Pelikan 4001 Blue Black

[bokaba]

Pelikan 4001 Blue Black on 70 lb laser paper in WIng Sung 699 (F)

 

 

Dry time: very fast, less than 5 seconds

 

Flow: moderately dry, but not the driest

 

Lubricated: no

 

Feathering/bleed through: some with very wet broad nibs

 

Saturation: medium

 

Color: standard blue black, perhaps similar to Iroshizuku Shin Kai; some Pelikan bottles were defective from the past and will be a gray/purple color

 

Water Resistance: good, see the washed swatch; I think there is some iron gall content here as the blue dye washes away leaving black. The ink also smells strongly of rust just like Salix and Diamine Registrars

[carlos.q]

Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black contains iron gall:

https://www.pelikan.com/pulse/Pulsar/en_US.CMS.displayCMS.252912./document-proof-ink

[OCArt]

Not the bottles 'officially' sold in the USA. The imported ones, yes.

Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black contains iron gall:

https://www.pelikan.com/pulse/Pulsar/en_US.CMS.displayCMS.252912./document-proof-ink

[Safari_Camo]

How do you know if the label makes a remark that is for the US market? (no iron gall?).

[OCArt]

A fair question that I don't know the answer to. I had a vendor in Germany throw in a bottle when I bought a pen from him.

How do you know if the label makes a remark that is for the US market? (no iron gall?).

[corniche]

Hi Everyone,

 

Pelikan Blue-Black was taken off the market in the U.S. in 2011; not because it contains iron gall, but because it no longer complies with the TSCA guidelines.

 

https://thepelikansperch.com/2016/04/20/pelikan-4001-blue-black-story/

 

I was still active here at the time and remember the furor this caused.

I imported mine in from overseas.

 

 

Sean

 

ETA: So you don't have to read through the entire story; here is the relevant passage:

 

Unfortunately, 4001 Blue-Black is not available in the United States and has not been since around 2011. The reason for this now 5 year absence is in part due to the fact that the ink includes an ingredient(s) that is not listed in the United States Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). That act stipulates that any chemical substance, mixture, or article containing a chemical substance or mixture (including microorganisms and mixtures) may be refused entry [into the United States] if it fails to comply with the TSCA, or is offered for entry in violation of section 5, 6, or 7 of the TSCA. EPA and Customs Regulations (40 CFR 707.20 and 19 CFR 12.120, respectively) require that importers certify that imported chemical substances or mixtures are either in compliance with TSCA sections 5, 6 and 7 at the time of import or are not subject to the TSCA. Penalties for failing to comply can be steep. It has been presumed that 4001 Blue-Black contains a substance not amongst the approved chemicals as outlined by the TSCA. While exclusion from that list doesnt necessarily imply toxicity, I suppose that it made more economic sense for Pelikan to discontinue its United States sales rather than reformulate their ink. There is no such prohibition of this formulation overseas where it is still readily available.

Edited February 10, 2020 by corniche

[corniche]

Hi Bokaba,

 

I do want to thank you for posting this review; they're always helpful- the more reviews, the better. 👍

 

Sean

[Erik Dalton]

It’s a really nice ink. I remember the furor when Pelikan took the stuff off the us market. A lot of people miss it. It’s not a “proper” IG ink though. There really isn’t enough IG in it to be an issue if you practice good pen hygiene. I use it all the time with both gold and steel nibs without issue. I still have 6 bottles left that i bought in Germany way back when. I’m set for a while, but i wish it were available here in the states.

Lately trade wars, customs and shipping delays are making a mess of getting stuff from the overseas. I just got some pen parts from The Netherlands. One was stuck for 4 weeks in Dutch customs and arrived with Seven pages of custom forms. I noticed on one of the customs forms it specifically asks if there are any chemicals prohibited by the us. I think it would be tough to sneak the ink in given todays climate.

[corniche]

Its a really nice ink. I remember the furor when Pelikan took the stuff off the us market. A lot of people miss it. Its not a proper IG ink though. There really isnt enough IG in it to be an issue if you practice good pen hygiene. I use it all the time with both gold and steel nibs without issue. I still have 6 bottles left that i bought in Germany way back when. Im set for a while, but i wish it were available here in the states.

Lately trade wars, customs and shipping delays are making a mess of getting stuff from the overseas. I just got some pen parts from The Netherlands. One was stuck for 4 weeks in Dutch customs and arrived with Seven pages of custom forms. I noticed on one of the customs forms it specifically asks if there are any chemicals prohibited by the us. I think it would be tough to sneak the ink in given todays climate.

Hi Old Salt, Everyone,

 

I got my latest bottle around 1.5 years ago from Japan via Amazon.

 

 

If you want an easy customs experience; buy from Japan. Germany, the Netherlands, etc., have a lot of "terrorist cell" activity; so packages from those countries will come under closer scrutiny. But from Japan, which has very little terrorist activity, packages always come through like lightning... at least for me they do.

 

That said, because Endless Pens, (NO AFFILIATION), has operations both here AND in the Philippines, IIRC; they seem to be able to circumvent it... you can preorder it now, (Don't forget the preorder discount code ):

 

https://endlesspens.com/products/pelikan-4001-ink-bottle

 

 

Sean

[Anderglan]

I'm curious what your experiences are regarding fading?

