Pelikan M800 Nib Unit

[FoszFay]

Hey all,

 

I like to disassemble my pens to ensure they are always perfectly clean, and performing the best they can. All my pens can be disassembled easily, and have been, expect my Pelikan M800 nib unit. All until last night...

 

I was flushing it out, and decided I would give it a go, with a nice gentle, but firm pull. Voila!

 

The underside of the nib was pretty dirty, which made me glad that I got it apart. I wiped it with some ''pen flush'' on a cotton swab and it all came off easily.

 

When re-assembling the unit, inside the "collar" there are two very faint lines, which look like where the nib had been. I'm guessing that this ''nib groove'' just develops over time, from the nib being pressed against it constantly, but I when I put it back together, I aligned the nib with it, and it slid in nice and smooth. When sliding the nib onto the feed also, there was a noticeable ''catch'' which aligned the feed perfectly with the nib.

 

Good luck!

Tom.

 

Assembled unit

 

The nib

 

Soaking in water

 

Collar and feed

Edited December 29, 2014 by FoszFay

[risingsun]

I guess I didn't realize that the M800 nibs had big, oval-shaped holes in the tail end of them... Chintzy, Pelikan, to say he least.

[FoszFay]

I guess I didn't realize that the M800 nibs had big, oval-shaped holes in the tail end of them... Chintzy, Pelikan, to say he least.

I was actually expecting the nib to look like it does. The Montblanc 146's nib has the same cut-outs, but I'm not sure about the M1000 or 149, but I think they would be the same.

 

Tom.

[sargetalon]

It's my understanding that these big, unsightly holes are a cost cutting measure during production. I've never seen definitive evidence of that though.

[FoszFay]

It's my understanding that these big, unsightly holes are a cost cutting measure during production. I've never seen definitive evidence of that though.

That's what I think too. If the nib doesn't need the extra material to be able to perform, then taking it out would cut costs a bit. Considering how little material is used for a single nib, taking that much out of each would result in around a whole extra nib every 6-8 nibs don't you think?

 

Tom.

[ziptrickhead]

Same with the modern 600 nib. Older 250 nib I pulled out the collar didn't have the holes though. It may not affect performance but it does make me a little more nervous about accidentally catching and bending the thin bottom of the nib against something when trying to re-seat the nib into the collar. And if you ever wanted to re-purpose the nib in a demo it sure wouldn't look as nice. It's definitely something that's in newer nibs vs older nibs though. If I remember correctly, when Mike Masuyama knocked the nib out of my plastic piston threaded 149 to re-seat the nib to the feed, it was lacking the oval holes but Shawn Newton had showed me an image of his modern 149 with the ovals.

 

Nib from a modern gold topped M600:

 

14k monotone M250 nib:

[MarkTrain]

It's my understanding that these big, unsightly holes are a cost cutting measure during production. I've never seen definitive evidence of that though.

This is quite possible, but it is also possible that these holes are there to hang the nibs on a plating rack for doing the rhodium plating. Somewhere I have seen a video showing nibs being plated hanging from a rack. Also, the monotone (unplated) nibs on the M101N do not have these holes.

Edited December 30, 2014 by MarkTrain

[Sach]

Next time, weigh the nib on precision scales..!

would be interesting to see what the gold actually weights. Might be handy, as we'd then know what proportion of the the pen price should be assigned to the fluctuating gold price..!

[FoszFay]

Next time, weigh the nib on precision scales..!

would be interesting to see what the gold actually weights. Might be handy, as we'd then know what proportion of the the pen price should be assigned to the fluctuating gold price..!

Gold costs around $50 per gram. I doubt the nib weighed over one gram.

 

I remember there was a thread on here a while back comparing BP, RB and FP costs, and the price difference worked out pretty reasonable. Production costs make up a ot of the final price compared to the raw materials.

[Sach]

Gold costs around $50 per gram. I doubt the nib weighed over one gram.

 

I remember there was a thread on here a while back comparing BP, RB and FP costs, and the price difference worked out pretty reasonable. Production costs make up a ot of the final price compared to the raw materials.

Gold prices fluctuate as it's a traded commodity. They have come down significantly, from peak in 2011 where they were at least 50% higher than today. One would think that manufacturing costs would have less fluctuation and typically would rise with in line with general inflation. One would hope that eventually, recent price hikes as a result of higher gold prices should settle, just like prices as the petrol pump (gas station), and if they don't we can demand an explanation..