Brilliant Black - Pelikan 4001

[visvamitra]

The 4001 ink is a well-established brand by Pelikan from the very first beginning of the company. It was first mentioned in a price-list from 1897 and proved its worth within all the years. Ink 4001 was registered as a number only, during years there was plenty of colors on the market. However in recent years the line didn't change at all. Happily Pelikan decided to invest not only in Edelstein line but also in 4001 (much cheaper) line and introduced new ink (Dark Green) in january 2016. You may find it interesting that Pelikan 4001 are the only inks that can be bought practically in every B&M store in Poland.

At the moment the line consists of

1. Blue - Black
   
2. Brilliant Black
   
3. Brilliant Brown
   
4. Brilliant Green
   
5. Brilliant Red
   
6. Dark Green
   
7. Pink (cartridges only)
   
8. Royal Blue
   
9. Turquoise
   
10. Violet
    

I never liked Brilliant Black. First it's black. Second it feels dry and ins't very saturated.

Drops of ink on kitchen towel

Software ID

Tomoe River, Kaweco Classic Sport, B

Leuchtturm 1917, Kaweco Classic Sport, B

Comparison

[DustyR]

So are you saying you like it more now? True, it's not the most saturated black, but it's useful in an overly-wet pen.

[white_lotus]

I have to admit it's hard for me to tell the difference between some of the blacks in the comparison list.

[The Good Captain]

One of the only black inks I use on a regular basis. Great review as ever!

[amarjit]

I always wait for your review. Nice review as usual

[Safari_Camo]

Nice review.

Brilliant Black Pelikan always in my Black Safari F nib.

[Parker51]

I am at the end of a bottle of brilliant black and it doesn't seem to be black enough to me, more a dark charcoal with a hint of green when writing with a Montblanc 221 fine nib, so I switched to Royal blue, which is fine. Does anyone have any thoughts on why towards the end of the use of a bottle now this ink it would seem to get lighter in shade?

It also seems to be less irradecent and drier.

I may have inadvertently diluted it with the water remaining in a flushed pen that I thought I had emptied completely ( the 221) but which may have been partly filled with water.

Other than the characteristics I mentioned, the ink seems fine, nothing unusual in it, no unusual smells, dries quickly, still looks black in the bottle.

So, is this ink so far from being saturated that a perhaps 10 to 20% increase in water content could cause this?

[masterguns]

My go-to black ink has been 4001, which I find works great in my wetter pens. I do find, like Parker 51, that there are times when the ink seems less black than usual. In my limited and unscientific experience, it largely depends on the pen in which it is being used, as well as the type of paper I am using. In drier pens, it seems lighter on paper. In my gushers, its pretty dark. On Rhodia and other less-absorbent papers, its dark. On more absorbent paper, it tends to be lighter.

[lgsoltek]

When I started this hobby (read: addiction), it was with a Lamy Vista/Alstar and Briliant Black. At that time I had no idea inks and pens could be dry or wet, so this Lamy F and EF nib + Brilliant Black combo gave me a lot of headache. A dry ink paired up with a dry writing nib. It was just terrible. I tried widening the slit to make it work better though.

 

Luckily I wasn't frustrated by this first experience, and now that I've learnt much more about the characteristics of inks and nibs, I don't go back to Brilliant Black anymore. I'm a huge fan of wet inks and wet nibs. I don't mind them being so wet as to be dripping.

[Sooovasion247]

VisvaMitra, your reviews are simply amazing! Being an EF lover, I really want to try this. I have heard some good things of it being a dry ink, and that would be great for notetaking in my tiny handwriting! Unfortunately, I made a mistake choosing the wet PR Purple Mojo as my first ink.

[Diderot]

I have to admit it's hard for me to tell the difference between some of the blacks in the comparison list.

 

+1

 

Nice review though.

Edited February 26, 2016 by Diderot

[rudyhou]

thank you for sharing. i like that black inks comparison.

[wastelanded]

I use almost no black ink, but Pelikan and Montegrappa are the ones I have. I do have a soft spot for 4001, it's a nice old fashioned black (Montegrappa Nero is a lovely dark grey ink).

 

Another great review as always, thanks!

[Witsius]

This is a great ink. Brilliant Black, Montblanc Mystery Black, and Aurora Black are my favorite black inks.

[fplover01]

I have used 4001 Black extensively, works very nice in a wet pen with a broad nib. Lately, I am moving away from black inks, because of some signatures (people insist on a blue to "differentiate originals from copies") and blue black has slowly moved on top of my list. However when I need a black ink, 4001 is where I look to.

[Nibasaurus]

While not saturated, this ink gives writing an aged, vintage feel almost as soon as it dries.

[peanuts252]

Great review as always. Feels like it may serve best in a broad with heavy flow? As someone mentioned above, I do enjoy the slightly charcoal look it has. Not the most 'Brilliant' Black, but a solid ink nonetheless.

[mehandiratta]

Thank you for the review....

[TheDutchGuy]

I find P4001 brilliant black to be a great choice for needlepoint-type wet pens with line variation (whether subtle or full-flex). With minimal writing pressure, such pens produce extremely thin lines due to the dry-ish nature of this ink, whereas when the tines come apart the flow really increases and the ink turns into a nice, rich, classic, vintage-y black.

 

For modern pens, I prefer Sailor kiwaguro.