Comparison: Parker Duofold Vs. Pelikan M800

[adamselene]

I am more impressed by my M800, but I choose to write with a Centennial much more often.

[Paul80]

Hi

 

Nice review.

 

I had both these pens at one time, both of mine where black. I found from a writing point of view the Parker beat the Pelikan but from a functional point of view the Pelikan won. I just don't think at this price point a pen should have a standard cartridge converter filling system, that for me is for the low cost high production pens. High priced pens should be more high classed in their filling system so at this price point it should be piston filled.

 

For me modern Duofolds have lost their unique placement, and actually they lost it as soon as they stopped making button fillers.

 

Paul

[VivienR]

For me, the Duofold, will have one (Pearl and Black), but currently I'm filling up my Sonnet collection... Both pens nib look absolutely astonishing, but Doufold is still looking better. (Personal thoughts )

[sargetalon]

Excellent review! Thanks for taking the time and the informative post.

[ulmensis]

Thank you for the interesting comparison!

As I have both pens and like them I enjoyed your review very much.

And I agree also on your conclusion ;-)

[richardandtracy]

For me, the Duofold, will have one (Pearl and Black), but currently I'm filling up my Sonnet collection... Both pens nib look absolutely astonishing, but Doufold is still looking better. (Personal thoughts )

I agree. For me, the P&B Duofold is hard to beat from the looks point of view.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[n2o]

Ok so it's 2.5 years later and I figured I'd let you know how I feel about my review today, after working with both pens for a good amount of time. First an update on pricing. It looks like the Pelikan M800 is now going for about $380 and the Parker Duofold $430 (lowest available buy-it-now ebay prices). I can no longer find the Parker for under $400.

 

Now on to the pens...I still have both. I still like the M800 and have thought about selling the Duofold multiple times. The M800 has had a pretty normal life, with no issues whatsoever. I have fully disassembled it a few times (TWSBI wrench) and everything is working just as good as when it was new.

 

The Duofold however, had to go back to Parker. The simple act of clipping it to my pocket broke the finial right off the cap. When I contacted Newell-Rubbermaid they happily fixed it. Unfortunately it took several months to get repaired, but was done completely free of charge. When I got it back it just never wrote the same. I got fairly consistent skipping to the point where it never left the house. It was frustrating, I tried everything to get it working again without success. I eventually sent it off to Mike Masuyama with instructions to fix the flow and make it slightly finer. He made it a lot finer and it was actually very dry and kind of scratchy when I got it back. I sent it to him a second time to make it smoother and wetter. He made it wetter. After a bit more smoothing on my part the pen now writes really well, but it is a bit too fine for me to use daily. It writes between a Japanese fine and extra fine.

 

So I might sell the Duofold, I just don't use it much. I also like black and gold pens a bit less than I did when I originally bought the Duofold. They just aren't exciting to me anymore. I am eyeing the Lapis Lazuli Duofold to replace it though.

 

So, in summary. I still want a Duofold and an M800 in my collection but just can't get the Parker nib to write like it did out of the box. I think my best option is to sell the finer nib and buy a blue Duofold with a factory fine installed.

[Lam1]

Nice comparison and interesting update.

 

I have both pens, in the same colors, and love both. The interesting thing is that in terms of smoothness my experience is the opposite of yours. None of my M800 sing, and 5 out of 6 have a little feedback. My Duofold on the other hand is extremely smooth and sings.

 

I actually sent the Duofold to repair because it sang. Newell-Rubbermaid sent it back to me very scratchy and with the body of the pen (which I had never used, only tested) scratched. I sent it back and not only they didn't fix the scratches on the body, but reground the nib to an XXF. After some exchange of emails Parker sent me a brand new F pen (which also sings) - they only agreed to give me a new pen because I took macro photography of the pen before sending it to repair, so I could prove that they damaged it, when I told them I had the photos the discussion ended. I have learned to like the smooth nib in my Duofold and I would love to get a red one too.

[n2o]

The singing in my M800 isn't horrible, but it is definitely there. I had to sell my M600 because it was the loudest nib I had ever used and cringed every time I used it on slicker paper (it was fine on even slightly absorbent paper). That sounds like a horrible experience with Newell-Rubbermaid, sorry they put you through that. I have a feeling something happened with my nib when they had it too, as it never wrote the same upon return.

