Sailor Pen Company

Sailor Jentle Rikyu-Cha Ink Review

Sailor Jentle Rikyu-Cha Ink is a new re-released ink in the USA in the Sailor Four Season’s ink line that is very unique. Rikyu-Cha, also means “Rikyu-Tea” in Japanese that has a unique characteristic of changing colors. The fountain pen ink goes on the paper as a dark green, almost a green-black, but lightens as it dries into a subtle brown hue, making a truly unique color. Pen Chalet carries Rikyu-Cha and all of the other Sailor Four Season inks all of which have been very popular.
Sailor Jentle inks, including the Rikyu-Cha color, are imported from Japan. These water based inks are not water proof or even water resistant, but very easy on your fountain pens, easy to clean. For these reasons the Sailor Jentle Rikyu-Cha Ink is a well loved ink by many fountain pen users.

Sailor Jentle Rikyu-Cha Ink

Sailor Jentle Rikyu-Cha Ink

We found the following various traits while using Sailor Jentle Rikyu-Cha ink, which you may find helpful:

Testing Factors

We used Rhodia graph paper with a glass dip pen made by J. Herbin. The glass dip pen is similar to an extra fine nib on most fountain pens and does not produce a super broad or wet line.

Bottle Sizes

Sailor Rikyu-Cha ink comes in a large glass bottle with 50 ml. of ink. The round design is conducive to refilling your fountain pens, along with the internal removable reservoir, which enables users to get to those last few drops of ink.

Cost

This is a mid range priced ink, which retails for $18.00, which is definitely reasonable for the 50 ml. sized glass bottle.

Dry Time

With the J. Herbin dip pen, we had a very quick 5 second dry time with Sailor Rikyu-Cha ink. Not as fast as the Sailor Irori ink, but very quick and respectable for every day use. Obviously with a larger nib that will produce a wetter line, the dry time will be increased.

Bleed Through

On the wettest lines, just after dipping the glass pen, we experienced a slight bleed through with Rikyu-Cha ink. After the first couple of letters, since being dipped, there is no perceptible bleeding through while using the Rhodia Block N. 18 paper.

Feathering

This ink produced clean crisp lines on the Rhodia paper, without any feathering we could determine.

Water Test

There was quite a bit of color smearing and feathering, when we brushed a wet cotton swab over sample ink lines that have dried for approximately 3 minutes. This is not a water proof or water resistant ink.

Shading

Due to the unique color of this ink, there will be some shading, with the darker lines and wetter lines drying a different shade of green/brown.

Conclusion about the Sailor Jentle Rikyu-Cha Ink

Rikyu-Cha, one of the new Sailor Four Season inks is a welcomed return to the Sailor ink line up. Although it may not be here long, picking up a bottle or two while they are will enable you to enjoy this unique color. The dry time and dark color makes Rikyu-Cha a good yet unique everyday ink. We have always loved the Sailor Jentle Ink bottle shape, internal reservoir, large opening and lid, which makes using this ink and all Sailor Jentle inks a breeze. Although not as cheap as say a Diamine bottle of ink or even the regular Sailor Jentle ink colors, the price is not in the higher end range and thus still very affordable.