP, took over a month to arrive, and the box had quite a lot of cosmetic damage to it as it had only been packed in a bubble mailer.Ama-iro (sky blue), is the lightest blue that Pilot does in their Iroshizuku line. I wanted to try one of their inks after hearing all the hype, and I went with this colour as its one of the only light blues that is fully blue without hints of green in it (i.e. turquoise).These Pilot inks are considered luxury inks, and even at the relatively low price of £12.50 I paid for 50ml, that is still a lot. I cannot fathom how these cost £30 in some stores! To put this in perspective, I can buy Diamine inks for £6.80 for 80ml from the Diamine website, and I bought a 50ml of Waterman's ink from Amazon for £4.20.I have to ask myself if this ink is really worth the hassle and the extra cost, and I honestly can't say that I am absolutely satisfied with the price to performance. Yes it's a 'wet' ink, but so are Diamine inks (generally), and the I have not found it to be much 'smoother' than any other inks in my pens.The Ama-iro colour doesn't have much shading to it at all and bleeds fairly easily (although not very seriously), even on thick coated paper (Rhodia, Clairfontaine, and Oxford Optik). It is nicely saturated and doesn't have any green to it, so I have no complaints about the colour, but this is personal preference.It would seem that most of the value stems from its status as a 'luxury' ink, and the packaging reflects this. The bottle is very nice and utilises high quality glass (no bubbles in mine), but I would rather not have to pay extra for either of these and would rather have the ink cheaper.Essentially it becomes a question of if you want to spend this much on a product that works just as well as other products that cost far less.If you are fond of the colour and the bottle then I would recommend it if you can stomach the price. If not, then I think you will be underwhelmed, and I would suggest trying Waterman or Diamine inks instead.For reference the pens I tried this in:—Pilot Custom 823—Delta Fusion 82—Pelikan M215

I love this colour. It is a light blue that seems to glow when put down on the page. Also the ink is very well behaved and works well with pretty much all of my pens

The Ama-Iro has a beautiful natural looking sky blue colour and as with all Pilot Iroshizuku inks the presentation is characteristically lovely.That said, I think Lamy Turquoise ink is very close in colour, although slightly more vibrant and with some slight red sheening when laid on heavily. That ink feathers less and looks better and is much cheaper. In my opinion Lamy Turquoise ultimately a better buy than the Pilot Iroshizuku Ama-Iro, unless the wow factor of the bottle and packaging is particularly important to you.

I've been trying to get Iroshizuku ink for over a year now. Couldn't find anyone who'd stock it or would ship it to Ireland until now. The ink far surpasses my expectations - excellent pigmentation, deep and rich colour, great flow and doesn't clog the nib. Perfect partner for my Pilot-Namiki Falcon fountain pen. I have a bottle of Shaffler ink in a similar colour (tourquise) which is great as well, but the Iroshizuku Ama-iro is decidedly superior in both shade and quality.The photos also don't do it justice - the bottle is larger than it seems here (size of the palm of my hand) and has some heft to it. The slim profile makes it look like a bottle of expensive perfume. It also features a conical indentation in the base so that the pen can be refilled even if there's little ink left - very nice touch.It seems a small price to pay for such a luxurious item - and with free shipping it's an excellent deal!

Last forever, great colour - best ink money can buy

I love Pilot inks. One of my sons lives abroad and while we use WhatsApp all the time, I have rediscovered the joy of letter writing. And possibly because it has become a more rare form of communication, I have fully entered into the spirit of the whole penmanship business. My son bought me a beautiful fountain pen ( a self-serving present if ever I heard of one!!!) and I bought beautiful notepaper from Amazon and a whole slew of Pilot inks including this one. This is the default colour for my summer letters.

An absolutely beautiful ink. It flows through my Lamy Studio a lot smoother than Lamy's own ink. The little indentation in the bottom of the bottle to help with filling near the end, is a testament to the care taken in the production. The only problem you will have with this ink is deciding on which colour to get. I'm just going to have to get more fountain pens.

Currently my favorite ink, this is the best price anywhere and i have already bought from this company again.As reiterated EVERYWHERE there is a very long wait time, mine took just under a month but it was worth it.A truly all purpose ink, looks out of place nowhere.Oh and did i mention the stunning bottle :)