Diep-Duinwaterblauw, No.8  
P.W. Akkerman




     I love the bottle and couldn't resist another blue ink. Akkerman No.8 is a darker blue with excellent shading. It has become one of those tones I do not mind using regularly and a character doesn't get stale. The Akkerman bottle as I have wrote earlier is very attractive. The bottle's shape has an hourglass likeness featuring a glass bead that creates a smaller reservoir in its neck for filling pens and helps when ink levels are low.

No.8 - test plate after 3mL of water

     Akkerman No.8 'Diep-Duinwaterblauw' has a colour spectrum from a turquoise blue to a deep blue/black with a red sheen when the ink is really heavy. The shading is noticeable on both Hilroy and Clairefontaine papers. The ink dries reasonably quick and the flow is on the dry side of normal. I experienced no feathering or bleed through. Water leaves only traces of the ink on the paper and it is relatively easy to clean from pens. The test plate only showed traces in the roughest section.

Akkerman #8 is a blue/black ink that shades well, dries fast, and is easy to clean. I like this ink and use it in all of my pens. The Akkerman bottle is by far my favourite to use when filling a pen.

Akkerman #8 on Clairefontaine paper

Akkerman #8 on Hilroy paper

Ink diagrams prepared using:
1.  Speedball C-4 nib in dip pen
2.  Esterbrook #0 nib in dip pen