Pilot Iroshizuku Fountain Pen Ink 15ml - Take-sumi (Bamboo Charcoal)
Take-sumi is one of those inks that earns its place in a collection not through novelty, but through quiet, consistent excellence. The name refers to bamboo charcoal, a material with deep roots in Japanese domestic life - historically used for water purification, humidity control, and its restorative properties. That cultural depth informs the ink itself: a colour that doesn't demand attention so much as reward it.
The Colour
Despite the charcoal reference, there's nothing grey or muted about Take-sumi. It's a genuinely dark black - darker than a significant proportion of black inks on the market - with a medium sheen that surfaces on more absorbent papers. It won't perform differently across pens or paper weights the way a heavily saturated iron gall might; what you see is dependable, rich, and authoritative on the page.
Performance
Take-sumi carries all the hallmarks of the Iroshizuku line: smooth flow, easy cleaning, and a tendency to stay wet on the nib. Flow is wet rather than restrained, which suits a wide range of nib sizes and makes it particularly forgiving in fine nibs that might otherwise run dry. Water resistance sits at a medium level - reliable for everyday writing and journaling, though not archival-grade. Dry time on coated papers runs around 30 to 40 seconds, which is worth noting if you're left-handed or working quickly across premium stock.
The Bottle
The 15ml bottle is an elegantly crafted glass vessel with a 14mm opening - wide enough to fill most converters and piston fillers without difficulty. A recessed indentation at the base of the bottle allows you to tilt it during filling, ensuring you can draw ink from the last few millilitres without waste. The form is compact enough to sit in a pen case or travel kit, and considered enough to display on a desk.
Who It's For
Take-sumiis a black ink for people who have stopped settling for black inks. It suits daily correspondence, journalling, and formal writing alike — equally at home taking notes as it is in business or professional contexts. If you've been using a budget black out of habit rather than preference, this is the kind of ink that makes that transition feel obvious in retrospect.
The Iroshizuku range was developed by Pilot to reflect the natural scenery of Japan, and while that's easy marketing language to dismiss, Take-sumi is one of the inks in the line that genuinely earns the description. It's not the flashiest ink Pilot makes. It's simply one of the best.
Specifications
Pre-order item
Soft armchair
$420.00
Select variant
Select purchase option
