[Pen/Pencil Review] Pelikan Edelstein Garnet Ink Cartridges
A few weeks ago, I wrote about my awesome Conklin Duragraph Fountain Pen from Pen Chalet – which is still awesome. However, what’s not as praiseworthy was the Pelikan Edelstein Ink Cartridges.
Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE the Garnet color. It’s a super deep red – kind of like a blood red that works for a certain element. Since I write a “Death” character, I was enjoying the color – especially when I started critiquing some short stories/novel excerpts for a science fiction convention.
These are, theoretically, an international standard “long” cartridge. I have bought Pelikan long (or giant) cartridges before and love them because of the length of time to enjoy the ink. The first cartridge was fine, maybe a little tight in the Duragraph barrel, but fine… until it was close to time to change the ink. The next cartridge seemed to seat in the nib, but was tighter going in. When I tried to check it, the nib came free and the pierced cartridge stayed stuck in the barrel.
This is a problem. Because I tried to work with this, hoping with the nib back in place, everything would be fine. It was not. The cartridge would never reseat, stayed stuck in the barrel, then leaked around the nib – making it look like I cut the crap out of my finger (I did mention BLOOD RED, right?). I tried my best to seal the cartridge with wax and save it, these are not cheap.
I was away from home, so when I got back, I attempted another pen barrel with the half cartridge of ink that was left. This time I picked my Padrino demonstrator (so I could see the ink levels without removing the ink). The cartridge didn’t fit. There are stops near the bottom of both barrels, this cartridge was a few millimeters too long and a few millimeters to wide to fit comfortably in the barrel.
I looked online for another long/giant manufacturer. Colorado Pens makes a long refill that’s smaller than this one by a hair. A visual inspection (I know it’s not scientific) made the Edelstein look just a touch bigger than even the other Pelikan giant cartridges I have.
Fortunately, I do have a Pelikan barrel that I can use this gorgeous ink in, because I’m not risking it in another pen brand – even though Pelikan hasn’t said their ink is proprietary. This ink is too lovely and too expensive to waste, even if the barrel I have really isn’t worthy of it. It’s a “junior”/Beginner barrel, and this ink deserves the Duragraph, too bad it doesn’t work with the cartridges. Maybe I’ll break down and get a bottle and use the converter, but that’s expensive, too.
Grading:
1. How does it write? – 1 – This is a rich and amazing ink. It looks fantastic on the page and flowed really well through the nib.
2. Grip and feel – 1 – TECHNICALLY this should be “Not Applicable” but there is sometimes a feel to ink – if not a grip – This ink FEELS good you write with it. Even, rich, smooth.
3. Material – 0.5 – Yeah, bleck. The plastic cartridge is a shade too long and wide to fit in traditional barrels, even though it had a standard neck to meet the nib. It should be better.
4. Overall Design – 0.5 – Yeah, bleck. The plastic cartridge is a shade too long and wide to fit in traditional barrels, even though it had a standard neck to meet the nib. It should be better.
5. Price Point – 0 – Pelikan is proud of Edelstein. In some ways, it’s worth it (gorgeous, but pricy). The cartridges are $7.95 on JetPens.com – for SIX cartridges. That’s what? $1.25 – $1.50 a cartridge. The bottles? $26.50. These are not for the faint of heart, no matter how gorgeous.
Overall – 3 Bronze Pencils out of 5.
