The correct order of operation when you buy a new pen you immediately buy a new ink to go with it, right? And there are bonus points if the ink matches the pen? I’m pretty sure these are the rules, but if not, I’m making them official today.
I bought the Leonardo Momento Zero Fountain Pen Lavande Rose Gold from Dromgoole’s Pens at the 2020 Baltimore Pen Show. I’m a Leonardo fan, and this new color spoke to me, so I went for it. I had two decisions to make after purchase: One, do I get the nib ground because they only had Medium in stock, and two, what ink will go with this pen the best because I am here, and this is now?
Being the matchy-matchy person that I am, I wanted a color close to the Lavande of the pen barrel, but no normal pink or purple would do. I pored through the large swatch books at Vanness Pens rejecting colors left and right, until it hit hit me. Doesn’t Akkerman have a nice magenta? Why yes, they do! Akkerman #12 Mauritshuis Magenta is the exact color I was looking for.
Many of you may be yelling at the screen by now, “Brad, I love pink-purple-magenta inks, and there are a TON of great ones out there.” Yes, I admit I’m a little bit late to the party with this shade, but with my already-professed love for all things pink and purple, it was only a matter a time before I combined the two into a new love.
My main question is this: What do you call this color? Magenta seems right. I see Rose used a lot, or maybe it’s Purply Pink? Regardless, it’s great, and I’m glad I added a new Akkerman to the collection, which now totals six.
Mauritshuis Magenta is a classic Akkerman mix of quality, performance, and color. There are inks out there that will out-sheen this classic, but for pure writing with a decent amount of shading, Akkerman more than holds its own. Plus, they have the coolest ink bottles in the world, and are reasonably priced at $30 for a 60 ml bottle.
The cursive italic grind I had put on this nib by Gina at Custom Nib Studio shows off the shading well in the vertical strokes, and the ink flow never skipped a beat when writing. I think that is my favorite feature of Akkerman Inks - they just work.
And they look great too. I may not be able to pronounce their names, but at least I have a number to work off of. Welcome home #12!
(Vanness Pens provided this ink at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes. I purchased the Leonardo from Dromgoole's at a discount.)
