review: pelikan edelstein olivine

Let's take a look at the limited edition Pelikan Edelstein Olivine!

Pelikan releases a limited edition Edelstein ink that coincides with a M200 release. Olivine is 2018's ink of the year.

It's similar to a forest green color, though somewhat lighter.

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Olivine is one of the least water resistant inks I've ever reviewed! I was amazed to see that so much of the ink was gone off the page after my test. It has almost no water resistance, and has practically disappeared off the page.

It dries quickly—it was dry to the touch by the 30 second mark in a medium nib.

I haven't noticed any sheen. In very wet pens, like my TWSBI Diamond 580 with a Pendleton BLS nib, it's a deep green black. You will probably notice that I had some very slight flow issues with this combination; I would say that Olivine is pretty average in terms of flow. It's hard for most inks to keep up with this firehose of a nib combination.

I accidentally put this ink in my Pilot Custom Heritage 92 at the same time as my TWSBI. It's not as wet as the TWSBI, or as broad, and it shows off a respectable amount of shading here.

I compare this ink to several other greens that I have. It's quite similar to De Atramentis Sha Wujing (which is a useless tidbit, since you can't get this ink anywhere other than Ty Lee in Taipei, Taiwan). Nagasawa Kobe Sorakuen Tea Geren is more yellow. Lennon Tool Bar Congqiang is more gray. Sailor Jentle Tokiwa-matsu has a light red sheen and is more yellow as well. Rohrer & Klingner Alt-Goldgrün is much yellower.

Like I mentioned, I accidentally plopped this ink in two separate pens (I usually just put it in one to test). Olivine struggled a bit in my TWSBI Diamond 580 with a Pendleton BLS, but I have yet to find an ink other than Diamine Sepia that works consistently. In my much more normal Pilot Custom Heritage 92, the ink works perfectly. It's not too wet nor too dry and very pleasant to use.

Green inks like Olivine don't jump out to me; they're definitely not something I will reach for all the time. However, it's a well-behaving ink and looks quite nice on the page, especially on cream-colored paper. Like other Pelikan Ink of the Years, Olivine is limited edition and will no longer be produced in mid-2019. You still have some time to get it, but I wouldn't wait too long. It's a popular ink!

Where to buy

I purchased this sample from Pen Chalet.

• Goulet Pens: bottle / sample
• JetPens: bottle
• Pen Chalet: bottle / sample
• Wonder Pens: bottle + sample