review: bungubox dokeshi no namida / clown teardrop ruby

I've been having fun with samples from Bungubox. Let's take a look at this one.

Bungubox is a Japanese retailer of fountain pens and inks. They're a company that has inks made for them by Sailor. It used to be that you couldn't get any unless through a intermediary, but now you can! how wonderful.

Bungubox Clown Teardrop is also known as Clown Tears. Also possibly just Bungubox Ruby? Strangely enough, I haven't been able to find it on the Bungubox website, but I also don't read Japanese at all.

Clown Teardrop is a lighter burgundy color. It's a red-toned purple.

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This ink has decent water resistance;a lot of it will lift off the page, but not all. It leaves an interesting blue cast behind.

Clown Teardrop was nearly dry to the touch by the 30 second mark on Kokuyo MIO paper. By the 60 second mark, it was completely dry. I can't see any sheen on this paper, but there is a bit of shading visible.

On Tomoe River paper, there's about as much shading. There's a hint more of a silvery sheen, but only where the ink has really pooled.

I compare Bungubox Clown Teardrop to some other red puples that I have. TAG Kyo no Oto adzukiiro is faily close, but more pink. De Atramentis Pisces is too gray. Sailor Jentle Grenade is too red. Pilot Iroshizuku Yama-budo and Rohrer & Klingner Alt-Bordeaux are both too purple.

I have this ink in my Stipula Splash with an FPR broad nib. The combination isn't perfect; it does suffer a bit from hard starts, which I mostly attribute to the nib. It's not perfect, but it works well enough for my needs. Bungubox Clown Teardrop performed well regardless. It's very smooth, and definitely tried to make the relationship work. I think I'll enjoy the ink more in a different pen.

Speaking of my Stipula Splash: it's finally given up the ghost of being a semi-decent pen. Something's gone wrong with the piston seal, or maybe the barrel, and it doesn't create a vacuum beyond the halfway point anymore. And a non-airtight piston is a useless piston. I think Bungubox Clown Teardrop will be its last fill—how fitting!

Bungubox Clown Teardrop is an interesting color. I thought I would have inks that were more similar to it, but it's definitely not your average burgundy or crimson.

Where to buy

I purchased this sample from Pen Chalet.

• Pen Chalet: bottle / sample