In this video I’m putting a legit “classic” through my usual real-world routine: Pelikan 4001 Dark Green. I’m not just doing a pretty swatch and calling it a day—I’m writing with it (today’s pen is my Pelikan M200 in a medium nib), then running it across a stack of papers to see where it behaves and where it starts acting up. I hit everything from Clairefontaine and Rhodia to budget office notebooks, plus some of the usual ink-friendly favorites like older Tomoe River and Iroful. I also get into the stuff that actually matters if you’re thinking about this as an everyday ink: bottle design, a proper swatch, dry time checks, and a water fastness test. Then I wrap it up with the practical details—where it’s made, what it costs, and whether the value makes sense—before I pull out chromatography to see what’s going on under the hood. Bottom line: this is a straightforward, no-hype look at whether Pelikan 4001 Dark Green deserves that “daily driver” spot or if it’s one of those inks that only shines in the right setup.