My First Pelikan

January 2, 2014

I received my first Pelikan today, a blue M405 with a fine nib. The pen is absolutely wonderful and I love it completely. The deal I got was quite good (well under $200 brand new) and I bet I’ll be getting more in the future.

The pen writes exceptionally well, much better than my other two “real” fountain pens, a fine Lamy Safari and a Noodler’s Ahab. So smooth! So incredibly smooth! I love it!

Now… I have to find a way to adapt my writing requirements and habits to better facilitate the use of this fine writing instrument. The fine nib writes a very pleasing medium-fine line on my good paper products… Rhodia and Clairefontaine. At work, however, it is a different story. The lines are quite wide and the ink bleeds more than it does with my Lamy on the cheap lowest-bidder copier paper we have to use where I work. I’ve put Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue in the new M405 (Pelikan ink in a Pelikan pen! I know it is silly, but I’m a bit OCD about things like that!). Based on reading through various threads here and on other sites, I know that 4001 is a “dryer” ink and can help to tame the wet feed in the Pelikans. If I’m still not satisfied with the ink behavior on the cheap paper at work after this fill of 4001 is gone, I’ll try some Salix… that is the only other ink I know of that might be a bit dryer--and the IG ink will most likely perform better on the cheap paper. The Safari really disliked the Salix for some reason… the feed was very, very dry, especially on downstrokes. It was so bad the pen was basically unusable.

Any tips and/or tricks to help get my lovely new pen working better in a less than ideal environment? Or any new Pelikan stories or experience? I love this little beauty!

January 2, 2014

Try the Salix...nothing wrong with Pelikan inks, the green is very underrated. Violet is good as is the turquoise. The brown is a bit red but not bad.

Modern Pelikan nibs are a bit wider than vintage; especially in gold.

The nibs were made wider at the tip so it can be held like a pencil for cross over BP&RB users who are too stupid or don't have the three minutes to learn to hold a fountain pen like a fountain pen.

There for they are wider than vintage or the 200 nibs....

You could try a 200 nib in EF for @ $25 from Richard Binder....it would match the 'silver' trim.

January 2, 2014

That is a nice pen. Congrats! Pics are always a plus. Pelikan's are wet writers in general and can suffer feathering on cheap copy paper. I've had good experience with Pelikans and Waterman's ink. Works well on the cheapo paper my hospital uses. Pelikan royal blue also does pretty well. Just has to be a trial and error thing. Enjoy the pen.