EFNIR: Pelikan 4001 Blue Black

[LizEF]

Extra Fine Nib Ink Review: Pelikan 4001 Blue Black

This is review #130 in my series.  Here's the YouTube video:

Post-recording notes: Cleaning was quick and easy. The color in the zoom image is pretty close, but the ink may not be quite that dark.  The scan is also very close (no idea what's up with the odd coloring all over the page).  For some reason, the video, and therefore the screen capture, did not pick up the color at all.

And here is a screen of the final result, for those not interested in the video:

Scan of Completed Review:

Zoomed in photo:

Absorbent Paper Closeup (top is puzzle paper like thick newsprint, bottom is old 20lb copy paper):

Images also available on Instagram: @zilxodarap

Previous Review: Sailor Shikiori Chushu.

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Need to catch up on The Adventures of Quin and Makhabesh?  Find the whole story here.

Hope you enjoy.  Comments appreciated!

[A Smug Dill]

Thanks for the review!

 

“… this ink is supposed to have water resistance …" Yes, it does.

[LizEF]

23 minutes ago, A Smug Dill said:

Thanks for the review!

 

“… this ink is supposed to have water resistance …" Yes, it does.

You're very welcome!

 

  Nice.  Thanks for the more thorough test!

[Sailor Kenshin]

Nice review, thanks!  

 

I bought a big bottle of this ink for $5, back when it was an iron gall formula and I had not yet learned to fear the IG.  Now I have a smaller, new formula bottle.  The new color may be slightly different, but not enough to make a big deal of it.  

[namrehsnoom]

Thank you for this review. Overall, I find the Pelikan 4001 line a bit too basic. It’s fountain pen ink, but nothing to get excited about. But I make an exception for this blue-grey, that I find quite appealing. I typically use this ink in cartridges, not from the bottle, and I keep some cart’s in my desk drawer at work. Ideal for use in my EDC Kaweco Lilliput or Sport pens. 

I like this 4001 blue-black a lot better than the Royal Blue. I must have 5 or more of these Royal Blue bottles by now… For some reason, when Pelikan adds a bottle of ink to an LE pen, it’s always the Royal Blue, even if another 4001 colour would be a better match for the pen (only exception are the M200 pens that match the Edelstein Ink of the Year, and come with the corresponding ink). I would love it when Pelikan would swap that Royal Blue for this more appealing Blue-Black… alas, keep on dreaming I guess ;-(

[A Smug Dill]

2 minutes ago, namrehsnoom said:

For some reason, when Pelikan adds a bottle of ink to an LE pen, it’s always the Royal Blue, even if another 4001 colour would be a better match for the pen

 

What would be the point of that, though? Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue is not iron-gall, considered safer, and easier to clean out of the pen; so, for the simplistic purpose of allowing the pen to be ready to write with just what is included in its retail package, it more than competently ticks the box. If the customer is dissatisfied that the ink does not better match the pen in colour, then (the cynic in me would argue) so much the better, because he/she will then be motivated to spend more money (possibly with Pelikan) to buy a supposedly better matching ink.

 

I actually find it strange that Platinum more often than not include its Blue-Black (iron-gall) ink cartridges with new pens, other than for the fact that the brand does not have a ‘standard’ blue ink when just about all other brands do; Platinum Blue-Black is its ‘standard’ blue ink and that's that. (Platinum does have Light Blue ink cartridges, and two blue inks available in bottles in the Platinum Mixable Ink product line which isn't considered part of the ‘standard’ ink product line-up.)

[Sailor Kenshin]

21 minutes ago, namrehsnoom said:

Thank you for this review. Overall, I find the Pelikan 4001 line a bit too basic. It’s fountain pen ink, but nothing to get excited about. But I make an exception for this blue-grey, that I find quite appealing. I typically use this ink in cartridges, not from the bottle, and I keep some cart’s in my desk drawer at work. Ideal for use in my EDC Kaweco Lilliput or Sport pens. 

