Pelikan pen sizes -v- Montblanc

[General]

Hi - as a newb to the forum and a long-time collector of Montblancs I am seeking to diversify and enter the Pelikan world.

 

Please can someone advise me on the relative physical sizes of the M1000, M800, M600 series etc compared with the Montblanc 149, 146, classique ranges for example. What are the size equivalents?

 

My preferred Montblanc size-wise is the 146, Le Grande range - would an M800 be similar in size?

 

Also - can anyone recommend a good Pelikan supplier in the UK?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

 

[Bananafish]

The 146 is similar to the M800. The M600 is slimmer but comparable in length to the 146; it's not as slim as the Classique tho, which I find too skinny to my liking. I included some measurements below that I cribbed from some magazines; couldn't find measurement for the M600, but nibs.com has a pen comparison page you may want to check out. http://www.nibs.com/pen_measures/

 

Hope the photos are of some help. I don't have a regular M600 so substituted the Grand Place instead, which is similar in shape and size to the M600. I find both the Pelikan and the MB Meisterstuck to be delightful pens - well-built, good looking, and write nicely.

 

I don't know of any UK supplier - duh. I got most of my Pelikans from Pam Braun at Oscar Braun Pens; I'm sure she also caters to UK buyers, but you may have to deal with customs duty. Wouldn't hurt to find out, Pam is the best.

 

 

MB149

Capped: 149mm

Uncapped: 131mm

Diameter (widest point & section width): 22mm-16mm

Weight: 32g

 

PEL M1000

Capped: 146mm

Uncapped: 136mm

Weight: 33g

Diameter (widest point & section width):15.5mm-14mm

 

MB146

Capped: 146mm

Uncapped: 125mm

Diameter (widest point & section width):15mm -13mm

Weight: 30g

 

PEL M800

Capped:142mm

Uncapped: 128mm

Weight: 29g

Diameter (widest point & section width):14mm-12.5mm

 

Edited August 27, 2008 by Bananafish

[General]

Bananafish (nice name by the way) - many thanks for the detailed response, photo comparisons and links - very informative and much appreciated.

 

The Pelikan hunt is now on in earnest !!!

 

General

[GeeTee]

Ow wow...nice photo's...that's some serious penporn

Grand Place is so pretty.

[KCat]

There goes my heart racing again! Nice pics!

[truthpil]

This is an old post but extremely helpful!

 

Can anyone add the measurements for the MB145 to bring this information up to date?

 

It would be greatly appreciated!

[daenghafez]

Great photos, pens & the comparison! Thanks for sharing!

[Bo Bo Olson]

Medium long 600 = old '50-60's medium long 146...is smaller than the Modern Large 146.

The modern Large 146 is nimbler than the 800 which is a tad more clunky.

 

There are many more beautiful 600's than you can shake a stick at...a well balanced pen, good girth...and on my 605 I have a semi-flex B nib off one of my early '50's 400s.

 

I prefer standard and medium-large pens to Large ones. It takes me a good minute or more to get use to my large '70's-early '80's one.

There are two reasons why I prefer my '50-60's medium-long 146 over the Large later 146. Better balance and a better nib.

A modern...'80's and later MB has a 'Springy' nib...good tine bend but Only 2 X tine spread.

My '70's 146 had for the time a normal 'true' regular flex...not quite the tine spread of a Springy but with 3 X tine spread.

 

I had lucked into a great nib on my standard sized MB 234 1/2 Deluxe ('52-54 only) it is a 14 K semi-flex KOB. I'd started chasing the 'better' more flexible nib that MB was known to have, before I came up with the term maxi-semi-flex.

In I had to be able to test the '50-60's nib my self...for better than that 234 1/2 my self in live auctions. I found a rolled gold 742 with a nib between semi-flex and maxi-semi-flex. Noticeably more than semi-flex, noticeably less than maxi-semi-flex. The only one my pens that does that. I have 28 semi-flex...& 16 maxi-semi-flex. I had been after the smaller medium-large 146 as is because of it's reputed good balance...and it had the nib I was looking for a maxi-semi-flex.

So my hunt for MB has ended. 2 from the early '50's...1 from 50-60's before they made the medium-large 146 into a Large pen.

I was never really interested in a Large 146...but it was near mint and cheap in a life auction.

The 320 was a disappointment in it was a nail.

My Virginia Woolf...was bought only because it was very pretty. It has a modern 'Springy' Nib.

OK, I can't afford to chase MB Saftie Pens with Wet Noodles...so think my hunt for good MB nibs is done.

Do not waste money on a ill balanced modern Large 146 with a mediocre nib...get a well balanced, great nibbed '50-60's 146 instead. Can be had for 'cheap' too. A better pen for less.

My Woolf...the nib is my eyes only bling.

