What Is A Good Pelikan Pen ?

[semccalljr]

I am thinking of buying a pelikan, as I do not have one. Any recommendations?

[printhardcopy]

What is your palm size ?

 

M400, M600, M800, M1000.

 

Buy according to your palm size.

[semccalljr]

really I have never heard that, thank you I have large hands so I will do that. TY!

[pajaro]

All the Pelikans I have had are good. M200, M400, M600, M640, M800, M1000. All great pens. I like very much that I can leave them for months inked, and they write right away when I uncap them and start to use them. Not every pen is that good.

 

While the pens are beautiful, there are other pens that appeal to me more based on the style or looks. There are none that write much better, though. So, when I use one of the Pelikans I still have, I often wonder why I have spent money on other makes of pen. I suppose some of the other pens just have a seductive appearance.

[sargetalon]

I have medium hands and find the M200 and M400 to be very comfortable. These are great pens that can be had affordably. The M600 is slightly larger and may be the best bet for you. If you like a bigger and heavier pen, the M800 is very nice. All Pelikans have great quality and reliability. Best to find a shop and try before you buy so that you aren't disappointed.

[Bo Bo Olson]

I disagree with that palm size, but it could work.

 

I grew up in the silver dime days, where most pens were standard size 200/400/Esterbrook, when the "big" pens were medium-large like the 600/400NN or P-51.

 

The "huge" pens....now Large pens like a 800/Townsend/146 which grew from a medium large pen to a Large pen in the '80's were seldom. Sheaffer had a PFM..pen for men.

Had Large pens been often made in '60s and before I'd have one. They were made but seldom.

 

So a 200 which is a standard sized pen works very well if posted. It has a narrower than modern Pelikan nib, is non blobby, and is a springier nib.......it gives a nice comfortable ride. The 215 has a brass sleeve under the barrel so is heavier. Light or heavy, is a choice you can have with a nice lively nib.

I use to be a snob..I had a '90's 400...then I trans-mailed 5 Pelikan 200's nibs 2 were as good as my Pelikan vintage 120, a joy to write with. 3 were as good as my '90's M400 and Celebry nib, one gold, one steel all equal. I've been pushing this nib ever since.

 

 

Those who grew up with Large pens often absolutely refuse to post a standard or medium-large pen and complain bitterly how small they are.

 

If you go into advanced search there are two threads where both the "classic tripod" and the "death grip" are discussed. In them both, a few of us in the minority talk show the 'forefinger up' method of grasping a fountain pen....that removes all that crud about too big or too small from the discussion.

It is an automatic light grip, no pen is too small, too large, too thick, too small. Takes a long time to learn....up to three minutes.

 

A 200 has the best nib, fro me out side the 1000, it is steel, it is a tad narrower more towards vintage nibs which I love. I don't like modern Pelikan gold nibs except for the Monster big 1000....which is not for a noobie, in it has a 18 K nib that is springy to semi-flex....which means if you press the nib too much by not knowing enough, you will bend the nib and it will stay bent.

 

A 400/600 have stiff-regular flex, like a old Parker-75, it is fat and blobby.

They were made so, because many coming over to fountain pens continue to hold it like a ball point or roller ball...and taking three minutes to learn how to hold a fountain pen properly, is too much time, or they don't have any coordination at all to learn something easy and new. So those pens can also be held like a pencil. 800 too.

 

The semi-vintage '83-97 400 nibs are very nice and springy...as good as some and better than some 200's nibs. They write a thinner shaper line.

If you have the money a '83-89 400 is a great, great regular flex nib....I'd buy one, but I have a '90's one, and more flexible pre'66 Pelikan nibs, so for me the improvement is not worth the money.

But as a first Pelikan I can really say get a '83-89 400 or '87-89 800.

 

The 600 is a medium large pen. It is light and nimble....there are so many pretty ones. I only have one.

I'd need to have that nib for my tastes....made semi-flex and the nib ground down to narrower and less blobby. It is 14 K so it can be done....Richard Binder will do that as custom nib work, if you order your 600 from him. I really like the size and nimbleness of my 600. There must be 20 600's I could say, I want it, and it, and it, too.

