Akkerman Shocking Blue/ What's Your Experience With It?

[Foyle]

I was at Anderson Pens today, and I happened to pickup a bottle of Akkerman's Shocking Blue. Usually before I put an unfamiliar ink in one of my piston fillers (Pelikan or Lamy 2K), I usually test it in a C/C pen first, that is unless I'm confident I won't have problems because of an ink or brand's reputation for being trouble free.

Those of you that have or have had this ink, what's your experience with it? Any unfavorable behaviors? Any staining or clogging issues, etc? How do you like it?

 

[jar_]

Sure stains my hands. The biggest issue I have is that too often the filling thingie in the bottle overflows when I put a pen in to fill and I end up with Shocking Blue most everything. It's always washed off everything but it also takes a long time to wash everything.

But I blame the bottle not the ink.

 

[Runnin_Ute]

I was PIF'd a sample of 30 ml of it. I like it but I don't use it as often as I probably should. I do believe I have used it in one of my Pelikans. I think it was my M200 with the OB nib. I forget about it. From the same source I also got the same amount of Voorhout Violet.

 

[Slivovitz]

I've got it in a Sheaffer Balance right now. For color, it's about my favorite blue, dark and rich looking. And I've got the hang of the bottle, really like that, too.
The main drawback is not anything that's bad for your pens, as far as I can tell, which is why I trust it in a 1930s lever filler. It's not water resistant, and I really prefer water resistance for my main journal and my work notes. But then I'll put it in a pen and think, "well, I don't really need that here, and I do love that color".
A secondary drawback is the price, but you already bought your bottle so it would be a shame to waste it.

 

[Foyle]

Well, my initial experience is a bit mixed. I loaded into my rather dry Prera, and the ink smudges even after it's been allowed to try for several minutes. This ink will certainly not work well in a wetter pen as it's just going to lay down even more ink and result in even worse smudging.

I knew I should have chosen a different color. Drats! Well, at least I have a cool bottle.

 

[jar_]

The Akkerman inks that I've used all tend to be really wet. I haven't found a dry one yet.

 

[Foyle]

It's not that it's a dry ink, but it seems to decide it doesn't want to flow anymore after it's been in the pen a while. I flushed the pen, and it took a bit to get all the ink out.

What I've read and that a lot of poeple suspect this ink is just rebranded Diamine Majestic Blue, which is also known for clogging and smudging after it dries. That's one of the reasons I tend to avoid Diamine inks. There are pen mechanics that seem to love that ink, but I always seem drawn to a color that's known for clogging or staining.

Some people are willing to put up with an ink's fussy behavior if they like the color enough. Not me. Great color, but already what I consider terrible performance. It's painful, but I may just dump the ink and wash out the bottle. I may give this ink one more try in a different pen just to rule out that this particular pen just doesn't like this ink. We'll see.

 

[beginish]

I have the same drying issue with PR Tanzanite, but the color is so good that I keep using it. I have a guy who walks out of my office waving the paper to dry it after I sign documents.

 

[nemo]

More bleeding and showthrough than I like. It's a pretty color, especially when you can see the red sheen in it. My bottle is from 2012, still almost full as I don't use it much ... it gets used in my vintage lever fill pens.

Its behavior in the pen is fine for me, but the paper needs to be just right to match the flow of my pens.

 

[Slivovitz]

I was doing some writing with it today, and wondered if I'd missed something what with the above comments. Seemed to dry about as fast as most inks, and didn't smear at all. Of course, if I'd touched the page with a damp hand, or a damp shirt cuff as I did a few days ago, it would have been a different matter. No feathering or bleeding, showthrough only at the minor level which I consider normal. It certainly looks wet as I write, and doesn't noticeably fade as it dries, as some other inks do, but other than that it behaved normally. I was writing in a Quo Vadis journal, which uses Clairefontaine paper.

Oh well, there are always a number of variables affecting what people report for pens, inks, and papers.

 

[SmoovD]

On the wet side but as long as the paper is decent the performance is great. Love the shading and the sheen. There are similar inks color-wise with slightly better performance such as Diamine Majestic Blue and Levenger Cobalt Blue but I like and use all three.

 

[Foyle]

I've tried it in another pen, and I get the same iffy performance. Set the pen aside for a few seconds to ponder a thought, look something up, what have you, and the pen suddenly won't write anymore without signifigant coaxing. A quick swipe on the page to get the ink flowing again won't do it. No, not even a lot of scribbling will get things rolling. You have to tap the nib on the page or apply some pressure. I never have to do this with my other inks.

It still smears a little too when dry. I wonder if there are variations in batches–some are maybe better than others.

What a let down.

 

[Foyle]

Just inked another pen, a Parker 45 Flighter, with this ink. So far nib dry out isn't that big a problem. Perhaps this nib is better tuned than the other two. I'll take it to work this afternoon and see how it does.

 

[Foyle]

The Parker did fairly well with this ink at work last night, and it still seems to be doing ok today. Nib dry out is still fairly rapid if the pen is set down for a few seconds uncapped (as it is with Sailor Jentle Blue and Black) but it starts up again easily. Maybe it's the partually hooded nib. Glad I've got a pen it seems to work well in. *whew*

 

[Vacumatic]

That's one of the reasons I tend to avoid Diamine inks. There are pen mechanics that seem to love that ink, but I always seem drawn to a color that's known for clogging or staining.

Some people are willing to put up with an ink's fussy behavior if they like the color enough. Not me. Great color, but already what I consider terrible performance. It's painful, but I may just dump the ink and wash out the bottle. I may give this ink one more try in a different pen just to rule out that this particular pen just doesn't like this ink. We'll see.

Couldnt agree more. The only thing I like about Diamine is their range of colours. I cannot live with the poor ink performance including bleedthrough and feathering, poor QC, clogging of the feed and bad bottle design, and dont get me started on the silliness of their shimmer inks. Diamine, by their own admission, say that clogging of the pen is a potential problem as is staining of some plastic or clear plastic parts.

The quality and power of the Diamine ink just isnt their for me.

 

[Mullen88]

It's a beautiful colour and the sheen is amazing. But I put it in my Faber-Castell E-Motion broad nib and it dried the nib out horribly. This is a wet writing pen and after 10 minutes of sitting it dried out completely. I haven't tried it in another pen yet so take that into account.

On the other hand I've had nothing but great results with the Dutch Masters series. Great ink