EFNIR: Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black

[LizEF]

Extra Fine Nib Ink Review: Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black

This is review #172 in my series.  Here's the YouTube video:

Post-recording notes: Cleaning was quick and easy.  I can't explain why the 15 second mark smudged a little but nothing between it and the 4 second mark did...  Meanwhile, the ink is black and looks black in the images...

The line width measurement is one of the lines used for dry time.  Magnification is 100x.  The grid is 100x100µm.  The scale is 330µm, with eleven divisions of 30µm each.  The line width for this ink is roughly 300µm.  Guess I was wrong about this being a finer line.

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):

Line width measured via microscope at 100x:

Water test results:

Microscope slide at 100x:

Images also available on Instagram: @zilxodarap.

Previous Review: Lamy Black.

Want to influence the inky sequence?  Take the "next ink" poll.

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

Hope you enjoy.  Comments appreciated!

[dhanks]

Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black has been my favorite for years.  Dark enough for me, good ink properties, good water resistance, and inexpensive (relatively, anyway--all ink is way overpriced).

 

Rumpole

[LizEF]

1 minute ago, dhanks said:

Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black has been my favorite for years.  Dark enough for me, good ink properties, good water resistance, and inexpensive (relatively, anyway--all ink is way overpriced).

 

Rumpole

Thanks, Rumpole!  Perfect description - it would be a really good "workhorse" ink - for those who use black ink.

[A Smug Dill]

Thanks for another review! 👍

 

1 hour ago, LizEF said:

Guess I was wrong about this being a finer line.

 

I'm actually surprised you got a finer line from Sailor (Jentle) Black than from Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black.

 

Apart from the cheap price per millilitre (and availability in a 1-litre bottle on Amazon; Cult Pens, etc. won't deliver that product internationally to me), the thing I like most about this ink is its distinct smell. Reminds me of sumi ink I had to use as a schoolboy being forced to practise (Chinese) calligraphy with brushes. I hated it back then, but now I feel differently, especially since it is attached to using fountain pens (and mostly writing in English) instead.

 

[dhanks]

Just now, LizEF said:

Thanks, Rumpole!  Perfect description - it would be a really good "workhorse" ink - for those who use black ink.

Of course (as the young people say instead of "You're welcome")!  And thank you for these great ink reviews.  There are quite a few of us who appreciate them and look forward to new ones.  You have an audience.

 

Rumpole

[yazeh]

Great job, Liz

This is a really nice shiny black, I'm glad that the water resistance is so, so.

I had a nice laugh, trying to imagine a winged Makhabesh trotting on two hind legs/ paws. Does he have 2 legs and wings, like a bird or is he more like a Pegasus?

[LizEF]

16 minutes ago, A Smug Dill said:

Thanks for another review! 👍

You're most welcome!

 

16 minutes ago, A Smug Dill said:

I'm actually surprised you got a finer line from Sailor (Jentle) Black than from Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black.

I'm finding line width is a complicated thing and therefore not something I can predict (yet?).

 

18 minutes ago, A Smug Dill said:

Apart from the cheap price per millilitre (and availability in a 1-litre bottle on Amazon; Cult Pens, etc. won't deliver that product internationally to me), the thing I like most about this ink is its distinct smell. Reminds me of sumi ink I had to use as a schoolboy being forced to practise (Chinese) calligraphy with brushes. I hate it back then, but now I feel differently, especially since it is attached to using fountain pens (and mostly writing in English) instead.

I don't remember the scent, but then, it would have to be strong and unusual before I did.  Interesting how our perception changes over time.

[LizEF]

21 minutes ago, dhanks said:

And thank you for these great ink reviews.  There are quite a few of us who appreciate them and look forward to new ones.  You have an audience.

You're very welcome!    Very pleased to have an audience.  Even more pleased to have "conversations" with them.  It's nice to get little views into other folks' lives through ink use / opinions.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Yup, it's blackity.  This is another ink I have, along with the Lamy.  I bought it specifically for my Pelikan piston pens, and one other piston gusher, where no other ink will do.

 

Thanks again for another great review.  Are we having fried mushrooms for lunch?

[LizEF]

22 minutes ago, yazeh said:

Great job, Liz

Thanks!

 

22 minutes ago, yazeh said:

This is a really nice shiny black, I'm glad that the water resistance is so, so.

If I were more ambitious, I might pursue the question of what makes some inks look shiny (separate from sheen) and others matte, but I've got too many other things I'm more interested in!   I understand the appeal of shiny, though - people sometimes ask for what inks are.  I'll have to try to remember this is one of those.

 

24 minutes ago, yazeh said:

I had a nice laugh, trying to imagine a winged Makhabesh trotting on two hind legs/ paws. Does he have 2 legs and wings, like a bird or is he more like a Pegasus?

A wingèd cat (perhaps a bit more like a lion cub, with larger, stronger limbs than a cat, proportionally, but roughly the size of a house cat) with wings and a somewhat humanoid face.  At least, that's how I imagine him.  So he was trotting on all fours.  (Why does that idiom pluralize "four" - seems bizarre.)

[LizEF]

3 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Yup, it's blackity.  This is another ink I have, along with the Lamy.  I bought it specifically for my Pelikan piston pens, and one other piston gusher, where no other ink will do.

