Pelikan M405 Stresemann- ink options

[Runnin_Ute]

Have a new to me M405 Stresemann on it's way. EF nib. Trying to figure out what ink to use. (or at least try out)

 

I don't as a general rule do the matchy matchy thing with ink color to barrel color like some people like to do, so I have the whole rainbow of color available to me. 

 

If you have this pen what inks do you use?

 

I have blues, greens, turquoise, purples, reds, 4001 blue black, browns, oranges/golds.

 

Brands I have:

Diamine, Edelstein/Pelikan, Lamy, Akkerman, Levenger, KWZI, Oster, Iroshizuku (Kon Peki), Birmingham among others....

[Misfit]

What dark blues do you have? I could see a gray ink, but I think you kind of ruled that out. Or a red ink might would be nice in your new pen. During winter, I tend to imagine red berries and gray or overcast skies. 

[Penguincollector]

  I prefer dry inks in my Pelikans, especially in a finer nib. Either Pelikan line, some Diamine, anything that shades nicely usually pairs well with them. 
 

  I’ve really been enjoying the chromashading inks as of late: Sailor, Troublemaker, Van Dieman’s, etc. They’re super dry and pair well with my wet German pens. Herbin inks can also be nice.

[Lithium466]

I have this pen (in white) and it sits uninked, unloved. Bad joke aside, it will depend on what kind of line you're expecting from the EF nib. Mine worked well with Diamine Sapphire and Aurora black, also well Pelikan 4001, but I really didn't use the pen much, and most of my experimentations were just dipped in a few inks.

 

I would second @Penguincollector's advice to try a chromoshading ink, I can see it being a good match. 

[Runnin_Ute]

Don't have any chromoshading inks. There is a pen club meet up on the 10th.  The pen will be sent today, so maybe I would have it by then and maybe someone would bring a chromoshader to try.

 

My anxiousness on this one is partly because it's my first modern Pelikan EF. I have a vintage EF in my 400NN, but it's likely to be different. I have another M400 (White Tortoise with a and an old style M600 18k 2 tone OB. Plus I have had a long term want for one of this variant ever since they were introduced. The EF unfortunately was all the vendor had.

 

 

[Runnin_Ute]

The pen arrived today, so I zipped home on my lunch hour (the office is only about 5 minutes away on days I have to go in. (2 days a week)) Today was one of those days. Thoughts included Akkerman Vorhout Violet, Pelikan 4001 Violet, Edelstein Star Ruby. I looked at a ziplock bag I have with some samples- mostly Edelstein inks from a previous years Pelikan Hub. Considered Moonstone - not enough for a fill. Aventurine was full enough. I had previously emptied a bottle and forgot I had this. Enough for two fills anyway. May need to get more. Or try something else....

[Penguincollector]

 We need pictures! That sounds like a gorgeous combination. 

[Misfit]

Pelikan Edelstein Aventurine is a great basic green ink. 

[Runnin_Ute]

On 1/5/2026 at 9:28 PM, Penguincollector said:

 We need pictures! That sounds like a gorgeous combination. 

Okay okay. I'll get something taken. 

[Mercian]

On 1/2/2026 at 4:42 AM, Runnin_Ute said:

Have a new to me M405 Stresemann on it's way. EF nib. Trying to figure out what ink to use. (or at least try out)...

 

...I have blues, greens, turquoise, purples, reds, 4001 blue black, browns, oranges/golds.

 

If you have not yet inked your Stresemann with Edelstein Aventurine, I would have advocated a fill of 4001 Blue-black.

 

The grey stripes on the pen exude gravitas, and so does 4001 Blue-black - so it would be (IMO) a totally appropriate combination 
(Plus, I personally prefer the darker Edelstein Olivine to the lighter Edelstein Aventurine, but that's just me.)

[InkyProf]

[zmija]

@InkyProf - Nice set. Looks sharp. I was also going to suggest the Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black.

[USG]

15 hours ago, InkyProf said:

 

13 hours ago, zmija said:

@InkyProf - Nice set. Looks sharp. I was also going to suggest the Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black.

 

I agree, it's a sharp looking pen. 😀👍  4001 blue black is a favorite. 

[boilermaker1975]

I have Dianmine Cult Deep Dark Red in my Stresemann.

 

[lamarax]

 

I know it isn't what you asked for, but this says on the other side: "made for Stresemann"😛 

[Misfit]

For those who mentioned Pelikan 4001 Blue Black ink, I found it to be a dry ink in a MaJohn copy of the Pilot vanishing point or capless pen. 
 

Am I right that Pelikans are wet writers? And do you find 4001 Blue Black ink to be dry?

 

This thread is making me wish I’d gotten the M405 Stresemann when I ordered it on amazon instead of some other pen that a scammer returned to amazon. 
 

 

[InkyProf]

@Misfit, my experience with modern Pelikans is that they run broad but are not necessarily tuned wet. My M405 Stresemann started as a <B>, which I almost immediately had ground by Mike Masuyama to a .45mm left oblique. (I took the nib size that was available because I wanted a non-opaque barrel.) I don't know whether MM also adjusted the nib for wetness, but it now seems moderate. I've found the 4001 Blue Black to be a little drier than Königsblau (which I've been using for longer), but not extremely so; in this pen, I've had no trouble with it.

 

It's funny, come to think of it, I tried to buy a M405 Stresemann on Amazon too, and also received a Pelikan box with some cheap piece of **** in it. I wonder if it was sent on to you after I returned it, or vice versa! Never again...

[Misfit]

1 hour ago, InkyProf said:

It's funny, come to think of it, I tried to buy a M405 Stresemann on Amazon too, and also received a Pelikan box with some cheap piece of **** in it. I wonder if it was sent on to you after I returned it, or vice versa! Never again...

I think the cheapie pen was still a Pelikan. I searched to try and find the name beyond Pelikan. Never found a match for it. It was a dark gray pen, with a curving silver clip. Whoever returned it put the Stresemann tag on the clip. Rotten thing to do, but I bet that person got the refund amount for a Stresemann instead of the cheaper pen. 

[Lithium466]

9 hours ago, Misfit said:

 

Am I right that Pelikans are wet writers? And do you find 4001 Blue Black ink to be dry?
 

I only have a M405 and it's not particularly wet, but 4001 BB is, also somewhat lacking in lubrication, and I can see the experience not being optimal in a Majohn/Moonman A1/2/3.

 

Surprisingly the various Pelikan I tried at the latest hub didn't seem particularly wet to me? All were modern with the opaque barrel, F or M nibs.

[Mercian]

On 1/15/2026 at 1:18 AM, Misfit said:

Am I right that Pelikans are wet writers? And do you find 4001 Blue Black ink to be dry?

 

4001 Blue-black is a (weakly-) iron-gall ink, so it can feel very 'dry'-writing dry in some pens.

E.g. my 1950s aerometric Parker "51" refused to write with it 

That said, several of Pelikan's inks can feel 'dry' in non-Pelikan pens.

 

From my modern (1990s-onwards) Pelikans, 4001 Blue-black writes perfectly well, starting out dark blue, and oxidising to the grey-blue colour that is characteristic of i-g blue-black inks.

 

But, from my 1954 Pelikan 400 (which has an 'F' nib on it that is as narrow as the 'F' nib on my modern Pilot Plumix, and an ebonite feed), it comes out so 'wet' that it starts out dark blue and then oxidises almost fully to black.