I didn’t really see any reviews on this ink, and I was mainly interested in it for what appeared to be a “very black” dye based ink, which is hard to find one that I like, I’m very picky. So I bit the bullet and here are my thoughts on it. I’m writing this as I go, so it’s my raw unfiltered initial thoughts.

Just FYI, I exclusively use custom needlepoint nib grinds, and prefer dry controlled inks, so my thoughts will be biased based on that. I have no idea how this will perform with a broad wet nib.

This ink’s “gimmick” is that it’s scented. I personally wish it wasn’t. Im concerned that the scent will linger in my pens or that whatever they use to make it  will affect the ink flow or damage the internals over time… I don’t know, it’s a mystery ingredient that I don’t know what it is or what it will do to my pens, and I don’t like that. It’s probably innocuous, but I just have reservations about it, you know?

I paid $70.36 USD for this ink from The Pen Boutique. It previously could only be purchased from Japan, so I’m glad they now stock these at a U.S. based store. It’s the most expensive ink I’ve ever purchased though, so I hope it’s good!

Unboxing Experience

Initial unboxing thoughts, it’s a beautiful bottle. It was difficult to open, the cap was on very tight. I felt like I was trying to open a difficult pickle jar. Just taking a quick whiff directly from it, it smells like cough syrup. It’s advertised as being a gentle, relaxing smell, and it’s not a particularly strong smell, but it’s not particularly weak either. Hopefully once it’s in the pen I won’t smell it any more, or at least I hope it smells more “gentle”. I imagine they didn’t intend for you to judge the scent by just sticking your nose in the bottle, rather they intended you to judge the scent when you’re writing, but I mean, who isn’t going to give it a smell from the bottle. Anyways, as long as it writes well, doesn’t make me gag, and doesn’t ruin my pen, I’m fine with it.

Inking The Pen

The ink does look very black in the bottle. I’m seeing maybe a slight cool blue undertone, but it’s pretty much just black. The ink looks a bit thick for a dye based fountain pen ink, so that’s giving me some pause, but it’s probably fine? I know it’s advertised as trying to emulate Japanese sumi ink but for fountain pens, and sumi ink is also pretty thick, so it’s on brand I guess. The bottle design, while pretty, might be difficult to ink a pen from when the fluid level gets lower. I would suggest an Ink Miser. I don’t know… I’m having second thoughts about putting this in my expensive pen. So far, it seems questionable. But let’s do it for science.

Ok, now the pen is inked. This ink is definitely thick. And maybe even slightly sticky? It fully coated the nib in black. Not as thick and sticky as real sumi ink, but more so than your average fountain pen ink. It was slightly difficult to clean the nib off fully. It reminds me of a pigmented ink like Platinum’s Chou Kuro in its blackness and thickness, but it’s a dye based ink.

Writing Experience

I’m using a Namiki Yukari Royale with a custom needlepoint nib grind, on Carta Pura 140gsm paper, which is my favorite for fountain pens.

You can definitely feel the thickness of the ink when writing. I can’t really describe it fully, it doesn’t feel sluggish and it doesn’t have issues with ink flow or skipping or anything, I’m just aware of its thickness. Ink flow is actually slightly on the dry side. Line width is thinnish but not the thinnest I’ve used. It’s not a wet writer. It seems to dry fairly quickly. It’s very black. The color again reminds me of Chou Kuro, except Chou Kuro is kind of messy and has a broad line width, and also doesn’t behave well with all papers, and this doesn’t have those issues. This ink is much more controlled. I do like it, I could see myself using it.

The smell is much more subtle now that it’s in the pen. I can very slightly smell it when writing, but if I don’t focus on it I kind of forget that it’s scented. It has an earthy, eucalyptus scent to it. I guess it is sort of pleasant. So I take back what I said before when smelling it from the bottle, about it smelling like cough syrup. It smells ok. The smell does not linger in the page for long, or after the ink fully dries. After about 10-15 minutes the smell is basically gone.

Like I said, I personally really like dry, controlled inks. I enjoy feeling like I’m the one in control of what the pen is doing, not the other way around. And this ink feels very controlled. No shine, no shading, no sheen, just straight black black black!

Calligraphy Dip Pen Experience

Because of the thickness of the ink, I decided to give it a try with a pointed calligraphy dip pen. I used a Hunt 22 Extra Fine nib. It’s actually fantastic. Please excuse my shaky writing in the photo, it was early in the morning and my hands tend to be a little shaky then. This paper also isn’t the best for pointed nib calligraphy because it’s too textured. It writes perfectly out of the bottle with no need to add either water or Gum Arabic. It might actually be my favorite black ink I’ve ever used for calligraphy. It’s thicker than walnut ink, but not as thick as sumi ink. A nice in-between. Again, it’s very black, very pigmented. Still fairly controlled, and you can get good hairlines with it. Not quite as fine hairlines as with a walnut ink, but close to it. Finer than I can personally get with a real sumi ink.

Maintenance Experience

This. Ink. Gets. Everywhere. It behaves so much like a pigmented ink. It stained my hands and stained my table. I would be hesitant to leave this sitting around in a fountain pen for long periods of time. I don’t think that it could be considered low maintenance. I think that it would dry out fairly quickly sitting in a pen for days. Just be careful with it! This is some serious stuff.

Mitasanshodo Scented Ryuno Black Ink Review