Sailor Kobe Bottled Ink - Nada Brown #16

Nada Brown is a very nice brown, similar to Jacques Herbin Terre d’Ombre (Les Essentielles coll.), but more saturated. Diamine Chocolate Brown is more chocolatey and Pilot Iroshizuku Tsukushi is slightly redder. It is also similar to Kobe #52 Shioya Vintage Sepia in dry writers. Nada Brown is a mid-brown: it doesn’t lean red, yellow, or orange, and doesn’t look like a greyed brown.

Nada Brown shows little shading and no sheen. I like it best on white paper, where the colour is neutral. On cream or ivory paper, it looks slightly warmer. Like most Sailor x Kobe inks I’ve tried, this ink worked flawlessly and is readable in all my Sailor 1911 L and S pens, with all nib sizes from H-EF to H-B, even in my 1911S 21kt H-M, which is a dry writer.

With my pen and paper combos, I’ve experienced no feathering, no skipping, no hard starts, no bleed through, some ghosting on thinner papers. The inks all felt substantial under the nib: no watery inks here! Unlike some other inks, Nada Brown does not feather on Oxford Optik Paper.

I enjoy using it most in my Sailor 1911L 21 kt H-B because, while I can easily achieve a full, crisp, contained line while holding the pen as it was meant to be held, I can also use the nib in reverse writing and still get a readable line.

Nada Brown is a rich, warm, mid-range brown in the same tonal range as Tsukushi. Flow is excellent. This vibrant ink is pricey, but well worth the cost. Kudos to Wonder Pens for making this ink available in Canada.