Pelikan Blue-Black

[Ondina]

Pelikan is a well known high quality writing instruments manufacturer with a long and brilliant history that has made them one of the best reputed names in the sector. From the early days of fountain pens, a parallel line of inks was developed and offered to users. Their inks, with distinct properties and personality -they deserve their "dry" reputation- are a staple in around the European student desk, as well as in most households and business.

Not only an all round excellent and functional product, but one that is offered at an unbeatable price; one of the best, is surprisingly the more affordable, and sold in most b&m shops around the planet. Pelikan markets its inks in 30ml, 50ml, and 1 liter bottles, plus short international carts.

The bottled reviewed was purchased in Germany and sent to me about a year and a half ago, and has been used as a back up of a larger 50 ml one. The papers used are Oxford 90gr., a no-name recycled one from a notepad, and a very cheap copy plain one. The pen, a wet & flexible vintage Tropen Scholar ss nib. Although the pictures were taken under natural light conditions, given the frightful weather they turned out to be darker than I would have like them to be in order to accurately reflect the exact color. The papers used for the review will be stored hoping for better climatic conditions, so some pics will be added in the coming..days?.... weeks?.

 

Pelikan Blue Black is a beautiful dark blue black ( Diamine Midnight is the closest match right out of the nib) that dries to more muted, and even darker blue with a shade of gray. The final result is a very dark dusk blue after some minutes.

 

 

http://i348.photobucket.com/albums/q347/Ondina_2008/Pelikan%20BB/IMG_9673.jpghttp://i348.photobucket.com/albums/q347/Ondina_2008/Pelikan%20BB/IMG_9672.jpg

http://i348.photobucket.com/albums/q347/Ondina_2008/Pelikan%20BB/IMG_9683.jpghttp://i348.photobucket.com/albums/q347/Ondina_2008/Pelikan%20BB/IMG_9680.jpg

 

The ink is a bit dry, although I found the combination of the pen and ink is about perfect, and likes it much better than in a Lamy Safari or a Pilot 78g ( both dry pens). It dries reasonably fast & writes well even on the cheapest paper -no feathering, the above image shows my hand combing the paper 3-5 secs after writing. Washes very well off the pen, shows good behavior and can sit in a pen for months without issues ( talking out of experience).

http://i348.photobucket.com/albums/q347/Ondina_2008/Pelikan%20BB/IMG_9686.jpg

http://i348.photobucket.com/albums/q347/Ondina_2008/Pelikan%20BB/IMG_9679-1.jpghttp://i348.photobucket.com/albums/q347/Ondina_2008/Pelikan%20BB/IMG_9698-1.jpg

 

One of the very good qualities of this ink is the more than notable water resistance; 5 minutes after the ink dried & holding the paper for over a minute under running water, a small dye amount washed away or spread to the soaked paper. 3 minutes of the same treatment hardly had any further effect. When the ink and paper dried, the black-gray component was immutable, and perfectly readable. Not waterproof, but very water-resistant.

According to the manufacturer, the ink has archival qualities as well, and is very permanent ( it will last without fading for decades).

http://i348.photobucket.com/albums/q347/Ondina_2008/Pelikan%20BB/IMG_9676-1.jpghttp://i348.photobucket.com/albums/q347/Ondina_2008/Pelikan%20BB/IMG_9677.jpghttp://i348.photobucket.com/albums/q347/Ondina_2008/Pelikan%20BB/IMG_9694.jpg

http://i348.photobucket.com/albums/q347/Ondina_2008/Pelikan%20BB/IMG_9696.jpg

http://i348.photobucket.com/albums/q347/Ondina_2008/Pelikan%20BB/IMG_9697.jpg

 

The price, quality and availability of this ink make it a timeless classic. Very recommended.

Edited January 4, 2010 by Ondina

[Rogue Puppy]

Thank you for this review. Very useful and (for me) timely, as I'm ordering ink today.

[Ed Ronax]

Thanks for sharing not my favourite colour but this is a nice blue/black.

[Gran]

Thanks much for your review. I agree, Pelikan blue-black is a very nice ink.

[Chris]

I wish my old Pelikan blue-black looked like this! Mine was a boring grey colour when dry and only had a hint of blue. But, it was an old bottle and is now all gone - mixed into something more like the colour in your review!

