Kobe Ink - Nishimaiko Pearl Blue #68

Kobe Ink - Nishimaiko Pearl Blue #68 - ink drop

Today’s ink is my first from the Kobe INK Story line. This is No. 68 Nishimaiko Pearl Blue. Kobe inks are made by Sailor, and are the in-house brand of the Nagasawa PenStyle Den stores in Kobe, Japan. Nagasawa is involved in all things stationery, writing, and office-related. At the time of review, their Kobe INK Story line includes 76 standard inks. No. 68 takes its name from the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge (nicknamed the Pearl Bridge), which is the longest suspension bridge in the world, and is visible from the Nishimaiko district in Kobe.

Kobe Ink - Nishimaiko Pearl Blue - ink color range

Visually, this is a lovely, soft, pale steel blue, and it matches the color of the bridge well. It’s a gentle, unsaturated ink, but it’s a dark, almost marine blue at the same time. There are subtle yellow and green undertones in broader nibs. The splatter shows dark edging, and a thin ring of copper sheen. In writing, there’s no sheen, but a moderate stroke halo adds depth and definition to stroke profiles. This isn’t a strong shader, but variation and light accents were visible on all six test papers.

Kobe Ink - Nishimaiko Pearl Blue - shading and edge

This is a nice writing ink. There is enough color to make it very readable, and it has a smooth, wet flow. I also found that it’s fairly water-resistant. Strokes were clean and crisp, with shading on all papers, and halo was visible on all except office copy. Drying was fairly quick at 15-20 seconds on coated premiums, 10-15 on uncoated premiums, and under 5 seconds on office copy.

I like Kobe INK Nishimaiko Pearl Blue (No. 68) a lot! It’s a very beautiful, pale blue, but it doesn’t lack substance. It’s a pleasure to use in the pen, too. It’s a bit expensive at many retailers, but it has all of the high quality that comes in Sailor inks. My only real complaint is the squat Sailor bottle. I’ve never liked those bottles for filling pens, but that isn’t a major problem. I’m looking forward to exploring this extensive brand more!