Dark Blue Inks: A Micro-Review

[dms525]

Today's baking ...

 

 

Ooops! Wrong forum!

 

And now, we return to our regularly scheduled inkiness ... Ahem!

 

I wanted to compare my recently acquired Akkerman #5 Shocking Blue with a couple of other inks that seemed similar, until I put them side by side on paper.

 

 

Comments?

 

David

[AndrewC]

The bread looks great! Especially the boules. Now I have go make some toast to go with the plum and lavender "syrup"(very runny jam) someone gave a couple days ago.

 

The "Shocking" may be because it seems to really "pop" off the page. At least it does on my monitor. NIce writing. too. Might be the first ink I think about buying in over a year.

 

Thanks for sharing.

[KaB]

Nice bread, nice blue, nice handwriting

 

thanks

[alexander_k]

The only thing I didn't like with this ink was the sheen, which thankfully disappeared when the ink was diluted (with Quink Washable Blue), similarly to its sibling, Diamine Majestic Blue. As for the name of the ink, I refer you to https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/260508-b-to-y-of-akkerman-inks/.

[whichwatch]

Regarding what is "shocking"....

 

If I recall, all the Akkerman names are references to, or plays on, something from their home country of Netherlands.

 

"Shocking Blue" was actually a rock group from The Hague who had one hit record in 1970. Here is some text from Wikipedia:

 

Shocking Blue was a Dutch rock band from The Hague, the Netherlands, formed in 1967. Their biggest hit, "Venus", went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1970, and the band had sold 13.5 million discs by 1973, but the group disbanded in 1974

[mm1624124]

Pilot Iroshizuku Shin-kai just took my breath away. Your review brought out some attributes I've missed. Thanks!

[dms525]

The bread looks great! Especially the boules. Now I have go make some toast to go with the plum and lavender "syrup"(very runny jam) someone gave a couple days ago.

 

The "Shocking" may be because it seems to really "pop" off the page. At least it does on my monitor. NIce writing. too. Might be the first ink I think about buying in over a year.

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

Thanks, AndrewC.

 

Hmmm ... It does sort of "pop" out, doesn't it?

 

David

[dms525]

Nice bread, nice blue, nice handwriting

 

thanks

 

Thank you, KaB!

 

David

[dms525]

The only thing I didn't like with this ink was the sheen, which thankfully disappeared when the ink was diluted (with Quink Washable Blue), similarly to its sibling, Diamine Majestic Blue. As for the name of the ink, I refer you to https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/260508-b-to-y-of-akkerman-inks/.

 

Thanks for the link! So the name references a band rather than a property of the ink, Andrew's observation notwithstanding.

 

I hadn't noticed the sheen, but looking at it again I see it. I don't find it too sheeny, at least with small print. Maybe a whole page written in Shocking Blue would be much. I'll have to play with it some more.

 

David

Edited June 29, 2014 by dms525

[dms525]

Pilot Iroshizuku Shin-kai just took my breath away. Your review brought out some attributes I've missed. Thanks!

 

I like Shin-kai a lot. But it looks different written with different pens, even more than most inks, it seems to me.

 

David

[AndrewC]

Aha! Very cool. Thanks for clarifying the name. I like that better than my idea, that's for sure. I used to have a sushi bar, and I named a lot of the rolls for songs or used lines from songs for the names of rolls.

[dms525]

Alexander_k called my attention to the sheen generated by Akkerman Shocking Blue. I wrote some text using a broader nib - a 2 ml italic nib on a dip pen. It was very instructive.

 

First, here is a scan of the text by an Epson XP-610:

 

 

It shows a bit of shading, which is nice to see, but no sheen is apparent.

 

However, when photos were taken at a tangential angle with an iPhone 5s, one can see quite a lot of sheen.

 

 

 

 

David

Edited June 30, 2014 by dms525

[amberleadavis]

David, can I come visit for baked goods and inky fun? Just kidding. I really like the review. Thank you. Amber

[napalm]

Today's baking ...

 

 

 

 

:puddle: :puddle:

[dms525]

David, can I come visit for baked goods and inky fun? Just kidding. I really like the review. Thank you. Amber

 

I'd be happy to mail you a sample in a Goulet's vial .... Errr .... Your idea is better.

 

BTW, I have infected Las Vegas with the lactobacilli and special yeast that produce my sourdough breads. One of my sons who teaches at UNLV is now baking bread. My DIL has actually accused him of taking more photos of his bread than of his daughters. I don't understand what the problem is, but she seemed to be perturbed by it.

 

I am delighted you liked the review! I feared the lack of standardization and structure might be a violation of ink review propriety. Your endorsement means a lot to me.

 

David

[dms525]

 

:puddle: :puddle:

 

My goodness! Is that Liberty's Elysium they are drooling?

 

David

[setriode]

Beautiful bread. Never mind the ink. First things first.

[dms525]

Beautiful bread. Never mind the ink. First things first.

 

[Bhavna]

David thank you for the glorious review and the very delicious pictures of the sheen - I am now paying attention . And over the gorgeous bread rolls.

[dms525]

David thank you for the glorious review and the very delicious pictures of the sheen - I am now paying attention . And over the gorgeous bread rolls.

 

Thank you, Bhavna.

 

David