Ink Review - Pelikan 4001 Brown

Pelikan 4001 Brown is an odd ink that falls somewhere in between the colors of light brown, and orange.

Another sample sent to me for review by a good friend, I did enjoy trying this ink. However, this is one ink that won't be making it to my personal collection list. It's simply not a color I enjoy.

Read on for the full review, of Pelikan 4001 Brown!

I'll try to keep my personal opinions out of the review, as I realize more and more that ink reviews are very subjective to the user. :)

For me, Pelikan 4001 Brown gets about 65/100 in my book.

Overall, I simply find not much to really like about this ink. That's not to say that it's a bad ink. By no means it is a bad ink. What I do mean though, is that it really doesn't do much for me. I just don't find any aprticular attribute to it that would make me desire to use and buy more of it. It's mostly the color, but I also don't find the characteristics of it that great either. I'll jump into the details below:

Ink review: Pelikan 4001 Brown

Pen and nib: Pilot VP - F nib

Color: Light brown, with a noticeable orange hue.

Dry time: 5 seconds - nice!

Smear when dry: NO

Shading: Good - I like it. I'm sure it'd be more in a larger nib.

Lubrication: Not much - this is typical of fast drying inks like Pelikan and Waterman.

Bleedthrough: Just a bit actually.

Feathering: A very slight amount.

Now for the scan:

You can really see that orange hue in the swab above. I'm not sure I like that in my browns.

This ink, like most others with really fast dry times, has a tendency to bleed-through the page and feather slightly. Not much, but then I am using a F nib. It's certainly a trade off, and whether it's worth it to you is personal choice. With a F nibbed pen like I am using, I personally would prefer a 10 second dry time with no feathering or bleed-through.

Overall this is another one of of those inks which I simply don't like. It's not a bad ink, and some people who like the color would love this ink. For me, it's a lot like Waterman Florida Blue, which I reviewed a few months ago. A nice ink overall, but not something I'd use for personal enjoyment.

I just ordered a sample of Waterman Havana Brown, so I'm really interested in seeing how these two inks compare. From the reviews I read, I have a feeling I'll like Havana Brown more, but I won't know till I try.6

There you have it. That's my review of Pelikan 4001 Brown. :)

Like I said - subjective to the user! If you love this ink, please, leave me a comment and let me know why. I'd be interested to get some different opinions about this one.

That wraps up my reviews this week. I'm surprised - I actually got all three posted! Weekend Reads coming this Saturday, and then I need to decided what to do next week. Suggestions are welcome. :)

Have a good one everybody.


Regards,
Tyler Dahl