INKTASTIC: PILOT IROSHIZUKU KON-PEKI

Pilot makes some pretty great inks in their Iroshizuku line, that much is certain. But there's one ink that tends to get by far the most attention: Kon-Peki! You could say it's the superstar of inks, almost anyone into pens knows Kon-Peki. And it's the favourite 'blue' ink of pretty much everyone who had the pleasure of using it!

I disagree with the public opinion though: it's not my favourite 'blue' (notice the conveniently placed quotation marks!). But it is, on the other hand, my favourite Turquoise ink! 

Really, I don't know if I'm the only one on this, but to me, Kon-Peki is more of a Turquoise than it is blue! That being said, it's much darker than most turquoise inks. Which is actually a good thing because I don't really like using turquoise inks on a daily basis as they are often too light. 

As with all Iroshizuku inks, Kon-Peki performs spot-on (why did I even bother mentioning this)! Properties are good, it has shading, it dries fast and it even has a slight bit of red sheen in some places! 

Not much of a waterproof ink, lines remain faintly visible after the water test.

As you can see in the swab comparison below, Kon-Peki lies somewhere in between a bright blue like P.W. Akkerman Binnenhof Blues, and a Turquoise like Lamy's offering. I can't help but notice the similarities with Pelikan Edelstein Topaz, which is pretty much identical in color (at a much lower price), though it lacks the vibrant saturation, and more defined shading of Kon-Peki! (After having used both, I'd pick Kon-Peki over the Edelstein ink. But I doubt if you'd ever see the difference without comparing them!)

Price seems to be the everlasting and only issue with this ink. At almost 40 EUR for a bottle, it's by far the most expensive ink I can think of! This price issue seems to be mostly situated here, in the EU though, as American prices are much lower (25-30 USD)!