Tono & Lims Dutch Canal — 4ml Fountain Pen Ink Sample
Tono & Lims Dutch Canal — 4ml Fountain Pen Ink Sample
Details
Hue: A mid-toned denim blue with a grey-slate lean — canal water rather than sky. I couldn't find an official manufacturer colour description for this one, so there's nothing to diverge from.
Shading: Strong. Both the dip-pen bar and the writing sample move from pale steel blue to dark navy, with pronounced darkening at stroke ends and swab edges.
Sheen: None.
Shimmer: None.
Flow: Medium.
The interesting bit: Tono & Lims is a Japanese brand founded by Takashi Ono, with the inks made in South Korea by Lim's Lab, and a large part of its output is one-off event and collaboration colours rather than a standing catalogue. Dutch Canal is one of a Netherlands-themed pair — the other is Dutch Meadow — released around the brand's presence at the 2026 Dutch Pen Show in Utrecht, where Tono & Lims sponsored one of the lettering workshops. The label art carries the joke: a Friesian cow in a scarf standing in front of an arched canal bridge, two of the most exportable images of the Netherlands in one square inch. The colour goes with the water, not the postcard.
This is a hand-decanted 4ml sample vial from my own bottle.
Photos are my own swatches on Tomoe River Paper.
I'm a collector and I'm always happy to talk ink, so please message me if you have any questions.
Postage
Royal Mail or Evri, your choice at checkout, from £1.90. Free over £20. Dispatched within 2 working days. UK only for now.
Returns
Change your mind within 14 days and I'll refund you, including standard outbound postage. Return postage is yours unless something's wrong. Opened vials can only be refunded in part. Full details in my refund policy.
What you're getting
A 4ml vial, hand-decanted by me from my own bottle. Swatch photos are mine, on Tomoe River paper. Colours vary with paper, nib and screen, so treat them as a good guide rather than an exact match.