Parker Quink, Waterman Or Pelikan 4001?

[Blazing]

Hello,

 

I've been in the search for my next bottled ink purchase as my first bottle [containing Lamy Blue] is starting to run out. It's lasted me for more than one and a half years and I think that I'll move on to search for a more exciting ink.

 

I'm a left handed writer, and although I would say that I am an underwriter, the ink can sometimes smudge as I quickly move my hand positioning to write on the next line or when I turn the page if I'm doing some quick writing in an exam. I tend to like more saturated inks which won't fade very easily.

 

I've narrowed it down to Parker Quink Washable Blue, Parker Quink Washable Black, Waterman Black, Waterman Serenity Blue [same as Florida Blue], Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Blue or Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black.

 

Originally, I preferred a blue ink but I've found that my black ink that I used to put in my fountain pens [Diamine Jet Black] didn't fade away as much as my Lamy Blue. This may be a problem for the two Parker Quink inks, and I've seen reviews of this ink which state that they've had problems with Parker Quink fading away very easily [and permanent ink isn't really an option].

 

Waterman inks are very highly rated in this forum, and I like the colours that Waterman inks make. The black ink seems quite saturated, although I obviously don't expect any of the inks that I will get in the future to be as saturated as my old Diamine Jet Black ink because Diamine obviously makes more free flowing, wet inks. I'm not sure how dry the Waterman inks are, but if they are as dry as the Parker Quink inks then I would probably make this my first choice ink.

 

Finally, there are the Pelikan inks. At first, the Pelikan inks were my first choice but I've heard reviews questioning the dryness of this ink and I prefer the higher saturation of the Waterman inks, particularly for the black ink.

 

I'm mostly looking for replies with advice on which ink you think would suit me best, putting my needs into consideration but a colour comparison of the three inks using the same pen [preferably a medium tipped one] would be super.

 

Thank you for reading.

[ajlmarques]

Not sure about the others, but I find the Serenity blue to be a fairly dry ink.

 

If you're interested I can send you a sample of it for you to try before you buy a bottle.

[Blazing]

Not sure about the others, but I find the Serenity blue to be a fairly dry ink.

 

If you're interested I can send you a sample of it for you to try before you buy a bottle.

Thanks for the kind offer but I'll be fine. I trust your views on the ink as a fellow fountain pen user.

[HamFist]

I tried waterman blacks and blues and they were very well behaved but very pale, black was greyish. Quink was a bit more saturated but still pale.

[casualmerlinconstant]

Im a Big fan of pelikan 4001. It is drier than the others, but no ones complained about them not coming out of their pen. If your pens are smooth than you should be fine. Pelikan black used to be the go to black until a whole bunch of blacks started coming out from ink makers. Quink and Florida blue are pretty wet. They are just drier in comparison to the new boutique inks with loads of surfactants in them like noodlers.

[Blazing]

I tried waterman blacks and blues and they were very well behaved but very pale, black was greyish. Quink was a bit more saturated but still pale.

 

 

Im a Big fan of pelikan 4001. It is drier than the others, but no ones complained about them not coming out of their pen. If your pens are smooth than you should be fine. Pelikan black used to be the go to black until a whole bunch of blacks started coming out from ink makers. Quink and Florida blue are pretty wet. They are just drier in comparison to the new boutique inks with loads of surfactants in them like noodlers.

Thanks for the input guys.

[Tas]

My tuppence . . . although I only own Pelikan & Parker.

 

Both are well behaved but like others have mentioned, the Parker seems to flow a little better - especially in my Noodler's pens.

 

I found the Pelikan to be a little more saturated and "neutral" in colour; also a little more water resistant.

The Parker on the other hand however has this subtle magical blue & yellow split colour thing going on when gently washed over (see nib doodle as the swatch isn't high res enough to show it). For that reason I'd never be without a bottle but probably wouldn't buy a replacement to the Pelikan instead I'd fill it's gap with Sheaffer Black, for a change

 

http://www.taskyprianou.com/fpn_parker_quink_black_swatch.jpghttp://www.taskyprianou.com/fpn_pelikan_black_swatch.jpghttp://www.taskyprianou.com/nib.jpg

[Blazing]

@Tas

Thank you for that excellent comparison. I think that the Pelikan Black would suit me better. Have you experienced problems with the Parker Quink fading quite easily?

