Hard Starts. Brand New Pelikan M200.

[elko5903]

Hi, everyone! This is my first post in the forum. Three days ago I bought a Pelikan M200 from the only Pelikan dealer in my country. As with every pen I purchase I roughly inspected the tines under a loupe to see if they are aligned. I didn't see any problems so I bought the pen. When I got home however, eager to try it out, I inked it without flushing it first. The pen had a very hard time starting and when it did, it skipped a lot. I immediately thought it was factory oil residue left from the manufacturing process so I flushed it with dish soap and water. Inked it up again and it started a lot easier than before but it skipped a lot. I thought this time that it was a matter of the nib "breaking in" so I took it to school with me for the next two days and wrote around 20 A4 pages(cheap paper) for that period of time and flushed it with soapy water every day after I got home from school. It was still a hard starter but at least it no longer skipped. I went to a local office supplies store and bought a no. 12 Rhodia notepad to see if the paper was the problem. No difference at all. In fact it was much worse on Rhodia paper than on the cheap notebooks I regularly use. I'm thinking about sending it back to the store but I wanted to ask if it's just me or the pen is indeed defective. I took some photos today of the nib and I'll be very thankful if someone can tell if there is a problem with my pen. Thanks in advance.

P.S I use Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue ink

Edited May 1, 2014 by elko5903

[Anirban4u]

I am no expert by any means, but that nib does look like it hasn't been "halved" properly.

Also it may be a case of baby's bottom. Search with that term here on FPN and u'll get info.

I suggest you get a medium & fine grade nail buffer (cardboard type, NOT metal). I forgot the grit # and feeling too lazy ATM after a hard day. But then, google is your friend

 

Keep ur inkpot, a sheet of paper & ur ink-cloth/ paper-towel close. Sit down and draw figures of '8' using ur normal pressure on the medium grit side. Generally I do 20-30 and then do a dip check. If not satisfactory enough, wipe the nib clean and start again. When you feel that its nearly done, do 10-15 '8's on the fine side.
This is what I do with my pens, and results have been good so far. Maybe someone will tell if this is correct.

Or

Send it to a nibmeister.

Edited May 1, 2014 by Anirban4u

[Mike 59]

Hi, If this is a brand new pen from a shop, then best to not try to fix it, but take it back as it is.

The third photo down shows the main problem, with the 2 sides of the nib having a 'V' shaped gap between, which is why it's causing you problems with hard starting.

It is possible to repair it, and that is your choice, but once you start working on it, the dealer may not want to replace it.

I would add, I have bought pens with a similar fault and I repaired my own, but not of your Pelikan quality and price.

[stephanos]

Hi, If this is a brand new pen from a shop, then best to not try to fix it, but take it back as it is.

The third photo down shows the main problem, with the 2 sides of the nib having a 'V' shaped gap between, which is why it's causing you problems with hard starting.

It is possible to repair it, and that is your choice, but once you start working on it, the dealer may not want to replace it.

I would add, I have bought pens with a similar fault and I repaired my own, but not of your Pelikan quality and price.

 

I agree: take it back to the shop (unless you really want to void the warranty by playing with it yourself).

Nice photos, by the way.

[hari317]

[WestLothian]

I agree with Hari and his comment about the rotation. The pen has been over-polished with too much force pushing the tines apart instead of smoothing in the relaxed shape. The force has been on the tine that shows most rotation and it has lost a lot of tipping material from the inner corner.

 

As a new pen it would be best returned and exchanged for one that has parallel tines and a minimum of rounding. The rounding itself is a problem because it holds the ink miniscus too far from the paper fibres to pass ink without increased contact force. This is often described as the "baby bottom" effect if you wish to read more about the skipping problem. It can be corrected on a used pen by carefully reshaping the nib to a more italic form and flattening the tip and lower surface of the tipping to the more traditional squared- off geometry. When it writes with no skipping after this treatment, it may then be gently smoothed but without the distorting force being applied.

Edited May 2, 2014 by WestLothian

[dr saleem ali]

I completely agree with the expert opinions given above , there are multiple issues in the nib which demand sending back to the pelikan dealer for a change or re-grinding for trouble-free writing. Nice photoes !

[Chi Town]

Take it back to the store for replacement!

[elko5903]

Thank you very much for all the replies! I guess this Pelikan is going back to the store. What's weird about it is that it sometimes starts well and sometimes it just doesn't(I'm talking about Rhodia paper. On cheap paper hard starts are less pronounced but it's a little scratchy). Sometimes it might need more than 30 downstrokes for it to start skipping so I hope the store will consider the pen defective and take it in for repair/replacement. Pretty disappointed with Pelikan's QC.

Edited May 2, 2014 by elko5903

[GardenCity-NY]

Take it back to the store for replacement!

 

I concur! A nib is not something you want to play with on a pen of any value...

[elko5903]

Just a bit of an update. Today I went to the the store and the sales man agreed with me that the nib was not writing properly and gave me a brand new M200 in green marble that so far writes flawlessly. I also just want to thank you all for the kind responses that helped me to get this problem solved.

[dr saleem ali]

Congratulations on happy ending !

[Hooker56]

Just a bit of an update. Today I went to the the store and the sales man agreed with me that the nib was not writing properly and gave me a brand new M200 in green marble that so far writes flawlessly. I also just want to thank you all for the kind responses that helped me to get this problem solved.

 

Welcome Elko! They really write nicely when not damaged, eh? My Pelikans are some of my favorite daily writers.

[fljones3]

Enjoy! Nice writer.