 

Is the Woolf well balanced.....not really, it is after all a Large pen...and is not thin like a Snorkel. Sure is pretty. Typical modern fat and blobby nib...sure is pretty.

permission of pentime.com

My eyes only bling...not across the table bling.

http://i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o707/boboolson1/IMG_0641-1_zpsf9zit5tg.jpg

 

http://i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o707/boboolson1/IMG_0625-1%20-%20Copy_zpsnonlebut.jpg

 

 

 

http://i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o707/boboolson1/IMG_0619-1_zpshjrlj2sq.jpg

 

My wife read there was a sale at my B&M, I got this one instead of an Aurora Verdi or a Pelikan re-make................still I could not afford to buy a pen, ink or pack of fancy writing paper for 3/4ths of a year. Somewhere present and our money got commingled.

[truthpil]

Medium long 600 = old '50-60's medium long 146...is smaller than the Modern Large 146.

The modern Large 146 is nimbler than the 800 which is a tad more clunky.

 

There are many more beautiful 600's than you can shake a stick at...a well balanced pen, good girth...and on my 605 I have a semi-flex B nib off one of my early '50's 400s.

 

I prefer standard and medium-large pens to Large ones. It takes me a good minute or more to get use to my large '70's-early '80's one.

There are two reasons why I prefer my '50-60's medium-long 146 over the Large later 146. Better balance and a better nib.

A modern...'80's and later MB has a 'Springy' nib...good tine bend but Only 2 X tine spread.

My '70's 146 had for the time a normal 'true' regular flex...not quite the tine spread of a Springy but with 3 X tine spread.

 

I had lucked into a great nib on my standard sized MB 234 1/2 Deluxe ('52-54 only) it is a 14 K semi-flex KOB. I'd started chasing the 'better' more flexible nib that MB was known to have, before I came up with the term maxi-semi-flex.

In I had to be able to test the '50-60's nib my self...for better than that 234 1/2 my self in live auctions. I found a rolled gold 742 with a nib between semi-flex and maxi-semi-flex. Noticeably more than semi-flex, noticeably less than maxi-semi-flex. The only one my pens that does that. I have 28 semi-flex...& 16 maxi-semi-flex. I had been after the smaller medium-large 146 as is because of it's reputed good balance...and it had the nib I was looking for a maxi-semi-flex.

So my hunt for MB has ended. 2 from the early '50's...1 from 50-60's before they made the medium-large 146 into a Large pen.

I was never really interested in a Large 146...but it was near mint and cheap in a life auction.

The 320 was a disappointment in it was a nail.

My Virginia Woolf...was bought only because it was very pretty. It has a modern 'Springy' Nib.

OK, I can't afford to chase MB Saftie Pens with Wet Noodles...so think my hunt for good MB nibs is done.

Do not waste money on a ill balanced modern Large 146 with a mediocre nib...get a well balanced, great nibbed '50-60's 146 instead. Can be had for 'cheap' too. A better pen for less.

 

Thanks for sharing your experiences!

I was thinking about getting a modern 145 for my first MB, but you've convinced me to hunt down a 50s-60s 146. Maxi-semi-flex sounds like exactly what I'm looking for in a daily writer.

 

Any recommendations on where to hunt one of these vintage beauties down? I'm stalking Ebay constantly, but if there's a better path to my "grail pen" then I'd love to know.

 

Thanks again!

[Bo Bo Olson]

Not every '50-60's 146 will be a maxi...could well be it's 'only' a semi-flex. It will still be very well balanced.

 

Outside Osmia/Osmia-Faber-Castell none of the pen companies mark if it's semi or maxi. Osmia if there is a diamond on the nib is semi-flex...if the nib says Supra is maxi-semi-flex. I have medium large one....mdl 76...BCHR...Black Chased Hard Rubber....as I said Diamond for semi, Supra for Maxi...and it don't matter if the nib is steel...it is as grand as the gold.

I was once a gold snob and passed up Osmia pens that had steel nibs in I was ignorant of how good the Degussa nibs were. Osmia sold their nib factory to Degussa in 1932. (Degussa made nibs until 1970). The workers wouldn't move to Pfortsheim, so the factory remained in the Osmia factory building.

I have some 8 Osmia pens, half in gold half in steel, half and half in semi&maxi.

http://i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o707/boboolson1/21905808e_zpsjwqzi9nr.jpgI think when I buy a pen, I get the picture too. The diamond with a number in it shows that is a semi-flex. The number in the diamond is the size of the nib. That is one of the larger ones......no number in the diamond...it's stamped Supra, EF nib.

I do have Supra stamped nibs with out the diamond.

 

Penboard.de has all the pens you could want...they will have that. It could be you can have them pick out a maxi-semi-flex.

Penboard.de is where I go to on pens....and sigh...it's a place where you get what you pay for. You will get it cheaper in you don't have to pay the 19% VAT.

 

Regina martina/Martinie...something like that is highly respected....someone will give you her address...some what cheaper than Penboard...from what I've heard.

Edited December 11, 2016 by Bo Bo Olson

[truthpil]

Thanks Bo Bo,that is some great information.

I will be stalking penboard endlessly until an Osmia supra appears without a number in the diamond or no diamond at all.

[Runnin_Ute]

A good resource for Pelikan Measurements is the following.

Found at http://www.ruettinger-web.de/e-pelikan-modell-souveraen.html

 

mo

Edited December 11, 2016 by Runnin_Ute