Pelikan M400 White Tortois cap crack

[Taki]

I got a Pelikan M400 White Tortois that had bad cracks on the cap. Chartpak has replaced the cap (quick great service). However this morning I found a few cracks again on the new. I guess I have to contact Chartpak again.... I feel like this pen is a high-maintenance pretty girl

Edited December 1, 2004 by Taki

[KCat]

uh oh... that was my experience.

 

did the second cap have the new logo (one chick) or the older logo (two chicks)?(no silly comments from the guys!)

 

my fourth cap has been fine and unlike the first 3 has the new logo. whether or not that really means anything and whether or not pelikan Germany really did work on the issue after graphics, caps and explanations were sent to them via Chartpak... <_<

 

contact chartpak - explain please that you've heard of this happening for at least one other person because I think they thought I was nuts and if they return the caps to Germany with further questions *maybe* PG will actually respond and explain the situation. IMO, the very fine seams that are used to get the cap rings on were not properly annealed after assembly. never have had this problem with any dark 2-ring cap and I've looked very closely, believe me.

 

I'm keeping a close eye on mine. Did we talk about this backchannel a while ago with the first cap?

[Taki]

Hi KC, yup, we talked about it when I discovered my first cap with two chicks was cracked. I mentioned about you to Kathy, too. The cracked new cap has only one chick, so I guess they have not resolved the problem. I will send an e-mail to Chartpak today. But sending pen back and fourth gets tiring, you know. Well yesterday I said the pen is pretty girl but may be I should treat it like a frail lady with osteoporosis

 

I was looking at a Japanese FP book that has a lot of nice picture of Pelikans yesterday. I noticed one of M400 White Tortoise in the book has the same crack went through the outside

 

I have been lurking at a Japanese FP board (a ML, to be exact). It is a small group and sounds like every year they buy a same pen for everyone (with each member's choice of nib width), and have them engraved with the name of their group and member number (each member pay for their pen, and participation is voluntary). Their pen this year is the White Tortoise. They were planning to have engraving done on the cap I backchannelled to the leader of the group, and explained my experience (and yours) and recommended avoiding engraving on the cap. He contacted Pelikan distributor in Japan (I guess a counterpart of Chartpak), and they told him that Pelikan Germany had not heard this problem. They also told him that they will guarantee their products, and they don't think engraving on the cap would cause any problem. This year they were thinking about Pelikan M320, too and I would have joined the group if they picked that.

Edited December 3, 2004 by Taki

[KCat]

well - it may just be the matter of one hand not knowing what the other is doing, but i'm skeptical about that. Certainly, Pelikan Germany has been notified.

 

btb - after a while, CP got tired of the pen back and forth thing and just sent caps and hoped they fit. they did.

 

but what an irritating thing. I was going to hold off on getting a new cap until Pelikan responded in some way. But decided that may never happen and i might as well make use of my warranty and just keep sending caps in, getting caps back. though I *hope* i've seen the last of that! Chartpak routinely ships very quickly. heh.. the last one was a huge overnight box with just the little cap buried inside.

[Free Citizen]

You know, it could just be a faulty batch. Have you heard the same case happening beyond US shores?

[Leslie J.]

I didn't know about the chick discrepancy. I got my 400 in September of this year, and it does have only 1 chick on the cap. I hope that means it's "safe". It is still a bit quirky with flow, but I have just completely cleaned it out for actually the first time since I filled it, so hopefully that will help. It was examined by RBinder when he stubbed it for me, so I assume otherwise the nib should be fine.

[snowblink]

Do you screw the cap on particularly tight?

 

One Chick Pelikan M400 - no cracks

[Taki]

You know, it could just be a faulty batch. Have you heard the same case happening beyond US shores?

I doubt that the problem is limited to one batch, because my first cap had two chicks and the new one with one chick has develped the crack. Also as I mentioned in the post above, a FP book from Japan has a photo of White Tortoise which has the same kind of crack on the cap. I backchannelled KC a scan of the picture, and she confirmed it, too

Edited December 3, 2004 by Taki

[Taki]

Do you screw the cap on particularly tight?

 

One Chick Pelikan M400 - no cracks

No, I don't think so. I have four other Pels, and I use them more and treat more casually without problems. In fact I had not use White Tortoise since I got the new cap because I was getting a replacement nib. Yesterday was the first day I took it to work to use it, and noticed the cracks. Also I never post caps. I have read a post on PT recently(within last two weeks) where people have cracking problems with White Tortoise FP and pencil.

 

Cracks may be very subtle, and it usually starts inside (eventually it will go through outside). You might not see it until for some reason ink gets on the cap and ink goes into the crack.

Edited December 3, 2004 by Taki

[KCat]

Do you screw the cap on particularly tight?

