Pelikan Mix Issues

[Idipbananasintocoffee]

So I ventured into ink mixing, I mixed Pelikan Brilliant Red with Brilliant Black in 5:1 ratio, and now I have some weird particles on the surface, and since I'm paranoid, I worry it's mould... Anyone knows what it could be? For some reason, the Red has had a weird (bad) smell ever since I bought it, but I've had no issues whatsoever with it in months it's been with me.

[DasKaltblut]

How long did the mix sit until it developed particles? Mold doesn't just appear instantly. You could be witnessing a chemical reaction.

[Idipbananasintocoffee]

I let it sit for a day, and noticed when I got home from work, so about 24 hours. I also don't think it's mold, since there's none of it in any of the two inks I used for the mix. Is it possible that the colours just didn't mix thoroughly? I put some ink in a cheap Jinhao a few hours after mixing and I saw some sort of sedimentation yesterday (again within 24h). I disposed of the ink from the pen, but the mixture is still with me, since I want to see what happens next. At the moment, some particles are still there. I shook the bottle and am waiting to see if that helps mixing the colours...

[DasKaltblut]

I hate to say it, and maybe someone with more in mixing experience can chime in, but that sounds like a chemical reaction to me. That particular mixture just might not be a good idea.

[ErrantSmudge]

Go check out the “ink mixes that didn’t work” thread. I just read in there (near end of thread) about someone having the same problem mixing Pelikan Blue with Pelikan Black. Pelikan Black is the common culprit; maybe it doesn’t mix nicely with other Pelikan inks.

[LanceSaintPaul]

I had success mixing 4001 Dark Green with 4001 Brilliant Black in 2.5 - 3:1 Green: Black ratios in the last 3 months or so...haven't used it for a few weeks so I just looked at the remainder I have saved in a nalgene bottle & it looks just fine. That's my limited data point.

[Brandywine]

Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black is a very peculiar ink!

It does have "weird particles" from the start on. So does Brilliant Red.

Maybe that is the "brilliant" side of them?

The particles are not a result of the mixture, they will show up anyway.

These two inks are known for this effect.

 

I tried Brilliant Black in school to have something else than the usual Royal Blue (Pelikan 4001, of course).

It soon clogged my pen and around the nib this shimmering greenish residue showed up

(like the shimmering colour of the big flies you find on dung heaps)

I soon switched back to the ordinary boring blue.

Blue, black, green and red (almost always by Pelikan) were the only inks available in that time

and red and green were reserved for teachers.

(Montblanc did exist, but the price was unthinkable)

 

Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black is a rather old ink that has its origins in times when pens still were dipped.

The inks of the 4001 line are completely different and Pelikan warns that they should not be mixed.

 

Somewhere else I have read informations on the acidity of the 4001 inks and

the black was almost basic whereas the rest were rather sour, all of them were different,

with the blue and the black on the opposite ends of the list!

And NO: The Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black ist NOT a mixture of Blue and Black but a completely unique mixture

that even contains a little amount of iron gall.

[amberleadavis]

My Pelikan inks were the first to break down in the bottle. They didn't fade, they just had particles and started clogging pens. It's something about their composition.