Pilot Blue Black vs. Pelikan 4001 Blue Black. Which do you prefer, and why? Differences between them as far as behavior and cleaning? Thanks!
Pilot Blue Black vs. Pelikan 4001 Blue Black. Which do you prefer, and why? Differences between them as far as behavior and cleaning? Thanks!
Well, for starters, there's the fact that you can get a 'coke' bottle of Pilot B/B from Amazon for about $22.00. Not a small bottle, but 350ml. I like the ink and use it all the time and got that big bottle because that has become the ink that goes in pens that I'm repairing and testing, and I don't feel like it is so costly if ink gets lost in the process.
"When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick;
and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."
~ Benjamin Franklin
Well, Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black is probably my all-time favourite ink.I've always had a pen inked up with it and never have any issues. Admitted, as it gets a bit older in the bottle, it loses some of its 'blueness' but I think that's one of its quirks. I do have the Pilot but haven't used it as much.
As it happens, I'm awaiting delivery of a bottle of Platinum Blue-Black which like the 4001 is reported to have IG content. We'll see!
The Good Captain
(Gaston F Limoges)
"Meddler's 'Salamander' - almost as good as the real thing!"
For colour and equivalent waterproofness my vote goes to Pilot Blue Black. Isn't Pelikan 4001 Blue Black tricky to buy within the US?
Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens
I also like Pelikan Blue-Black very much, a very well behaving, great looking all time classic ink, proven its qualities since many decades.
Ad Chrissy, it depends on which side of the big water you are located if it‘s easy to get or not In this case I‘m located on the right side and this ink is available almost everywhere.
I do not own Pilot Blue-Black therefore I can’t say anything about it
......wait I can tell something about it.....it‘s not available here almost everywhere
Both are great inks but in my experience you have to be careful what pen you use them in. Pilot BB is a wet ink that will feather with my vintage Pelikan nibs. Pelikan 4001 is great for taming these vintage gushers. If you have a dry nib go for the Pilot.
I haven't ordered any because I already have more than a lifetime supply of ink, and I have Blue-Black Pilot-Namiki ink that I'm very happy with, but I see the Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black on eBay all the time. Right now there's a 30ml bottle available from Germany for $9.40, and free shipping:
https://www.ebay.com/i/323576099887?chn=ps
Last edited by calamus; January 5th, 2019 at 01:04 PM.
Quid rides? Mutato nomine de te fabula narratur. — Horace
(What are you laughing at? Just change the name and the joke’s on you.)
"When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick;
and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."
~ Benjamin Franklin
Pilot BB is my go to ink. It shades, it sheens when wet, it behaves well and cleans easily.
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Last edited by Sammyo; January 7th, 2019 at 02:05 AM.
Sam O
"A fountain pen with a bad nib is like a Ferrari with a flat tyre..." - Brian Gray, Edison pens
Per Vanness Pens, there is no US version of Pelikan B/B and any bottle found for sale was brought over from Europe. It is therefore the same ink.
An ingredient in the B/B is apparently not allowed for use in the States and Pelikan refused to change their formulation (good for them).
Jon Szanto (January 7th, 2019)
"When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick;
and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."
~ Benjamin Franklin
It would go in my checked bags with the wine. Worst case scenario, the gate guard has an encyclopedic knowledge of customs laws and realizes that I can't bring fountain pen ink into the country and confiscates it. But I have the feeling that none of them will even know what a fountain pen is, so there's that. Pop it into my checked bag and away we go!
I thought these images of some soak tests of the two inks, plus another few stalwarts for comparison, wouldn't go amiss. The usul pretty awful paper but between rinses under running water, I left the piece soaking for 45 minutes instead of the usual 30.
This is before:
platinum blue-black_0001.jpg
And after:
platinum blue-black_0002.jpg
I was surprised at the behaviour of the J Herbin Bleu Nuit - I'd forgotten these properties!
The Good Captain
(Gaston F Limoges)
"Meddler's 'Salamander' - almost as good as the real thing!"
Ahriman4891 (January 8th, 2019), azkid (January 17th, 2019), Brgphilly (January 8th, 2019), carlos.q (January 8th, 2019), catbert (January 8th, 2019), KKay (January 17th, 2019), Pterodactylus (January 8th, 2019), sospiro (January 9th, 2019)
I’ve wanted to try Pilot BB for a while, but since it’s not officially imported into the US in bottle form, no one sells samples. The only way to try it is to either buy an entire bottle or buy a box of cartridges.
For some reason I’ll buy pens sight unseen, but not ink. I suppose that’s because it’s more practical to flip a “once-inked” pen than a “once-inked” bottle of ink.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
"When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick;
and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."
~ Benjamin Franklin
NumberSix (January 12th, 2021)
As said above Pilot is very cheap (I have the 350ml bottle too) and very blue.
Pelikan is a great ink but if you let it dry in a pen, patricularly in a piston filler, it is quite a pain...
Also while Pilot is quite wet, Pelikan is very dry.
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