 

How good is the Sheaffer Skrip Black in comparison to those two inks?

[ac12]

For me:

- Pelikan is my dry ink, for use in wet pens.

- Waterman is my wet ink, for use in dry pens.

 

The darkness of the ink also depends on the ink flow of the pen. I had a pen that was so dry that the ink line from the Waterman ink looked gray instead of black. I had to adjust the nib to get the ink flow up to give me a BLACK ink line.

 

One comment about Cross/Pelikan blue. The color of the ink line depends on the amount of ink that is put down by the pen. When the ink goes on light (from a dry pen), the ink line looks light/washed out. To get a nice medium-dark blue line, I have to have a wet pen or increase the ink flow to get enough ink onto the paper to get a darker ink line.

 

Dry ink in a dry pen will give you a light ink line, but also dry faster, so your hand does not smudge the ink.

 

I do not have any method of testing viscosity, so I cannot compare Sheaffer Skrip and Parker Quink to Pelikan and Waterman.

 

I left Parker Quink for Waterman and Pelikan because Parker Quink is not BLACK, it is a dark gray. This was my experience with it in college, using a F nib Parker. And this has been backed up by reviews that I have since read. IOW less saturation. But by the same token, it has less "stuff" in it to gum up the pen, because most people do not clean their pens. I did not clean my pens in college. I only cleaned them if/when I changed ink colors, which I rarely did.

 

I use Sheaffer black in my Sheaffer calligraphy pens, and they are BLACK.

Edited May 12, 2014 by ac12

[Bo Bo Olson]

4001 should be faster drying than Waterman...a wetter ink.

4001 brown is a bit red, the Green is fine..a very under rated ink (red ..don't buy)...turquoise can also be had by Lamy.

Waterman South Sea Blue is a nice shading ink...got some stupid new name...don't know if it's fast enough for lefties.

 

Pelikan black is darker than Waterman....assuming you are not using real cheap paper..(some folks who use dirt cheap and poor paper with a EF nib have found Pelikan Black to be gray.). Pelikan black use to be the #2 black ink in terms of darkness after Aurora. Then came Noodlers.

 

I only have one black....out of 50 inks...well a few cartridges I don't use. That black is Pelikan.

 

In England, you can get Pelikan Blue-Black...which folks in the States are not allowed to own. That's a quick drying ink.

 

You need to buy a rubber ear syringe to clean your pen with...so you can change inks quickly. Your pen needs to be cleaned out when ever you change color.

Edited May 12, 2014 by Bo Bo Olson

[Tas]

@Tas

Thank you for that excellent comparison. I think that the Pelikan Black would suit me better. Have you experienced problems with the Parker Quink fading quite easily?

 

How good is the Sheaffer Skrip Black in comparison to those two inks?

 

I've not used it that much, I've only drained two cartridges but really really liked it's no nonsenseness (?!)

(See review of my Sheaffer Taranis here)

 

I found it very neutral, gorgeously behaved and am holding off ordering a bottle of Take Sumi as I feel the Sheaffer's colour, especially when washed, seems identical to many of the Iroshisuku's reviews I've seen both here and online.

 

http://www.taskyprianou.com/fpn_sheaffer_black_swatch.jpg

 

Ha, so much for choosing between Parker, Waterman and Pelikan. You'll have Aurora and j Herbin in the mix before you know it . . .

 

Oh, no fading experienced on Parker Quink Black. Their Blue Black yes, but I don't get on with that weird teal colour.

Edited May 12, 2014 by Tas

[Blazing]

 

I've not used it that much, I've only drained two cartridges but really really liked it's no nonsenseness (?!)

(See review of my Sheaffer Taranis here)

 

I found it very neutral, gorgeously behaved and am holding off ordering a bottle of Take Sumi as I feel the Sheaffer's colour, especially when washed, seems identical to many of the Iroshisuku's reviews I've seen both here and online.

 

http://www.taskyprianou.com/fpn_sheaffer_black_swatch.jpg

 

Ha, so much for choosing between Parker, Waterman and Pelikan. You'll have Aurora and j Herbin in the mix before you know it . . .

 

Oh, no fading experienced on Parker Quink Black. Their Blue Black yes, but I don't get on with that weird teal colour.

