How Dry Is Pelikan 4001 Blue Black?

[bokaba]

How dry is Pelikan Blue Black? Has anyone tried it in a Japanese fine?

[corniche]

Hi Bokaba,

 

I bought a bottle years ago when it was banned in the U.S., just to have one. I only used it once or twice - its pretty dry. But I think Lamy b/b is a little dryer.

 

Sean

 

ETA: I don't remember what pens I used it in, but I don't have any Japanese fines.

Edited February 8, 2020 by corniche

[The Good Captain]

I haven't a Japanese F pen at all but the 4001 is on the dry side, to accommodate the wet Pelikan nibs. My favourite ink.

[grmbrk]

I have only used cartridges, and it didnt even rn at all in my Faber Castell Basic. And when it did it ran dry after a while (the feed was empty).

 

I like the color but I dont recommend it, at least the cartridge version, Maybe in a convertor it runs better due to a bigger diametre.

[JulieParadise]

I cannot remember that I had it in a Japanese fine, but this ink is rather dry and I'd guess only fun in a wet & juicy nib, e.g. a Pelikan, which I used it with.

 

Maybe you are better off with Lamy Blue Black or Sailor Sou-Boku which I both successfully used in fine or FA nibs, Pelikan Edelstein Tanzanite or other inks with a similar colour.

[awa54]

Pilot shin-kai is a similar color to the Pelikan blue-black, at least similar to what Pel B-B looks like for the first ten minutes after it's layed down on the page, after that the Pelikan keeps getting darker until it's almost black... Shin-kai is only somewhat water resistant, but it works very well in Japanese fine and extra fine nibs, I've used it in several Pilots ranging from early 1960s through late 1970s and a mid 1980s Platinum, all with excellent results.

 

While I *do* own a bottle of Pel B-B, I haven't inked up any Japanese pens with it yet. I can say though, that R&K salix is quite lackluster in the Platinum I filled with it... that same pen (its "broad" nib is really a western fine-medium) is super smooth and a moderately wet writer with most inks, it started hard and felt chalky on the page with the salix.

[corniche]

While I *do* own a bottle of Pel B-B, I haven't inked up any Japanese pens with it yet. I can say though, that R&K salix is quite lackluster in the Platinum I filled with it... that same pen (its "broad" nib is really a western fine-medium) is super smooth and a moderately wet writer with most inks, it started hard and felt chalky on the page with the salix.

Hi Awa54,

 

Thanks for this; I've been thinking about Salix... I think I'll stop thinking about it.

 

 

Sean ⚜

[bokaba]

Hi Awa54,

 

Thanks for this; I've been thinking about Salix... I think I'll stop thinking about it.

 

 

Sean ⚜

 

I had the same problem with Salix in a M italic. I added the tiniest drop of detergent and it turned into a gusher.

[corniche]

I had the same problem with Salix in a M italic. I added the tiniest drop of detergent and it turned into a gusher.

Hi Bokaba,

 

Yes, Dawn dish soap (or the like) is often recommended and works well, (perhaps too well ). I have a bottle of FotoFlo; which is even better suited - I'm just tired of making every new ink purchase a "fixer-upper."

 

Thank you, though, for taking the time to share your advice.

 

Sean ⚜

[A Smug Dill]

How dry is Pelikan Blue Black? Has anyone tried it in a Japanese fine?

How do you want to objectively measure and express the degree of "how dry"?

1. I have a bottle of Pelikan 4001 Blue/Black ink.
2. I have several dozen Sailor, Pilot and Platinum pens fitted with gold Fine nibs.
3. I'd be happy to fill one of those pens (with a "Japanese fine" nib) of my choice — practically, one which is not currently filled with ink and deployed — with Pelikan 4001 Blue/Black ink and do some testing to help answer the question posed, once and for all for all interested parties, but I don't know how to objectively test the ink's "dryness".
4. What I will not do, however, is compare Pelikan 4001 Blue/Black against any other ink, much less a bunch of different inks. Even if it is demonstrably "drier" than, say, Sailor (né Jentle) Blue Black ink, there are practically infinite degrees by which it can be "drier", and thus from my perspective, does not answer the question of "how dry".

[nibtip]

I used to own 3 Sailor king of pen with medium nib. All three were top notch. All three had different ink flow.

As often with japanese pens, they all behaved very well with Pelikan BB, given a decent paper.

Edited February 9, 2020 by nibtip

[aurore]

A Smug Dill summarized it better than perfectly (as always).

