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Pen Pit Stop : Pelikan M120 Iconic Blue Special Edition Welcome to the Pen Pit Stop. Here you will find reviews of pens that already have some mileage on them. More specifically, these reviews are of pens that are in my personal collection, and that have been in use for at least a year. I thought it would be fun to do it this way - no new & shiny pens here, but battered vehicles that have been put to work for at least a year. Let's find out how they have withstood the ravages of time. The fountain pen entering the pit stop today is the "Pelikan M120 Iconic Blue SE". Pelikan is one of the best-known European pen-makers, with a long history dating all the way back to 1832 when the company was founded in Hanover, Germany. The brand offers semi-entry-level pens (like the M200 Classic series) all the way up to their flagship M1000 model. All Pelikan pens adhere to the same classical style, and as such are immediately recognizable. I bought this pen in February 2018, being attracted to it by its beautiful deep-blue colour and its elegant vintage-looking design. The M120 Iconic Blue is a modern interpretation of the original M120 school pens produced in the 1955-1965 timeframe. A distinguishing feature is the special nib engraving, that is inspired by a bit of flourish taken from a historic Günther Wagner pricelist. Pen Look & Feel The M120 Iconic Blue is a low-key pen with a stunning all-blue finish. A small gold-plated cap-band shows some branding with the words "Pelikan" and "Germany". The finial has a blue-on-blue engraving of the Pelikan mother feeding a single chick. The pen looks all business (not contract-signing business, but the daily hard work type of business) - it definitely reflects the no-nonsense purpose of a school-pen. Like all Pelikans, the cap unscrews with about three quarters rotation, so it's quickly ready for action. The M120 is a smaller pen, but posts easily and securely, giving it a substantial size that is very comfortable to write with, even if you have larger hands. I've got smaller hands myself, and typically use the pen unposted. The Iconic Blue sports a blue ink-window that fits perfectly with the pen's all-blue design and that lets you easily check the ink-level. The nib on my pen is an F that is a wet writer and feels more like an M (as is typical for most Pelikan F-nibs). The M120, M200, M101N and M400 all use the same nib-unit, so it is really easy to swap nibs between pens. And M200 steel nibs are really cheap, so you can experiment with different nib sizes without making a dent in your wallet. The pictures above illustrate the size of the M120 Iconic Blue in comparison with a standard Lamy AL-star. The pen is definitely smaller than a Lamy, but still reasonable in size - not so small that it is uncomfortable (and if you find it too small uncapped, you can simply post it). Pen Characteristics Build Quality : build quality is excellent. The pen looks really polished and refined. The pen also withstands the passing of time without any problem. After more than two years of fairly intensive use, it looks good as new, showing only some micro-scratches. Weight & Dimensions : about 130 mm when capped - and as such a rather small pen. It's also definitely a featherweight. If you prefer pens with some heft to them, the M120 model will not be your thing. Posted - the pen becomes about 155 mm long, and fits even larger hands. Filling System : this is a piston-filler, that holds quite some ink. The piston is made from plastic, but works really well. Pelikans are known for their excellent piston mechanism. Nib & Performance : the M120 Iconic Blue SE has a steel nib, with special engraving. Mine wrote perfectly straight out of the box. I quite like that you can buy the Pelikan nibs separately. If you accidentally damage your nib, you can simply buy a new one. I also like that the nib units are interchangeable between the M120/M200/M400/M101N models. M200 steel nibs are quite reasonably priced at 24 EUR. Price : 175 EUR, including taxes. For this blue beauty, I consider this to be value-for-money. I certainly like this M120 interpretation a lot more than the overpriced Green-Black SE from 2016. Conclusion The Pelikan M120 Iconic Blue Special Edition is a no-nonsense workhorse, that still manages to look stylish and elegant. I personally quite like the looks of the pen, and am enamoured with its deep-blue colour. A functional, beautiful, vintage-looking pen that has become a valued writing companion - one of my favourite Pelikans. This answers the question of whether I would buy this pen again... yes I would, without hesitation.

My first Pelikan: an M120 Iconic Blue. (This is the 2018 limited edition, not the vintage pen.)

Hi everyone, I have the M120 Iconic Blue for about month now and I don't know why, but I just love its steel nib experience. So much, that I even prefer it over my M400 Gold nib lately (both F). My question is, can the nib be bought somewhere as a spare? And no, I do not like the plain look of M200 spare. I tried look for it everywhere but no luck so far... Or if anyone here is the opposite - and upgrades his or her M120 with gold and willing to sell (if you have F)? ;-) Thanks!