I can't get Aurora from Cultpens and J. Herbin is more of a wet ink from what I've heard.

 

That Sheaffer Black looks very chalky. Would you say it dries faster or quicker than Pelikan [which is now my first priority]?

[Runnin_Ute]

I have Waterman Intense Black in cartridges and Noodler's Black in a bottle. It came as part of a package deal I got including a Pilot Metropolitan and a Leuchtturm1917 notebook in A5 size.

 

Don't use either very much.

[Tas]

Would you say it dries faster or quicker than Pelikan [which is now my first priority]?

 

Sorry, no idea.

At around £5 a bottle, splash out and get all three, Parker, Pelikan & Sheaffer. You'll love them . . .

[Blazing]

 

Sorry, no idea.

At around £5 a bottle, splash out and get all three, Parker, Pelikan & Sheaffer. You'll love them . . .

I can't really justify reasons for why I should get all three. I'm going to punch above my budget a bit to get the Italix Parson's Essential, so I can only really afford to get one of these inks.

 

I've read reviews and it seems like the Sheaffer is just as wet as the Waterman inks. I'll get the Pelikan Brilliant Black.

[av8r172]

Don't own a bottle of Quink, but I can say I prefer the Pelikan 4001 to the Waterman. Both are great inks, however the 4001 line seems to

 

offer more impressive shading. Also, the Pelikan ink looks different in every pen I put it in. The Waterman looks the same. Maybe I'm

 

partial since Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue was my first bottle of ink.

Edited May 13, 2014 by av8r172

[canibanoglu]

I have experience with all of the ink brands you listed, just not with their blacks. I don't know how much of this will apply to their blacks but if it does, let me say outright that I would take Waterman over Pelikan 4001 or Parker Quink any day. On to the details!

 

Pelikan 4001 - I have this one in violet and I bought it as it was a recommendation. I didn't like the color and my pens felt a bit weird with it. Mind you, this was one of the first inks that I ever tried but it just felt that the ink contained a tiny amount of glue and my nibs felt sticky on the paper. I got some shading from the ink, but shading is very much influenced by the way you write, and I happen to have separate strokes for almost all of my letters and this helps me with getting a bit of shading from even the most stubborn inks. I did try cursive writing with the Pelikan and it indeed shades a lot less compared to both the Parker Quink and the Waterman. These inks have a reputation of being "dry" inks and I'd have to agree with that.

 

Parker Quink - I have this one in blue and it was just an impulse buy because it is so much cheaper compared to most bottles here in Turkey. I first used it in a Preppy eyedropper and the color looked pretty good so I decided to try it in my Lamy 2000 (M nib). It is definitely an ink with very good flow but the color really didn't impress me that much after using it with the wettest writer I own (yet). In my experience, inks exhibit deeper color and better shading when using my Lamy 2000 and this ink did just the opposite. Well, I still got shading but the ink seemed like a very "bland" blue to me so I dropped it. I may give it a try in my Lamy 2000 later but for now I sometimes use it in my Safaris. Definitely a better writing ink compared to Pelikan 4001 (in my experience).

 

Waterman - I have this one in violet too and it is one of my favorite inks. Not that I have a lot of different inks (7 different colors only) but it's right up there with Montblanc Toffee Brown. The inks has great flow, great shading qualities and it shiiiines depending on the amount of ink you drop on the paper. The sheen quality is not impressive as Diamine Sargasso Sea but it was a very pleasant surprise. I would take this ink over the other two any day.

 

As I said, none of these are black inks but if these specific colors are indicative of the different lines' properties, the Waterman wins hands down as far as I am concerned. I hope this information helps you.

[Blazing]

Thanks, but one of the reasons why I'm not that happy with my Lamy Blue is because I want more of an interesting ink. I don't mind the lack of shading on the Pelikan ink, I just want something more saturated and dry. I guess I'll go for the Pelikan 4001.

[canibanoglu]

We definitely have very different definitions of interesting, but to each his own I guess. I hope you are really happy with your purchase and do put up a review or your thoughts after you try it!

[Blazing]

We definitely have very different definitions of interesting, but to each his own I guess. I hope you are really happy with your purchase and do put up a review or your thoughts after you try it!

Yeah, I'll try to do that once I get it.