Sailor Jentle Apricot ink review

As per my ink sample survey, I present you with the second ink you voted for: Sailor Jentle Apricot. In truth, this ink tied with 2 others, but I decided to review it first because, as you might (or might not) know, Sailor is discontinuing all their old inks, including this one, and replacing them with new ones which don't seem to bear much resemblance. There's a chance you can still find bottles of Sailor Jentle ink at some retailers if my review persuades you.

Once again, I reviewed this ink in my Kaweco Sport Classic, eyedropper mode.

Bottle and pricing
No longer relevant - discontinued.

Color and saturation
In my photocopy paper sample I wrote "Medium-High" for saturation and if you feel that this ink is definitely highly saturated, I won't blame you. To me eye, it feels less so than, for example, Diamine Orange, to which I have compared it side by side. The saturation is high but I've seen higher in other inks.

The color is an intense orange but there are visible differences compared to Diamine Orange. The Sailor ink is a truer orange while Diamine seems to contain a tad more red, making it more fiery in appearance. Below you will also see these two inks compared to Noodler's Dragon's Napalm, but this last one is very different from the first two: it looks a lot more pinkish-red.

Shading
Sailor Jentle Apricot has the second-best shading among the orange inks I tested, after Iroshizuku Fuyu-gaki. Compared to Diamine Orange, which is flat, Jentle Apricot definitely shows some character.

Feathering
Despite the broad nib of the Kaweco Sport, Sailor Jentle Apricot doesn't feather on cheap paper.

Bleedthrough
As is often the case with higher-than-average saturated inks, Sailor Jentle Apricot will ghost a little on cheap paper but you won't have to worry about that on the good stuff such as the Clairefontaine 90g I used for my other sample.

Flow, lubrication, and smoothness
Sailor Jentle Apricot feels pretty good in the Kaweco Sport. Broad nibs usually need a steady supply of ink and dryer inks might have issues but this wasn't the case at all with this ink. While it wasn't gushing, the flow felt very measured, which in turn gave better control of the nib on paper. As for smoothness, I have nothing to complain about. The pen doth not protest at all with this ink.

Drying time
Nothing out of the ordinary here. Dry times are a bit longish on Clairefontaine 90g, at around 25 seconds, but keep in mind the broad nib. On cheap paper that won't be an issue, at 5 seconds.

Smearing when dry
None.

Water resistance
Bottom line is that Sailor Jentle Apricot is not at all resistant to water. It did nothing to withstand 30 seconds under running water.

Conclusion
It's always sad to see a good line of inks being discontinued. Sailor probably has good reasons but I'm sure a lot of people are disappointed. While this may not be the best orange ink there is, it's certainly one of the better ones I've tested. While Iroshizuku Fuyu-gaki is more impressive and Diamine Orange more fiery, Sailor Jentle Apricot is actually a truer orange and features some shading, which the Diamine ink doesn't. Price-wise it is about halfway between Iroshizuku and Diamine. The other properties are pretty solid, and while none of them really stands out, they don't lag behind other inks either. Overall I'm pleased with this ink and with the chance to review it before it disappeared completely. I hope you can snag one if you fancy it, before it's gone!

The writing samples below are done on photocopy and Clairefontaine 90g paper, respectively.

Bonus! My Instagram shot that I took while reviewing this ink.

Sailor Jentle Grenade ink review

I love testing new inks but reviewing a new brand altogether can be even more exciting. So is the case with my first ink from Sailor, Jentle Grenade. Once again, this is just a sample that I picked up to review, and not a full bottle. I will admit that the name of this ink is rather peculiar. "Jentle Grenade" sounds like an oxymoron, unless "Jentle" has nothing to do with "Gentle". Apparently the word "Grenade" comes from pomegranate and I can see how that would make sense, considering some of the seeds mimic the color of this ink.

Speaking of color, Goulet Pens (from where I bought the sample, no affiliation yada yada) categorizes it under "burgundy" so I will do the same. I really can't put it under red, nor purple, nor brown.

Because I had a feeling this ink might be interesting, I decided to use it in my TWSBI Diamond 530 with a broad nib unit. This is still my best fountain pen so it made sense to pair it with Sailor's ink. Without further ado, let's dig right into my impressions of this ink.

Bottle
My sample only holds 2ml of ink but if you were to buy a whole bottle you would get 50ml or 1.7oz for $12.50. At $0.25 per milliliter, this is one of the more expensive inks but I find it worth the price.

Color and saturation
As I already mentioned, Sailor Jentle Grenade is a deep dark burgundy, somewhere between red and purple. I'm not a wine drinker but it reminds me of it. The saturation is also high. On the photocopy sample I compared this ink with Waterman Havana Brown which also has a very lovely brown color with hints of red. Unfortunately it isn't a very apt comparison because the color of the two inks differs greatly.

