Review by Jessica Coles
I was chatting with my friend Ana the other day and told her that I had just finished my first pen review. After asking me if I enjoyed the process of writing up my observations, she mentioned that if I ever wanted to do more reviewing, she would love the help.
I think I might have squealed out loud.
It’s possible that I’m slightly obsessed with pens and inks and paper. It’s also possible that saying “obsessed” is like saying Mount Everest is tall. Total understatement.
Anyway, I’m happy to say that I am now working with The Well-Appointed Desk to bring you more information about pen and stationery related stuff!
To start out the process, Ana sent a bottle of Pelikan ink. For the last several years, Pelikan has released a new gemstone-inspired ink into their Edlestein lineup. The ink for 2018 is Olivine ($23 per 50mL bottle), a slightly dusty green that leans slightly towards yellow.
Pelikan has one of the nicest ink bottles on the market – a beautiful glass bottle that is quite heavy.
When I open up a new ink, the first thing I do is to swab it to see the color as clearly as possible. I use Col-o-ring cards for this – it’s the easiest way to keep all of the ink swabs in a small space since I have a small problem with ink samples (see the above reference to “understatement”).
Olivine is slightly more yellow than Monteverde Jade Noir and not quite as dark as Robert Oster Green at Night, but the color is very close to these inks.
I inked up a TWSBI mini AL gold with a fine nib and started scribbling away on a Rhodia dot pad to see how it behaved.
At first the ink felt very dry. However, as I continued writing, the experience improved. I would still say that Olivine is on the dry side which is in line with my experiences with other inks in the Edlestein line.
I did notice that Olivine goes down on the paper brighter then fades to a darker, slightly dusty green. The dry time is fast – somewhere around 12 seconds. Once it dries, it doesn’t smear. But don’t pour water on it.
I enjoyed this color overall. The dryness bothered me at first, but not enough to stop using it. I do think that Olivine is a great addition to the Edelstein color line, the perfect accompaniment to Smoky Quartz.
DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were loaned free of charge by Pelikan for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
Thanks for the conscise and helpful review. I think I can relate to some of those understatements!
Great review, and welcome to Team Desk (are we drawers? 😉 )!
Tina
Nice color similar to Lamy Petrol
Dry inks can be nice for Pelikan pens. I like the color, but I was really hoping for something more olive-y. I think my classic green stripey Pelikan will like it though.
I appreciate your review – I just inked a Safari M nib with this brand new Olivine, and noticed it is somewhat dry on my Rhodia Dotpad. Glad to hear your experience improved with continued use, as I enjoy the color. Think I’ll throw a 1.1 stub on the Safari and see if that mitigates dryness. Thank you!