Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Brown

[bphollin]

Review of Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Brown

in Lamy Al-Star F steel nib on Rhodia No 16 pad

 

Here's my handwritten comments with transcription and color comparison to Waterman Havana Brown below:

 

This is a nice light brown--a warm counterpoint to the darker Waterman Havana Brown [that] I like so much. This Lamy nib runs wet, so the dry Pelikan ink is a good match. I've also enjoyed this ink in a wet M605 F nib with similar results. It does run dry on certain papers, but this has not been an issue for me--nice on Rhodia and Moleskine papers.

 

I use this pen and ink to grade student papers which come in on notoriously bad paper. Feathering has never been a problem, though. I love the shading I get with Pelikan Brown. If you're looking for a warm, well behaved brown, consider Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Brown--an oft overlooked choice.

 

PS- The dry time is wicked fast. Water test is not so good. Keep away from bathtubs.

 

Comparison to Waterman Havana Brown:

 

Links to two other reviews of Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Brown:

 

SquelchB review of Apr 13 2008

girlieg33k review of Nov 27 2007

 

Enjoy,

 

Brandon

 

[Geoff V]

Excellent review! Thanks fpr the comparison between two much-loved browns, and for the links to other reviews. I might just try the Waterman!

[lovemy51]

my monitor is crazy. i see the pelikan "red" instead of brown... and the waterman brown i see it "purple"....

 

thanx for the review and the links!!

Edited December 11, 2008 by lovemy51

[Chris]

Thank you for this review.

 

I bought a bottle of Pelikan Brown last year because it was on the shelf, looking lonely; but I have never used it. I had read comments like "too pale", too orange" and so on. I thought about buying W/m Havanna, but ended up with Noodlers Walnut. Either would also have been a good choice.

 

Maybe I should try this ink as I do like the way it looks in this review.

 

Chris

[lefty928]

What an excellent review. I appreciated the note on water resistance and writing behavior, extensive writing sample, comparison to Havana Brown -- you even included links to other reviews. Thanks!

 

[AndrewW]

On my monitor, the scans are spot on. I have both of these browns, and use them fairly regularly. They both have excellent properties and flow well without smudging. I use the Waterman when I want something conservative; like you, I often use the Pelikan for grading students' work and scribbling on printed drafts. Both of the inks have red tones to varying degrees - the Pelikan is quite orangey in appearance (but still definitely brown), whilst the red tones in the Waterman ink are more in the background. For a more neutral, red-free brown I would recommend J. Herbin Lie de Thé.

[solitaire]

On my screen the 4001 BBrown came up red and the Wateman looked purple (as I see it did for others).

 

I recommend 4001 Brilliant Brown (is it true they are calling it 'Brown' now and have dropped the title Brilliant?).

It is one of the most useful colours I know.

It looks distinguished without being wacky and can be used for most purposes

 

For the same reason - it suits every kind of purpose - I use Herbin Opera Rouge which dries to an attractive rust colour.

 

I note the recommendation for Herbin The de Lie and will try it when I get back to the sort of place where they use ink and fountain pens (none to be found here in southen Portugal)

 

Solitaire

[WillSW]

I've been wanting to get Pelikan Brown and Blue-Black for a while, and now you post these reviews! How are we supposed to be saving money for the holidays?!

 

A friend let me try Pelikan Brown and I loved it, it's just like a darker Sailor Red-Brown. I had Havana Brown but it was too close to Red-Black in color and I never used it.

 

Nice reviews, also.

[Breck]

Another excellent and thorough review, thanks! I'm always on the lookout for another brown.

 

I'd never really taken Pelikan's inks into serious consideration, but your reports of good behavior and goof-looking scans of both this and the 4001 blue-black have put them on my radar for sure.

[unnarrator]

I have the Brilliant Brown and have always been very happy with it...but now you've made me want Havana! And I also want to try PR Chocolat....yummy rich browns.

[ThaIwan]

I've been looking for a good brown ink a long time until I finally found the Pelikan brilliant brown. Mostly it's just blue, blue black, black what you find in regular stores over here. About the ink, great color, great shading and sustain...I mean it doesn't seem to fade easily.

[bphollin]

I have the Brilliant Brown and have always been very happy with it...but now you've made me want Havana! And I also want to try PR Chocolat....yummy rich browns.

I'm about halfway through my bottle of Havana and Pel brown so I stopped by my B&M only to find every Waterman color BUT brown Maybe I'll have to give Chocolat a go since they had that in stock.

 

PS, thanks for the nice feedback, all. This was my first ink review. Maybe I'll post more, only with higher rez images to show off the shading. I'll see what I can do about color correction, too, although these look spot on to me in Safari and Firefox on my Mac.

[WillSW]

Didn't want to start a new thread but I just received a bottle and wanted to add my own scan to the pile. The Sailor Red-Brown block refused to get anywhere near accurate, it's more like a slightly lighter version of the "light q-tip" above.

 

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a94/willsw/PelikanBB.jpg

[Night Owl]

Thanks for the review, it was spot on! I'm using Brilliant Brown in a Pilot Birdie with a medium nib, and it performs well consistently even on cheap bond paper.

 

My first brown ink was Sheaffer Skrip Brown (in a cartridge, not bottled) and I really liked the more sepia-like colour of that ink. However, PBB is slowly converting me; the more I use it, the more I like it.

 

Les

[Peter from Sherwood Park]

Very good review. The comparison to Havana Brown answered my question before I had a chance to ask it.

[Ifeelgud]

Nice review. This is my current staple colour - I love the shading you get from it and it does appear to be quite forgiving. I am also rather partial to the Pelikan Violet colour too.

[Noonan]

I purchased a bottle of Pelikan Brown with my first fountain pen based off this review. It looks great in person and drys almost instantly. A great everyday ink.

[fabrimedeiros]

nice color! Thanks!

[Bo Bo Olson]

I had a different drying time, of still wet smearing after a count to twenty. How ever in any pen I used I got some shading on all papers with most nibs.

Especially on Landre`'s Oxford Optic 90 g/sm and Brunner's school note book, also 90 g/sm. I've not tested the note books against each other but my impression is Landre's is the better.

 

The German school booklets I used as "best" papers, comes with a blotting page, that removes most shading.

 

It is still Brilliant Brown.

 

I got a letter written in a beautiful hand with a flexible nib in Diamine Saddle Brown.

 

Nib with, flex and paper have much to do with the color of the ink.

 

Now I need a flexible nib, Daimine Saddle Brown, and to learn to write well. I'll have more luck with finding a flexible nib, than writing well....especially in that I don't practice my calligraphy. I have been at P for a month or more.

Edited May 13, 2010 by Bo Bo Olson

[eversharpness]

This has convinced me to buy this ink, I was trying to decide between green and brown, but your review has nudged it Thanks!