 

Just a couple of days ago I found a package of (I think) wellstored iron gall Pelikan 4001 Blue Black cartridges that have been bought three or four years ago, and despite they have never been exposed sunlight, the ink is completely grey... (...but of course I have no idea how long they've been at the stationer's, maybe a decade or even longer; there's no "www.pelikan.com" on the package).

[bokaba]

Hi Old Salt, Everyone,

 

I got my latest bottle around 1.5 years ago from Japan via Amazon.

 

 

If you want an easy customs experience; buy from Japan. Germany, the Netherlands, etc., have a lot of "terrorist cell" activity; so packages from those countries will come under closer scrutiny. But from Japan, which has very little terrorist activity, packages always come through like lightning... at least for me they do.

 

That said, because Endless Pens, (NO AFFILIATION), has operations both here AND in the Philippines, IIRC; they seem to be able to circumvent it... you can preorder it now, (Don't forget the preorder discount code ):

 

https://endlesspens.com/products/pelikan-4001-ink-bottle

 

 

Sean

 

This is the same box/bottle I have

[TSherbs]

It’s a really nice ink. I remember the furor when Pelikan took the stuff off the us market. A lot of people miss it. It’s not a “proper” IG ink though. There really isn’t enough IG in it to be an issue if you practice good pen hygiene. I use it all the time with both gold and steel nibs without issue. I still have 6 bottles left that i bought in Germany way back when. I’m set for a while, but i wish it were available here in the states.

Lately trade wars, customs and shipping delays are making a mess of getting stuff from the overseas. I just got some pen parts from The Netherlands. One was stuck for 4 weeks in Dutch customs and arrived with Seven pages of custom forms. I noticed on one of the customs forms it specifically asks if there are any chemicals prohibited by the us. I think it would be tough to sneak the ink in given todays climate.

 

 

We'll see. I just pulled the trigger on a bottle from amazon.de. Very affordable. At that price, I have to try it. I like 4001 RB so much that I had to try this, too. I'll see how long it takes to get here. The posted expected delivery date is Feb 28. (I'm in the USA).

[bokaba]

Is there a way to tell the difference between European bottles and American bottles?

[corniche]

This is the same box/bottle I have

Hi Bokaba,

 

Yes, I got that from a Japanese dealer, (IIRC), via Amazon about 18 months ago.

 

 

 

Is there a way to tell the difference between European bottles and American bottles?

There are no American bottles; it's been banned here since 2011. Even prior to that, IIRC, Pelikan has used bilingual, "international/EU packaging," (as shown above), for quite a long time.

 

 

Sean

[bokaba]

Thanks for clearing that up corniche. There has been a lot of talk about only European bottles containing iron gall and not those supposedly distributed in America (if any).

[corniche]

Thanks for clearing that up corniche. There has been a lot of talk about only European bottles containing iron gall and not those supposedly distributed in America (if any).

You're welcome, Bokaba. From what I've always understood, Pelikan Blue-Black has always contained a dash of iron gall no matter where it is sold.

 

The iron gall is not the reason it was banned here, (there are quite a few other IG inks around that are still legal here). I think it might be the dyes used that pose a threat, (because its probably only the dyes that differentiate it from the rest of the 4001 line; which remains legal for import),... but only if you drink a gallon per day for 30 years.

 

Sean

[Erik Dalton]

Do you guys (and women) remember years ago when there appears to be two different versions of this ink. One a deep blue the other dries to gray. I got some of the gray stuff in cartridge and bottle. Hated it. Then i got the German version of the ink and it was back to nicely saturated dark blue ink.

I did not know then and still have no idea how to tell which ink will be gray and which will be dark blue. I just happened to be over there at the time so I stocked up.

Does anybody have the answer to this riddle?

[bokaba]

Do you guys (and women) remember years ago when there appears to be two different versions of this ink. One a deep blue the other dries to gray. I got some of the gray stuff in cartridge and bottle. Hated it. Then i got the German version of the ink and it was back to nicely saturated dark blue ink.

I did not know then and still have no idea how to tell which ink will be gray and which will be dark blue. I just happened to be over there at the time so I stocked up.

Does anybody have the answer to this riddle?

 

From what I recall, Pelikan put out a notice a while back stating that some bottles and cartridges manufactured in certain years were defective because the dye components separated causing the ink to be a gray/purple color. The dark blue/gray is the correct color.

[corniche]

Do you guys (and women) remember years ago when there appears to be two different versions of this ink. One a deep blue the other dries to gray. I got some of the gray stuff in cartridge and bottle. Hated it. Then i got the German version of the ink and it was back to nicely saturated dark blue ink.

I did not know then and still have no idea how to tell which ink will be gray and which will be dark blue. I just happened to be over there at the time so I stocked up.

Does anybody have the answer to this riddle?

 

 

From what I recall, Pelikan put out a notice a while back stating that some bottles and cartridges manufactured in certain years were defective because the dye components separated causing the ink to be a gray/purple color. The dark blue/gray is the correct color.

Hi Everyone,

 

Actually, this seems to be an ongoing issue with this ink; apparently the dyes used in it, (which I believe are the reason for its ban here), don't age gracefully:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/309731-pelikan-4001-blueblack-not-writing-as-it-should/

 

 

Sean

[Erik Dalton]

Corniche: “apparently the dyes used in it, (which I believe are the reason for its ban here), don't age gracefully:”

 

Yea, I’m having that problem myself these days as well.