 

One Chick Pelikan M400 - no cracks

nope. in fact, on one of the caps it never even made it onto the pen, I opened the package and could see the "cracks" right away.

 

What this appears to be, and I can send pics if you like, is part of the manufacturing processs gone bad. It seems there are 4 seams in the cap that run longitudinally. I can tell that they would make it easier to put on cap rings by allowing some give in the plastic. Presumably, after the cap rings are in place, these four seams are annealed. My first cap - one could see where each seam was but only three were "open." The second cap, all four were open and one cracked beyond the top cap ring by about 1/4". The third cap, as I said, I didn't even bother to put on the pen. I examined it upon receipt under strong lighting and found that all four seams were again, "open." The fourth (and hopefully final) cap it appears for now that all four seams are properly annealed and they have not opened. I would guess that it's the final step, in which these are annealed, that is lacking. some seam to be fine at first but after a couple of weeks of normal use, they open up.

 

I'm sure this is a problem with Pelikan's normal process using a cap material (the white plastic) they haven't used much with these double capbands. I have used a small, bright light (discussed in the Repair forum) to examine black caps with 1.5 cap bands and can see the spots where the seams would be, but they do not open. And those are older (pre-97) pens. If it was a matter of my abusing the system - those would have been opened up long ago. but no, if anything, this delicate looking Bird has gotten much greater care from me than her flockmates.

[snowblink]

Okay, have taken a look inside my cap. There is a line, about 1cm long, from the edge of the cap. It is parallel to the clip.

 

Should I be concerned?

[Taki]

Okay, have taken a look inside my cap. There is a line, about 1cm long, from the edge of the cap. It is parallel to the clip.

 

Should I be concerned?

I would be. Watch if it develops any further in length and/or see if it goes through to the outside. Is it the only one? I wonder if KCat can post the pictures of her cracked caps.

 

I sent an e-mail to Charpak and am sending the cap back for exchange.

Edited December 3, 2004 by Taki

[snowblink]

Yup. I'm not actually going to worry about it too much. If it grows to the outside, or becomes very obvious, then I'll send it back. Hopefully any problems will be apparent within 3 years.

 

According to the blue booklet (verbatim):

The warrenty for material defects in 3 years from date of purchase for each Pelikan writing instrument. The warrenty exclude normal wear and tear and becomes null and void if the writing instrument has been used inappropriately, manipulated by third parties, or is lost.

[Taki]

OK, I feel like a boy (girl?) who cried wolf (both for this topic and for posting), but I have to post this.

 

As I mentioned above I sent back the cap with one chick and Kathy sent me a replacement right away. Then, on Saturday I received another cap from Chartpak. It was the one I sent back. Looks like Kathy cleaned it up, and now I don't see any cracks :blink: I swear I saw cracks (and one was going through outside, which really bothered me) when I sent it back, but it might have been just dirt. I e-mailed Kathy and she didn't really say, but I think she just cleaned it up. Soooo, I think caps with one chick are probably ok. Next time if I see something suspicious I will really really clean it. I know everyone says it, but Chartpak's service is supurb.

 

Thanks!

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

Did you know that those little logos with the cute little Pelikans are hand placed on the cap? I guess they have a giant tray full of them and they just put them on the cap that is coming. Well, this comes from www.souveraen.de. Because of this, there is a chance that the fauty caps all came from the same batch.

 

Dillon

[KCat]

Hi,

 

Did you know that those little logos with the cute little Pelikans are hand placed on the cap? I guess they have a giant tray full of them and they just put them on the cap that is coming. Well, this comes from www.souveraen.de. Because of this, there is a chance that the fauty caps all came from the same batch.

 

Dillon

yup... and very easily they could have had more caps than logos and just went on with the new logos and leftovers from the first batch of caps.

 

no way to know for sure but here it is June and I've had no problems with mine and I use it every day.

[wimg]

Hi KCat,

yup... and very easily they could have had more caps than logos and just went on with the new logos and leftovers from the first batch of caps.

 

no way to know for sure but here it is June and I've had no problems with mine and I use it every day.

You have to explain your time-traveling secret to me one of these days. It is July over here, well into it, so, June of which year? .

 

<GDR>

 

Warm regards, Wim

[KCat]

You have to explain your time-traveling secret to me one of these days. It is July over here, well into it, so, June of which year? .

 

<GDR>

 

Warm regards, Wim

uh..

 

yeah.. july.. that's what I meant..

 

it's the heat, wim. my brain is fried.

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

Indeed. Kcat, are you the inventor of the time traveling machine?

 

Dillon

[jwc]

I have a very new and unused pen with one chick on top of the cap and there are no visible cracks or lines when the cap is held up to a bright back light.