Pelikan 400 Double Broad Nibs. 1951 To Present.

November 11, 2013

Have a look to the evolution of Pelikan nibs. The nibs in early 50´s were flexible & stub, and now they have become round & stiff.

These are all the nibs from 1951 to present. The 400N nib is the same as the 400NN one. There are no nibs between 1965 and 1982.

BB nib 1951-1955 (400). Stub & flexible.
BB nib 1956-1965 (400N - 400NN). Stub & semi-flexible.

BB nib 1982-1997 (M400). Soft Stub & semi-rigid.

BB nib 1997- ... (M400). Round shapped & rigid.

I preffer the old ones more than the new ones. The modern ones write right, yes, but the writting performance is boring because of a non line variation. What do you think about it?

Pelikan 400. Stub & flexible.

http://imageshack.us/a/img703/518/bbup.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img802/3007/bbdown.jpg

Pelikan 400NN. Stub & semi-flexible.

http://img838.imageshack.us/img838/9709/img5787u.jpg http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/8572/img5788ws.jpg

Pelikan M400. Soft Stub & semi-rigid.

http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/5914/img5791e.jpg http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/271/img5792my.jpg

Pelikan M400. Round shapped & rigid.

http://imageshack.us/a/img545/9149/m400bbarriba.jpg http://imageshack.us/a/img841/6757/m400bbposterior.jpg

Edited November 11, 2013 by pomperopero

November 11, 2013

WIN post. Thanks for sharing mate. Got em all in BB too except the first one.

Tony

PS: And I wish I could take such great photos!

Edited November 11, 2013 by Pennata Penna

November 11, 2013

I don't care much for the last one, I have the third one, still looking for the first two BB.

November 11, 2013

¡Saludos Iñaki!

These are beautiful pictures and a very useful comparison!

November 11, 2013

Great photos of awesome pens! Love the comparison. Any chance of seeing a writing sample amongst the 4?

November 11, 2013

¡Saludos Iñaki!
These are beautiful pictures and a very useful comparison!

Hi, Carlos.

Nice to read you here.

Thanks for your kind words.

January 17, 2014

Thank you ! Beautiful photos of professional standard and exactly the information I was looking for.

January 17, 2014

""BB nib 1951-1955 (400). Stub & flexible.
BB nib 1956-1965 (400N - 400NN). Stub & semi-flexible.(my 400NN is 'flexi'.)

BB nib 1982-1997 (M400). Soft Stub & semi-rigid. (I disagree with this, I find my '90's M400 and the '87-89 800 that I trans mailed to be springy regular flex. In fact I'd thought my Celebry pens 'hard' semi-flex until I really mashed my M400 which I'd not done before. All were equal, there for springy regular flex.)

I did not luck out with a stubbish nib on my M400, it has a small American Bump under it....(so does my 120)

BB nib 1997- ... (M400). Round shapped & rigid."" (Absolutely no interest in buying one, until I have a better vintage nib in stock. Then only in tortoise. It like any the many very pretty 600's would have to go to a nibmeister to be made semi-flex and thinned.)

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The '50's-65 nibs I have, the way I classify flexible; are not. They spread their tines 3X a light down stroke. It works for all my vintage springy regular flex, semi-flex (26 or so), and 'flexi'/maxi-semi-flex nibs (13 or so). That set of flexes spread their tines @ 3 X only.

Flexible nibs spread their tines as I see it, 4-5-6 or even 7 X a light down stroke.

My 100N with a gold nib....either held out from Hitler in summer of '38...in my pen can be from then or '40, or right after the war; is what I call a Easy Full Flex with a 5X tine spread, that I only max it at 4 X.

With vintage regular flex (as a pressure base), when mashed will spread it's tines 3 X a light down stroke. Semi-flex requires half that pressure to do the same.

'Flexi' half of that or 1/4th the pressure needed with a regular flex.(from here down there is more nib flex variance with in that set than with semi-flex which seems to clump together in a middle range.)

All these three flex sets have a 3X tine spread.

Flexible nib have more tine spread, 4-5-6 or even 7.

Easy Full flex, half of that of a 'flexi' or 1/8th a mashed vintage regular flex (modern may be too rigid to mash that far...don't have nor wish any more modern Pelikan nibs...out side a 1000 which is spring from what some say...the one I tried was semi-flex....but 18K so not so safe as a 14 C/K.

Wet Noodles half of Easy Full Flex or 1/16th a mashed regular flex.

Weak Kneed Wet Noodles less than that.

I have a modern 605 with a BB =BB1/2 and it is rigid, close to the hard regular flex of my P-75. It only gives me 2X tine spread...being BB might have something to do with that. Is 'butter smooth' if that is all you want. It will either be made semi-flex and or a stub or CI.... Over the last couple of years from when I bought that pen new, my preferences have changed/solidified, to old pens with nibs with some life to them. If I absolutely need butter smooth I can use my Townsend or MB Woolf.

I have a unmarked OBB on my 500 which is a tortoise, it is 'flexi'/maxi-semi-flex. The lighter tortoise melds with the gold much better than my '90's one, which looks dull when put under the rolled gold cap.(got 13 or so 'flexi' nibbed pens, including Osmia Supra nibs, which are = steel or gold.)

My 400N tortoise is a B semi-flex. (got 27 semi-flex pens) Nice thin B...compared to modern. (All my vintage there for thinner B or OB nibs are writing nibs...not signature pens.)

My green stripped 400NN '56 friction feed has an OF 'flexi'...so some can be 'flexi' other than semi-flex that some have.

My '90's pens, a M400 M and two unmarked F Celebry pens, one gold and one steel both equal are springy semi-vintage regular flex....a bit better than my nice springy 120. As I mentioned enough spring that I'd mistaken them for 'hard' semi-flex.

I also have two semi-flex 140's, OB & OF.

My CN nib is only vintage springy like my '90's pens or the 120.

The only way I'll buy modern Pelikans is to have a good vintage nib, and sell the new nib. Why didn't I think of that before. Get some of the cost of the better nib back.