During the Chicago Pen Show I bought my first Carolina Pen Company (Jonathan Brooks) pen and when I showed it to Jesi she immediately recommended a matching ink: Akkerman #7 Konninginne Nach-Blauw (60ml for $28.00).
Queen’s Night Blue is a hard blue to describe. It is a dark blue-grey, almost the color of slate in darker applications, and a more silvery blue in lighter applications.
Jesi was right though…it matches my pen perfectly!
One of the fun things about Akkerman ink is the unique bottle. The bottle is flask shaped, with a marble in the top section. This allows you to draw ink up into the top section, using the marble to hold it in place and more easily fill your pen. It means that I’ll be able to use every last drop!
Queen’s Night Blue is a smooth flowing ink, a bit on the dry side. I filled my pen and it started right away.
The one problem I had with this ink is that I couldn’t find anything that was similar to it. The closest was probably the Sailor Shikiori Shimoyo, but even that was a smidge too navy to match. Diamine Twilight was a similarly muted shade, but leaned towards teal. DeAtramentis Document Fog Grey was much darker, and again a bit too navy. Parker Quink Blue Black was also close, but a bit too blue. I guess Queen’s Night Blue is in a class of it’s own!
- Paper: Crossfield Journal ($24.00) and Maruman Mnemosyne N182A Inspiration Notebook A5 ($10.50)
- Pen: Delike Glass Signature Pen ($37.80).
- Swatches: Col-o-Ring Ink Testing Book ($10) and Col-o-Dex Rotary Cards ($15)
- Ink: Akkerman #7 Konninginne Nach-Blauw ($28.00 for 60 mL)
That is one fiiiine-looking pen!!!
Queen’s Night Blue is one of my favorite blue grey inks.
As for a similar ink, try Diamine Prussian Blue. (Among the “Akkerman ink is made by Diamine” conspiracy theorists, the similarity between Queen’s Night Blue and Prussian Blue is cited as an example in support of the theory.