Review by Laura Cameron
I don’t have a lot of browns in my ink collection, and I’m still working through the motherlode that I purchased from Jesi at the St. Louis Pen Show. So today I’ll talk about Pilot Iroshizuku Tsukushi ($9.90 for 15ml).
Tsukushi, or Horsetail Plant, is a nice medium brown with a touch of red in it. I saw the red more as I was writing with it than after it dried, but in some of the applications (like in the Crossfield on the Tomoe River paper) it did appear slightly reddish.
Tsukushi performs well like the other Pilot Inks. It goes down a bit on the dry side, and dries quickly without smearing. This colorway has a decent amount of shading, as well as some greenish-yellowish sheen when in the darkest ink droplet applications.
Compared to other brown inks I have samples of, I would say Tsukushi was probably closest to Caroube de Chypre, glitter and sheen notwithstanding. It was also a bit similar to Monteverde Brown Sugar, though much lighter than Diamine Chocolate Brown.
Aside from my woeful drawing skills, I enjoyed playing with Tsukushi and I think it makes a nice addition to my ink collection.
- Paper: Crossfield Journal ($24.00) and Maruman Mnemosyne N182A Inspiration Notebook A5 ($10.50)
- Pen: Delike Glass Signature Pen ($37.80).
- Swatches: Col-o-Ring Ink Testing Book ($10) and Col-o-Dex Rotary Cards ($15)
- Ink: Pilot Iroshizuku Tsukushi (15ml for $9.90)
DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were purchased by me. Please see the About page for more details.
I love brown inks, and matching them to my pens. At last count, I must have about ten large bottles on-the-go… this may have to be number eleven. Thank you!!
And there’s nothing wrong with your drawing skills… i can tell that’s cat even on my phone screen.