I like this 4001 blue-black a lot better than the Royal Blue. I must have 5 or more of these Royal Blue bottles by now… For some reason, when Pelikan adds a bottle of ink to an LE pen, it’s always the Royal Blue, even if another 4001 colour would be a better match for the pen (only exception are the M200 pens that match the Edelstein Ink of the Year, and come with the corresponding ink). I would love it when Pelikan would swap that Royal Blue for this more appealing Blue-Black… alas, keep on dreaming I guess ;-(

 

 

I don't mind, having just bought the LE M 120....and I didn't have a bottle of the Königsblau.  😜

[LizEF]

47 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Nice review, thanks!

You're welcome.

 

48 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

I bought a big bottle of this ink for $5, back when it was an iron gall formula and I had not yet learned to fear the IG.  Now I have a smaller, new formula bottle.  The new color may be slightly different, but not enough to make a big deal of it.

Thanks for the additional info!  These 4001 inks certainly are affordable.  I don't know whether this is the new or old version ( @A Smug Dill will have to tell us).  I assume the new.

[LizEF]

43 minutes ago, namrehsnoom said:

Thank you for this review.

You're welcome!

 

46 minutes ago, namrehsnoom said:

Overall, I find the Pelikan 4001 line a bit too basic. It’s fountain pen ink, but nothing to get excited about. But I make an exception for this blue-grey, that I find quite appealing.

Some colors are just plain right, even if they're "common".

 

47 minutes ago, namrehsnoom said:

I like this 4001 blue-black a lot better than the Royal Blue.

Royal Blue is way, way too ordinary a blue for me.  Too much like non-FPs.

 

48 minutes ago, namrehsnoom said:

For some reason, when Pelikan adds a bottle of ink to an LE pen, it’s always the Royal Blue, even if another 4001 colour would be a better match for the pen (only exception are the M200 pens that match the Edelstein Ink of the Year, and come with the corresponding ink). I would love it when Pelikan would swap that Royal Blue for this more appealing Blue-Black… alas, keep on dreaming I guess ;-(

Right!  It's always black or ballpoint blue!  Why can't they either let us choose, or include something interesting?  Perhaps we should start a letter-writing campaign!

[A Smug Dill]

1 minute ago, LizEF said:

I don't know whether this is the new or old version ( @A Smug Dill will have to tell us).

 

@LizEF's sample was taken from my bottle that was purchased from Cult Pens in August 2019. Writing done in this ink turns yellow when treated with diluted household bleach, so I'd be inclined to conclude this is an iron-gall ink.

 

I do have an old bottle of Pelikan 4001 Blue/Black from who-knows-when, but easily over a decade old, and it has lost much of its blueness compared to the newer bottle. I did not send Liz a sample of that.

[LizEF]

39 minutes ago, A Smug Dill said:

If the customer is dissatisfied that the ink does not better match the pen in colour, then (the cynic in me would argue) so much the better, because he/she will then be motivated to spend more money (possibly with Pelikan) to buy a supposedly better matching ink.

Oh!  Those scheming weasels!

[LizEF]

3 minutes ago, A Smug Dill said:

@LizEF's sample was taken from my bottle that was purchased from Cult Pens in August 2019. Writing done in this ink turns yellow when treated with diluted household bleach, so I'd be inclined to conclude this is an iron-gall ink.

 

I do have an old bottle of Pelikan 4001 Blue/Black from who-knows-when, but easily over a decade old, and it has lost much of its blueness compared to the newer bottle. I did not send Liz a sample of that.

Thanks for the confirmation!

[Tas]

I used to slate this ink and never understood its charms . . . until I realised my bottle was a duffer. Bought a new bottle 🥰 and now always have one pen inked up with it. SO good.

Thanks again for another excellent review. 🙂

 

[LizEF]

32 minutes ago, Tas said:

I used to slate this ink and never understood its charms . . . until I realised my bottle was a duffer. Bought a new bottle 🥰 and now always have one pen inked up with it. SO good.

Bummer on the duffer.  Glad you didn't give up.  My Sailor Souboku was underwhelming until I tried shaking the bottle up.  After that, all was well (and no, I haven't ever needed to agitate the pen - strange, but a happy outcome).