 

A 800 is a nail....it has brass piston parts in it so is back weighted.

I had a '87-89 come through my hands...that is the only 800 I'd buy in it has a real nice springy nib...the '90-97 like the M400 according to my reading is a tad less springy. The same goes for the '83-89 & '90-97 400.

Do you want a nail...modern 800 is a Large pen that has back weighting due to the bass parts.

 

You are not ready for the 1000, too easy for a noobie to ruin that nib.

You are not ready because of the nib for a 'flexi'/maxi-semi-flex 400NN...a wonder pen, standard width, medium large pen that holds a ton of ink, at 1/97ml, vs the Huge 1000's 1.47 or the Huge MB 149's 1.60.

 

The 140 semi-flex is a great place to start. The OB is a writing nib like a modern M-B, not a signature nib. Semi-flex can be written by the Ham Fisted. I'd suggest that first, it is a medium-small pen which was a normal size then, that posts as long as a 400.

After three months of that, I'd get a 400NN, which can be written by the slightly-ham fisted.

Three months of wonder full springy semi-flex allows you to develop a lighter hand.

Edited January 22, 2014 by Bo Bo Olson

[Guy007]

Certainly get to a shop, but :

 

Do you like hard nibs or more flexible ?

M20x = Steel

M30x - M100x = Gold

- note the M100x has more flex in the nib than the others

- how much pressure to you place on the nib ?

 

Weight/length of the pen is a consideration

M20x - M60x - plastic piston = lighter/smaller

M80x - M100x - brass piston = heavier/longer

+ the larger the pen = more ink it can store, so extra weight, but the trade off is longer between refills

+ do you post with the cap ?

This will give some size comparison http://www.nibs.com/PelikanSouveranSeries.htm

 

How much money do you have to burn ?

- The larger the model number, the greater the cost !

 

There are many other things to :

- Newer pens with Warranty, or Vintage with Flex nibs

- Nib choices

- Barrel colours

- Is this your everyday writer or just your Pelikan for your collection.

- Which ink type to use with it

- etc...

 

I went through something similar and I settled on the newer M80x, but based on how it felt in my hand and given my criteria.

 

Good luck and enjoy the search

Edited January 22, 2014 by Guy007

[DrCodfish]

It is a delicious dillemma, because all your choices are good ones. Like ice cream, it depends more on our preference of flavors, there are no 'bad' Pelikan models.

 

If you can find your way to a pen store it would help you narrow things down a lot. Size/model will be sorted out for you there, then you will have to choose the color and if a higher spec model hooks you, you'll have to decide if a limited edition (LE) or special edition (SE) version are worth the extra cost to you.

 

Beware, this is like choosing a granite fire place mantle, these pens last for wever. I am still writing with a little 120 model, the entry level pen at the time, which I purchased back in the 1960's. I did learn however that there is an easy fix for the 'problem' that they never wear out; you can always buy another, different Pelikan. I suspect if we polled the regular posters here in the Pelikan forum you would be hard pressed to find anyone who owns only one Pelikan.

 

If you like fountain pens, you will probably love your Pelikan.

[semccalljr]

Thank you all for the advice. I recently recivied a gift of over 1000 pens, 200 were foubtian pens. I have spent the last few months writing with a different pen a week. I am a History instructor so it is easy. But I wrote with a pelikan roller ball and decided that I wanted to try a FP from them. So this pelikin will be the first pen I purchase on my own. This is why I ask the question. I have several other pens from sheafer to Mont blanc. So I am curious if the pelikan writes like its rollerball cousin. I am in the process of going 100% all foubtian as I have enjoyed writing with one.

[Guy007]

1000 pens is a lot of pens..... surprising they didn't have one Pelikan Fountain in there ! Are they all from a certain vintage or spread all over ? If you aren't going to use all of them, you could certainly sell some to fund the fountain purchase.

 

Do you know which model Pelikan RB it is ? The size of the barrel would be the same as the Fountain. The writing will be different depending on the model and the flex of the nib, but I would say a Rollerball is similar to a 'harder' nib as it won't flex.

[Bo Bo Olson]

That is a hell of a way to start off!!!

