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The Welsh surveyor and Governor of India, Sir George Everest never climbed Everest and quite possibly never even laid eyes on it, yet the great peak is named after him. He actually objected to this strongly in his lifetime but his successor decided to do it anyway back in 1865 and so still today the great peak is known in English as 'Everest'. In 2008, on a date of no significance to the mountain (as far as I know), Pelikan released the limited edition Everest fountain pens and ballpoints. The fountain pen is the 640 model, comparable in size to the M800 but with some subtle differences. The design to my mind (barring the Toledo) is one of the most successful and aesthetically pleasing limited edition designs that Pelikan has produced, different from the usual trademark striped pens. It features a novel design of traced silver lines and a triangle of traced gold lines that mimic cartographers altitude marks. It is a design that is meant to be reminiscent of Everest at its most beautiful. http://0.tqn.com/d/goasia/1/S/x/A/-/-/where-is-mount-everest.jpg This is a piston filled fountain pen with a screw cap, silver clip (in typical beak form), the usual Pelikan logo emblazoned on the top of the cap and a nice silver trim around the base of the cap. The model is the 640 and it is slightly similar to the M800 but a little heavier and with a slight central bulge to the middle of the barrel of the pen that tapers down to both ends. It has no ink window and no transparency to see the ink level. The piston nob and the grip and cap are all of the same coloured resin; a mid grey anthracite. The barrel of the pen is a much lighter grey and silvery tone covered with the gold lines that 'map' out the mountains contour. Some find it too blingy, but I like it a lot. I find it very attractive and it certainly gets attention. In trying to capture a high, frosted peak with it's upper portion in golden sunlight, I think they have managed this very well. The nib is 18K gold with rhodium trim and the distinctive Pelikan engraving. My nib is a medium and it writes smoothly and nicely wet. It hasn't an awful lot of spring, in fact it is really quite firm, but it is nevertheless a pleasant writer. The nib seems the right size for the pen. Now this might seem a peculiar observation, but sometimes limited edition pens (not necessarily Pelikan's) can have slightly smaller nibs for some reason; this is not the case here. If you are the type that likes to ink match, Herbin's Stormy Grey is the perfect choice if you feel like risking it! The cap posts securely and well. I'm not convinced that grading pens necessarily gives you the right information required, so instead I will list the pro's and con's of this pen and hopefully if you are considering it, this may help more than a random number that is more likely to be effected by my bias and the things I favour. Pro's: Nice size Great design (if you happen to like it of course!). A real eye-catcher. Decent nib. Rarity (if this is something that appeals to you). Posts securely. Piston filler. Attention to detail in design. Did I mention it was an attractive pen already? Con's: It 'aint cheap. It can be hard to find in the nib of your choice. Nib lacks expressiveness (it would be nice to have a distinctive nib for a limited edition pen). It isn't a light pen. No ink window or barrel transparency (may bother some). It's not the pen for a dainty hand. Lastly, a silly quote about Everest (sort of): "There are two things I will never do in my life. I will never climb Mount Everest, and I will never work with Val Kilmer again. There isn't enough money in the world." John Frankenheimer (director of dull movies)

I've been meaning to do this for ages and I'm only getting around to it now. This is my little flock of Pelikans but one little Frakenbird is missing from the picture - a blue wave m200 with a 400 nib. I would very much appreciate help in identifying the older Pelikan in the picture. It has a monotone gold nib and is in green stripe with a rounded end and round domed end to the cap. The cap also appears to be lined in brass. It's a medium nib, but has a bit of flex and seems to me to write slightly stubby. It was sold to me as a 400N from the 70's; would this be correct? Below is a shot of the older pen.