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Thread: Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black, a brief writeup

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    Senior Member ardgedee's Avatar
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    Default Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black, a brief writeup



    Apologies for the quality of the handwriting...

    On close inspection of the paper, I'd really call this closer to a brown-black than a blue-black. This was found in a box of my partner's stationery supplies, acquired who-knows-when, stored inside its original product box the whole time, and that itself mostly kept in boxes over the years. So it's not light exposure that changed anything.

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    Senior Member carlos.q's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black, a brief writeup

    I bought a very old bottle of Pelikan BB with the same results... It looked more like dirty water than ink. I think this particular ink decomposes with time.

    So I bought a new bottle of Pelikan BB and it looks nothing like this: it is a beautiful blue black, with great water resistance, that is the perfect ink for my vintage B nib Pelikans.

    P.S. You can't buy this wonderful ink this side of the pond, but you can get it by mail from several vendors in Europe.
    Last edited by carlos.q; May 15th, 2013 at 07:49 PM.

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    Senior Member The Good Captain's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black, a brief writeup

    Current 4001 Blue-Black is probably my favourite ink of all time. The tendency to grey over time is perhaps one of its endearing features.
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    Senior Member ardgedee's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black, a brief writeup

    Yeah, I plan to keep it around for a while. It's an interesting grey color.

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    Default Re: Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black, a brief writeup

    Looks exactly like a pack of PelBB carts I got a few months ago. I liked the grey as well, but watch for sediment: it was even in the cartridges. Maybe run it through a coffee filter to be safe.

    Like the Capt. above, PelBB is my all-time favourite ink. I order it from Germany because I can't do without it.
    "I was cut off from the world. There was no one to confuse or torment me, and I was forced to become original. ” - Franz Joseph Haydn 1732 - 1809

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    Senior Member whych's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black, a brief writeup

    The ink is fine, it is just that it goes grey with age. You get to like the grey colour after a while and it is still very much water resistant.
    I think there is something in the ink that reacts with the plastic seal in the lid over time, turning it grey.
    You will also find that it also reacts with the paper and will dry differnt colours, depending on the paper type.

    The old Pelikan blue, on the other hand, hasn't changed colour over the years and is pretty stable in the bottle.
    Of course, Pelikan black is still pelikan black.

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    Default Re: Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black, a brief writeup

    I found the same thing happened to some Pelikan BB that I had in cartridge form. It was at least 6 years old...Recently, I've gotten my hands on some brand new Pelikan BB, and I have to say, I really like the colour. I have to do a comparison of the BB inks that I have someday...It does remind me of a slightly darker version of R&K Salix, though.

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    Senior Member ardgedee's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black, a brief writeup

    Quote Originally Posted by whych View Post
    The ink is fine, it is just that it goes grey with age. You get to like the grey colour after a while and it is still very much water resistant.
    I think there is something in the ink that reacts with the plastic seal in the lid over time, turning it grey.
    You will also find that it also reacts with the paper and will dry differnt colours, depending on the paper type.
    There's a waxed paper seal under the bottle lid, and the bottle itself is glass, so I don't think plastics were a cause.

    There is some sediment in the corners at the bottom of the bottle, but it didn't seem to change when the bottle was left still for a few days, so I figured it was safe to use.

    I agree about the colors: It looks variously bluish or brownish in tint, and lighter or darker, depending on the paper. The blackest possible mark I can make with it is still, at best, a medium-dark grey, so I'm content calling this a grey color rather than, say, an overly dilute black. It's nice, and it effectively means I now have a grey color in my slowly growing ink collection, but I don't think it's going to see regular use.

    This makes me wonder whether writing in 4001 blue-black, made when the ink is fresh, will be stable.

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    Senior Member whych's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black, a brief writeup

    This makes me wonder whether writing in 4001 blue-black, made when the ink is fresh, will be stable.
    From what I have used of it (the new stuff), it is just as water resistant as the old ones. I should imagine, since everything has dried, it will keep the colour as well.
    Seemingly, all the European guys had to chage their formulae because they found it was killing the rats in the factories!?
    Never heard of anyone being poisoned by inky fingers before.

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    Default Re: Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black, a brief writeup

    Quote Originally Posted by whych View Post
    This makes me wonder whether writing in 4001 blue-black, made when the ink is fresh, will be stable.
    From what I have used of it (the new stuff), it is just as water resistant as the old ones. I should imagine, since everything has dried, it will keep the colour as well.
    Seemingly, all the European guys had to chage their formulae because they found it was killing the rats in the factories!?
    Never heard of anyone being poisoned by inky fingers before.
    Killing rats in a factory is a bad thing? Well I guess the cat might be disappointed...
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    Default Re: Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black, a brief writeup

    Inky fingers might not kill you, but being around huge vats of the stuff all day, every day might do something. Many an old photographer has ended up with permanent liver damage from using selenium toner on their prints, and decades of not using tongs to take the prints out of the tray. One of my old darkroom profs eventually died from it.

    Besides, all this PelBB turning grey was made before the Euro-cops cracked down on the inkmakers. I've got one bottle of new stuff put aside as a very long experiment to see if it changes.
    "I was cut off from the world. There was no one to confuse or torment me, and I was forced to become original. ” - Franz Joseph Haydn 1732 - 1809

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    Default Re: Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black, a brief writeup

    Oops. Maybe I shouldn't have bought five bottles of this stuff when it was announced that it would become unavailable in the US.

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    Default Re: Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black, a brief writeup

    Quote Originally Posted by anaximander View Post
    Oops. Maybe I shouldn't have bought five bottles of this stuff when it was announced that it would become unavailable in the US.
    Personally, I would just use the ink and enjoy its wonderful appearance and characteristics.
    The Good Captain
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    "Meddler's 'Salamander' - almost as good as the real thing!"

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