Iroshizuku Kon-Peki Ink

A bottle of Iroshizuku Kon-Peki arrived this week courtesy of Jet Pens and frankly, online swatches do not do this ink justice. It is a color that needs to be viewed in person to appreciate.

Kon-Peki (deep azure blue) is very similar to Diamine Mediterranean Blue, one of my favorite inks. The latter is a tiny bit more turquoise, but that is only evident in a side-by-side comparison. Med Blue is slightly brighter and more saturated, but Kon-Peki is deeper, more subdued and consequently more versatile. One shouts the color while the other says it at a more socially acceptable volume.

Then there are the other properties. Kon-Peki shades better than Mediterranean Blue with a wider range to the tones. Coverage and flow are excellent with Kon-Peki though it isn’t highly lubricated. Writing with it in the Platinum #3776 Century is effortless on Rhodia paper. On cheap paper, it’s performance is comparable to Noodler’s Black, the ink that sets my standard for dealing with junk paper. That places it on par with most other Iroshizuku inks and above a few that are a tad persnickety about paper quality.

Both Kon-Peki and Mediterranean Blue would be categorized as blue though they do lean slightly towards turquoise. The real Iroshizuku turquoise is Ku-Jaku which has significantly more green in it. Any one of these would make a memorable signature ink, but Kon-Peki is better suited to a work environment than the other two.

Kon-Peki came in second behind Yama-Budo in the favorite Iroshizuku poll. That makes it the number one blue ink which is high praise indeed.

Now I want to know if there is a pen to match this ink. Any suggestions?