Non-Pelikan Italic Nibs For A Pelikan M200

[jabberwock11]

I have a Pelikan M200 that I never use, and I would like to change this. Right now I am working on my italic cursive and Spencerian handwriting, so unless a pen has a flex or italic/stub nib I am just not that interested. Wandering around the web I have found a few discussions about using Osmiroid nibs in Esterbrook pens, which made me curious. Looking at the screw in Esterbrook and Osmoroid nibs it seems that they are fairly similar to Pelikan's m200 nibs.

 

I know that Pelikan does not make an italic nib for the m200, so I began to wonder about what nibs may be compatible. Does anyone know what italic nibs will fit into a Pelikan m200? I would prefer a vintage nib section, but any modern italic nib that works with a Pelikan would be fine, if it is crisp. I have seen threads about fitting Pelikan nibs into TWSBI pens, does this work in reverse too (can a TWSBI 530/540 or 580 or mini nib fit into a Pelikan m200)? Any information that can be provided would be greatly appreciated.

Edited November 19, 2015 by jabberwock11

[Randal6393]

Any of the Pelikan nibs are roughly interchangeable, with the exception of the M150. So the Pelikan 1.1 mm italic nib for the M205 series will fit the M200. Or any larger, M400, etc. May look a little funny but ... just find one you like, buy it, and ship it off to a nib-meister, like Pendleton Brown, Mike Masuyama, John Sorokawa, et al.

 

Looked at Amazon, they have 10 Pelikan M200 italics left for $60 each.

 

Don't know if TWSBI and Pelikan nibs are interchangeable, would have to try and see.

 

Enjoy,

[Biber]

To my knowledge, nothing else will fit into a Pelikan but a Pelikan nib (Pelikan will "fit" into others but that's a different story). You can of course try to remove the nib and feed from the collar and try to swap in another nib. It's been done before but not without tremendous difficulty and effort. I would suggest you forego efforts with the Pelikan and get a pen more suitable to the task.

 

Do track down recent threads about Pelikan nibs. This has been discussed at length. There's lots to find on the subject and it's all interesting.

[Oldtimer]

so, a year ago I bought a M200 with Italic nib. Is that NOT a Pelikan nib?

[jabberwock11]

After doing some more research I discovered that there was an italic available for the m200, but it is no longer in production. There are still some of these nibs running around, and there are apparently a number of m200 sold with italic nibs from other Pelikan models (as well as a few that have been custom ground). The reviews that I have read of these Pelikan italic nibs are not stellar. So, barring someone with a hidden gem of knowledge in regards to a compatible non-Pelikan nib, I guess my best option is a custom grind.

[dneal]

M200 and M400 nibs fit into an M200. If you want a good italic, get a B and have it ground (get an M200 nib to keep the price down, or splurge and get a 14k M400 nib).

 

The "Italic" nibs Pelikan made for the M200's were more "old-school" broad than they were "italic". Here are a couple of pics of mine. You can see that the end is squared off a bit, but the bottom is still too rounded to really be an italic.

 

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa163/roomdog/Pens/M200%20Italic%201_zpsjy45ouo8.jpg

 

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa163/roomdog/Pens/M20020Italic202_zpsxgazqeqq.jpg

[Randal6393]

A custom grind on either an italic nib or a broad nib for the M200 would give you an excellent broad-edged nib. Would suggest looking at Richard Binder's site and Pendemonium.com for information on custom italic grinds. Franklin-Christophe also does standard and custom grinds for pens. And there are other nibmeisters, too numerous to list here.

 

Since I started sharpening italic nibs and making my own nibs into stubs long before nibmeisters were a common item, I have a fondness for making my own. Would suggest getting a few nibs for a Noodler pen, a Noodler pen to fit them, and looking at Nathan Tardiff's Calligraphy for Spare Change on his InkNeedLastForever site (YouTube).

 

Enjoy,

[Erik Dalton]

Careful. You can use Pelikan M 200 and M 400 nibs interchangeably. The M 600 nibs and up will be too long for the cap to fit on properly without damaging the nib.

It is possible to set an M600 nib but it takes a Nibmeister to set in in extra deep.

[pajaro]

Sometimes the M6xx nibs are too long to fit in the M2xx and M4xx pens and have the cap screw all the way down. However, I bought an M600 broad nib on ebay for $60 and it fits into a gray marble M200 and the cap screws on. The nib is stubby, and upside down it gives line variation.

[andyk]

Hi,

 

To echo what others have said a custom grind is probaly the best option, John Sorokawa did a great fantastic cursive italic grind on a vintage 14K nib which I still use quite a lot. I find that standard italics are a little too sharp for me to write easily although with care they can give good variation but don't suit the way I write.

 

Andy

[pajaro]

You could have a BB nib ground. I thought about this but I felt an italic nib with BB on it would bother me as not being in order.

 

I left my Pelikans as they were and bought other pens with italic nibs or stubs (Parker 51, Sonnet, Lamy Safari, Sheaffer No Nonense, Esterbrook italic nibs 9312 and 2312, and others). I don't use any of them much any more, but they were nice toys.

 

More pen junk to get enabled to buy. By all means hop everybody up on italics. I need a market for mine. Sort of.