You should make a list. Some like the colorful 1940-1960's Esterbrooks when resac'ed if needed, can be a delightful start of a collection. Much less Sheaffer and Parker pens.

 

What MB's do you have?

If you go to the MB section, there is a pinned area that can help you date them.

I really love the semi-flex and 'flexi' nibbed two I have from the early '50's.

 

 

Many of those 200 pens could be keepers, or some could be given to better students.

At least no kid will run out of ink for his ball point, in your class. 800 ball point/rollerballs :yikes: .

 

[semccalljr]

Honestly, I have no idea on the MB I have 8 of them all sizes. I do love the nib, it took a bit to get use to it. The pens are spread out all over the place he was 83. He was an editor and a fellow historian so he had many fine pens. I have 2 Phantas snake pens, every model of Cross fountain pen there is, including 33 Cross townsend pens all FP. Every color ever made going back 40 years. I will post a pic of the RB and maybe you all can help me. I have spent 5 months reading everything I could to learn about FP's. I ended here and glad I did.

[semccalljr]

I am by no means trying to brag I am sincere in trying to learn what I have and all I can about FP's. I have found it a joy to write with one.

[Guy007]

Honestly, I have no idea on the MB I have 8 of them all sizes. I do love the nib, it took a bit to get use to it. The pens are spread out all over the place he was 83. He was an editor and a fellow historian so he had many fine pens. I have 2 Phantas snake pens, every model of Cross fountain pen there is, including 33 Cross townsend pens all FP. Every color ever made going back 40 years. I will post a pic of the RB and maybe you all can help me. I have spent 5 months reading everything I could to learn about FP's. I ended here and glad I did.

 

Well you certainly have fun ahead trying to sort through things ! When you take the pictures, posting them next to a ruler/ on a square pad for scale will help. Also in order to get help on ID's the Montblanc forum would be the best for those pens.

 

For the Pelikan, the cap/end cap help with dating. The width of the barrel and length of the pen when the cap is on. i.e. my R800 is 13.46mm at the barrel and length is 141.34mm ( using Digital calipers ). Also the refill is a Pelikan 338, but this fits all modern Souverans.

[Runnin_Ute]

Pelikans are addictive.

 

I went from 0-2 overnight and now have 3. All acquired since November 2013.

 

120 Merz & Krell from the early 1970's in EF

M205 in M

M150 in M (January 2014)

 

The nib on the 120 is amazing, not that the medium on the others is bad. Because it isn't.

[oregano]

Pelikans are addictive.

 

I went from 0-2 overnight and now have 3. All acquired since November 2013.

 

120 Merz & Krell from the early 1970's in EF

M205 in M

M150 in M (January 2014)

 

The nib on the 120 is amazing, not that the medium on the others is bad. Because it isn't.

 

Yes, to echo what everyone says, they are addictive! It must be the quality and variety of colors. Be careful you may end up with a lot more pens. I too went from having 0 a couple months ago to 3 now, and would buy five more overnight if I could.

[Nibwitz]

Completely agree with Bo Bo Olson; the best Pelikan Fps are the steel nibbed M2xx and the unique M1000. Not that the M4xx, M6xx and M8xx are bad pens, but in writing they do not surpass their respective cheaper and more expensive brother birds.

[GMT]

Well, congrats on beginning your search. And, it is a search. I went through a whole lot of Pelikans before I found the "perfect" pen for me: M800, with a custom ground cursive italic nib. I love and appreciate my other Pelikans, but, when I want to write, I grab the "perfect" pen.

 

I heartily second the suggestion to find a store, if possible. Five minutes of holding each size will tell you more than you will learn on this forum. Once you figure out which size is the most comfortable in your hand, you can start to figure out the more difficult questions like which nib, etc.

 

Best of luck in your search.

[Inkling13]

Is there such thing as a bad Pelikan? what size to you prefer your pens?

[semccalljr]

Honestly, I have no preference as on size as long as it writes smooth. I am thinking of buying a m200 special edition and working my way around from there. So far I have found I do not care for some yafa pens I have and some monteverdes that I love. But I really like the RB pelikan I have and want a FP.