Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black

[The Good Captain]

For whatever reason, I always knew that this marvellous ink had a bit more to give me and I think I've found it's true potential. After I'd replaced the feed in the nib of my recent'y acquired Pelikan M100N I thought I'd give the old 4001 a try.

See what you think.

The only other ink I could have put on the sheet is Noodler's 'Prime of the Commons' but it's not in a pen at the moment.

[stefanv]

I'm curious what the problem was that you had with the feed that made the 4001 blue-black less than ideal before. Was it just too dry?

 

I've come to the conclusion that 4001 BB is as dry an ink as any iron-gall blue-black, so it needs a fairly wet pen. I've also come to the conclusion, based on searching many threads on FPN, that 4001 blue-black actually does have some iron-gall content*, which certainly explains its dryness (and its very acidic pH of 2.2).

 

It's a great ink!

 

*Interesting thought: Pelikan stopped shipping their blue-black to North America at about the same time that Lamy changed their IG blue-black to be non-IG. Is there something about IG inks that makes it be considered a hazardous substance in North America?

[carlos.q]

If you try this ink with a vintage Pelikan B nib (140 or 400NN) you will find it is even better!!!

 

Pelikan 4001 blue black ink was definitely designed for broad wet nibs.

[The Good Captain]

  On 11/13/2012 at 8:18 PM, stefanv said:

I'm curious what the problem was that you had with the feed that made the 4001 blue-black less than ideal before. Was it just too dry?

 

I've come to the conclusion that 4001 BB is as dry an ink as any iron-gall blue-black, so it needs a fairly wet pen. I've also come to the conclusion, based on searching many threads on FPN, that 4001 blue-black actually does have some iron-gall content*, which certainly explains its dryness (and its very acidic pH of 2.2).

 

It's a great ink!

 

*Interesting thought: Pelikan stopped shipping their blue-black to North America at about the same time that Lamy changed their IG blue-black to be non-IG. Is there something about IG inks that makes it be considered a hazardous substance in North America?

The original feed was minutely sloping down towards its front. The nib slit area didn't therefore make contact with the feed channel and in fact, I had flow troubles with all sorts of inks until I moved the feed forward/nib backwards in relation to each other.

The new feed had a totally 'straight' top surface and the ink channel is a constant depth right to the end. Hence, the nib sits at the right place on the feed and more of the tip is forward of the end. Hard to describe but I don't think a photo is really necessary.

I've used 4001 a lot and it's fine in a few pens but this 100N being that bit wetter, really flourishes with it. I still think that the colour changes and water-resistance I've observed with this ink do indicate a hint of IG; even having heard and read all the correspondence to the contrary, on here when it was announced that things were changing regarding the importing into the Us etc.

 

 

[Sandy1]

Hi,

 

That is outstanding!

 

Very much what makes a Blue-Black ink so attractive to my eye - subtlety.

 

I really don't know if 4001 BlBk has a 'whisper' of I-G; if not, I would bestow the Sequin Garter upon it for Best Impersonation Of An I-G Ink.

 

Bye,

S1

[wastelanded]

That really is a lovely blue-black, Captain: I wish it was available over here. Do you know, is the ink in cartridge form the same as bottle?

[The Good Captain]

  On 11/17/2012 at 11:22 PM, wastelanded said:

That really is a lovely blue-black, Captain: I wish it was available over here. Do you know, is the ink in cartridge form the same as bottle?

You know, I'm not actually sure! I've got a pack of the short cartridges which I've never used so I can't tell you from any experience. If Sandy1 reads this then she might be able to answer you - of course others might know as well but she is 'Ms Blue-Black' after all!

[wastelanded]

I ask because I'd like to get a few long cartridges to re-use. You're right; never mind Arsene, Sandy knows.

[79spitfire]

  On 11/18/2012 at 1:44 AM, wastelanded said:

I ask because I'd like to get a few long cartridges to re-use. You're right; never mind Arsene, Sandy knows.

I had gotten a hold of some of the carts, and they were a sickly grey color.

 

I'm one of the lucky few in the states who still has some of this left, (thank goodness it's a 2oz bottle!). It's (for me) a very pen-dependent ink, in some it shows great color and subtle shading, in others it's just a dry scratchy PITA.

 

Oh, but when it's in a slightly wet pen does it ever shine!

[MKeith]

  On 11/18/2012 at 4:18 AM, 79spitfire said:

  On 11/18/2012 at 1:44 AM, wastelanded said:

I ask because I'd like to get a few long cartridges to re-use. You're right; never mind Arsene, Sandy knows.

I had gotten a hold of some of the carts, and they were a sickly grey color.

 

I'm one of the lucky few in the states who still has some of this left, (thank goodness it's a 2oz bottle!). It's (for me) a very pen-dependent ink, in some it shows great color and subtle shading, in others it's just a dry scratchy PITA.

 

Oh, but when it's in a slightly wet pen does it ever shine!