 

33 minutes ago, Tas said:

Thanks again for another excellent review. 🙂

You're most welcome!  And thanks!

[gyasko]

7 hours ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Nice review, thanks!  

 

I bought a big bottle of this ink for $5, back when it was an iron gall formula and I had not yet learned to fear the IG.  Now I have a smaller, new formula bottle.  The new color may be slightly different, but not enough to make a big deal of it.  

 

It still is iron gall. 

[mizgeorge]

Thank you @LizEF - another great review - you're on such a roll right now!!

 

I have mixed feelings about the 4001 range - I actually like the königsblau, and always have some around as a test ink (but I guess that's as much about nostalgia as anything else), I also use the black for testing, especially for very old pens that I need a dryer ink for. This one, however, I really like. I like the colour, find the behaviour very reliable and love the shading. We all need a few safe inks in the stable, and this is definitely one of mine. It probably takes me about three years to get through a bottle, but I can't see myself ever not repurchasing when it runs out. I also quite like the turquoise and don't mind the brown, but I can't remember the last time I used the other colours, and really should dig them out to use for something else, as I'm not convinced I'm likely to write with them again.

 

It's nice to see some of these old faithfuls reviewed like this - not just to remind us why we had them in the first place, but also because they tend to take such a back seat to some of the more fashionable choices.

[LizEF]

45 minutes ago, mizgeorge said:

Thank you @LizEF - another great review - you're on such a roll right now!!

You're welcome!  Thank you!  And it's not my fault - blame the voters.

 

47 minutes ago, mizgeorge said:

It's nice to see some of these old faithfuls reviewed like this - not just to remind us why we had them in the first place, but also because they tend to take such a back seat to some of the more fashionable choices.

  Can't let any good ink go neglected, despite all the shiny distractions!

[A Smug Dill]

9 hours ago, Tas said:

I used to slate this ink and never understood its charms . . . until I realised my bottle was a duffer. Bought a new bottle

 

Same here. Furthermore, I'm a fan of Lamy Benitoite, so much so that I have three bottles of that bought when not extraordinarily discounted; and, with the newer bottle, I was surprised as to how close it is to Lamy Benitoite in almost all respects except when treated with bleach. Given that Pelikan 4001 Blue/Black is significantly cheaper, I don't expect I'll be buying any more Lamy Benitoite this decade.

[IlikeInksandIcannotlie]

22 minutes ago, A Smug Dill said:

 

Same here. Furthermore, I'm a fan of Lamy Benitoite, so much so that I have three bottles of that bought when not extraordinarily discounted; and, with the newer bottle, I was surprised as to how close it is to Lamy Benitoite in almost all respects except when treated with bleach. Given that Pelikan 4001 Blue/Black is significantly cheaper, I don't expect I'll be buying any more Lamy Benitoite this decade.

Erm,does Benitoite become grey-black after a while? I did ask elsewhere, but I haven't gotten any replies. Pelikan B/B does become grey with time, and I find I don't like that.

[A Smug Dill]

3 minutes ago, IlikeInksandIcannotlie said:

Erm,does Benitoite become grey-black after a while?

 

I can't tell you that, sorry; and it shouldn't be up to me to tell you that, when you can get yourself a bottle of Benitoite, write something completely unimportant to you as a test aside from your proper work notes or journal entries, and then decide whether the ink meets your particular requirements after sufficient time has passed.

 

I started what was intended to be a year-long study on the ageing of writing done by all the iron-gall inks I had — and included Lamy Benitoite because I'm not sure whether it is secretly iron-gall, on account of how similar it is to Pelikan 4001 Blue/Black, adding entries in a log book every single week written with the sixteen pens dedicated to the experiment. However, several weeks into the study, (i) I found it tedious and got bored, and (ii) observations thus far told me I'll be disappointed with the quality of the end results; but more importantly (iii) I realised the premise and set-up were fatally flawed, and so I stopped the project and discarded the artefacts.

 

So you really need to carefully consider what you want to know and design your experiment accordingly. I couldn't even get it right (first time around, anyway) for my own purposes, so I wouldn't want to advise others on the basis of my ‘findings’ from a flawed set-up.