 

Chris

[ethernautrix]

Wow, your Pelikan Blue-Black is much prettier than mine. Here's my water test in the other thread. Mine is much lighter to begin with. I like yours much more!

[PJohnP]

This is an ink where I love the colour, value the water-resistance, but cannot abide the degree of dryness, and I'm predominately a Pelikan user ! Rick Propas recommended that I give the line a closer try this spring and I subsequently tried this in about a half-dozen different Pelikans with diverse nibs, but it was simply too dry for my taste.

 

I think that if I could very reliably determine how to make this somewhat more lubricating, I'd use the ink in the bottle in my desk drawer. As it is, it's been sitting for some months without use.

 

 

 

 

John P.

[HDoug]

Wow, I like your batch better than Ethernautrix's. (Nothing personal.) I wonder if it's a change in formula or some kind of inconsistency (ala Noodler's)...

 

Love your handwriting also!

 

Doug

[Ray-Vigo]

This stuff writes pretty dry, and I use it in only very wet writing pens. The color is OK, and it does tend to resist feathering a bit because it's so dry writing. I was a bit disappointed with the dry time on the whole, but this is workable ink.

[jorgerp1]

Nice review

[Ondina]

Right after publishing the review, I re-read all the previous ones;

http://www.fountainp...howtopic=100441

http://www.fountainp...showtopic=86277

http://www.fountainp...showtopic=63970

http://www.fountainp...=0entry481253

 

(Many thanks for adding the pics of your cartridge, Ethernautrix http://www.fountainp...=137590&st=30). Love your new emoticon, by the way!.

 

There seems to be obvious differences in color. Some of the comments complain about the faded gray, some others about not understanding how such a gorgeous deep dark BB gets described as such. Some others, how dry it is, or that they have found it to be surprisingly wet compared to Royal Blue or Brilliant Black. Then, how fine, dry or modern pens do not enjoy it while wet vintage broads love it. Finally, a few mention the water resistance is scarce while many use it precisely for the remarkable resilience to it. Crazy.

 

Let's assume, as HDough, wisely points out, that there must be some batch variation. A part of my logical brain says it must be so, while other actively rejects the thought, given the steady, proven control quality of Pelikan's inks. Plus, vintage ones seem not to endure well the effects of time once opened. But I have no means to test this; bottles here are opened one after another once the previous one is finished, and bought fresh, once or twice per year. Truth be told is that there is a good number of documents written with this ink from the 40's-50's-60.....but not the guts to risk them, as they are private family papers, and they are in excellent condition.

After reading all the posts here and in German forums, one thing is clear; the ink reaches its whole potential used in a vintage pen/feed/flexy nib combo. There are several users that remark the surprisingly different behavior of ink taken from the same bottle and successively used in vintage pens -good results, dark color- and modern pens -faded tone, gray-. The pen used in the review is a vintage German Tropen Scholar with a bitone stainless steel nib that flexes from EF to a BB.

Wet pens, seem to yield in-between results, while modern dry ones, the worst. I will load a Lamy Safary and upload some examples.

The possible variability in water resistance is something that escapes any logic; even if the colors had significant differences, the ingredients should be the same, proportions changed or not.

 

Thanks to all for the knowledgeable contributions, all your comments are very appreciated.

Edited January 4, 2010 by Ondina

[PJohnP]

After reading all the posts here and in German forums, one thing is clear; the ink reaches its whole potential used in a vintage pen/feed/flexy nib combo.

 

 

Ah, that's a very interesting conclusion that you offer here... And it is, in fact, the one combination I didn't use with Pelikan Blue-Black; but I have a lovely 400NN with a somewhat flexy vintage nib sitting on my desk begging for some fresh ink. I'll give it a try.

 

 

 

John P.

[ethernautrix]

I took the cartridge out of the Mb StarWalker and put it into an OHTO Tasche (F/M) (I think Japanese M), and the same ink from the same cartridge is darker. All inks in the Stipula Vedo (F) are darker, cos the Vedo is probably my wettest writer (right side sample of photo). Note that I had to adjust the levels and saturation on the left side (cartridge) to get what looks to me like an accurate representation of the color, while the left side was untouched (SOOC).