 

 

I had the exact same experience just two weeks ago with the carts. Just plain grey.

[The Good Captain]

  On 11/18/2012 at 4:46 AM, MKeith said:

  On 11/18/2012 at 4:18 AM, 79spitfire said:

  On 11/18/2012 at 1:44 AM, wastelanded said:

I ask because I'd like to get a few long cartridges to re-use. You're right; never mind Arsene, Sandy knows.

I had gotten a hold of some of the carts, and they were a sickly grey color.

 

I'm one of the lucky few in the states who still has some of this left, (thank goodness it's a 2oz bottle!). It's (for me) a very pen-dependent ink, in some it shows great color and subtle shading, in others it's just a dry scratchy PITA.

 

Oh, but when it's in a slightly wet pen does it ever shine!

 

 

I had the exact same experience just two weeks ago with the carts. Just plain grey.

I forgot to mention last night that I've an earlier purchase of one of the smaller bottles of 4001 - all my currents are the 62.5ml ones - and that is now more grey than anything else.

[wastelanded]

  On 11/18/2012 at 4:18 AM, 79spitfire said:

  On 11/18/2012 at 1:44 AM, wastelanded said:

I ask because I'd like to get a few long cartridges to re-use. You're right; never mind Arsene, Sandy knows.

I had gotten a hold of some of the carts, and they were a sickly grey color.

 

I'm one of the lucky few in the states who still has some of this left, (thank goodness it's a 2oz bottle!). It's (for me) a very pen-dependent ink, in some it shows great color and subtle shading, in others it's just a dry scratchy PITA.

 

Oh, but when it's in a slightly wet pen does it ever shine!

 

Hmm. I'll try another colour for the long carts then. And get a bottle of this from ebay.de. It sounds like it's just the thing for my Phileas.

[Cynergy]

Yes this is very nice but my TWSBI smoke medium seems to think that pelikan blue-black is too dry. It doesn't flow well and I finally angry that it needs broader nib.

[Sandy1]

  On 11/17/2012 at 11:22 PM, wastelanded said:

That really is a lovely blue-black, Captain: I wish it was available over here. Do you know, is the ink in cartridge form the same as bottle?

Hi,

 

While I haven't compared Bottle : Cartridge, I haven't noticed any difference the times I've used both from the same pen. (Instances when a converter ran dry, then a cartridge was swap-in.) The appearance & performance was unchanged.

 

Bye,

S1

[Aldwin]

That is such a nice colour I think I may get a bottle of my own!

[bossy]

Tried it with a fairly dry pen years ago, and it was so light and faded looking the jar was promptly dumped.

 

Your sample looks nice however.

Edited November 26, 2012 by bossy

[Cynergy]

  On 11/26/2012 at 1:34 AM, bossy said:

Tried it with a fairly dry pen years ago, and it was so light and faded looking the jar was promptly dumped.

 

Your sample looks nice however.

 

 

+

 

The same here ..

[The Good Captain]

  On 11/26/2012 at 7:00 PM, Cynergy said:

  On 11/26/2012 at 1:34 AM, bossy said:

Tried it with a fairly dry pen years ago, and it was so light and faded looking the jar was promptly dumped.

 

Your sample looks nice however.

 

 

+

 

The same here ..

I really think that this ink needs a normal to wet writing pen. Pelikan nibs are wet and the ink is tempered to accommodate that. So, an even wetter nib really can make this ink 'shine'.

I've since got it permanently in a wonderful 50s Conway Stewart and I'll post the scan in a day or two. It's even better that the 100N.

 

 

[carlos.q]

  On 11/26/2012 at 10:19 PM, The Good Captain said:

I really think that this ink needs a normal to wet writing pen. Pelikan nibs are wet and the ink is tempered to accommodate that. So, an even wetter nib really can make this ink 'shine'.

I've since got it permanently in a wonderful 50s Conway Stewart and I'll post the scan in a day or two. It's even better that the 100N.

+1

Pelikan Blue Black really excels with broad wet nibs. Same thing happens with Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black: if you use a dry nib the result is a dull grey, but if you use a broad wet Pel nib you get a very nice dark black.

[Daisy]

  On 11/17/2012 at 11:22 PM, wastelanded said:

That really is a lovely blue-black, Captain: I wish it was available over here.

 

You might want to check out this thread about getting the Pel 4001 Bl-Blk in the States. Because of the advice I received there I have just ordered some from CultPens.com, who would undoubtedly ship to Canada with equal ease. Another poster on the same thread mentioned getting hers from The Writing Desk. (Another site that the Good Cap'n recommended had the better deal -- 5 GBP shipping instead of 10 -- but they were out of the ink, so CultPens got my business.)

 

I love this ink, or at least the scans of it that I have seen. It just seems to have a perfect balance of blue and grey for my personal taste. And as it happens, I have a firehose Parker Duofold that needs just this sort of ink to tame it. I can't wait to get my order!!!