KURETAKE Ink Cafe at KIT W/PENS

I have several Karappo pens, but I have to admit I didn’t buy this kit for them. My kid goes through markers like nobody’s business, and I hated the idea of the heaps of used up markers just ending up in a landfill when the tips were still perfectly serviceable, so I bought this so I could mix colors reasonably similar to the original marker colors and extend their life a bit longer before I send them off to a recycling program. Thankfully, it’s worked great for that purpose! I prop up the marker in the toning cup included in the kit (in which the ink is mixed), soak the tip of the old marker in a few drops (maybe 8-10 total) of mixed ink (that’s all one of those chubby Crayola markers seems able to soak up at a time) for maybe 15 minutes, and it keeps them going for a while. If they dry out again, we can just mix another batch and do it again, and we keep a swatch/formula notebook of the ink mixture results so we can mix it the same way again or adjust next time. Also works great with the Karappo pens, of course. Super easy to do, and the Kuretake website has a color chart with a bunch of color recipes to use as a starting point.

Vibrant inks, easy to understand instructions. As someone who thought I had all possible art tools, this certainly came as a surprise! This allows for you to make ink pens custom to your needs. It comes with two empty pens but I plan on purchasing more! I mixed an earthy green tone for plant drawings/studies and a peachy color for portrait sketches. Once you lay down the ink, it does not lift from the paper so this is perfect for anyone who likes alcohol or water-based art supplies. I can lift watercolors from the page without messing with the ink linear underneath. Perfect!

Nice set for art and lettering. Especially good for people who like to master mixing colors to make their own. Comes with everything you need. Quality ink. Standard brush pens. Minimalist packaging.

This kit contains two felt hard tip pens. Fine brush pens are also available. There are two ways you can use this kit. One is to mix your own colors given the inks included. The mixing cup is for saturating the ink wick. Another way is to saturate the ink wick using your favorite color of existing ink, for example, Noodler's. You will not get the writing quality of a fountain pen but it is still a nice hard felt fine nib and writes well. Once you place the cap on the pen, you supposedly cannot remove it. The pen is supposed to be disposable. However, I watched videos in which users have re-inked their pens but had to use the same ink. Additional pens are available for purchase which allows me to make my own collection of colors. I believe there is an app for ink color mixing but it may be available only in Japan.