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Old Pelikan Blue-Black


mixink

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Hi


I recently bought an old Pelikan blue-black ink. The box says 1993 and not much else. It was quite cheap so I bought it mostly for the bottle but now that I got it I am inclined to try it. I have several questions. Do you think I can safely use it? Is it iron gall? Most importantly is it a good find?

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It likely is fine, but please check it to make certain that it was not contaminated at some point. Pelikan has a very good reputation and if the seal held up so there is minimal evaporation and the bottle was not contaminate at some point so there is no mold or slime growth,,then there shouldn't be a problem. You also may want to check it by re,ovine bu pipettes or dropper a small amount, placing the small amount in a clean dish, or sample container and then make an ink swath with a cotton tipped swab and if you have it, try writing with a dip pen a little. Just because the ink survived in good condition, doesn't mean you will like it and it may have some characteristics you don't care for.

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It should be iron gall, unless Turkey had some laws or similar which restricted import of ig inks, so Pelikan may have made one without ig for the Turkish market (like today in the US).

 

If there are particles on the bottom and they don't dissolve after shaking and are still there after shaking and settling, then it definitely is iron gall.

 

I would be careful with this ink and would be hesitant to put it in any pen, which is hard to replace.

 

Also if there are indeed particles (oxidized ig) and you still want to use the ink in a fp, then let the particles settle and fill only once they are firmly on the bottom. It is generally not adviseable to shake ig inks and then fill (due to exactly those ig particles, which inevitably form because of air exposure).

 

It is a nice find imo, though J Herbin still uses bottles like that, so it isn't quite as great a find as some vintage inks which are in bottles not made anymore. But if you like and enjoy your purchase, then it was a fantastic find, regardless of what anyone says!

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Very briefly:

1. Spread a drop of ink on piece of paper. If the color is a dark blue the ink should be OK. If the ink looks like dirty dish water then you should not use it.

2. It should be IG.

3. Good find. The bottle is larger than modern Herbin bottles and the pen rest is way more practical.

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Thank you all for your input. The ink looks good, no strange smell or particles. I hope to try it in a Jinhao 992 this weekend. I will post some pictures.

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Hi

I recently bought an old Pelikan blue-black ink. The box says 1993 and not much else. It was quite cheap so I bought it mostly for the bottle but now that I got it I am inclined to try it. I have several questions. Do you think I can safely use it? Is it iron gall? Most importantly is it a good find?

 

Best

 

 

 

 

The bottle and carton do not look like the usual Pelikan design of 1993! From the look 1939 (!) is more likely ;).

Maybe this is a special issue in vintage design, or a special issue for the turkish market.

 

If it is Pelikan Blue-Black it will have a small amount of iron gall: It always did and still does contain IG,

and I do not think they ever changed the recipe in the last 50 years.

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I tried the ink. Everything looked fine and smelled fine (at least I guess so as I don't usually smell my inks) but the color was too pale. In the end, Ithrew the ink and washed the bottle to use it with other inks.

 

 

Indeed the bottle looks like it is from 1939. The glass has air bubbles inside and it looks gorgeous. I hope it works :)

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