Sailor Shikiori Doyou is a sheenless dark brown, almost black at its darkest. Of the 20+ browns I own, it is closest to Kobe #40 Sumiyoshi Brown. Doyou is the closest to what, in my mind, a Sepia should be: an off-black brown squid ink. Doyou is darker than Brun Ours (Classique collection) by L’Artisan Pastellier and Cacao du Brésil by J. Herbin, both being less saturated and greyer than Kobe #40.
I am not a fan of this colour, so I haven’t taken the time to take it for a spin in different pens. I did ink up my Sailor 1911S 21 kt H-M, which is a dry writer, and found that the ink performed well; it didn’t feel thin under the nib, and looked more brown than black once dry. It was also smooth in my 1911L 21 kt H-MF Lefty and looked more black than brown once dry because this pen has generous flow.
Even though this is a well-behaved ink, I wouldn’t buy a whole bottle because there are dark browns inks I enjoy more; I would get more samples or some cartridges, if only to remove stains that might be left behind one day by certain inks: I have heard that Doyou is a super cleaner!
An excellent black as to be expected from this line of inks. Also has the benefit of removing ink staining out of your pen!