[Joe in Seattle]

Nice review. As far as either pen standing the test of time, in my rotation, once I bought the pelican M 800 tortoise, it got a lot more desk time than almost any other pen. The only thing I could wish for would be a slightly finer line then the F never produces. Since I bought it used, and EF never was not an option. And, at present, it writes so wonderfully smoothly I don't want to have a nib master do anything to it.

[flipper_gv]

Ok so it's 2.5 years later and I figured I'd let you know how I feel about my review today, after working with both pens for a good amount of time. First an update on pricing. It looks like the Pelikan M800 is now going for about $380 and the Parker Duofold $430 (lowest available buy-it-now ebay prices). I can no longer find the Parker for under $400.

 

Now on to the pens...I still have both. I still like the M800 and have thought about selling the Duofold multiple times. The M800 has had a pretty normal life, with no issues whatsoever. I have fully disassembled it a few times (TWSBI wrench) and everything is working just as good as when it was new.

 

The Duofold however, had to go back to Parker. The simple act of clipping it to my pocket broke the finial right off the cap. When I contacted Newell-Rubbermaid they happily fixed it. Unfortunately it took several months to get repaired, but was done completely free of charge. When I got it back it just never wrote the same. I got fairly consistent skipping to the point where it never left the house. It was frustrating, I tried everything to get it working again without success. I eventually sent it off to Mike Masuyama with instructions to fix the flow and make it slightly finer. He made it a lot finer and it was actually very dry and kind of scratchy when I got it back. I sent it to him a second time to make it smoother and wetter. He made it wetter. After a bit more smoothing on my part the pen now writes really well, but it is a bit too fine for me to use daily. It writes between a Japanese fine and extra fine.

 

So I might sell the Duofold, I just don't use it much. I also like black and gold pens a bit less than I did when I originally bought the Duofold. They just aren't exciting to me anymore. I am eyeing the Lapis Lazuli Duofold to replace it though.

 

So, in summary. I still want a Duofold and an M800 in my collection but just can't get the Parker nib to write like it did out of the box. I think my best option is to sell the finer nib and buy a blue Duofold with a factory fine installed.

 

What a poor experience. totally unacceptable.

[Precise]

I have had a Pelikan M800 F for several years. When I first used it, I judged it my best pen. I've written on this forum that it's my most perfect pen. Many of the new pens I buy arrive in need of some tuning, but not the Peli. One surprise is that it writes without hesitation after storage nib-up for months.

 

The tip is a ball, which has more feedback than a slightly flattened tip (which glides on a film of ink). And although I favor slightly flattened tips, I've never wanted to mess with this one. Here's a photo:

 

 

The amusing thing is that despite its perfection, I tend to use some of my other pens more often. That's because the others all needed tuning and I tend to use them to check on (or perhaps admire) my work. The Peli is so perfect, there's no need to check it.

 

Alan

 

 

[JBat]

I have had a Pelikan M800 F for several years. When I first used it, I judged it my best pen. I've written on this forum that it's my most perfect pen. Many of the new pens I buy arrive in need of some tuning, but not the Peli. One surprise is that it writes without hesitation after storage nib-up for months.

 

The tip is a ball, which has more feedback than a slightly flattened tip (which glides on a film of ink). And although I favor slightly flattened tips, I've never wanted to mess with this one. Here's a photo:

 

The amusing thing is that despite its perfection, I tend to use some of my other pens more often. That's because the others all needed tuning and I tend to use them to check on (or perhaps admire) my work. The Peli is so perfect, there's no need to check it.

 

Alan

 

 

Hi Alan,

 

Interesting what you said about the shape of the nib on your M800 and your preference for flat nibs in general. My 5 year old blue pinstripe M800 has a flat-ish shape to the nib and has always written beautifully, wet and smooth. Sometimes it writes so ideally smooth as to be sublime. I bought it from Richard Binder and I don't know if he did any tweaking to it before he shipped it to me.

 

Yesterday I received my second M800, the burnt orange variant and its nib is shaped much more like yours as shown in the picture. Not previously having had another M800 to compare the blue one to, I was a bit surprised at the variation. Both are medium nibs. I don't know if Richard's adjustment of a new nib ever went so far as reshaping the nib a bit, but I'm curious.

 

The new one writes well, though I've had a couple of minor hard-start issues that may require some adjustment.