 

The left side is the PelBB w/Noodler's Black mix (the NB was added to reinforce the water-resistance).

 

This is a quick-and-dirty photo:

 

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2758/4245226141_9e7dacfabb_o.jpg

[ethernautrix]

Kooky, hah? I like the cartridge in the OHTO Tasche (it's even darker than the PBB/NB in the Delta Scrigno!), and I love the PBB/NB in the Stipula Vedo.

 

I'm comparing what's on my monitor and what's on the paper, and what's on the paper is slightly darker, especially on the bottoms (the bottoms of the downstrokes). What an interesting ink!

[Lloyd]

Wow, Odina, you were right...that Pel BB ink looks great!

What is your experience with Pel blue? Is it water-resistant, too?

[Blade Runner]

Thanks for the review. I've been a fan of this ink, and it's good to know of its water resistance.

[beluga]

Wow, Odina, you were right...that Pel BB ink looks great!

What is your experience with Pel blue? Is it water-resistant, too?

 

 

I am not a regular user of blue-black (BB) inks, but I too noticed the considerable variation that Pelikan BB shows in different pens.

 

As the pens were filled from the same bottle, it seems not so much a question of differences between ink batches, but more a question of ink flow in individual pens.

I found the nicest results with this ink in a fairly wet Faber-Castell Ambition with B point. The hues went from a nice dark BB to an almost royal blue.

 

 

As far as Pelikan blue (royal blue) is concerned, these inks were designed with school use in mind, can be eradicated and are easily washed out.

[Ondina]

Kooky, hah? I like the cartridge in the OHTO Tasche (it's even darker than the PBB/NB in the Delta Scrigno!), and I love the PBB/NB in the Stipula Vedo.

 

I'm comparing what's on my monitor and what's on the paper, and what's on the paper is slightly darker, especially on the bottoms (the bottoms of the downstrokes). What an interesting ink!

It is certainly an interesting ink. Thanks so much for taking the time to do the water tests and the different pens as well, Lisa. If you ink one of your vintage ones, ( green of envy here, what a fabulous pen choice you have), you will be able to see the difference.

 

Wow, Odina, you were right...that Pel BB ink looks great!

What is your experience with Pel blue? Is it water-resistant, too?

Beluga has replied very accuratedly, Royal Blue is a student aimed ink, whose strong point is to be erasable.

Not sure about ever being right, Lloyd, I must thank you for bringing up the doubt, and making me test the ink on more. As both you and Lisa like dry, fine nibbed pens, and dry inks, PBB would seem a logical choice, but there are noticeable behavioral differences of the ink. Although the sample is too small to draw statistic conclusions, this ink works best in wet vintage pens of generous or flexy nibs. The following pics were taken under similar light conditions. The note at the bottom is the original one written using the Tropen Scholar with flexible nib, the one at the top, with an unsually wet Lamy Safari with a 1.1 italic and a Hero 616. (Fisrt couple lines belong to the 1.1, lower ones to the 616).

http://i348.photobucket.com/albums/q347/Ondina_2008/Pelikan%20BB/IMG_9797.jpghttp://i348.photobucket.com/albums/q347/Ondina_2008/Pelikan%20BB/IMG_9793.jpg

As it can be easily appreciated, the differences are more than noticeable. Even the over the average wet Lamy ( is my daily workhorse, and the nib has been monkeyed with to make it suit my taste) shows a paler color. Still good, but not the beautiful one coming out of the Tropen. The Hero 616 really showed the ink is dry, and the very pale tone is similar to the sample of Ethernautrix, pale to the point of seeming a totally different ink. While a quick glance to the page on the left yells "rich dark blue-black", the ones on the right say "unsaturated, pale, grayish".

If in the coming months any other pen is inked with PBB, I will try to update this review.

[Ondina]

Seeing is believing:

http://i348.photobucket.com/albums/q347/Ondina_2008/Pelikan%20BB/IMG_9794.jpg

[Lloyd]

Ondina:

That seems ideal for my Pilot Custom 743's flexy XXXF nib. It would probably yield the full gamut of shading from that ink.

Edited January 8, 2010 by Lloyd