Shading
Sailor Jentle Grenade has some of the best shading I've seen in an ink. It is definitely on par with the other awesome ink I tested (and incidentally the one I used as comparison on the sample), Waterman Havana Brown. Layering the ink also shows varying shades of intensity. The shading is very nice and apparent when used with the broad nib of the TWSBI.

Feathering
None that I could notice.

Bleedthrough
While most inks tend to bleed through the cheap photocopier paper when applied with a q-tip, and Jentle Grenade is no exception, it merely ghosts a little when used with a pen. This is expected behavior considering how dark and saturated the ink is. It doesn't bleed or ghost on Rhodia.

Flow and lubrication
I prefer wet flowing inks and although Sailor Jentle Grenade flows well, I'm not 100% satisfied. I have a suspicion it might have something to do with the TWSBI, whose flow is known to be a little dry. I'd give it a 6-6.7 / 10 but I would prefer an 8/10. Either way, this isn't something that kills my enjoyment of the ink.

Drying time
Here's where the performance of Jentle Grenade varies quite a lot depending on the type of paper used. With cheap, spongy copy paper, it dries quickly, a little over 5 seconds. With the high quality, glossy Rhodia 80g it takes up to 20 seconds. Bear in mind that this is using a broad nib which puts more ink to the paper. Still, even 20 seconds is not too bad, if you know what to expect and give it a little time to dry.

Smearing when dry
None.

Water resistance
I love it when an ink manages to sneak in a bonus feature. While this ink isn't labeled waterproof (to my knowledge), it seems to be a lot more water resistant than most regular inks. Holding it for over a minute under running water managed to make a mess of things but didn't completely wipe it off the paper. The writing is still legible. Notice though how Jentle Grenade sheds its layers when exposed to water. It seems that this ink has red and blue components. The blue component is more water resistant than the red which is the first to wash off. It's a very interesting behavior but it still doesn't make it a waterproof ink.

Conclusion
Jentle Grenade represents my first successful foray into Sailor's line of inks. The color and saturation are beautiful and the shading is gorgeous. It flows well in my fountain pen and it's a pleasure to write with. Hey, you might even get away with using it in a formal setting. As an added bonus, the little water resistance it has can save your precious writings in a pinch. Don't let the slightly higher price detract you. If you like this particular shade of ink, Sailor Jentle Grenade is a definite buy!

Following are the two samples on photocopy and Rhodia 80g paper, respectively.

3rd Goulet Pens haul

The past week has been the "week of the Noodler's flex pen" it seems. Goulet Pens, in particular, was assaulted by orders for the latest batch of Noodler's flex fountain pens and I was one of the lucky ones who managed to get their hands on a Noodler's flex in Lapis Inferno (aka blue with white swirls).

The title of this post is a bit dishonest because I've combined two orders into one post but that's only because the first order only contained ink samples plus a few notebooks (and this is not a blog for notebooks and paper), while the second order had another batch of ink samples, plus the 3 pens.

Here's what this order contained:

Pens:

• Noodler's Flex in Lapis Inferno
• Pilot Parallel 3.8mm
• Pilot Parallel 6.0mm

Ink samples:

• Diamine China Blue
• Diamine Coral
• Diamine Prussian Blue
• J. Herbin Bleu Azur
• J. Herbin Diabolo Menthe
• J. Herbin Vert Pre
• Lamy Red
• Noodler's Baystate Blue
• Noodler's Bernanke Blue
• Noodler's Fox Red
• Noodler's Georgia Peach HL
• Noodler's GI Green
• Noodler's Kung Te-Cheng
• Noodler's Mandalay Maroon
• Noodler's Manjiro Nakahama Whaleman's Sepia
• Noodler's Polar Green
• Noodler's Shah's Rose
• Noodler's Dragon's Napalm
• Noodler's Firefly Yellow HL
• Noodler's Hunter Green
• Noodler's Year of the Golden Pig HL
• Private Reserve Daphne Blue
• Private Reserve Electric DC Blue
• Private Reserve Invincible Aqua Blue
• Private Reserve Invincible Black
• Sailor Jentle Apricot
• Sailor Jentle Grenade

Just a quick word about the Noodler's flex pen. I like the color and I'm glad I picked it instead of another. It also happened that the blue pens were the second most popular after the clear ones. I believe I have loaded the pen with the wrong ink because I used a very light gray which may not be the best option for a flex nib. Though I wasn't expecting much from this pen, at this point I'm not particularly impressed with its flexible nib. I'll have to play some more with it before I can review it though.

From the looks of it, I'll have enough ink samples to review for the next year. Can't wait to use them all!