It would be good for that.  The Lamy would be too wet, I think - or at least dry too slowly for use in a wet pen.

 

3 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Thanks again for another great review.

You're very welcome!

 

1 minute ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Are we having fried mushrooms for lunch?

Read and find out!

[yazeh]

10 minutes ago, LizEF said:

If I were more ambitious, I might pursue the question of what makes some inks look shiny (separate from sheen) and others matte, but I've got too many other things I'm more interested in!   I understand the appeal of shiny, though - people sometimes ask for what inks are.  I'll have to try to remember this is one of those.

Often times people are asking for the blackest black. I guess shiny looks "blacker" than matte. At least in my view. 

10 minutes ago, LizEF said:

 

A wingèd cat (perhaps a bit more like a lion cub, with larger, stronger limbs than a cat, proportionally, but roughly the size of a house cat) with wings and a somewhat humanoid face.  At least, that's how I imagine him.  So he was trotting on all fours.  (Why does that idiom pluralize "four" - seems bizarre.)

So it's basically it's cat/Lion cub with wings. Humanoid face? Haha! I don't know why, but I'm reminded of the cat episode in Bewitched

 

[LizEF]

11 minutes ago, yazeh said:

Often times people are asking for the blackest black. I guess shiny looks "blacker" than matte. At least in my view. 

I've seen folks ask for an ink that looks like gel or ballpoint ink, and when we got down to it, the look they wanted was shiny.

 

15 minutes ago, yazeh said:

So it's basically it's cat/Lion cub with wings. Humanoid face? Haha! I don't know why, but I'm reminded of the cat episode in Bewitched

[mizgeorge]

Thanks as always @LizEF - great review.

 

This is  workhorse ink. I have a bottle around for old pens that are a bit too wet for my preferred testing inks and have always found it consistent and reliable, as well as being great value. It's one I recommend for anyone looking for a basic black ink, especially for a piston filler.

[bunnspecial]

Thanks as always for a great review.

 

I'm not a black ink guy, but this is an ink that has a soft spot for me because it actually was the first bottled ink I bought(back when I thought I was a black ink guy).

 

After kind of forgetting about it and then using several other blacks sporadically and never being quite happy, I "rediscovered" this one a few months ago.

 

So many of the basic blacks I've found are kind of washed out. Pelikan is just there-it's a nice dark line on the paper, but still well behaved and as you say inexpensive.

[Sailor Kenshin]

3 hours ago, LizEF said:

Thanks!

 

If I were more ambitious, I might pursue the question of what makes some inks look shiny (separate from sheen) and others matte, but I've got too many other things I'm more interested in!   I understand the appeal of shiny, though - people sometimes ask for what inks are.  I'll have to try to remember this is one of those.

 

A wingèd cat (perhaps a bit more like a lion cub, with larger, stronger limbs than a cat, proportionally, but roughly the size of a house cat) with wings and a somewhat humanoid face.  At least, that's how I imagine him.  So he was trotting on all fours.  (Why does that idiom pluralize "four" - seems bizarre.)

Does he sport a Sphynx-like headdress?

[LizEF]

2 hours ago, mizgeorge said:

Thanks as always @LizEF - great review.

You're very welcome!  And thanks!

 

2 hours ago, mizgeorge said:

This is  workhorse ink. I have a bottle around for old pens that are a bit too wet for my preferred testing inks and have always found it consistent and reliable, as well as being great value. It's one I recommend for anyone looking for a basic black ink, especially for a piston filler.

Yep.  I think it's earned its reputation in that regard.

[LizEF]

2 hours ago, bunnspecial said:

Thanks as always for a great review.

You're welcome!  And thanks.

 

2 hours ago, bunnspecial said:

I'm not a black ink guy, but this is an ink that has a soft spot for me because it actually was the first bottled ink I bought(back when I thought I was a black ink guy).

 

After kind of forgetting about it and then using several other blacks sporadically and never being quite happy, I "rediscovered" this one a few months ago.

 

So many of the basic blacks I've found are kind of washed out. Pelikan is just there-it's a nice dark line on the paper, but still well behaved and as you say inexpensive.

  Thanks for sharing the longer experience.  Since I don't use black ink, it's nice to have someone who's at least used it more than me, and tried a variety and returned to this one.

[LizEF]

6 minutes ago, Sailor Kenshin said:

Does he sport a Sphynx-like headdress?

  Only on special occasions - but he didn't bring it with him when he left home.  He, er, forgot it, yeah, forgot... 😇

[Licue]

3 hours ago, yazeh said:

Often times people are asking for the blackest black. I guess shiny looks "blacker" than matte. At least in my view. 

But shouldn't it be the other way around? 🤔 

Black is the color that absorbs all light and reflects none (ideally). And matte is less reflective than shiny.

So shouldn't the blackest black be a matte black?

 

 

 

4 hours ago, LizEF said:

A wingèd cat (perhaps a bit more like a lion cub, with larger, stronger limbs than a cat, proportionally, but roughly the size of a house cat) with wings and a somewhat humanoid face.  At least, that's how I imagine him.  So he was trotting on all fours.  (Why does that idiom pluralize "four" - seems bizarre.)

My first thought was the little winged cats from Escher's Magic Mirror.

But they don't really have humanoid faces.