Pilot Iroshizuku Kiri-same (“autumn shower”) is a medium gray ink. Very “pencil-like” shade in writing. I even posted comparing it to pencils once. There is some shading, a tiny bit of gold(?) sheen, and some chromashading in certain circumstances where you can get some very subtle hints of pinks and blues showing through.
Scans
As happens frequently, the ink is darker on col-o-ring, lighter on Iroful, and somewhere in between on MD. There is some shading on Iroful and a smidge of it on MD. It also looks cooler on Iroful and warmer on MD.
Photos
There isn’t much sheen visible, none at all on col-o-ring or MD either. There is some on Iroful in the large swatch, but not in writing.
Microscope
Here is where things get more interesting. Col-o-ring is mostly visible on the foreground fibers and just has a few spots that are reflective. Iroful has splotches here and there that look blue, and some fibers look pinkish, and the sheen there looks gold. On MD there are faint hints of pink and blue here and there, it is particularly noticeable in the large swatch area.
Also on MD there is only a slight hint of sheening only on the large swatch area with very heavy ink coverage.
Chromatography
Chromatography starts with a thick gray line that fades into an open area that then fades into light magenta. There is a faint yellow line past the leading edge.
The magenta area glows brightly, and the line past the edge glows bright blue.
UV Check
It’s pink‽ Not the first time I’ve been surprised like this. The writing doesn’t glow much, but the swatch glows very brightly.
Verdict
I bought this mostly because it was being discontinued and at the time I didn’t have any other gray inks. As usual for Iroshizuku inks, it’s well-behaved and a little on the wet side, all-around good ink. However, I haven’t used it much as with all the other colors around I didn’t have much desire to use gray ink. Still, it’s a fine choice for the role if I ever feel compelled to use gray.
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