 

Not sure what answer you were actually seeking. Will it write? Yes, it will write with almost any pen, but do not expect a lubricated feeling (at all) nor a saturated colour - rather expect a dry feeling and a dull greyish shade (except probably Pilot 74/742/743 SF). If you are OK with such writing experience - do not hesitate.

Btw as for Pilot 743 SF - if one gets an ebonite feed with 2-3 channels (for a heavy flow), it will write with any ink really wet.

[nibtip]

Tomoe

Muji

[TheDutchGuy]

In my personal experience, P4001 BB is one of the driest inks (if not the driest) that I know. In modern pens, that is. As mentioned by Dill, you can’t really express it objectively, i.e. in numbers. But whenever I put P4001 BB in a modern pen, its flow and wetness decrease noticeably and the feedback of the nib increases. I’ve found that P4001 BB is best used in pens with a good cap seal, to prevent the ink from drying on the nib.

 

When used in vintage pens with ebonite feeds, the difference is much less noticeable because these pens are often very wet.

 

Some further points regarding this curious ink:

• the mother of all reviews can be found here.
• over time, I gradually discovered that I cannot distinguish P4001 BB from iroshizuku shin-kai, at least not visually. When I see reviews of shin-kai, such as this one, what I see is indistinguishable from P4001BB. Including the remarkable colour change from blue to almost grey that happens within 30 seconds of the ink getting on the page. The only difference (that I’ve noticed) is that shin-kai is wetter.
• the previous point allows me to put shin-kai in dry pens and P4001 in wet pens

[lgsoltek]

 

How do you want to objectively measure and express the degree of "how dry"?

1. I have a bottle of Pelikan 4001 Blue/Black ink.
2. I have several dozen Sailor, Pilot and Platinum pens fitted with gold Fine nibs.
3. I'd be happy to fill one of those pens (with a "Japanese fine" nib) of my choice — practically, one which is not currently filled with ink and deployed — with Pelikan 4001 Blue/Black ink and do some testing to help answer the question posed, once and for all for all interested parties, but I don't know how to objectively test the ink's "dryness".
4. What I will not do, however, is compare Pelikan 4001 Blue/Black against any other ink, much less a bunch of different inks. Even if it is demonstrably "drier" than, say, Sailor (né Jentle) Blue Black ink, there are practically infinite degrees by which it can be "drier", and thus from my perspective, does not answer the question of "how dry".

 

 

i guess measuring dryness is kind of like rating pain from 0 to 10...

[nibtip]

Pelikan BB is not that dry.

See for yourself on the picture bellow captured in an outdoor bright rainy day light.

Written with a relatively dry pen a pilot CH92 M nib

What is dry? An ink that puts less ink on the paper or/and a pen with the same attributes.

If a nib drags it is more paper quality than anything else.

Lubrication too.

Edited March 10, 2020 by nibtip

[nibtip]

Here is another comparison.

Edited March 10, 2020 by nibtip

[A Smug Dill]

What is dry? An ink that puts less ink on the paper or/and a pen with the same attributes.

That is only drier, but not necessarily dry, and certainly does not answer the question of how dry.

 

Even if the O.P. were to help himself (or herself?) and nominate two different inks A and B that he already has, as a crude frame of reference, and by chance one happens to be drier, while the other happens to be wetter, than ink C (namely Pelikan 4001 Blue/Black, in this case), it still doesn't pinpoint how dry ink C is, and that answer has even less value for other readers. The range [A,B] is not necessarily sufficiently narrow; and then, if the "wetness" or "dryness" (c.f. "how dry") of ink C is the value of function f(C), f(C)=f(A)+0.1(f(( -f(A)) and f(C)=f(A)+0.7(f(( -f(A)) would be completely different answers to the question of how dry, even though both would satisfy f(A)f(C)f(( .

 

Edit: Damn emoticons and automatic substitutions!

Edited March 10, 2020 by A Smug Dill

[lapis]

In my personal experience, P4001 BB is one of the driest inks (if not the driest) that I know....

D's Registrars -- whether or not it has more IG than P's 4001 -- is much drier.

[dhanks]

I have found the legendary dryness of Pelikan 4001 blue-black ink to be overstated. I use it regularly and do not find it to be unusually dry. In fact, it is my favorite ink, with very good properties and a nice color and good water resistance. Old Lamy IG blue-black WAS unusually dry.

 

Rumpole