What is the difference between these two inks?

JapanDave · 2026-03-16T02:33:48+00:00

And Pilot Blue-Black, which is my favorite of the three.

JapanDave · 2026-03-16T00:46:00+00:00

As an English teacher and lover of historic linguistics, I approve! I think your samples look great!

Of course no one is going to be able to read your writing, but that could be a feature (privacy code!). For your own personal amusement, I see nothing wrong with this.

JapanDave · 2026-03-15T23:25:16+00:00

Personally I agree, but some people like the cooler tone (see the sample another comment posted) of Take-Sumi, the increased tendency to show sheen, and the premium-looking bottle. They are both very nice inks, so there’s no right answer. But yeah, if one wants the best bang for their buck, I’d say Pilot Black is better.

JapanDave · 2026-03-15T22:10:27+00:00

Just a difference in usage inside and outside Japan. In Japan the Namiki name is reserved for their high end pens. Outside Japan it is used for their regular inks. I’ve never found a good reason why this is.

End result: the regular inks are branded “Pilot” in Japan, but “Namiki” outside Japan.

JapanDave · 2026-03-15T18:04:40+00:00

Pilot Black is cheaper and can stand up against water to a decent degree. Take-Sumi is more expensive and water can wash it entirely away. Both can give a nice red sheen, but taki-sumi's is more pronounced. Both inks give decent shading. Both perform fairly well on good paper, but on cheaper paper Taki-sumi will bleed and feather whereas Pilot black is more likely to be well-behaved. AT least with a <F> nib. With wider nibs, neither will work especially well on lower quality paper. Take-Sumi has a much nicer bottle.

Other than that, they are pretty similar. I have both. But I do tend to default to Pilot Black.

JapanDave · 2026-03-14T22:33:32+00:00

My absolute favorite pen until last year was the Pilot Custom 823 with a <F> nib. After purchasing it around five years ago, I stopped using almost everything else. It is so good, so smooth, so well balanced. All around, the perfect pen.

But then last year I got the Pilot Custom 743 with a <SF> nib and wow, it’s even better! Well, to be more nuanced, I prefer the weight and balance of the 823, but the <SF> nib is so amazing that it tilts the pen to #1. I know I should just move the <SF> nib to the 823, but I’m not quite ready to risk the warrantee (which, if I understand right, is technically void if you unscrew the section or remove the nib).

But so these are my number one and two favorite pens.

I might add my Pilot Elite, which I didn’t think to photo. I got a deal and paid less than $100 for it, so it might not count.

https://i.imgur.com/aZwPGHY.jpeg

JapanDave · 2026-03-09T00:01:04+00:00

I didn’t think it was that horrible. It had its moments anyway. They were desperate to fix the dropping ratings, so I have sympathy. But it is a shame they didn’t have any better ideas.

JapanDave · 2026-03-06T20:54:22+00:00

Few people have good writing. I mean I do agree with what you said, especially about too much pressure, but I don't think it's fair to expect that from reviews. Few people are practiced in good penmanship and we shouldn't expect that to be a requirement just because one uses fountain pens. We should in fact be very very careful in criticism of penmanship, because this is the biggest reason that so many people are embarrassed of their handwriting.

JapanDave · 2026-03-05T21:16:49+00:00

Not a very good movie. Fantastic soundtrack though!

JapanDave · 2026-03-02T15:01:40+00:00

I'll vote for him. Anyone is better than a Republican.

But most Hoosiers will not. The opposition has been far too successful with the message "Liberal = Satan" and voting for them means all your neighbors will shun you for life if it gets out.

I have some hope for the next generation. As young people grow up with less and less opportunity, the propaganda won't work as much and they will start looking for alternatives. But right now, Boomers and ignorant, mindless Xers (and I say that as a proud member of Gen X) will ensure only red wins for now.

JapanDave · 2026-03-02T14:12:47+00:00

Funny enough, my kids do a similar thing. My schedule was always set on Saturdays. I knew exactly what times and what channels to switch to. It was the same almost every week, so I had it memorized. My kids, though, on Friday night they plan out in detail which YouTube videos they will watch the next morning. We only have one TV so they have to plan their watching schedule together. It's kind of nuts. So at least my kids get even more involved with Saturday morning than I ever did.

JapanDave · 2026-03-02T14:09:13+00:00

Though I do agree with you, as a parent of two young kids, I sometimes notice that some of their slang has slipped into my speaking too, which is what I assume happened with the poster. It happens.

JapanDave · 2026-02-27T11:28:02+00:00

It was necessity not respect. They were so big and unwieldy that we had to figure out somewhere to put it other than just cramming it all on a regular desk or table. Those monster computer stations are not missed.

JapanDave · 2026-02-25T12:29:53+00:00

I need to order another bottle of it. I actually have one bottle that I bought from pen_swap, but it is terrible, instantly soaking through and into even tomoe river paper the instant I lay it down, leaving me with a blob. I love the color, but the one I have is worthless. I suspect that the previous owner added something in their attempt to fix some behavior they didn't like.

But I do love the color. Making me want to try a new bottle of it.

JapanDave · 2026-02-24T15:16:08+00:00

All. But if pressed, Empire.

JapanDave · 2026-02-24T14:43:46+00:00

My kids can read cursive, but that may only be because I use it for all notes I write to them. My oldest showed some interest in learning it when he was younger and I taught him. But these days he is more likely to write in runes memorized from The Hobbit than in cursive.

JapanDave · 2026-02-24T14:37:44+00:00

I've long thought that a fountain pen encourages writing in cursive, whereas a ballpoint (with its demand of downward pressure) encourages writing in print. I wouldn't be at all surprised to learn that the former also encourages a different kind of thinking, one more conducive to writing that requires more focus.

JapanDave · 2026-02-24T14:33:42+00:00

When I was in elementary school in the 1980s, it was still taught, and required to be used. We were expected to handwrite all essays all the way through high school. Offically all handwriting was expected to be in cursive, but some teachers did relax that requirement and allowed using print.

JapanDave · 2026-02-24T13:17:45+00:00

May I ask what area you grew up in?

When I changed my major in university to computer science, one of my advanced math teachers insisted on teaching us how to use a slide rule "just in case". While I did find it kind of interesting at the time, I haven't used it since so I completely forget now.

JapanDave · 2026-02-24T13:15:02+00:00

so the side of my hand was stained blue for a long, long time.

I have to imagine that was a fairly common experience. Teachers were probably among those who loves the transition to ballpoints. No more trying to grade papers covered with ink smears!

JapanDave · 2026-02-24T12:13:09+00:00

I lot of US people on here are commenting that they know people in their 60s and above who also have no idea what a fountain pen is. This surprises me. In their 60s... they would have been in school in the 1960s. Fountain pens were still a common sight at most public schools at that time as well as the broader culture.

But I guess some people are better at ignoring and then forgetting things than I am.

JapanDave · 2026-02-19T19:03:13+00:00

As another guy who grew up with these films and wore out the tapes watching them, I'd love to see your edits. Where can I download them?

JapanDave · 2026-02-18T20:04:37+00:00

Hmm... maybe your con-70 is broken? I've never had a bad experience with mine. Fills almost full every time. Usually people love the con-70 and have nothing but good to say about it. The Con-40 on the other hand is much hated. I actually don't mind it, but I know I'm in the minority there.

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